[Lisa Barnhart]

This pigeon comes to my fire escape daily and I feed him, but he has a badly infected right foot, which he cannot put weight on, and it is swollen. I have not tried to catch him, don't even know if I can. Please advise!!!

 

[Feefo]

Can you see whether there is string or thread on the foot?

Can you let us know where you are?

A friend of mine had a sick pigeon in his garden, I can't remember off hand what was wrong with him but he was a wood pigeon that wouldn't be caught. My friend got round the problem by making a small hole in a peanut and packing the hole with the appropriate dose of the appropriate antibiotics, the pigeon loved peanuts and got better.

Depending on which country you are in, maybe one of us could provide you with the antibiotics that the pigeon needs.

Cynthia

 

[Jaye]

That isn't a bad idea, feeding medicated food.

The other option being...if there is any way you think you can lead the bird inside by leaving the window open and putting food inside the window, along a path so he can gradually slip inside, then close the window when he is inside. He will not be hard to catch from that point.

or maybe do the old Rabbit trap....box with stick propping it up attached to a string which you pull when the pidge is under the box...but, the box itself might make him leery of coming to feed (?)

Barring that, I do something similar to what cyro mentioned. I just wet safflower seeds with medication....antibiotic AND painkiller...and feed the bird that.

It's not as optimal a solution because it doesn't get a look at what is causing the problem, and the dosages may be a bit off...BUT it certainly would improve the foot situation and prevent further deterioration. If he comes regularly and can be dosed daily or at least every other day if that is how often he comes, it would have a positive effect and certainly help him along....

The thing about trying to catch him OUTSIDE is tricky because if you miss (and even hobbled, they are slippery) he probably won't be back for a while...

 

[Lisa Barnhart]

I don't know if I posted the reply correctly. I live in Manhattan. I'm reluctant to catch him because I don't want to traumatize him. He is usually nearby most of the day. I don't have any antibiotics, and no clue as to what dosage would help.
Thank you very much for your responses!!

 

[Feefo]

I will have to leave it to the US members to provide the antibiotics as I am in the UK. I would aim for 1/2 of a 50 mg tablet of Clavamox twice a day for 10 days. Catching the pigeon won't traumatise it, but once caught it would have to be kept inside for the complete course as it would not allow itself to be caught over and over again.

Cynthia

 

[TAWhatley]

I would suggest catching the pigeon and taking it to the Wild Bird Fund clinic. The WBF is a tremendous resource for those of you living in NYC. You may need to take the bird back home after treatement and care for it until it is well and can be released OR the WBF may be able to help you find someone to care for the bird. Just leaving the bird to suffer with an infected foot is not the right thing to do, IMO. Here's a link: http://www.wildbirdfund.com/

Terry

 

[Feefo]

Just leaving the bird to suffer with an infected foot is not the right thing to do, IMO.

Please clarify, Terry!

It is great that you are able to come up with an alternative suggestion , but have I missed something? Has a post been deleted that would add sense to your criticism if it had remained? ? I have re-read this thread and I can't find any post that suggests the pigeon be " left to suffer". Lisa posted because she didn't want to leave it to suffer but she didn't know

a) How to catch it or if she would be able to do this, and

b) How to treat it if she was either able or unable to catch it.

At this time of year there is also the very real possibility that it has chicks in the nest which could be left to die of starvation, that is a factor that I, peronally, am unable to ignore.

Cynthia

 

[jenfer]

At this time of year there is also the very real possibility that it has chicks in the nest which could be left to die of starvation, that is a factor that I, peronally, am unable to ignore.

That's something I also take into consideration when trying to decide whether to intervene or not. If it's a life-threatening injury/illness, then I certainly would because a parent can't care for his/her young anyway if he's dead, but string injuries are more a gray area for me.

Because I know so many of the birds in my flocks personally, I have been able to observe signs that individual birds/couples are currently nesting. But most people wouldn't necessarily be in a position to know whether they are nesting, so it's just a guess--but I think Cynthia's right that at this time of year, it's a very good possibility.

Lisa,

I would say it's pretty likely your bird has string somewhere on his foot. Is the entire foot swollen, up to where the "ankle" would be? Can you get a photo and post it here?

Jennifer

 

[TAWhatley]

Please clarify, Terry!

It is great that you are able to come up with an alternative suggestion , but have I missed something? Has a post been deleted that would add sense to your criticism if it had remained? ? I have re-read this thread and I can't find any post that suggests the pigeon be " left to suffer". Lisa posted because she didn't want to leave it to suffer but she didn't know

a) How to catch it or if she would be able to do this, and

b) How to treat it if she was either able or unable to catch it.

At this time of year there is also the very real possibility that it has chicks in the nest which could be left to die of starvation, that is a factor that I, peronally, am unable to ignore.

Cynthia

Lisa also stated

I'm reluctant to catch him because I don't want to traumatize him

thus my comment about not leaving it to suffer. Better to be a bit traumatized than to die of a systemic infection, IMO.

Yes, the point about babies is a very valid one. However, it is possible this bird could be back with any mate and/or babies very quickly if caught, examined, and treated. It's a difficult decision to make. I know what I would do, but I'm not the person there.

Jaye made a couple of suggestions about catching/trapping the bird. It is also possible that a member of the New York City Pigeon Rescue Central group could provide help in that regard: http://nycprc.org/

At the very least, I think Lisa should contact the WBF and the NYCPRC and see what kind of assistance is available. If capture is not an option then the WBF may be able to provide an appropriate drug and the dosage for administering in food.

My reply was NOT meant as criticism but rather as an attempt to help since it appeared that members who should know about the WBF as well as NYCPRC failed to mention either as a possible resource.

My apologies to any and all who took my post as criticism.

Terry

 

[Feefo]

it appeared that members who should know about the WBF as well as NYCPRC failed to mention either as a possible resource.

Curioser and curiouser....as mine was the only response between the time the rescuer revealed that she was in Manhattan and your post. Until that point I thought she might be in the UK where I am, which is why I said Depending on which country you are in, maybe one of us could provide you with the antibiotics that the pigeon needs. and on finding she was in the US I virtually left the field to the US members as I couldn't help. Although I think I know a lot about pigeons my knowledge of NYC and the resources there is sketchy.

Maybe you just didn't read the thread before leaping to conclusions....

Cynthia

 

[jenfer]

Curioser and curiouser

I want to add that I read this thread at the time I posted to it. As far as the fact that I "should know" about WBF, see below.

Better to be a bit traumatized than to die of a systemic infection, IMO.

I think it's kind of a big leap here to assume this bird has a systemic infection when none of us has seen the bird or even photos of the injury. Lots of string injuries look horrible, but the foot isn't necessarily infected. And even there were, it's another assumption that a localized infection will become systemic.

However, it is possible this bird could be back with any mate and/or babies very quickly if caught, examined, and treated.

Yes, but it could also go the other way where the bird needs to kept for a few days or weeks. If we were to take "badly infected" at face value, there's very little chance that that bird would be back on the street the same day, is there?

Yes, WBF will examine and treat the bird for her if he's caught and brought there, but that doesn't address her question of "trauma" (and I think being separated from a mate/babies while in the process of raising young constitutes trauma). Once the bird is there, they are going to do what they are there to do and treat him, not tell the rescuer to put him back because babies might be depending on him. Seeing photos would help us determine what's going on with the foot and what treatment might entail.

Jennifer

 

[Lisa Barnhart]

Update on Pigeon

Hi, I didn't post yesterday because the bird didn't come around, but today he's back! I hope these pictures can help confirm what's wrong. I agree that it's string around his toes. It seems difficult to catch him, he will come in quite close to my window (more than any other bird ever does) but he still bolts if I move closer toward him. I called the Wild Bird Foundation, and they told me how to try to catch him, which I will continue to do, and then bring him in. Thank you all for your help, I will let you know how he's doing.

 

[Charis]

The string is very obvious in the first picture. Poor thing. If the string isn't removed he will loose his foot.

 

[jenfer]

It looks like there's string around two toes? (I can't see the third; the back toe looks clear in the second photo.) Those two toes will eventually fall off if the string isn't removed. They can still do well without toes, but it's good to remove the string whenever you can. It doesn't look so bad to me that he can't be treated and released, probably even the same day.

 

[TAWhatley]

Thank you for the photos, Lisa. They are very helpful. I'm glad you got in touch with the Wild Bird Fund.

I apologize for the somewhat vitriolic posts in your thread on behalf of myself, Cyro51 and Jenfer. We three ladies will resolve our "issues" privately and will not continue to cause problems here by sniping at each other in your thread. It's the bird that's important in the end, and it sounds like you are putting first things first as you should be.

Please do keep us posted about this bird. Best of luck with him/her and thank you again for your concern.

I'll be looking forward to a happy ending when all is over and done.

Terry

 

[jenfer]

I don't see any vitriol here, Terry, nor do I see sniping. What I do see is members offering a differing point of view from each other not for the sake of arguing but in an attempt to address the question of *what's best for the bird at this moment in time*. It seems like you might be taking my responses personally, when they are not meant that way.

To me, this is what a discussion forum is all about--getting different perspectives on a situation and collecting information from various sources so one can make decisions one feels comfortable with. Otherwise, we might as well just query individual users or just have one person responding to a thread, no? (I'm not saying this to be obnoxious--this is a serious question.)

Jennifer

 

[Lisa Barnhart]

Thanks again to all who responded (and no need to apologize, you are all very caring people, I take all comments as coming from concern). Today, after trying all day to catch her yesterday, I called the WBF again. That's how I found out the pigeon is female, the WBF person said the females sit on the nest during the night, and go out to eat between 9 AM and 4 PM, and that's when I see her. I will keep trying to catch her, I was told to try to lure her into the house, then toss a sweatshirt over her and put her in a box. One problem is that when I practice (using a rolled up towel) I have to use one hand to close the box. And though I can coax her to the window sill with food, and she very nearly comes in, she won't stay still once I moved to toss the sweatshirt. I think she's on to me. So, any suggestions at all are welcome!! And thanks again for all your help!

 

[Whitefeather]

Thanks again to all who responded (and no need to apologize, you are all very caring people, I take all comments as coming from concern). Today, after trying all day to catch her yesterday, I called the WBF again. That's how I found out the pigeon is female, the WBF person said the females sit on the nest during the night, and go out to eat between 9 AM and 4 PM, and that's when I see her. I will keep trying to catch her, I was told to try to lure her into the house, then toss a sweatshirt over her and put her in a box. One problem is that when I practice (using a rolled up towel) I have to use one hand to close the box. And though I can coax her to the window sill with food, and she very nearly comes in, she won't stay still once I moved to toss the sweatshirt.

* I think she's on to me.

So, any suggestions at all are welcome!! And thanks again for all your help!

It doesn't take them long to figure that out.

I would suggest just keep feeding her and hope that she puts her guard down long enough for you to intervene.
BUT as has been stated, a first failed attempt may (I'm not saying it will) result in her not coming back.
So do your best at making sure your first attempt is successful.

Thanks for the update and for looking after this sweet pij.

Cindy

 

[Charis]

I think that luring her into your apartment, with food and water is the best idea. That was, if you get her inside, you can close the window. To pick her up inside, you don't need to use a towel because that will make it easier for her to slip out and get away...just use your hands.
See if you have a neighbor or friend that has a small animal kennel you can put her in...the kind you take a cat to the vet in. That would be easier and more secure than a box.

It's also important to tell you to stay in touch with your gut feelings, on this capture. Stay calm and focused because if you go for her and your gut says ...don't...there will be failure.
I think you will get her.

 

[jenfer]

Lisa, what's your feeding situation like? Do you have a fire escape that they (pigeons) are eating on? Getting her to come into the house might work, but to prevent her from flying right out again, you'd need to be quick to close the window, and then once she's inside, you'd have to catch her, and unless you have a net, that is very hard to do in a big open space when it's still day.

It might be easier to try on the ground near your apartment. If you want more details on how I catch pigeons this way, please send me an email, as I'm leery of posting too much information on a public forum.

As an aside, I don't think the 9 am - 4 pm is a hard-and-fast rule. In my flocks, I've sometimes observed the opposite (male out during day; female out in late afternoon/evening).

Jennifer