Hi all,
Thank you very much for your welcome here. I knew nothing about pigeons until last Thursday, when could not resist to retrieve a drowning pigeon--just about expired--from fast-streaming water running along the sidewalk, the result of heavy rains we were having here in New York.
Every day since, this pigeon--he or she looks like a teenager--has improved rapidly. At first let's say he was clearly completely traumatized. Pooping everywhere and appearing very distressed.
But that state receded rather rapidly. Now he explores my apartment at ease, is constantly pruning himself, is eating like a horse, explores my apartment, and looks altogether happy.
At first he had a lot of those "star-gazing" head movements, leading me to believe he might be suffering from that PMV infection often mentioned in connection with pigeons. But that too is becoming rather infrequent now. On the other hand, his balance appears fine--he often stands on one leg--and his aim when picking up food is perfect.
He has not attempted to fly, although he's been exercising his wings.
He sleeps a lot still.
My question to the forum is threefold:
1) How do I judge when a rescued pigeon is ready to return to his friends or wife?
2) What is the best way to do that? While he likes to sit near where I am, he doesn't like to be picked up so I'm hesitant to try. (When he was really sick he was ok with that, by the way.)
3) Right now he's eating songbird seed and loving it. I do add some minced tabbouleh and minced carrots. Should he be having anything else? Originally he appeared to like electrolyte-reinforced water--I figured he must have been completely dehydrated--but now prefers plain water. And although it is a large pan, he does not seem to want to bathe. This puzzles me as I read that pigeons like to do that. As an aside, his poop now seems normal to my untrained eyes. At first it was very watery and very frequent.
As a newcomer to this I would be grateful for any advice you may have. I add a "before" and "after" picture. The "after" one is from when he attempted to play with a little rainbow refracting through a glass vase near my window.
Kind regards,
Michiel Kappeyne
Thank you very much for your welcome here. I knew nothing about pigeons until last Thursday, when could not resist to retrieve a drowning pigeon--just about expired--from fast-streaming water running along the sidewalk, the result of heavy rains we were having here in New York.
Every day since, this pigeon--he or she looks like a teenager--has improved rapidly. At first let's say he was clearly completely traumatized. Pooping everywhere and appearing very distressed.
But that state receded rather rapidly. Now he explores my apartment at ease, is constantly pruning himself, is eating like a horse, explores my apartment, and looks altogether happy.
At first he had a lot of those "star-gazing" head movements, leading me to believe he might be suffering from that PMV infection often mentioned in connection with pigeons. But that too is becoming rather infrequent now. On the other hand, his balance appears fine--he often stands on one leg--and his aim when picking up food is perfect.
He has not attempted to fly, although he's been exercising his wings.
He sleeps a lot still.
My question to the forum is threefold:
1) How do I judge when a rescued pigeon is ready to return to his friends or wife?
2) What is the best way to do that? While he likes to sit near where I am, he doesn't like to be picked up so I'm hesitant to try. (When he was really sick he was ok with that, by the way.)
3) Right now he's eating songbird seed and loving it. I do add some minced tabbouleh and minced carrots. Should he be having anything else? Originally he appeared to like electrolyte-reinforced water--I figured he must have been completely dehydrated--but now prefers plain water. And although it is a large pan, he does not seem to want to bathe. This puzzles me as I read that pigeons like to do that. As an aside, his poop now seems normal to my untrained eyes. At first it was very watery and very frequent.
As a newcomer to this I would be grateful for any advice you may have. I add a "before" and "after" picture. The "after" one is from when he attempted to play with a little rainbow refracting through a glass vase near my window.
Kind regards,
Michiel Kappeyne
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