# Injured Pigeon, what to do??



## Hobgoblin (Apr 13, 2007)

As stated int he title I have found a pigeon, it seems ok apart form it has a few feathers missing in its wings and just cant fly...I found it at the edge of the road and just couldnt leave it there to die......does anyone have any suggestions wot to do, the RSPCA is closed today ....hummnnnn gotta work something out.....


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## dieselp (Aug 27, 2009)

the rspca prob won't do anything.
round my way they are pests (lots of farms), if it did get better and released it would more then likly get shot.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

The RSPCA won't do anything because pigeons are classed as vermin and so pts regardless of what their injuries are!

Any chance you can hold onto it and flight test it tomorrow? It might just be a bit shocked and bruised and by tomorrow it might be able to manage flying?


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## Wirral Exotic Suppliers (Jun 2, 2009)

The RSPCA collected a pigen form me a few months back :2thumb:


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## dieselp (Aug 27, 2009)

Wirral Exotic Suppliers said:


> The RSPCA collected a pigen form me a few months back :2thumb:


.
and more then likly pu it down.


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## RattehChickidee (Sep 17, 2009)

Hi there,
Earlier this year my flatmate found a startled wood pigeon and brought it home. They laid some newspaper/cardboard down, put a washing basket with a towel over it as a temp cage, leaving it in a quiet room with bread and water in with it. They kept an eye on it every hour or so and made sure it was away from all the other animals in the house to ensure it wasn't startled further. It was here for a few days, it eventually started to perk up abit and was later released into the back garden to ensure it was capable of flying up to the trees. If it wasn't they'd have kept it that little bit longer.


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## Malti (Sep 17, 2009)

pigeons make good broth...


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

dieselp said:


> .
> and more then likly pu it down.


Yup! I bet they did. 

Of course they wouldn't have told you that cos they would be hoping you'd give them a donation!! :bash:


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## Wirral Exotic Suppliers (Jun 2, 2009)

No i never gave a donation thank god lol and to be fair as you said its vermin so not to fussed just i didnt want to see an animals die or suffer :2thumb: regards zach


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## PythonPaul (Dec 21, 2008)

It depends on the kind of pigeon it is. Does it have any ID rings on its leg ?


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## dieselp (Aug 27, 2009)

PythonPaul said:


> It depends on the kind of pigeon it is. Does it have any ID rings on its leg ?


 good point, racers are worth a fortune, and will be missed.


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## Reptile-newb (Jul 13, 2009)

I must be racist to pigeons or something, because I would help an injured wood pigeon, but not an injured feral pigeon lol, because I think feral pigeons are more dirty for some wierd reason.


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## Pimperella (Sep 26, 2006)

Some racers are worth a fortune. A hell of a lot more are not. 
However if it has rings on it's legs, by law it will also have a stamp on the underside of it's wing with name of owner and tel number, this is law with the pigeon racing club.

I found a ringed pidgeon in manchester town centre. Brought her home, contacted the pidgeon racing club and gave ring number. they gave contact details of owner but they will also write to the owner aswell.

I phoned the owner. Never thought of checking underwing on feathers for the tel number stamped on. 
Owner came and was so grateful to have the young bird back as it was her first time out and a police helicoptor went over and startled them.


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## SilverSteno (Feb 12, 2006)

Can it not fly at all or can it fly with difficulty? It may be in moult as it's the time of year for that.


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## skink-king (Sep 2, 2009)

in my eyes they are vermin and if it was me i would buy a pellet gun and shoot in in the back of the head but that's just me


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## naz_pixie (Oct 6, 2008)

hiya i worked at larrge bird rescue for many years and have rescued alot of pidgeons so if this hasnt been sorted yet feel free to PM me. rather than me posting advice here as you may have sorted it out by now!!

hope you got it sorted x


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## Malti (Sep 17, 2009)

skink-king said:


> in my eyes they are vermin and if it was me i would buy a pellet gun and shoot in in the back of the head but that's just me


well although viewed like vermin, they make good pets, had a pigeon loft with about 300 racers once...


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

skink-king said:


> in my eyes they are vermin and if it was me i would buy a pellet gun and shoot in in the back of the head but that's just me


But if the original poster cared enough about it to pick it up off the road side to KEEP it from getting run over and killed, why would they want to kill it themselves?

Yesterday we were in our local Burger King when a pigeon walked in, and a small boy decided to stand in the doorway shouting "THERE'S A BIRD IN THE SHOP!" Yes, little boy, and because you're blocking the escape route, the poor bird can't leave, either. Predictably, the bird panicked when the kid started banging on the windows - which meant that a member of staff was trying to sort out the bird and get it out of the restaurant.

I felt sorry for the bird when he headed for a window, so I went and caught him and took him back outside. If I didn't care what happened to a *fellow living thing*, I'd have let the BK staffer whack him with a broom or kick him. If he'd been a wild rat, I'd have done the same thing - catch him if possible and put him outside.

It's not THEIR fault we force them to live that way.

Does the pigeon feel at all thin (knifelike breastbone) to you? I've had some success rehabilitating pigeons - they seem to cope relatively well with being captive as long as you keep them in a quiet room and feed them up.


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## Hobgoblin (Apr 13, 2007)

Ssthisto said:


> But if the original poster cared enough about it to pick it up off the road side to KEEP it from getting run over and killed, why would they want to kill it themselves?
> 
> Yesterday we were in our local Burger King when a pigeon walked in, and a small boy decided to stand in the doorway shouting "THERE'S A BIRD IN THE SHOP!" Yes, little boy, and because you're blocking the escape route, the poor bird can't leave, either. Predictably, the bird panicked when the kid started banging on the windows - which meant that a member of staff was trying to sort out the bird and get it out of the restaurant.
> 
> ...


I think this response and Pixies offer of help have been useful.....my apologies if I have missed anyone else who has genuinely tried to help.....

I was of course weary when i bought the bird into my house and people can stick to thier opinions of them being vermin etc.......I dont care either way......Its not the pidgeons fault that its a pidgeon and some people consider some of our exotic pets wiered and disgusting......at the end of the day its an animal and judging by where it was and its condition i think it might have just escaped form an accident with a car or something....

As far as its condition it seems very healthy not skinny or anything but it is just unable to fly.......

I have a heck of alot going on in my life at the moment...I just lost my beleoved pet this weekend, im loosing my house and im loosing my job at the end of the week........but im not going to give up on something that I found and turn a blind eye...it might be an option for others...just not me...Im not veen that keen on pidgeons but because its an animal i think it deserves the same respect as anything else......and i just want to give it a chance rather than let it end up as roadkill......

It has been in a vivarium type tank with newspaper in the bottom and i gave it some water and worms yesterday....it didnt eat them...so im gonna try some bread and other stuff......

I might call the RSPCA tommorow and tel them they wont get a donation from me but they can choose to take it or i will try and nurture it till i move or something (i might have to look for a wildlife sanctuary or something) ....

Pixie Im gonna msg you too so i can sse what all my options are.....


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## emasmad (May 30, 2009)

shoot it if it aint a racer they are a pest n spread dieseases


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## connor 1213 (Apr 6, 2009)

emasmad said:


> shoot it if it aint a racer they are a pest n spread dieseases


:gasp:


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## dunny1 (Feb 2, 2009)

*pigeon*

feed it to ur boa if u got 1 lol.x


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

emasmad said:


> shoot it if it aint a racer they are a pest n spread dieseases





dunny1 said:


> feed it to ur boa if u got 1 lol.x


What is it with people?

If the original poster wanted to *kill *it, surely the pigeon would just have been left next to the road! The simple fact is that Hobgoblin brought the bird home out of a desire to *help *it, not to kill it.

Incidentally I would never feed a wild pigeon, rat or mouse to one of my snakes - you don't know whether it's eaten anything poisonous.

Hobgoblin: The bird might go for something like well cooled porridge oats with plenty of water in (so they don't swell in the bird's gut) and possibly just a touch of olive or sunflower oil stirred in for energy.


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## gazz (Dec 9, 2006)

emasmad said:


> shoot it if it aint a racer they are a pest n spread dieseases



*All wild birds have the potential to pass on diseases to other birds and to human beings but the chances of this happening are a million to one, certainly in the case of human beings.Pigeons are no more likely to transmit diseases to human beings than any other species of wild bird.*
*Save The Trafalgar Square Pigeons - Pigeons and disease*

It's media hype about them being dieseases ridden.Yes they possible do but so do likly half the cute birds at the bird table.The city officals don't want them nesting and roosting'etc on there biuldings.City officals want you to beleave the hype coz it stops people feeding them and that less people will make a issues about them being popped off if there considered dirty.The pest inderstry what you to beleave the hype coz simply it's all good to them.After all they'll get rid of your problem for a price.


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## diamondlil (May 7, 2008)

Instead of bread you can maybe get a small bag of pigeon mix at your local petshop? Soaked crumbled wholemeal bread or porridge made with wated is good too. I've rehabbed a few feral pigeons as well as squabs that have rallen off ledges, I love pigeons!
I've still got the thankyou letter from the breder who's racer knocked herself out flying into a window at the hospital a few years ago.
Ignore the people telling you to just kill the pigeon, feral birds have a hard enough time in life without the bad press they get


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## Malti (Sep 17, 2009)

actually pigeons thrive on all cereals, mine had a base diet of maize, then I added peas, beans, etc


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## skink-king (Sep 2, 2009)

tbh shooting it is a human way of getting rid of it if it cant fly it will die in the wild so it would be best to kill it and save all the suffering


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## Nebbz (Jan 27, 2008)

rspca will put it down, i had one and thats what the vets told me, best thing is to get in touch with a local wild life centre, they will usually try to help it, but dependant on its condition they may have to pts 

good luck though!! : victory:


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## amylovesreptiles (Apr 22, 2009)

skink-king said:


> in my eyes they are vermin and if it was me i would buy a pellet gun and shoot in in the back of the head but that's just me


 
awwwwww  !


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

skink-king said:


> tbh shooting it is a human way of getting rid of it if it cant fly it will die in the wild so it would be best to kill it and save all the suffering


But surely, for the moment, the OP doesn't *know* that it won't be able to fly? It might have only minor injuries and maybe able to fly once it gets over its injuries.

That was was the point of the thread!!


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## sarahc (Jan 7, 2009)

*human pests*

the only thing I've ever caught has been off other humans


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

skink-king said:


> tbh shooting it is a human way of getting rid of it if it cant fly it will die in the wild so it would be best to kill it and save all the suffering


But until one has kept it for a while - and had it to a vet if there's no obvious reason (like missing wing feathers) for the inability to fly - one doesn't know whether it isn't flying because it's in shock or because it's sick or because it's weak from lack of food.

Pig - the pigeon who spent a while in my dining room - couldn't fly because her wing and tail feathers had been cut. Should I have killed her when "making sure she could fly" only took the time it took for the feathers to grow back?


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## dunny1 (Feb 2, 2009)

*holly shiz*

this is a pretty funny site along with alot of the other rep forums tell me whats with these sites please???????? u make a joke not meaning go feed it to your snake i put lol at the end.then you get all the serious ones coming on saying oh you cant do that im sure if he wanted to he would have.then the ones saying oh you cant feed wild animals to your snakes yeah i know all of this.IT WAS A JOKE FOLKS. where is the sense of humour on these forums?????? its the same on them all c'mon peeps laugh:lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2:


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## MissHayho (Mar 17, 2007)

awwwwww i would keep it a while and try to feed it and give it the chance to re-grow its feathers, it may be in shock hense why it is not flying....?


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## hullhunter (Apr 19, 2009)

keep it walm and safe give it plenty of food and water then when its nice and fat try this..
*Pigeon Pie*











*ingredients*

serves 1 - 3 
 5 fl oz (150 ml) red wine
2 tab!espoons (30 ml) port
6 juniper berries, crushed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetabie oil
1 wood pigeon
1 oz (25 g) butter
1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetabie oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 rashers streaky bacon, rinds removed, chopped
12 oz (350 g) chuck steak, trimmed and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes
6 oz (175 g) flat mushrooms, thickly sliced
few sprigs of parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
12 oz (350 g) shortcrust pastry


*method*

1. Mix together wine, port, juniper berries and oil for the marinade and season with freshly ground black pepper. Remove breasts from the pigeons and cut into large pieces. Put into a non-metallic dish, pour over the marinade, cover. Leave in fridge overnight.

2. Melt the butter and oil in a frying pan, add the onion and bacon and fry gently for 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, reserve.

3. Remove pigeon from the marinade, drain. Reserve marinade. Increase heat and fry the pigeon and the steak in batches, sealing on all sides.

4. Put the pigeon, steak, onion and bacon into a 2 pint (1.25 litre) pie dish and top with the mushrooms. Sprinkle with herbs, pour over the reserved marinade.

5. Roll out the pastry to 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick, put a pie funnel into the dish. Cut a 1/2 inch (1 cm) strip of pastry and place around the edge of the dish. Brush with water and top with the remaining pastry. Use the pastry trimmings to decorate the top of the pie. 

6. Bake at Mark 4 (180°C) 350°F for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to Mark 2 (150°C) 300°F and cook for a further 1 1/2 hours. Cover the pastry with foil if it browns too much during cooking. 


or try it with a bit of rabbit and phesant with the pigeon


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## sarahc (Jan 7, 2009)

*why not seven juniper berries?*



hullhunter said:


> keep it walm and safe give it plenty of food and water then when its nice and fat try this..
> *Pigeon pie*
> 
> *bloody hell, Im never rescuing another one if I've got to go to all that trouble.*


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## darloLee (Apr 9, 2009)

yeh bang it in a pie, best place for it :whistling2:


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