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(Sad Update) Do you think this nestling/fledgling pigeon can/should be saved?

Buzzard

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I have already tried one vet (knew it was a long shot, they wouldn't see it and said the local refuge wouldn't treat 'pest' birds) and have messages out to the nearest wildlife center that MickaCoo recommended as possibly taking pigeons. Just want to know any opinions or advice as I likely won't hear from anyone around here until at least tomorrow.

The pigeon might be a fledgling? It has a lot of adult feathers, but not all. I found it on the ground. I do not think it's parents were still cvaring for it because it is emaciated. Feathers and bones. I couldn't have left him anyway because he was in front of a busy business and they were going to kill him with a pressure washer :(.

I thought he had a broken leg at first, but then thought maybe it was just a really terrible splay. I took him to my mothers' house (the emergency vet is very near her, so we were already driving him past her house, I wasn't just touring with the poor thing). She has some experience with splay leg babies, and she looked at his leg a little and said she thought it looked like a splay leg with a hip deformity as well. She's not a vet, but she has had a lot of hands-on baby bird experience in the past.

The leg in question isn't held to the side like the splays I've seen, it is held almost parallel to his body towards his tail, and the pad of his foot faces up. When I went to pick him up he had a flopping way of moving but didn't seem to try to bear weight on his good leg or flap his wings at all. When my mom looked at him, he gripped with both feet separately but she said he didn't grip well with either one. I haven't looked at him much or tried to feed or water him yet because I don't want to put him into shock. He's so, so thin though...

Does it sound like he can be helped? Does it sound like euthanasia at the refuge would be the kindest option with his troubles? I know it's pretty impossible to say from just a description online. I'm just so anxious waiting to hear back from the wildlife place. I love pigeons.
 

Buzzard

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Should I attempt to feed or water or wait for the wildlife place people?
 

iamwhoiam

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Not seeing the bird, of course, it's hard to say. However, if the pigeon survives and has limited use of legs and feet, would you consider keeping it? Are you comfortable/do you know how to handfeed? I found a sparrow, @ 1 day old, and removed it from the driveway to where I live and put it to the side. Waited for mom or dad to come and collect it but that never happened so I took it in. Had experience handfeeding parrots but not a sparrow so found a recipe online. About 3 days after I found him I noticed that one of his legs was growing straight up. Took him to my avian vet and the recommendation was to euthanize. Called my holistic vet and took him over there and his recommendation was not to euthanize. He told me that the leg would never be right but he would splint it so it would grow back instead of up. That leg was never useable and, as he got older, it was obvious that the other leg was very weak so that he could not perch. However he could use the foot on the better leg to grab on to things such as edges of feed dishes and cage bars to pull himself up. He either broke both legs when he landed on the ground after falling out of the nest or maybe his parents threw him out because they knew something was wrong. I am telling you this story because, IMHO, one can not be sure what to do even with advice from a vet or other knowledgeable professionals. I just went with my gut and decided to give it a try rather than having him euthanized. I'm glad I chose not to follow vet #1's advice because "Spee", the sparrow celebrated his 5th birthday this past July. He is a wonderful addition to my flock and I have to say that I adore him. :heart: I don't know where you live in California but there was a woman who rescues pigeons in So. California. Several years ago I brought her a young pigeon I found walking down the middle of a busy street. Don't know if she is still around but if you are in the So. Calif. area I can try to find her again and post that information.
Best of luck.
 
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Buzzard

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Not seeing the bird, of course, it's hard to say. However, if the pigeon survives and has limited use of legs and feet, would you consider keeping it? Are you comfortable/do you know how to handfeed? I found a sparrow, @ 1 day old, and removed it from the driveway to where I live and put it to the side. Waited for mom or dad to come and collect it but that never happened so I took it in. Had experience handfeeding parrots but not a sparrow so found a recipe online. About 3 days after I found him I noticed that one of his legs was growing straight up. Took him to my avian vet and the recommendation was to euthanize. Called my holistic vet and took him over there and his recommendation was not to euthanize. He told me that the leg would never be right but he would splint it so it would grow back instead of up. That leg was never useable and, as he got older it was obvious that the other leg was also weak so that he could not perch. However he could use the foot on the better leg to grab on to things such as edges of feed dishes and cage bars to pull himself up. He either broke both legs when he landed on the ground after falling out of the nest or maybe his parents threw him out because they knew something was wrong. I am telling you this story because, IMHO, one can not be sure what to do even with advice from a vet or other knowledgeable professionals. I just went with my gut and decided to give it a try rather than having him euthanized. I'm glad I chose not to follow vet #1's advice because "Spee", the sparrow celebrated his 5th birthday this past July. He is a wonderful addition to my flock and I have to say that I adore him. :heart: I don't know where you live in California but there was a woman who rescues pigeons in So. California. Several years ago I brought her a young pigeon I found walking down the middle of a busy street. Don't know if she is still around but if you are in the So. Calif. area I can check for you.
Best of luck.

I am pretty far north in California. The place I've left messages with is in Sacramento. If I was reasonably certain the bird could have some quality of life and contentment I would be willing to keep him.

I have no experience hand-feeding at all.
 

Buzzard

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It was suggested I dip the tip of his beak into water with a tiny bit of salt and a tiny bit of sugar in it. I did and he greedily drank about a teaspoon before I stopped him because he was drinking so fast little bubbles were at his nostrils. I didn't want him to aspirate it. He frantically 'nibbles' at my fingers but doesn't really open his beak. Had my husband take two quick cell pictures I'll add in a second. The bird apparently can pull the leg more towards his side and rotate it some. It looked a little less severe but still like a terrible flayed leg.
 

Buzzard

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Sorry for the really bad shots, I was hoping it would show plumage better so people could try to guess at his age. Shot of the leg still loading. These were taken right before he drank.
 

iamwhoiam

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So you're not near Mickacoo? Here is a link to Pigeon-Talk forum. Maybe someone there can advise you or give you other resources to contact.

Pigeon Talk
 

Buzzard

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So you're not near Mickacoo? Here is a link to Pigeon-Talk forum. Maybe someone there can advise you or give you other resources to contact.

Pigeon Talk
MickaCoo is about four, four and a half hours away from me. Not impossibly far but I was hoping to contact one of the places they listed for feral pigeons that was a little closer.

EDIT: Just posted this to the other forum, thanks.
 

Buzzard

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Doesn't show it well, but it gives you an idea. This is after he pulled his leg to the side and rotated his foot in response to my picking him up to drink.

Really wished I had better pictures. Just quick ones he took while I was letting him drink.
 
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Birdbabe

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Do you have a small glass bottle that you can stretch vet wrap over? Fill the bottle with formula and punch a hole in the vetwrap, then stick his beak into the hole, he should be able to "suck" the food through, but still be careful hes probably starving and will gobble very fast. Thank you for helping him.:hug8: and yes, Pigeon talk is great, theres links on how to feed a baby pidge. Good luck.
 

Buzzard

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Just saw a video of something similar... do I need to be careful about him getting food/water in his nostrils?
 

Buzzard

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He drank a second time. He passed some waste. Urates only, no hint of brown poo at all. I hope he can pull through this.
 

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iamwhoiam

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It's great that you are trying to help him/her. I hope that you got good advice over at Pigeon Talk and that things go well. As per the previous post, warmth is important, but how warm is it up north right now? Does the bird feel warm? Is it feathered out? You want to be careful not to overheat him/her. Also be sure to keep the pigeon apart from your other birds and wash really well after handling him.
 

Buzzard

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I did get some good advice over there, thanks so much! Letting him drink a few times to rehydrate before feeding. The room he is in is pretty warm, and we've been rotating rice and bean socks. He keeps moving away from the sock, and feels warm to me. He has a lot of adult feathers, but isn't in complete adult plumage. The pigeon forum suggested trying a small meal of mushy peas tonight, and I am going to get some Kaytee formula tomorrow if it looks like he'll be with me for a bit. It was reassuring to see someone there with a beautiful adult bird with a leg that looked a lot like his, that was otherwise healthy and happy. I'm going to work on him tonight and check back in there tomorrow. Hopefully I can get some answers on whether anything can be done for his leg/hip from a local professional.

Edit: Other birds are not a concern, we only have a few chickens outside and no companion birds. We were re-learning the ropes and waiting until my kids were a bit older.
 
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Dani

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So glad you're helping this little one! :hug8: Please keep us updated with your progress, GOOD LUCK! :)
 

Buzzard

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I'm sorry. I think the starvation was just too far gone. He ate a little for me once, but around dawn he died. I hope he at least suffered less than he would have from the pressure washer. :(
 

JosienBB

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I'm so sorry :sadhug2:

Thank you for helping this guy out. You did your best.
 
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