I DESPERATELY NEED HELP! I have an exotic homing pigeon... He came to my back door injured.... please! help!?

Question

this morning (10-9-07) my exotic black and white homing pigeon came to my sliding glass door injured! when i opened the door he limped inside & hid in a corner! i found two spots of blood where i think it is the spot he got hurt.... i think one of his feet are broken, cause he is limping.... the leg works fine... but not the foot... and then he just sits there.... only breathing..... i saw his mate flying around earlier... but she just dissapeared... i can't find her now!


PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!! HELP! I AM ONLY 13..... I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO! AND I DONT WANT MY PIGEON TO DIE!!!!!!

im only 13!! my parents wont be home for 6 hours from now!!!

& he is an exotic pigeon, ppl wouldn't shoot him!!!! he has a crown **little floofy thingy behind his head** & i cant take him to the vet! again! im 13!! my parents wont be home for at least another 6 HOURS!!!

Answer 1

Haha, exotic homing pigeons. There are no "exotic" homing pigeons. In fact, no good homing pigeons have crests (the floofy things on the back of their heads). If it has a crest, it is a mixed breed, no matter what the person who gave it to you said. The reason the other is gone is probably because it's homing ability is poor due to mix breeding and it got lost.
The others that said you should keep them in the coop is right. It is hunting season for doves. Many people have a hatred for pigeons, so they'll kill them to practice for dove hunting. Others may even get confused and think it is a dove they are shooting. A pigeon in the air looks like a pigeon - crested or not. From that distance, the main thing you can see is the color. Since your 'homers' are apparently not full homers, it is even more of a risk letting them out a lot during dove hunting season.

Now to the injury. If it got shot, it isn't going to have a broken foot. If it's foot was shot, it would be gone (the foot I mean). Check all over its body. Lift the feathers around it's breast and sides to check for punctures in the skin. If there are small holes in it's side under the wings, it was attacked by a hawk more than likely. Since it is limping though, it is more likely a cat, rat, dog, or some other ground predator that tried to get a hold of it's feet.
You can take it to the vet if you want, but that costs money, so the easiest thing to do may be to just do what you can at home. I've had plenty of my birds get attacked by anything from rats and snakes to dogs and hawks. I also have two Birmingham Rollers at home in a separate cage right now with limps. What I do for any injured pigeon is first of all, keep it separated from the rest of the flock, including it's mate. Keep it in a cage just big enough for one bird, and make sure there is plenty of food and water available to it at all times. Also, make sure the food and water is close to the bird where it barely even has to move to get to it. If there are any other wounds beside the limp foot, flush them out with water. If there was dirt on the wound before you washed it, you may want to rub a little bit of peroxide on the wound too. Peroxide, as you should know by now, doesn't sting and it works just as well in killing bacteria. You don't need to dress the wounds unless it's wing is broken (in this case, the bird would droop one wing constantly and doesn't want to fly. all you'd need to do is get some medical tape and wrap the wing up.). If it's just a little cut or puncture that was bleeding, it should be fine left alone, as long as you check to make sure it doesn't look like it's getting infected (just flush it out often).
Most people would think about putting a 'cast' or a splint on the bird with a broken leg, but the foot is too much trouble in this case. As long as you don't disturb the bird much unless you have to, and as long as it doesn't need to move much to get food and water, it will heal fine on it's own. Just give it time.
I'm only 14 myself, but I've had pigeons for about 5 years now, not to mention my dad raised champion show West of England Muffed Tumblers (along with many, many other breeds of pigeons) when he was growing up. I know how it feels for one of your favorite ones to come up injured and freak out, but I now know it isn't necessary. My birds have always healed up fine after some pretty horrible incidents with predators. One of my homers even had it's crop ripped open by a hawk! We could see the food clogging up the hole, which was nasty, but I cleaned it up and it healed. Probiotics are a good aid in keeping sickness away during the healing process, but I doubt you have any with out at the moment. Ordering them from Foy's Pigeon Supplies would probably take a while, but ProBios is a good thing to have on hand. Try mixing a bit of light olive oil and garlic powder (not garlic salt, garlic powder) in with your pigeon's food. The oil is to help the garlic stick to the food. You don't need much, in fact you barely need any oil at all - just enough to lightly cover the feed. Garlic is a natural aid to pigeons' health and immune system. It kills over 60 different types of harmful bacteria and keeps the bird looking its best. One thing you really don't want is a sick AND injured bird, so it's good to do what you can to prevent disease.
Just remember the things I told you to do, and it should work out okay. Hope that helped and good luck! :]
- Becky

Oh yeah and I forgot to mention. About the not disturbing it unless you have to: you don't want to bother him much because:
1. Making him move around more out of fear or uneasiness isn't good because it could hurt his foot even more.
2. Distubring him can cause stress, which will make him more likely to get sick, and slow the healing down. Pigeons are very easy to stress out, and it is hard on them. You want your bird to be as comfortable as possible while it is injured.

Okay, that's it now. If you have any pictures of your pigeons I'd love to see them :]
Email me anytime you need any more help with your birds.

Answer 2

Since you don't know the extent of the injuries, you should not try home remedies in place of professional help.

You may have to get your mom or dad, on another older relative to give you and your pigeon a ride to the vet. If you can't afford much, ask the vet if payments can be made. From reading your post, I gather that this pigeon is not just a hobby, but a loved pet too. You need to get it to a vet.

Answer 3

You need to get your bird to an Avian Vet as soon as possible. In the meantime, do as a previous poster said and get your bird some heat such as a heating pad or a hot water bottle.
Try to find his mate and bring her inside. It sounds like you have a predator in the neighborhood such as a cat or a hawk. This is indicated by the fact that you have both bleeding and non bleeding injuries, which are sustained when a bird is being held forcefully.
I know of no state that has a hunting season for pigeons, and hunters do NOT simply blast at every bird in the sky. So unless you have heard gunfire in the area , I wouldn't worry about "Hunting Season!"

If you have any Chamomile tea, it would help to calm the bird.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Having bred chickens, quail and pigeons professionally, I can assist you:

You need to call around to your local pet/feed stores until you locate one who carries Terramaycen which is a powdered antibiotic used for swine and cattle. It is about $8.00 for a bag that contains about 1 cup so it will last you a long time if you keep it sealed and which you can use for your other pets should they need antibiotics. (This will prevent the wounds from getting infected.)

Add a tiny pinch to your bird's water to make it turn slightly yellow. Change the water each day, doing the same for 3 weeks. This will prevent infection.

For now, put your bird into a cardboard box and cover the top with a towel, leaving 1/2 inch gap on the edge to allow air to circulate.

If your dad has a drop light, put in a low wattage bulb and hang in the box to warm your bird. (Bird's who have lost blood have a hard time keeping warm.)

If your bird is still bleeding, apply powdered sugar or corn starch to the wounds to make them stop bleeding. After the bleeding has stopped, put some hydrogen peroxide into a spray bottle and squirt the wounds with it, repeating until the bubbling stops. Do this every several hours until there is no more bubbling. Do NOT continue to do this after the 2nd day or you can burn the wound that is trying to heal!

Add a generous amount of uncooked Quaker Old Fashioned Oats to your birds food, making certain to keep the water and food as far apart as possible.

Keep a close eye on your bird so it doesn't get too hot. As it appears to get better, gradually open the gap so more cool air can come in then remove the drop light. If you don't have one, you can put a jar filled with VERY hot water in there with a lid screwed on tight and which you will change when the water cools down. You can also use a heating pad.

Answer 5

It was the pigeons fault, not yours. The mirror is another thing... to ward off the 7 years bad luck you must do these 2 things.... 1- Take a piece of the glass from the mirror, and carry it with you for the full 7 years. 2- When the time is up, and nothing terrible has happened to you....throw it away and have a good laugh. DRIVE SAFELY IN YOUR NEW CAR & CONGRATULATIONS

Answer 6

Get your baby to the vet immediately!! It sounds like he may have fallen victim to a hawk or some other predator. Have your parent take you and him to the vet as soon as possible.

In the mean time, if he is actively bleeding, get some sterile guaze and put it on the source of the bleed and apply a bit of pressure for about 10 minutes to try to stop the bleeding. Make sure you don't press in a way to put pressure on his injured leg. If he's bleeding on his belly, be sure you don't press too hard as birds need to physically move their bellies in order to breathe. Also, make a hospital cage for him. You can do this a couple of ways. The best thing to use is a large plastic bin (something like reptiles are kept in) or even a storage box, minus the lid - just use a large towel over the top to keep it dark in there. You need to keep the bottom warm by either placing a heating bad underneath the box on the outside or putting warm-hot water bottles on the inside bottom and laying a towel over them so your baby isn't getting too much heat directly. You'll have to change the bottles when they start to cool down so using a heating pad outside the cage is usually best. Alternatively, you can keep him in a bathroom and run your shower on HOT for a few minutes so the room is nice and warm and steamy. Just be sure that before you take him out of the bathroom, open the door and allow the bathroom to return to normal room tempurature... otherwise taking him from hot and steamy to normal room temp might give him a chill.

Just make sure he stays warm but not too warm.

Put a small (so small that there is no danger of him falling and drowning in it should he not be able to right himself) bowl of water and some food within his reach.

Try to move him as little as possible. Keep him warm, dark and quiet.

If you have the materials, make a rice bag. This is a great thing my mother makes for our whole family which acts like a most heating pad. Even if you don't have things on hand to do this now, it's great to make one for the future (for you or your bird.. it works great on aches and pains but can be used for your bird for moist heat. Here's how to make one:

Materials: large hand towel (not a wash cloth, larger), brown rice (couple bags), needle and thread.

Fold the towel in half and sew two of the sides closed. Pour the brown rice into the open end of the towel and fill it about half way. Sew the open side shut and viola, you have yourself a moist heating source. To heat it up, place it in the microwave for about 2 minutes. If you use it for a bird, be sure to place it in the bottom of the cage underneath a couple of towels to assure it doesn't give off too much heat to the bird. These things will be hot when you first take them out of the microwave, so be careful.

As long as you keep the rice bag clean, you'll be able to reuse it many times.

I wish you and your baby the very best of luck and hope everything turns out well.

Answer 7

its hunting season. keep your birds in while this season is in effect. take your boy to a vet for birds. try and get your female in if you can find her

wow a thumbs down for telling a person to take their injured pet to the vet. what should we tell her? don't worry about it and just let your bird bleed to death? come on people just because it isn't YOUR answer, that doesn't mean its a bad answer

John P: oh and while there is no season for homing pigeons, there is one for mourning doves which look a lot alike. so i can see where someone might mistake a pigeon for a dove. also I'm sure the birds fly all over the place, so you wouldn't necessarily HEAR the gun fire.

Answer 8

Call the vet and explain the situtation and see if there are any home remedies you can administer.

Answer 9

Place the Bird in a carboard box, keep it somewhere warm and quiet, and soon as you can, get your parent to take it to the vets soon as possible.

Answer 10

Go to this link (Audubon Society) and select your State and call. They may be able to help!
http://www.audubon.org/states/index.php