Okay, so on my way home tonight I came across a cat messing with a pidgeon. I chased the cat off and thought that was the end of it, but the bird has a broken wing and an injured leg. Right now I have it outside in a box, with a sheet covering the box to keep wind out. My question is, what the HELL do I do now? I thought I’d call the animal shelter in the A.M., but what can I do in the meantime besides handle it as little as possible and make sure it isn’t trying to beat its way out of the box?
I rescued a baby bird that somehow fell from a nest above where my car was parked, and landed in my windshield wiper area. I put it in a little box without touching it. I used paper towels. I put a small container of water in there. Returned it to its nest using paper towels. The mother accepted it back, so I guess I didn’t contaminate it.
Would it be possible to take the pigeon to a vet or wildlife rehab? Cat saliva contains bacteria that can be fatal to birds (even humans can develop serious infections from it), so it might need some treatment beyond just repairing the broken bones. Bless you for being so compassionate and caring about that poor little bird.
I’m pretty sure the cat tore a gash in its leg, so the saliva thing has me worried. Another website I found suggests rinsing the wound with water, but birds are so delicate I’m scared I’ll hurt him, you know?
I’ve found a few local wildlife rehab centers online, but so far no office hours. Hopefully someone will answer when I call in the morning!
If shelters aren’t much help, call your local agriculture extension office or whoever else is in charge of 4-H clubs in the area (I see you’re in Kansas, so you’re probably in good shape there.) If there’s a pigeon-centric club in your area, they can put you in touch with them. A breeder or anyone who raises pigeons in a small way can probably help you.
I took this route once when I found a lost homing pigeon in my garage. She was banded, so ag extension was able to get me in touch with someone who could trace the bird’s number. Your bird probably isn’t a lost domestic pigeon, but they can probably help you anyway. Good luck!
Bottle of peroxide…$.99
Plastic squeeze bottle…$2.00
Bread…$1.50
The look on my
cat’s face when
I brought Burt
inside…Priceless
He’s in his box in my bedroom closet (where hopefully my cat will leave him alone), and seems to be doing really well. I’m going to catch a few hours of sleep before work.
I don’t think I can give you any new advice, but I just wanted to say good luck and I hope you both survive this! He’s probably in shock, so a warm house isn’t a bad idea. You may want to be carefull of his bedding and box, though. Wild birds often carry lice and mites and while they’re pretty specis-specific, they might give you a bite while they’re figuring out what you are!
Keep your hair tied up while working with possibly lice-and-other-fun-critters infected wildlife.
Don’t touch yourself after touching pigeon
Wash thoroughly after working with the bird.
Whatever bedding he’s in - either throw it out, or wash in extremely hot water (boiling is not out of the question)
To be honest, though - the lice/mite/etc situation with wild birds is somewhat overblown. Yes, they frequently do have them but they critters seldom jump species.
As far as injuries - a nice, quiet, warm box with a small amount of food or water is excellent until you can get the poor thing to a vet or other person who can render more advanced aid
We have a local bird rescue here where I used to volunteer. We always had pigeons, and what I hate about them is that they peck your hands when you change their food and water. Many of the other birds would complain or flutter around, but only the pigeons would actually lean forward and give me an actual lightning-fast peck.
Your problem is that the rescue place may be shortstaffed over the holiday weekend. However, someone’s gotta be there to feed the critters, so you ought to get a call back. You might also call a vet or two or the humane society to see if they know of which place specifically deals with birds. Places like that on our area tended to have the bird rescue number available to give to people. Otherwise many of them wouldn’t have found us, as we didn’t have the funding to take out huge ads in the yellow pages.
Not all birds recognize bread as food. But at least you’re on the right track - a pet board I post to had a thread about a person in a similar situation as you all distressed because the pigeon was not eating the worms she caught for it…
If you have a wildbird store, a feed store, or a larger pet store near you, you may be able to get hold of some pigeon feed. If not, any general bird seed will do in any emergency.
And the water has to be in a container at least an inch deep.
[animal lover]Good luck with the little guy.[/animal lover]
He’s looking around his box some and most of the sugar water and fresh water are gone, but I can’t tell if he went for the bread. Hopefully that’ll get him through until I can get some bird feed (we don’t keep it around, there’s lots of cats in my neighborhood and I don’t like the idea of a bird buffet in my backyard) or find somewhere to take him.
Now that I’ve gotten a chance to see him in daylight…he’s beyootiful! Kind of a slate grey with green and purple shinies (I was going to say “iridescents” but I’m too tired to tell if it’s spelled right) on his breast and back. Pretty pretty! And, so far, very even-tempered. I’m going to call around to find someone to treat him, and hopefully release him soon.
And may I just say that this board has the most wonderful people on the 'Net? Seriously. You guys are the best! Here’s a chocolate pigeon-shaped Easter bunny and a big ole kiss to each of you! SMACK
I love pigeons. Did you know that male pigeons feed their young? They secrete a kind of milky-stuff that baby pigeons nurse on. And, pigeons mate for life. You might have just saved a family.
I hope Burt is still doing well. Good job keeping him going!
