Flightless mourning dove found

[SniperGoose]

Appears to be healthy, from the pics, the way it's holding it's wings tells me their not broken.
Have you looked to see if it has been shot? Sometimes if the pellets from a shotgun don't hit anything vital, they will recover...could be nerve damage! Idk?
It's too late in the season for them to be nesting, so I don't think it was trying to lure you away from the nest....basically you wouldn't have been able to catch it if that was the situation.
I'm just as puzzled as everybody else!
Hope it recovers from whatever the problem is, keep us updated, please.
ETA scratch grains are fine to feed it. That's their primary diet in the wild. Wheat, milo, corn, soy beans, be sure to have grit, it's very important in their ability to digest the grains.
Also, another after thought. It may have flown into a structure and really dazed it...may take a few days to recover from the collision.

Well, we live on a 550 acre farm, and we don't allow anyone hunting here. On top of that, none of us have shot anything here for a good while now, so I don't think it was shot.
Thank you for the advice! I have grit in there for it as well, so that's taken care of! It could have flown into a building here. We have a few around where it was found, so it's possible. If that's the case, it must have hit it pretty hard. Well, regardless of what may have caused this, I'm hoping with enough rest, it'll recover and be able to fly again. I'll keep you guys updated with any changes!

 

[FishMtFarm]

That is true, mourning doves mate for life. But when a mate dies i beleive its false that they will mourn and suffer and eventually die. They do mate for life but if a mate dies they will remate to another dove.

No they don’t die, but some mourning doves do show signs of acknowledging the loss and will fly to the same spot repeatedly were they lost their mate and even tend to and try to take care of the deceased bird if the body is still present.

 

[TXchickmum]

Hopefully it will regain the ability to fly soon, so it can get back into the wild. That is the very best place! If it is stunned from flying into something, it should recover. If not, the rehabilitator would be the first place to start. If, however, it does not recover, and the rehabilitator won't take it, there's hope! Yes, it is illegal to keep a mourning dove (thus I don't advertise in my signature). That being said, five years ago this past July our neighbor's children found a dove in their yard with a severed wing, bleeding badly. They brought it over, as we have taken injured birds to a local certified wildlife/bird rehabilitator before. We contacted that individual who quizzed us about the wing/extent of injury, and stated that they would not take it due to the fact that it could never be re-released or rehabilitated. She said, "congratulations, you have a dove". (and I told her that was illegal, to which she restated the same thing) She told me what to do to stop the bleeding, and gave me info on housing and feeding. Now, we have a dove that is thriving (and at least somewhere over the age of five). -little thing coos several times a day like clockwork, and feeds morning and evening on the floor of the large cage. -content as it can be. (We have a shallow water dish, a decent sized rock, and a soft flooring lining the cage. -two twig roosts which it seems to enjoy, as well, and where it perches at night. We feed wild dove mix feed -recommended by the rehabilitator- that can be purchased at a pet supply store. -have tiny, tiny grit pebbles in there, too.)

 

[biophiliac]

Hopefully it will regain the ability to fly soon, so it can get back into the wild. That is the very best place! If it is stunned from flying into something, it should recover. If not, the rehabilitator would be the first place to start. If, however, it does not recover, and the rehabilitator won't take it, there's hope! Yes, it is illegal to keep a mourning dove (thus I don't advertise in my signature). That being said, five years ago this past July our neighbor's children found a dove in their yard with a severed wing, bleeding badly. They brought it over, as we have taken injured birds to a local certified wildlife/bird rehabilitator before. We contacted that individual who quizzed us about the wing/extent of injury, and stated that they would not take it due to the fact that it could never be re-released or rehabilitated. She said, "congratulations, you have a dove". (and I told her that was illegal, to which she restated the same thing) She told me what to do to stop the bleeding, and gave me info on housing and feeding. Now, we have a dove that is thriving (and at least somewhere over the age of five). -little thing coos several times a day like clockwork, and feeds morning and evening on the floor of the large cage. -content as it can be. (We have a shallow water dish, a decent sized rock, and a soft flooring lining the cage. -two twig roosts which it seems to enjoy, as well, and where it perches at night. We feed wild dove mix feed -recommended by the rehabilitator- that can be purchased at a pet supply store. -have tiny, tiny grit pebbles in there, too.)

 

[MissChick@dee]

They call them mourning doves because of their call.
Boowhoo boowhoo. Like stop your crying there’s nothing to boo who about.

 

[SniperGoose]

Hopefully it will regain the ability to fly soon, so it can get back into the wild. That is the very best place! If it is stunned from flying into something, it should recover. If not, the rehabilitator would be the first place to start. If, however, it does not recover, and the rehabilitator won't take it, there's hope! Yes, it is illegal to keep a mourning dove (thus I don't advertise in my signature). That being said, five years ago this past July our neighbor's children found a dove in their yard with a severed wing, bleeding badly. They brought it over, as we have taken injured birds to a local certified wildlife/bird rehabilitator before. We contacted that individual who quizzed us about the wing/extent of injury, and stated that they would not take it due to the fact that it could never be re-released or rehabilitated. She said, "congratulations, you have a dove". (and I told her that was illegal, to which she restated the same thing) She told me what to do to stop the bleeding, and gave me info on housing and feeding. Now, we have a dove that is thriving (and at least somewhere over the age of five). -little thing coos several times a day like clockwork, and feeds morning and evening on the floor of the large cage. -content as it can be. (We have a shallow water dish, a decent sized rock, and a soft flooring lining the cage. -two twig roosts which it seems to enjoy, as well, and where it perches at night. We feed wild dove mix feed -recommended by the rehabilitator- that can be purchased at a pet supply store. -have tiny, tiny grit pebbles in there, too.)

I do hope so! That's where it would be happiest I'm sure. I'll give it a little while to relax and see if that helps. If this does go on for too long though and there's no progress, I'll probably look into a rehabilitator to see if they could help her - at the request that if they do, that she's released back here on the farm when she's ready. I suppose if not, then I'll just have to keep her. If that ends up being the case, I'll get her a larger cage more appropriate for a bird that can't fly. I'm glad you were able to give that sweet dove a good home though, and good to hear that it's doing well! Thank you for the advice!

 

[SniperGoose]

Update on the dove!

I covered the cage in a light blanket last night before I went to bed to help make it feel a little more secure. I woke up this morning and uncovered the cage to see that she had eaten all the food I put in there, as well as some grit. She's also drinking now too. So this is definitely a step in the right direction! She still looks very perky and is very observant. Droppings are still normal too. So she's doing very well

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

Glad to hear of her well being

 

[LamarshFish]

I would offer it some time in your cage outdoors, with the cage door open when you think it may be time to let her go. But I would be careful with timing, doves are migratory. I live in SE Michigan and there are still a few around here, last week there was a flock of about 40 in front of my home, so they are certainly flocked up and moving, and since the cold snap hit a few days ago here I haven't seen a single dove.

If doves are anything like pigeons, if this one lost its mate it will have no problem with finding another, given the chance. But, I do have one cock pigeon who lost his mate about a year ago, has not paired with another, and sits in the aviary very often by himself looking around, and he is my only bird who will fly out of the loft without me wanting him to (he flies out over my head when I open the door, and he goes out to the telephone wire or my roof, sits there for about 15 mins, then comes back in. Almost like he's been looking for his mate for over a year....

 

[townchicks]

Sounds like you are doing the right things with this bird. Did you check her keel to see if she is thin? It should be well padded. She may be a young bird that just isn't doing a good job finding it's own meals. A few days rest and good meals may do the trick. Wild bird seed is fine, you can add some safflower seed to it to provide more calories and fat. Doves will mourn a lost mate, but she would still certainly have flown away from you, and will find another mate next year, so I don't think that is the problem. BTW, you can't tell the sex from their color. When I was a kid, my dad rescued a mourning dove that had an injured leg, and that kept it from getting off the ground. After the leg healed, it was able to take off ok, and flew well. We had it for several months, before it got loose one day, and went off to live it's life.