Needlebones
Hatching
- May 12, 2021
- 3
- 9
- 4
Hello, about a week ago I noticed a sick pigeon with the other pigeons that I normally feed on my porch- it was spinning, having troubles pecking the seed, it couldn't fly... so I decided I'd either save it or give it a nice safe warm place to pass. A couple of days ago, I managed to catch it- it was so weak that it was easily held and couldn't struggle away, so I placed it in a spare carrier I use to take my pets to the vet. I looked up how to care for a sick/dying pigeon, and I carefully warmed it with a warm water bottle wrapped in a towel and then gave it water, and then food. From there, I've moved it into my spare bathroom/bathtub, as I'm not worried about it flying/escaping, as the poor little thing can barely walk. I inspected it in short bursts over hours, as I didn't want to stress it too badly. I found no lice or bugs, surprisingly, however, the bird has a bald spot just above its tail on its rump, it's very thin, and it has obvious issues with motor control.
I have mostly only taken care of cats and dogs before, and while I grew up on a farm with chickens, I was too young to have participated in their husbandry. I need help to make sure I'm not accidentally harming this bird. Unfortunately, my city is very anti-pigeon and they will not rehabilitate pigeons, so I'm on my own.
Right now, I'm feeding it the same seed I give the other pigeons- it's the generic pigeon/dove mix from Walmart. I have also been giving it pedialyte to re-hydrate it. What things should I pick up for my little friend? Am I accidentally doing something to harm it? How do I tell if it's a boy or a girl without stressing it out by checking the cloaca? I've included some pictures of my setup- this is definitely temporary and thrown together, but it's the best I can do for right now. Apologies for the poor pictures, my phone's currently being repaired so I have to use my kindle's camera. I also didn't want to stress out small friend by getting too close with the camera.
I have mostly only taken care of cats and dogs before, and while I grew up on a farm with chickens, I was too young to have participated in their husbandry. I need help to make sure I'm not accidentally harming this bird. Unfortunately, my city is very anti-pigeon and they will not rehabilitate pigeons, so I'm on my own.
Right now, I'm feeding it the same seed I give the other pigeons- it's the generic pigeon/dove mix from Walmart. I have also been giving it pedialyte to re-hydrate it. What things should I pick up for my little friend? Am I accidentally doing something to harm it? How do I tell if it's a boy or a girl without stressing it out by checking the cloaca? I've included some pictures of my setup- this is definitely temporary and thrown together, but it's the best I can do for right now. Apologies for the poor pictures, my phone's currently being repaired so I have to use my kindle's camera. I also didn't want to stress out small friend by getting too close with the camera.