Found injured pigeon today

[Myah1011]

Gamebirds aren't protected, but are regulated.

Alright thank you for the information

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I did a bit of research on band tails for my area and it says that they are not protected here or at least from the few pages that I found, although I’ll try to see if o can find any wildlife rehabs near me.

Are they native though? It doesn’t really matter if they’re not protected as long as they’re native. And even non-native, invasive species (like feral pigeons) are taken in by certain wildlife centers.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Glad he made it through the night and is eating/drinking. That's a good sign.

 

[Myah1011]

Are they native though? It doesn’t really matter if they’re not protected as long as they’re native. And even non-native, invasive species (like feral pigeons) are taken in by certain wildlife centers.

Yes he’s native so I’ll do some searching for some wildlife centers in my area

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@Myah1011 how is Valentino doing?

 

[Myah1011]

@Myah1011 how is Valentino doing?

Hey sorry for not responding sooner! Valentino is doing great! I didn’t update for the past few days since nothing significant really happened but he’s getting more energy and eating a ton! His poop is still looking good and he seems to be healing faster than I thought he would, still not seeing a whole ton of wing movement but other than that he’s doing fantastic, I’m still putting antibiotics on his punctures and they are also healing without any issues but yeah he’s doing good

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hey sorry for not responding sooner! Valentino is doing great! I didn’t update for the past few days since nothing significant really happened but he’s getting more energy and eating a ton! His poop is still looking good and he seems to be healing faster than I thought he would, still not seeing a whole ton of wing movement but other than that he’s doing fantastic, I’m still putting antibiotics on his punctures and they are also healing without any issues but yeah he’s doing good

That's good news!
Thank you for the update.

 

[Myah1011]

I think Valentino is ready to be released but I just want to make sure, luckily his wing wasn’t broken, probably just a sprain since he is now a little flighty, he can now fly to the top of my closet which is 7-8 feet. His dropping are looking normal and he’s still eating and drinking, my only concern in that his chest feathers haven’t grown back yet (just a patch mostly under his wing but also on his chest) so I don’t know if I should send him out like that, it’s supposed to be sunny all week this week but next week is possible snow and thunderstorms, would it be wise to send him out?

(Forgot to mention but I’m pretty sure his punctures are healed!)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad to hear he's doing so well!

Hard to know about the missing feathers. They will probably grow back in fairly quickly.
Wild birds can adapt to changes in weather, so I'm not really sure when it's best to release him, that would be your call. Warm weather may be best since he's been inside and then he can gradually adapt to the weather cooling down again...but I don't think anyone can give you a direct answer...it's really up to you to determine how fit he is and how well he will survive and adapt.

 

[Myah1011]

I ended up going through with my decision and released Valentino, the whole experience was very amazing, watching him get better made me feel very happy, I’m not sad but happy that I ended up making a difference since his population (band tailed pigeons) apparently decreases by 2% each year. I happy that he got better and that I could release him, hopefully he goes on and keeps his species thriving, I will miss him yes but I’m just happy. When I let him go I saw that he was already growing some feathers back on his chest area so it made me feel that he was ready to be let go. At first when I let him outside he just stood there for a few minutes before ultimately flying into a tree and then other pigeons came to him and he happily bobbed his head so I think he is also happy. Thank you all for reading and helping me help Valentino but this is where this story ends. I just hope he stays healthy and out of danger now.