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When I went home today I saw a helpless pigeon on the street. Must have been hit by a car or something like this. Anyway, it just couldn't get up and leave.
This was so sad to see. I'm still not over it Nobody seemed to care. I mean, I know it's "just" a pigeon, but it looked so helpless and hurt. I was not sure what to do. It was right before a ramp to get on the freeway. I couldn't stop there. I was home after 5 minutes and called the animal shelter and they said they do care about pigeons and would send out an animal rescue to see what they can do. Everybody was going around it and that's why I hoped they could still get it in time.
Was supposed to call me back and it's been a few hours now. I'm not sure if I gave her the right number. I was still a little shaken up. But I'll check on it later on today.
Like I said, there wasn't really anything I could do, but I hadn't even known how to touch it properly. Does anybody know how I would lift a pigeon? I can't really tell what's wrong with it, so don't really wanna touch the wings etc. in case they are broken.
What would you have done? I used to have a lot of pets when I was a teenager, but I haven't had a pet lately. It really gets to me so bad when they are so helpless looking! Never can stop thinking about it then.
You shouldn't ever endanger yourself or others to save an animal. It's sad, but it's nature. Think of it this way...that pigeon will now be food for other animals, perhaps allowing them to live.
I've stopped and picked them up. But you have to know where there is a shelter, vet, or re-hab facility that can care for them or euth them. If you don't know where to take it, all you can do is call around and see if someone knows and can go pick it up.
I'm in your shoes. Even pigeons break my heart when they are hurt.
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Two things:
(i) To pick up a pigeon you need to hold its wings tightly against its body, otherwise it can hurt itself trying to escape. The pigeon will not understand that you are trying to help and will be completely terrorized.
(ii) Do not pick up a sick pigeon. They are subject to a number of viruses that can infect humans. You can usually identify a pigeon that may be sick because it will not be hanging around with other pigeons in a safe place.
The bird that you saw may have been injured by a hawk or another predator, hit by a car, injured in a fight with another pigeon or driven away from its flock. Pigeons ostracize members of their group who are visibly ill or otherwise weakened, sometimes they kill them - it's a behavior that has evolved to minimize the spread of infectious disease. Two evenly-matched males fighting over a female will keep at it to the point of complete exhaustion and sometimes to the death. What you saw was probably within the natural order. What would not be in the natural order would be you stopping to pick the bird up and possibly introducing a xenovirus to your home.
Thanks for caring and calling the animal shelter. I hate to see wildlife dead on the roads, especially knowing since cars are the ones that killed it 99% of the time. I'm sure it must have been hard to see the poor pigeon. Maybe look up your local wildlife rehabilitation centers phone number, just in case you need it in the future. I would assume most of them have an emergency number.
You shouldn't ever endanger yourself or others to save an animal. It's sad, but it's nature. Think of it this way...that pigeon will now be food for other animals, perhaps allowing them to live.
Well, it was just still alive. So it's kinda hard to tell yourself " now it will be food for other animals."
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrs1885
I've stopped and picked them up. But you have to know where there is a shelter, vet, or re-hab facility that can care for them or euth them. If you don't know where to take it, all you can do is call around and see if someone knows and can go pick it up.
I'm in your shoes. Even pigeons break my heart when they are hurt.
Good for you. Yes, I know where the animal shelter is, so that wouldn't have been a problem. But I'm probably not qualified to pick up an injured animal off the street. Well, at least I did call the shelter and they were gonna send someone out. Since it was only a few miles form the shelter, I'm hoping that they made it in time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimboburnsy
Two things:
(i) To pick up a pigeon you need to hold its wings tightly against its body, otherwise it can hurt itself trying to escape. The pigeon will not understand that you are trying to help and will be completely terrorized.
(ii) Do not pick up a sick pigeon. They are subject to a number of viruses that can infect humans. You can usually identify a pigeon that may be sick because it will not be hanging around with other pigeons in a safe place.
The bird that you saw may have been injured by a hawk or another predator, hit by a car, injured in a fight with another pigeon or driven away from its flock. Pigeons ostracize members of their group who are visibly ill or otherwise weakened, sometimes they kill them - it's a behavior that has evolved to minimize the spread of infectious disease. Two evenly-matched males fighting over a female will keep at it to the point of complete exhaustion and sometimes to the death. What you saw was probably within the natural order. What would not be in the natural order would be you stopping to pick the bird up and possibly introducing a xenovirus to your home.
There were some feathers on the street too. I don't know if it was within natural order." I think it was hit by a car.
I wouldn't take it home, though. I would bring it to the shelter right away. I only live in apartment anyway. I don't have a back yard etc. where I could have sheltered it myself if I had chosen to do so.
When I went home today I saw a helpless pigeon on the street. Must have been hit by a car or something like this. Anyway, it just couldn't get up and leave.
This was so sad to see. I'm still not over it Nobody seemed to care. I mean, I know it's "just" a pigeon, but it looked so helpless and hurt. I was not sure what to do. It was right before a ramp to get on the freeway. I couldn't stop there. I was home after 5 minutes and called the animal shelter and they said they do care about pigeons and would send out an animal rescue to see what they can do. Everybody was going around it and that's why I hoped they could still get it in time.
Was supposed to call me back and it's been a few hours now. I'm not sure if I gave her the right number. I was still a little shaken up. But I'll check on it later on today.
Like I said, there wasn't really anything I could do, but I hadn't even known how to touch it properly. Does anybody know how I would lift a pigeon? I can't really tell what's wrong with it, so don't really wanna touch the wings etc. in case they are broken.
What would you have done? I used to have a lot of pets when I was a teenager, but I haven't had a pet lately. It really gets to me so bad when they are so helpless looking! Never can stop thinking about it then.
You're a very kind person. Years ago one of my cats had injured a young pigeon but it was in my yard. I put heavy gloves on and lifted it into a box. I kept it in the garage with a screen over it and put food and fresh water in the box daily. After about 4 days I took the box outside and turned it sideways. The pigeon stepped out and flew away; it was a great feeling to see him fly. Obviously his wing had only been slightly injured.
You were in a dangerous position to have tried to help it. Pigeons are dirty, but like you, I hate to see anything hurt or in distress. At least you called trying to get help for it. I'd call them back and see if they did do anything. Kudos to you for caring.
You're a very kind person. Years ago one of my cats had injured a young pigeon but it was in my yard. I put heavy gloves on and lifted it into a box. I kept it in the garage with a screen over it and put food and fresh water in the box daily. After about 4 days I took the box outside and turned it sideways. The pigeon stepped out and flew away; it was a great feeling to see him fly. Obviously his wing had only been slightly injured.
You were in a dangerous position to have tried to help it. Pigeons are dirty, but like you, I hate to see anything hurt or in distress. At least you called trying to get help for it. I'd call them back and see if they did do anything. Kudos to you for caring.
Thank you. It was very tough today. The pigeon didn't survive, unfortunately. I drove by again and saw it. It was dark though, but it looked like it. I have now the number of the local shelter saved in my phone.
Like I said, I wasn't even sure if I could call the shelter, but that's what they are for. Even if it's just a small pet. The Houston SPCA is the largest shelter here. I'm kinda hoping that they did go out and look.
I'll get some of those heavy gloves now too. Just in case something like this will happen again.
I remember when I was a kid I was I out after a hurricane came through and saw a big bird sitting on top of the church roof across the street. Not being a city kid I hadn't seen many pigeons, just mourning doves. As I was watching it it just rolled down the roof and flopped onto the ground! I ran over to it and picked it up and took it home.
We fed it and gave it water and saw that it had a band on its leg. It just walked around and couldn't fly and died a few days later. We contacted a radio station who got us in touch with the local passenger pigeon organization who in turn put us in touch with the birds owner. It was from south Jersey and apparently he got blown off course by the storm. We ended up mailing his owner the band.
I'm not a big fan of pigeons. I would say that I dislike them about as much as starlings. I just don't like mess they leave. But I always thought that having passenger pigeons was an interesting hobby.
There is a wildlife rehab center in Houston. I'm thinking it's on the west side of town, but I could be wrong. They would be the people to visit/call on when it comes to wild birds. They also have a network of volunteers all over the city - different people for different species you can call on. (I called on one once regarding an injured spoonbill. )
Pigeons are interesting birds and probably a lot smarter than people think. They can count up to five (or seven, I never remember which is pigeons and which is chickens) which is more than my dogs can do. Thick gloves or a towel will do the trick - hold the wings tightly against the body and you can also put one finger either side of the neck (like a horizontal V) with gentle but firm pressure to stop the head turning. Should you need to transport it or keep it still, a small-ish box with airholes is best. Dark is a natural sedative to birds, so to keep stress levels down, keeping the bird in the dark is optimal.
One thing OP - just for your own peace of mind: when you're dealing with wild animals, especially injured ones, you have to weigh up the stress of being handled (which, not to put too fine a point on it, can kill them) vs. whatever may be medically wrong with them. It's a judgment call you have to make at the time and each situation is different.
We used to live in an area where, for whatever reason, racing pigeons used to get tired or lost. One incident was hysterically funny. We opened the utility room door one night to let the dogs out before bed. The pigeon was just waiting on the door step; it flew into the utility room landing on the countertop, where it looked exceeding pleased with itself and settled down on a pile of towels. The expression on one of our cat's face - who was on the countertop directly opposite - was priceless. He hadn't been aware Mother Nature did home delivery.
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Nobody seemed to care. I mean, I know it's "just" a pigeon, but it looked so helpless and hurt. I was not sure what to do. It was right before a ramp to get on the freeway. I couldn't stop there. I was home after 5 minutes and called the animal shelter and they said they do care about pigeons and would send out an animal rescue to see what they can do. Everybody was going around it and that's why I hoped they could still get it in time.
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Thick gloves or a towel will do the trick - hold the wings tightly against the body and you can also put one finger either side of the neck (like a horizontal V) with gentle but firm pressure to stop the head turning. Should you need to transport it or keep it still, a small-ish box with airholes is best. Dark is a natural sedative to birds, so to keep stress levels down, keeping the bird in the dark is optimal.
