young feral pigeon with broken wing, help

Hi, my husband and I live in England. 2 days ago we came home to find a young pigeon who had fledged from a big evergreen tree in our garden. It did not look strong, the weather was awful, raining very hard, and eventually we took it inside and put it in a big travel cage for one of our rabbits (we have a rabbit rescue sanctuary). My husband has a parrot and he has been tending to the young bird. The bird was very weak and could hardly stand upright. We have examined it and it has a broken wing. It also has had two smallish grey flies come out of the feathers which is very alarming to me as flies can kill rabbits who are sick by laying maggots in their flesh (it is very gruesome). I have been wrapping it in a tea towel and holding it in my lap about twice a day to give it warmth and reassurance and have placed one of my watches, one that ticks loudly, over its cage hoping to soothe it like a heartbeat sound.
We have been feeding it with a syringe, about 1/2 tsp porridge baby food and water several times daily, but it is very thin as we can feel the breastbone is very sharp. It does look better today, however. I have cleaned the wound with antiseptic cream.
We are afraid to take it to a vet because they will surely put it down. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated, for we would love to save its life and we will keep it as our own, added to our menagerie of animals we already have saved. Our rabbits live in big spacious outdoor runs with 6 foot tall roofs so it could happily coexist in one of them, I am sure, and we could build a house for it. Or it could live inside next to our parrot, which is where we have it now, for company.
I need to know what to feed it and how much and how often, I have seen conflicting information on other websites but yours seems more solid in information.
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Hi Bettina,
Welcome to Pigeon Angels. It's great to have you here.

Thank you for taking in this little one.
From your description, it sounds like he was nearly starved and very dehydrated.

Depending on the age, you could start introducing 'thawed' frozen peas or corn to his diet.

Is there any chance of posting a photo or two of your little rescue? Seeing a photo will help to determine the age as well as having a look at the injury.

The grey flies are most likely 'pigeon flies'. They should be addressed imediately as they can be harmful to a pigeon.

Here is a link that was recently posted about pigeon flies.
pseudolynchia-canariensis-the-pigeon-turkey-fly

Please keep us posted on how things are coming along.

Hi Bettina, where in the UK are you?
I work at a wildlife rescue centre in Kent (Folly Wildlife Rescue 01892 750 865) and we are pigeon friendly (although, sadly, we haven't got the facilities to keep many non-releasable pigeons) so if you need to talk to someone about your pigeon, please don't hesitate to call us.

Regarding food, it depends on how old the pigeon is (so a photo would be helpful) but like AZWhitefeather suggested, thawed frozen peas and corn popped into the beak is a good way to introduce "solids". Otherwise, if it is old enough and has the energy to peck, any wild bird seed is good to give in a bowl.

If the pigeon can eat for itself then you obviously only need to provide a bowl of water and a bowl of seed, however, if he/she still needs hand-feeding then syringe about 10-20mls every 4 hours or so (but not necessary at night). It all depends if he's digesting properly. A good product to use is Kaytee Exact (for parrots) if you have any at hand. Otherwise, the baby porridge is fine short-term.

I hope this helps a bit. Sounds like you have a good set up for keeping him so I hope he pulls through. Good luck!

If you need a little help to posting photos:
When you click on reply, scroll across the boxes at the top with the arrow (a description for each box comes up).

1) Click on the Host an image box.
The Upload Your Image box should appear.
2) Click on Browse. Select the folder that has the picture you wish to post.
3) Click on the picture. Then select OPEN. Before doing anything else, go to re-size Image and click on the down arrow. Select the 320 or 640 px width (This gives you a nice size picture).
4) Click Host It.
The link you have chosen will appear in the middle under IMAGE.
5) Highlight that link, then right click and choose Copy.
Go back and click on the Host an Image box (that will close it).
6) To post your picture, right click and then select paste.

Mrs.AviatorRodent wrote:

Hi Bettina, where in the UK are you?
I work at a wildlife rescue centre in Kent (Folly Wildlife Rescue 01892 750 865) and we are pigeon friendly (although, sadly, we haven't got the facilities to keep many non-releasable pigeons) so if you need to talk to someone about your pigeon, please don't hesitate to call us.

Hi Bettina,

Thank you so much for caring for the injured pigeon! I hope you will be able to take him to Revati (Mrs.AviatorRodent). But if you are too far away, maybe we can put you in contact with someone nearer.

Treating a broken wing will almost always require bandaging the wing in the correct position to set. That is quite tricky, getting the right balance between too tight (and the pigeon can't breathe properly) and too loose (and he'll be out of that bandage before you blink!), so personally I'd rather let a professional do it.

Pigeon flies are horrible things, but not the kind that will lay maggots under an animal's skin. They do however sting very hard and they suck the pigeon's blood, causing anaemia and transmitting bacterial or viral infections. Any pet shop will be able to give you something for that -- out of everything I tried I prefer the Colombine spray, formulated especially for pigeons, as it is very gentle and very effective. But you can also use Permethrin dust (can be applied with a little ball of cotton wool, but be careful not to get it on his face) or Diatomaceous earth.

As for the diet, I would endorse the recommendations you got so far, but I have one question: is he a feral (street) pigeon, or a woodpigeon? Because they have slightly different dietary requirements. As you said he lived on a nearby tree, he's likely to be a woodpigeon.

Heat is very important for him at the moment. A pigeon's body temperature is higher than ours, so if his body, and especially his feet feel cool to the touch, he will need warming straight away -- and that means providing an external heat source, as they can't generate heat when sick. A heating pad set on low, a light bulb producing moderate heat, or at a push, a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel. Food should also be warm to the touch, and drinking water, at least tepid.

The company of another bird next door can be reassuring, but there must always be a barrier between them, as parrots have been known to kill pigeons. I like your idea of using a clock as the sound of a heartbeat. I've never thought of using it on a pigeon, but I find the sound of a ticking clock very soothing.

Your bunnies sound like they have a great life! I hope your little rescue recovers fully and joins the household.

Very best wishes!

Thank you Revati.

How is your little rescue doing, Bettina?

I hope you've managed to get some help for your rescue, Bettina.
Please keep us posted, and best wishes.