found injured racing homer

Hi, I have a dearly loved companion pigeon, Maggie, and five parrots (two Quakers, two tiels and a budgie), so when my brother came upon an injured pigeon, he naturally brought him (guessing) to me.

His beak looks rough but not broken, just scraped. His right wing is missing the flight feathers but I've seen him flap it, so it's not broken. His tail is ragged and missing some feathers. His feet and legs are fine. He does have a little scrape on one toe but it's not serious. We gently dabbed blood off his beak and he hasn't bled any more since then.

He is banded, and I located the pigeon club that issued the band, and spoke to someone who said she'd tell the person the band belongs to, and no one ever called back. So it seems they don't want him back, which is fine with me.

We've been keeping him warm, and I put a blanket over the back of the "hospital" cage to make him feel secure and help him stay warm, and I've offered oatmeal, pigeon food and water. I saw him at the water dish yesterday but no evidence that he's eaten anything yet. He slept a lot the first day but he's up on his feet and walking around, so his legs are fine. I don't see any other injuries besides his scraped beak. He hasn't made any noise, in spite of me urging Maggie to introduce herself (Maggie seems to think we have enough pigeons already and flew to the top of the bedroom door instead). I didn't let them have contact, I just wanted him to see her in the hopes it would make him feel more secure. He's in a separate room from the other birds, though he can hear them.

He spends a lot of time puffed up, so we turned up the furnace. If I can find the heating pad (we moved, and lots of things are still to be found), I'll try putting that in for him. Anything else I can do? We do have an avian vet if necessary, but I thought if he's not seriously injured, we could avoid stressing him further.

Hi Siobhan,

Thank you for helping that pigeon!
I can't say I'm surprised the owner wasn't bothered, unfortunately that happens quite a lot... the thing is with people who don't care much about their pigeons, there's a chance he's not been wormed or treated (if he needed it) so it was a good precaution to keep him separate from Maggie.

You've been doing everything exactly right, but if he's not eating and he's looking a bit listless and puffed up, something's not right.
From your description I would guess he was attacked by a predator and had a lucky escape. If the predator was a cat, there's the danger that the pigeon may have been infected by bacteria in the cat's saliva, even if he doesn't have anything but a few scratches. In this case, he'll need an antibiotic, and it may even be one that is used for people, like Baytril, Clavamox or Cipro. The dosages are, for Baytril up to 20mg per kilo bodyweight per day, once a day; for Cipro, 15mg per kilo bodyweight twice a day; for Clavamox/Synulox, 75mg per kilo bodyweight twice a day. If you don't know his weight, you can estimate 1/3 Kg -- an adult racer should weigh at least that.

Please have a really good look at the skin on the back of his neck and the top of his back (if necessary, dampen the feathers with a sponge so you can 'comb' them apart and have a better look). There have been cases of injuries in that area that were extremely difficult to spot. If it was a bird of prey who brought him down, the attack would normally have come from above.
If he was attacked by a predator on land, then we need to find out why he was there. With racers, sometimes it's just exhaustion, but he might have hit something in flight (and what you said about the beak points in this direction). If this was the case, he may have mild concussion. Check his head for any lumps or bumps, anything that isn't perfectly symmetrical. The head should not feel very warm either. If you suspect concussion, external heat should be removed, as this will increase the blood flow to the head, which wouldn't help.
If he didn't hit anything, he may have been ill. You may already have done so, but have a look inside his beak (if it's not too sore to handle) and throat. Membranes should be a bright, healthy pink. Red, grey, strings of saliva or any yellow or white lumps are problematic -- the grey is usually associated with a yeast infection, the others can be canker. His poops will also give you an indication. You will know from looking after Maggie what 'good poops' should look like, any deviation from that let us know, and please post photos if possible. Having said that, stress can cause runny green poops, but that stops when they rest; and starvation causes oily-looking emerald green 'sludgy' poops, and it's likely he starved before you got him.

Very best wishes for your patient's improvement! Please keep us posted.

Mulligan (his new name) has not only survived but is thriving as far as I can tell by comparing him to my very healthy and spoiled Maggie. He has a new dog kennel -- um, "pigeon" kennel -- to live in which he accepted instantly as if he'd been waiting for it, is eating and pooping and strutting around the birds' room. He's strong enough now to use his wings to boost himself onto the step, where he likes to sit (and poop and poop and poop) and while he won't let me touch him, he will let me sit nearby and talk to him. He and Maggie are still ignoring each other. I don't know if Maggie even recognizes him as a pigeon.

Yesterday a friend brought us a hurt dove, so Mulligan is no longer the new kid.

Thank you so much for the wonderful update, Siobhan! It's great to know that Mulligan is doing well!
There's a good chance that Maggie may consider herself more like a human with feathers than a pigeon! But you never know... I read an interesting account once of a house pigeon who had eyes for nobody but his carer who was eventually won over by a sweet female pigeon who courted him persistently for a year!

How is your new patient doing? Is he injured?
Best wishes for you and your extended 'family'!