Injured pigeon - what the hell do I do

[shoulditbethishard1]

An injured pigeon has landed on my drive, it looks like it might have been hit by a car, it can flap its wings but it’s like it’s back end is stuck to the floor and it can’t get up.

I think it’s days are numbered but I’ve just been back out there, it’s breathing very heavily, I don’t want it to suffer needlessly but I couldn’t put an end to its misery myself.

vets won’t be interested, RSPB won’t be interested.

what would you do?

I know...Crazy.

A Fox will likely have an easy meal now darkness is falling.
If there is a fox in the area, she will find the pigeon.

That is Nature's way, after all.

In the 1980s I found an odd little booklet in a charity shop. It was called 'Kind Killing' and was published by the Universities Federation for Animal
Welfare in 1950. It emphasised that killing an animal is almost never necessary, but in an extreme situation of extreme suffering, with no prospect of a vet, it showed what to do. All kinds of animals, even horses, cattle, zoo animals (a hippo) - diagrams with an X where to shoot. For small birds, mice, etc, it advised putting it in a paper bag, rolling the bag up so it goes in the corner, and then a sharp blow with a stout stick. I remembered this years later when husband came in looking shocked and said 'there's a mangled mouse on the patio'. It was in a bad way, looked like a cat had been at it, a number of gashes, and it was feebly trying to crawl. I got a paper bag, but couldn't find a stick. Ah. A brick. I rolled the mouse into the corner of the bag, and raised the brick. I felt it was no time to hesitate, so I brought the brick down as hard as I possibly could (the book said 'decisively'). Bang. The mouse was flattened, the brick split in two, and my arm was jarred and my shoulder hurt for three days. Husband most impressed. It also said that for a hamster, guinea pig, etc, 'releasing it to a good ratting terrier' would be as humane as any other method. I'm not sure about that now.

That is, after all, the way of nature.

As you said, I see! Posted in haste.

Find a rescue using:
www.helpwildlife.co.uk
From their page;
We recommend contacting each relevant rescue within about 20 miles of your location. If you don’t get an answer, leave a message and/or send a follow up text and wait a reasonable amount of time for a call back.

Some of them have mobiles and some will come out at any time......

Normally you put stressed birds in boxes, I think (it does sound very stressed). Although I think with bird flu around, the advice is not to touch them?

Cats and foxes will get to it under a car!

(some useful advice on here, which I've noted in my 'just in case file' (started after a swift got into my flat a couple of years ago)).

It's just going to die a slow painful death then. Well done.

You said you didn’t want it to suffer needlessly OP, asked for help and now are just going to leave it?

At least you’ve given the animal haters with their spades and neck wringing fetish something to do I suppose. 🙄

I cannot imagine anyone doing that to an animal, injured or not.
I know that my vet takes in injured wildlife apart from grey squirrels even if it is out of hours.

Chill out everyone progress has been made!

my lovely brother has come to the rescue, pigeon has been extracted from under the car, it’s now in a box with a towel, air holes and a lid. It’s been put in my garage until tomorrow morning. No ringing of necks has taken place. We really can’t see what’s wrong with it, wings appear to be flapping ok and no obvious sign of injury. If won’t be eaten by a cat or a fox, I’ll take it to the vets first thing in the morning

The vets did treat it for free. They took it in and gave their time to determine that the kindest thing was to PTS. They then performed this for free also.

The threshold for treatment is different for wildlife vs pets. A surgery or invasive treatment which maybe ideal for a pet dog or cat may well be cruelly stressful for wildlife hence the threshold for euthanasia is also different.

Please don't jump to criticising a veterinary team who have taken a wild animal from you with no thought of pay and done what they felt was best.

So its ok? Its going to live? And not Die painful death in your garage?

Have you got a spade?
Nice.

We have taken them to our local wildlife centre. Also a blackbird that DS15 brought home injured.

Have you got any bird feed it could eat?

https://directory.helpwildlife.co.uk/

https://wildliferescueburton.webs.com/

The two above will 100% help you, or anyone else with wildlife situations. Linsey at Linjoy tagged here is an absolute angel, I donate monthly after finding her from the pigeon Facebook page I posted here a few pages back. I drove to derby with an injured wildlife on and she nursed it back to health.

It’s brilliant news it’s in a box. Quiet, cool and dark room. I’ve always been lucky enough to get any injured ones I find to help but was told if not to leave them overnight in a quiet, darkened room.

As someone has put above, the threshold for PTS is very different at the vets for wildlife than pets but they will safely and calmly pts and do NOT wring necks (if you did take to a vet).

please do try and sort something as quickly as possible for either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Hope the links help.

Why is dispatching a badly injured pigeon with a spade so awful, yes it's not particularly pleasant to do or clean up but it is swift, you'll be lucky it doesn't pass from shock being man handled. You're just prolonging the poor things suffering, I think that is cruel tbh.

I killed an injured pigeon once because I thought that would be better than it languishing for hours/days before it died. But i couldn't do it again, it's not something I'm proud of

Whack it over the head.

If it's a woodpigeon (google it for ID) then they are really nice to eat. Pluck the breast and use a filleting knife to remove the fillets ( leave the skin attached if you can). Fry in a hot pan for 3 mins skin side down, then 1-2 mins the other side.

Goes really well with darker fruit sauces such are redcurrant jelly.

No I am not joking either. We live on a farm an I love walking out in the morning with a shotgun, bagging a brace of woodpigeon and having them for breakfast.

No. Is it you, maybe?

What is the reason for these pictures you keep putting on here?

I found a downed pigeon who looked very handsome on a rainy walk , He was a racer, because of the rings on his legs-Happy to be handled.
It had been stormy, and he may have been exhausted.
He settled happily in my hands.
We have good quality birdseed, so fed him, gave him a rest, next morning carried him back to the place where I found him.

When I got home, who was waiting by the back door...
The pigeon!

Three times I tried to release him, three times he returned before I did.

His owner was annoyed that I'd fed him. {Racing pigeons have. the owner's contact details on their wing feathers} . he said ''He was an expensive bird, he's been 'Fielding'[?]

The fourth time I released him, he flew in a different direction, and landed on a roof with another pigeon..I never saw him again, and never found out if he'd made it back to his racing loft.

In a way I hope not.. I'd read that the owners do dislocate the necks of those who are ''No good''.

He was a beautiful bird, muscular and well groomed- very different to the tatty ferals one sees in cities hobbling around with missing toes.