Help required

Hi this is a post from a non pigeon owner and more than likely will never use this forum again. For the past four days our garden is now an haven for what appears to be a very poorly bird. Perhaps it is in our garden purely because we always provide seed for all kinds of birds.Though our feeders are predominately used by pigeons. This pigeon does fly although short distances whenever I approach it.No injury seems to be apparent but it is always laying down until as i say i approach it. I am not a pigeon fancier and expect I have broken some rules by entering this forum but I cannot ignore the plight of this bird.It spends many hours laying on the ground with its feathers tucked in.It does seem alert though. Friends of mine have intimated that if I was to contact the rspca they would simply either ignore my call because it is a pigeon or put it to sleep. I know my information is rather vague but other than to say it is very lethargic it does fly in short distance and in short burst. I am seeking help from someone more savvy than myself. It also perches itself on our garden fence and remains there for the night. I'm sorry if some feel that this is not the correct place to be seeking answers but I am devoid of answers.

hi, thank you for trying to help this pigeon...does it have a coloured ring on its leg with numbers on...? if so this will help to get it back to its owner if you can manage to catch hold of it. if the pigeon is a racing bird it will most likely be flown down and exhausted from being in a race, and getting lost, the main concern for now is to keep it safe from cats or sparrow hawks.

if the pigeon is lost from a race, it should recover within a week or so, and may manage to make the journey home, once it has rested and being fed and watered.

if you could let us know if the bird has a ring , it would be helpful, and also what area you are in.

You are obviously a bird/animal lover and care about this pigeon, because you have gone to all this bother to get in touch with us on this forum.

Can you see if it has any type of ring around one of its legs.

Maybe you could use some binoculars to have a good look at its legs and let us know what you find.

The governing body for racing pigeons in most of England is the RPRA - the Royal Racing Pigeon Association.

Unless you can catch the bird and then see if it is wearing an alloy ring covered in a transparent plastic coating and can read the numbers on the ring, there is not much that the RPRA can do to help.

If this bird is a pigeon but a feral type pigeon, there isn't a lot any of us can do to help, except to keep feeding it with a mixture of grains, preferably a mixture specifically designed for pigeons. You could also leave a dish out with water in it for the bird to drink from. Once you have been able to capture the bird, and answered these questions maybe we could find you one of our members who lived near you to help further.

Therefore, the first step is to let us know whether this bird is actually carrying any kind of identification ring, then we will go from there.

Would it be possible for you to put some food in a garden shed, entice the bird into the shed and then close the door behind it? You would be best to leave it some time before you tried to capture the bird. Just a thought.

All the very best and thanks for contacting us at this forum.

Phil

Hi blue skylofts sadly the bird does not have any ring marker on its legs consequently I can only assume it is a feral bird. Fortunately it is almost adjacent to our garden shed so we will attempt to steer the bird toward it where we will provide food and water hopefully then it will make a full recovery. Thanks for your timely response. Both myself and wife try to care for our feathered friends both through the summer and winter months and it is probably aware that seed is available. Thanks for your help it is much appreciated
Yours Kooch

It sounds like it may have broken one of its legs Kooch.

great compassion and nice to see someone caring where are you based

Hi everyone and sorry for delay in replying to your kind responses re my query. I am happy to report that today the bird took to the sky after an evening in our garden shed with seed and water and some warm bedding.I can assure you that the bird needed some gentle persuasion from my wife before entering the shed.I think that possibly the bird realised that no harm was intended to it and it allowed my wife to pick it up and place it in the shed.It emerged very slowly on opening the door then took to flight.I was unsure of response from the users of this forum considering that I had only registered to gain some intelligence on how to help this bird. I can say hand on heart that your response was frankly amazing considering that I was unsure if it was a racing pigeon etc. So to all concerned may I say a very big thank you for all your speedy responses. Rosettes to each and every one of you. Yours Kooch.

thanks for letting us know, that's great news ... , well done to you and your wife for taking the time and trouble to help this bird, without your help I doubt it would have survived.

well done to you both, you did a good thing.........

yes indeed,well done to you both

That is indeed good news.

I think most of us (if not all) on this forum are animal and bird lovers.

For me, it was nice to be able to help you in a small way.

I trust the pigeon in question has taken advantage of your kindness and the sustenance you offered.

Don't be surprised if the bird returns for a 'Fuel Top up' sometime in the future.

Do you know now if it was a Wood pigeon or a feral pigeon and did you take a photograph of the bird?

In any event - I am glad we could help.

Take care and be kind to nature!

Phil

Nice one Kooch

What a result, well done kooch for your care and attention

Great to see a happy ending Kooch plus its great to see someone taking a keen interest on the well being off our fine feathered friends