Violet_Diva
Member
I had to go on another training course for work and was on my way back from Ipswich on the train. Got off at Cambridge to catch another train when I spotted a pigeon with a bad foot. I went and bought some extortionately priced baked snack at the station and proceed to feed the pigeon.
It looked like it had hair wrapped around its foot and it's foot was deformed as a result. The pigeon was obviously quite young and so I figured the hair was probably some unsuitable nesting material and that the bird had probably grown into the tangled hair. I went to the WHSmith store at the station and politely asked if I could take one of the small empty boxes of their delivery cage, they obliged.
Guess what - I caught the pigeon, put the box in a large bag I had with me, and smuggled the pigeon home on the train!
Every now and then, the pigeon would move in the box and I was waiting for someone on the train to notice and hear me (half expecting to be kicked off at the next stop.) But no, mission accomplished!
I got the little guy home, made it a warm bed, food & water. The next day I went to work delicately cutting away the entangled hair from the underside of the most afflicted foot. The top of the foot was too crazy to even understand :-s
I didn't photograph it.
The following day I soaked the foot and cleaned it up a bit more & got more dirt and hair from the topside of the foot. The swelling had gone down alot, as the bad foot and leg was 2 or 3 times the size of the other before. Though the pigeon is now walking on the wrist with the foot turned backwards :-( Next I'm planning to bathe & wrap the toes Individually and once all scabs etc are gone, I will try to train the foot into a better position.
Pigeon is still eating and drinking well, so I'm hopeful that I can improve this birds condition. I'll let you know how things go!
It looked like it had hair wrapped around its foot and it's foot was deformed as a result. The pigeon was obviously quite young and so I figured the hair was probably some unsuitable nesting material and that the bird had probably grown into the tangled hair. I went to the WHSmith store at the station and politely asked if I could take one of the small empty boxes of their delivery cage, they obliged.
Guess what - I caught the pigeon, put the box in a large bag I had with me, and smuggled the pigeon home on the train!
Every now and then, the pigeon would move in the box and I was waiting for someone on the train to notice and hear me (half expecting to be kicked off at the next stop.) But no, mission accomplished!
I got the little guy home, made it a warm bed, food & water. The next day I went to work delicately cutting away the entangled hair from the underside of the most afflicted foot. The top of the foot was too crazy to even understand :-s
I didn't photograph it.
The following day I soaked the foot and cleaned it up a bit more & got more dirt and hair from the topside of the foot. The swelling had gone down alot, as the bad foot and leg was 2 or 3 times the size of the other before. Though the pigeon is now walking on the wrist with the foot turned backwards :-( Next I'm planning to bathe & wrap the toes Individually and once all scabs etc are gone, I will try to train the foot into a better position.
Pigeon is still eating and drinking well, so I'm hopeful that I can improve this birds condition. I'll let you know how things go!