I've got to be one of the World's worse nurses, I can faint at the sight of my own blood. If like me though, you've been faced with a predator attacked and badly injured bird you'll be familiar with that look of entreaty, confidence and trust, which makes you have to believe you're Florence Nightingale. Birds, in my experience, are quick to respond to human emotions so even if you feel overwhelmed and upset, set your face to calm and confident and above all believe in yourself.
That look, which pigeons in particular do so well, is enough to make me pull myself together, take a deep breath and get out the cotton wool and clay.
Apropos of an Injured Bird You May Have Found
Although it might seem strange, in my experience when a bird is injured and believes that you can help it, it makes no difference to its behaviour whether or not
it is wild, tame or a bird of your own. In my experience a bird knows when you can help it, whether by your body language, the way you handle and talk to it, thus it suppresses its normal 'fight or flight' response and settles down to be 'cured'. Conversely you will know when it is completely well again and that it's time to return it to 'the wild' because it will probably turn feral and start to peck you!
One of our methods with a wild bird, is to bring in a bird of our own to be a companion and support for our credentials, usually of a similar species - if we have one. In the case of the run-over Moorhen that was brought to us, we were right out of them, so we found a YouTube video of moorhens eating - they sounded happy and it worked because the injured Moorhen began to eat.
One of our methods with a wild bird, is to bring in a bird of our own to be a companion and support for our credentials, usually of a similar species - if we have one. In the case of the run-over Moorhen that was brought to us, we were right out of them, so we found a YouTube video of moorhens eating - they sounded happy and it worked because the injured Moorhen began to eat.
First Things First - Assess and address the bird holistically
It is crucial when starting to treat a bird that it should feel safe,
particularly if it has been attacked. Physical healing, which
essentially comes from within, should be
supported by a congenial environment. Therefore, from the outset, I had been keeping my
pigeon warm, in subdued lighting and had been talking to him constantly,
telling him what I was doing. Although I will be dealing in more detail with the essential oils I use in the next article, at this point you could also add one drop of essential oils of True Lavender (lavandula angustiafolia) onto the bedding or paper surrounding your bird. This will act as a 'de-stressor' for you as well!
Often when a bird is injured the initial reaction and response is to attend to the wound(s) i.e. the bird's external and physical problems but unless the bird is bleeding profusely and in danger of significant blood loss then my contention is that I need to deal with the pigeon's stress levels first. As is witnessed in my heading tabs, stress is an important issue for me. This is because in my experience, stress is one of the major health issues I have come across in my years of keeping organic poultry and also with the rescue of birds.
A typical stress response in a bird is for it to have weakness or loss of motor function in its 'limbs', the legs may even be stretched out flat behind it and the wings or one wing held low or dragging on the ground. This is why often many birds, pigeons included are presumed to have broken legs or wings, when in fact this is a manifestation of chronic stress. That is not to say that this is so in all cases but it is something to consider when making your initial diagnosis. Other symptoms may be rapid breathing, jerky movements and even nervous eating or drinking. Note our Moorhen, above left, exhibiting the classic drooping wing and leaning for support against the cardboard box. Even even though I knew a car had hit it, I was hopeful this was just a stress response, which in fact it was. Stress flushes electrolyte from the system and to this end I would always be likely to give an injured bird an electrolyte to 'reboot' its system before attending to the physical injuries. Stress is a killer and a quick one, you need to get electrolyte into the bird within 24 hours of the injury to be assured of a complete recovery. The good thing is that an electrolyte can be made from items you no doubt already have in your kitchen cupboard.
The simplest of all remedies and much akin to the old treatment for shock
you'd find in 1930's detective novels is the ubiquitous warm sugary drink. Just take a fraction of a teaspoon of raw organic cane sugar, a really tiny pinch of salt and dissolve it in an egg cup of warm water. This electrolyte solution re-balances the bird's system and thus get the bird's body back up and functioning as quickly as possible. As suggested by the name, an
electrolyte carries the electrical impulses which the body uses to 'communicate' within itself, in essence to tell itself what to do. Thus a sudden shock, stress caused by injury, can cause electrolytes to be rapidly depleted. This imbalance effects the functioning of the muscles, heart and nervous system, which explains the nature of the symptoms I have observed in birds under stress.
© 2018 Sue Cross
Often when a bird is injured the initial reaction and response is to attend to the wound(s) i.e. the bird's external and physical problems but unless the bird is bleeding profusely and in danger of significant blood loss then my contention is that I need to deal with the pigeon's stress levels first. As is witnessed in my heading tabs, stress is an important issue for me. This is because in my experience, stress is one of the major health issues I have come across in my years of keeping organic poultry and also with the rescue of birds.
Symptoms of Stress & Solutions to Manage Them
A typical stress response in a bird is for it to have weakness or loss of motor function in its 'limbs', the legs may even be stretched out flat behind it and the wings or one wing held low or dragging on the ground. This is why often many birds, pigeons included are presumed to have broken legs or wings, when in fact this is a manifestation of chronic stress. That is not to say that this is so in all cases but it is something to consider when making your initial diagnosis. Other symptoms may be rapid breathing, jerky movements and even nervous eating or drinking. Note our Moorhen, above left, exhibiting the classic drooping wing and leaning for support against the cardboard box. Even even though I knew a car had hit it, I was hopeful this was just a stress response, which in fact it was. Stress flushes electrolyte from the system and to this end I would always be likely to give an injured bird an electrolyte to 'reboot' its system before attending to the physical injuries. Stress is a killer and a quick one, you need to get electrolyte into the bird within 24 hours of the injury to be assured of a complete recovery. The good thing is that an electrolyte can be made from items you no doubt already have in your kitchen cupboard.Easy Home-made Electrolyte Solutions
The simplest of all remedies and much akin to the old treatment for shock
you'd find in 1930's detective novels is the ubiquitous warm sugary drink. Just take a fraction of a teaspoon of raw organic cane sugar, a really tiny pinch of salt and dissolve it in an egg cup of warm water. This electrolyte solution re-balances the bird's system and thus get the bird's body back up and functioning as quickly as possible. As suggested by the name, an
electrolyte carries the electrical impulses which the body uses to 'communicate' within itself, in essence to tell itself what to do. Thus a sudden shock, stress caused by injury, can cause electrolytes to be rapidly depleted. This imbalance effects the functioning of the muscles, heart and nervous system, which explains the nature of the symptoms I have observed in birds under stress.
WARNING
You can only use this method however, if the bird is breathing normally. If your bird is gasping for breath, trying to get it to drink can be highly dangerous, as it can choke or 'drown' by breathing water into its lungs. Depending on the species of bird, my solution for this is to get a small piece of bread or fruit such as orange or banana and dip it lightly in the sugar and salt mix. The food is then introduced just into the point of the beak with the bird's head in its normal position. The electrolyte is thus absorbed even if the bird is not able to swallow.
Another
great kitchen cupboard electrolyte is organic unpasteurised apple cider
vinegar, which also contains enzymes beneficial in giving the bird's
system the 'kick start' needed post shock. You will only need a few
drops added to an egg cup of warm water.
I
have found, although I can not explain why, that stroking the back of a
bird's head whilst lightly dipping its beak into the liquid will get it
to drink. Again this works not only with tame but rescued birds too.
Once the initial stress treatment had been given to my pigeon I was now ready to attend to the wound. From the above photograph, you can see that on drinking the pigeon was losing water from the crop and you can also see evidence of grain too, so I knew I was dealing with a nasty wound. Do not despair however as you will find from the next articles everything turned out fine. I'll take you through the process step by step - it's a little gory but I believe by the many comments I get on my YouTube channel, it's a common problem many good people are brave enough to tackle - so by sharing it I hope I can be of help should you ever have to face it.
Once the initial stress treatment had been given to my pigeon I was now ready to attend to the wound. From the above photograph, you can see that on drinking the pigeon was losing water from the crop and you can also see evidence of grain too, so I knew I was dealing with a nasty wound. Do not despair however as you will find from the next articles everything turned out fine. I'll take you through the process step by step - it's a little gory but I believe by the many comments I get on my YouTube channel, it's a common problem many good people are brave enough to tackle - so by sharing it I hope I can be of help should you ever have to face it.
Thanks for dropping by and do feel free to share experiences or ask for further information in the comment section. If you have enjoyed this piece and found it
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It all helps to keep me going!
Until next time, all the very best from Normandie! Sue
© 2018 Sue Cross
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