I found a Dove,,

[Mare]

Hi everyone :). About two weeks ago I was driving home and there was this dove on the road. As I slowly drove by it I could tell it had been hit by a car, I pulled over. It was very afraid of me but couldn't fly and I knew it wouldn't last left to itself. I picked it up and there was quite a bit of blood, put her in a paper bag I had in the back seat and brought her home. Here is a picture of her today.
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Her wing isn't broke, she can flap just fine but her shoulder area has all it's feathers burmed off! That brown patch is where all the blood came from, it is now scabbed over. She seems healthy, I feed her cockatiel seed and cooked brown rice, she drinks and eats well. I'll try and get a better pic. Can you guys tell, from this pic, if her feathers might grow back? Thanks!

[froggij]

Oh goodness! I can't tell if she's going to grow her feathers back, but thank goodness she found a kind (bird-loving) soul like you to help her out. I hope she gets to feeling better soon and grows those back!

[2birds]

I bet they will, it'll just take a little time. So glad you found her Mare, lucky little dove.

[Lady]

Oh Mare,

She is cute! Thank you for being the sweet caring person you are. I have no idea if they will grow back, but I hope so.

[plax]

Good on you for saving the little girl, Mare :). As to whether her feathers will grow back, I'd say it will likely depend upon if (and how badly) her feather follicles were damaged. My guess is that they will probably grow back. Thanks so much for taking her in! :D

[Mare]

Thanks guys, definitely not something you all wouldn't do..gotta love them birds :). She got flustered a bit ago, she's still real scared, and her scab fell off! There is pink skin and, I think..maybe some kind of feather/hair follicle action going on! YAY! That would be amazing if she could be able to fly again. I'll get some pics in the morn.

[spiritbird]

Only thing I know about doves is they are ground feeders and need grit in their diet. You have a kind heart.:th_heart:

[Mare]

Thanks, Dianne, I will definitely mix some dirt in with her seed. This isn't a great pic but you will get the gist of how she looks today.[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]

She's starting to get a cockatoo thing going with her head feathers..OH..NO! I moved her into the bird room (poor thing). This is where the action is but can also be the loudest place in the universe! I'm always in and out of there. Ok..she can't fly and I have her in a small box. I would like to put her in a cage but doves don't climb like parrots to get to perches, right? Is she best off in a small enclosure or a larger cage? Any suggestions?

[Mare]

At first, I thought that was a floofie on top of Lou's head. After holding her/maybe him's, will,,,I discovered that it was a hard..quill-ish thing? Does anyone know of this oddity?

[Lady]

Hey Mare,

She/he is cute. I was trying to look up information and found that their are over 300 species of Doves. Here's the link if you want to take a look.

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[Mare]

Thank you, so much, Alice! Holy Moly! There are SO many species of doves!! Who'd a thunk?! Now you've got my curiosity up..research is in order! I'll let you know when I find out what kind she is..oh, I named her Lou. I felt that was a safe girl/boy name :)

[froggij]

I was thinking mourning dove? But they don't have flouffies on top... so I don't know if it's the same kind of bird or if Lou just has a really weird pinfeather growing in or what, but... does this look close?
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[Mare]

Noo..Jen, Lou is a lot more plain looking, mostly brown colors, unless she just isn't mature enough yet, to show the colors. Either that or she is a female, I know a lot of species where the female is more camouflaged than the male. She's not very big, either.

[Mare]

Look who "flew" to the top of the outdoor cage! :). I'm so happy for her, she has been living in a small space for so long and has many of her wing feathers grown back. Today was a beautiful day so I put her in the outdoor aviary thinking she would just run around..she can semi-fly! Her wings work but she has a droopy shoulder on the side she was hit, her wing sags a bit and feathers rub on the ground. I'll watch her for a few days to see how it goes :)[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]

[Lady]

:th_cheer::th_cheer::th_yah:that's great~

[Mare]

I seriously hope I can set her free one day..that's my dream :)

[Mare]

Does anyone know if a dove can be set free, wherever? I know that woodpeckers would die if set free not in their own territory. I've grown attached to this little bird and want to do right by her.

[Mare]

Little Lou has the black dots on the back part of her wings now,, and an iridescent glow to her front feathers. She may still be a he but I will call her/he a girl till I know better :)

[2birds]

Glad to see he/she's doing a lot better and her feathers are coming back in. Yay!!!

[Mare]

Still have little Lou in the outdoor aviary. I badly want to set her free, she can fly from the bottom to top of aviary..straight up 6ft. to a branch. She can fly from branch to branch. The only problem I'm having in letting her go is, she has a droopy shoulder still :(. This is on the shoulder/wing that she lost all those feathers from/that grew back. The wing still drags but she CAN fly, I'm just not sure how well outside of an aviary. Tim suggests that I take her to the golf course to set her free and that way, a cat won't snag her right off. Any suggestions? I know she can't be happy by herself and she is still desperately afraid of any human closeness, she beats herself against the wire when I come in to feed her.

[Lady]

Oh Mare, your right to be concerned she has come so far under your care. Maybe you could call your local wildlife center? Maybe even your avian vet?

[froggij]

Mare, I'm so glad to hear she's doing so much better. A vet visit would definitely help, in my humble opinion. Sometimes they can do things, sometimes they can't - but I do know from my own experience with bird injuries (when we almost lost Orsino five years ago to a horrible accident) that they have a way of compensating for abnormalities. If a bird wants to overcome an injury or a deformity, they will, and sometimes it's just best to let them figure it out on their own. That being said, if it were me, I would still see a vet to make sure that anything that could be done will be done, but if she's flying alright, eating well, and a healthy weight and has all her feathers back, I say open the door. That's my two-cents worth.

[Mare]

Thanks, Alice and Jen, for your input :). I could call the wildlife rescue guy but he refers all questions to the vet so, I think I will start there. Jen, I love what you said about a bird overcoming. I think little Lou has done just that.

[spiritbird]

I would not set her free until she or he is 100 percent. You could find her medical care to see if wing is broken. Maybe needs a splint.

[Mare]

Dianne, her wing isn't broken, it's a holding up wing, muscle issue? I'm not going to take her to a vet, she's healthy except for that. I did call a vet though and we both agreed that she would be taken down by a predator if she wasn't quite up to par as the other doves in a flock. We have a friend looking to get rid of some of his doves, they live in horrid living conditions. Tim says "No way, no more birds!" but he's leaving for Baja after Thanksgiving,, sooo.. :). I'm bad!

[Mare]

I set little dove, Lou, free today! She flew beautifully, droopy shoulder and all :). Her life just wasn't a life in the aviary, every time I would have to come in to feed her she would beat herself against the side of the cage, she bloodied her nose a week ago. I decided against bringing in more doves for her and left it to chance. I took her to a beautiful area, near water, that I've seen flocks of doves around. She took right off! I'm so happy for her to finally be free and able to fly well. Even though I took a chance that she might not be capable..she did it! YAY! May she have a long, happy life :)

[Lady]

Amen Mare! You did well by her and I'm sure she is going to be a happy little bird back out in the world living her life.

:goodjob:

[Mare]

Thanks, Alice! Her instincts never wavered the whole time she was with us, she never ever thought she might want to tame down, I have faith that she will keep herself safe :)

[plax]

Excellent news about Lou, Mare! :encouragement: