injured pigeon

I found a pigeon with a broken wing four/five weeks ago. Since it
coudn't fly at all and I didnt want it to end up being eaten up by a
cat, i took it in and have been feeding it since then. Now its wing
seems to have healed and it has no trouble flying(inside the house).
The only problem is that its wing droops down and it keeps it slightly
away from its body. I was wondering whether it would have any problem
flying long distances and whether I should just release it or take it
to a vet(there is a charity bird hosipital that i have just heard of).
I know I should have taken it earlier but I was busy and there arent
any vets nearby.

Also is there any way I could get it to keep coming back... say for
food/water ??

sid_12354.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com wrote:
> I found a pigeon with a broken wing four/five weeks ago. Since it
> coudn't fly at all and I didnt want it to end up being eaten up by a
> cat, i took it in and have been feeding it since then. Now its wing
> seems to have healed and it has no trouble flying(inside the house).
> The only problem is that its wing droops down and it keeps it slightly
> away from its body. I was wondering whether it would have any problem
> flying long distances and whether I should just release it or take it
> to a vet(there is a charity bird hosipital that i have just heard of).
> I know I should have taken it earlier but I was busy and there arent
> any vets nearby.
>
> Also is there any way I could get it to keep coming back... say for
> food/water ??
>

Hi Sid,

You should be proud of yourself for showing kindness to a wounded
animal. This is what sets us human beings apart from the rest of the
animal kingdom.

The pigeon may keep coming back all by itself. Pigeons aren't dumb;
when they can get a free meal just for showing up in some place, they
will. Hence the popularity of certain places for pigeons to congregate
to get a free meal (parks, squares etc.) Since you've had the animal
there for four or five weeks, he may just consider your place home now.

If it has no trouble flying around in the house, it shouldn't have any
trouble flying around outside the house. The wing may not have
completely healed correctly but I don't think a vet would rebreak and
set the wing--but I could be wrong.

At any rate, let the animal tell you. Take it outside and let it fly if
it wants to. If it can't (or doesn't want to) fly, it won't go
anywhere. If it does fly off, you may never see it again. But, be
secure in the knowledge that no matter what happens a person is never
more fully human than when he extends kindness to a creature that's
completely helpless.