Arthur! (Warning, not for the squeamish! Broken wing pics!)

I am a childcare assistant at a nursery, and a couple of weeks ago, the kiddies told me they found a bird in our nursery garden that couldn't fly. Sitting there was this poor adult Wood Pigeon that looked like he'd been hit by a car, and had a couple of feathers dragging on the ground, but when I caught him and looked, it was much worse! He had a broken wing, which was a really old injury, and the broken bit of wing was just hanging!

Here's Arthur when I first caught him.



When I took him home after work, and put him in my aviary, he flapped, and the broken bit of wing actually fell off! I thought there is no chance for this lil fella, and I thought I would have him put to sleep. The next day when he was a bit calmer, I looked at his wing again, and the rest of it looked pink and healthy, no swelling or maggots or anything nasty. He was not at all happy about being in the aviary, and walked up and down trying to get through the mesh. I started feeling sorry for him, and thought he'd struggled all this time to survive on the ground with a broken wing. I called him Arthur, (half a wing) and decided to put him in the pen with my 2 bantams and 2 bunnies, they have about a third of our back garden to themselves, and we have a 6 foot fence all round, and I thought he might be happier in there, and that's where he's been ever since! He has stopped panicking so much when I go in to feed and water and collect eggs, and he has been exploring more. I also caught him sunbathing in the middle of the lawn the other day! A lot of Wood Pigeons and Collard Doves come down to the pen to feed, so he will see other birds, and there is a shed for shelter too. I hope he adapts to a flightless life bless him.

Here's Arthur behind Willow!


And sitting in a sunny spot!

Bless him! Glad he's got himself a safe home!

He'll adapt.
He's gorgeous. I do wonder how he survived so long with that injury as it looks quite old and dried out.

Yeah it was a very old injury. I'm surprised he hadn't been snaffled by a fox!

Arthur had some luck when he found you, Amber!

Awww thank you.

Sounds like all the animals you've rescued had a lot of luck!

I'm a bit sad now though, coz I used to take in any birds to look after, but since I've been working a lot of hours in the nursery (started January) I wouldn't have time to hand rear babies, and it's my favourite thing to do! Just sad that I don't have the time now.

I'm sure the wildlife will appreciate your help, regardless of whether or not you can spend as much time with them as you used to. It's still more than most people manage to do!

I am dreading finding a baby! I could probably manage a baby Pigeon or Dove, as they don't need to be fed so often, but I just don't have the time now to rear birds that require feeding every half an hour. I would love to just take in birds to rear, but sadly, I need to be earning money!

Amber - another question! Over the years I had a few tiny baby birds brought to me by my children. These had obviously fallen out of the nest, and were very far from being fledglings. I fed them every half hour or so with a bit of kitten food (I think I got that tip from the RSPCA) and they did fine, until the next morning when they were dead. I think now they died from cold overnight.

If I ever come across a similar pre-fledged baby bird again, and cannot see or reach the nest, how would I keep it warm overnight?

If you lived closer, I'd offer to help out, but I think it might be a little too far!