A pigeon has landed on our balcony, and he won't leave. I think he might be sick. What should I do?

Let him be? Is it a problem that he is there?

@lilikoi No, I’m just worried about him. He isn’t moving at all, and seems quite bewildered.

There’s not much that I know of that you can do. Taking a pigeon to the vet would be like taking a cockroach to the vet…

@lilikoi You would understand if you had a new pigeon friend.

Well, @richardhenry tried to give him bread but.. He didn’t flinch. Hmpf. :/

@richardhenry I once had this happen while filling in for a colleague at a free clinic in Bahia de los Angeles in Baja.

What happened was the day before we had incredibly strong wind gusts and a lot of animals were disoriented… I heard a loud crashing sound and thought someone had thrown something at our waiting room windows… I went out and found a pigeon on the stoop. (a patient saw it fly into the window).

I picked it up and put it on a tree branch near the office window so I could watch him in case he fell or something happened… He remained immobile for over 18 hours. And then suddenly came to and flew away. I think your new friend may have slammed into a window or something.

Give it time.

Try calling a local wildlife sanctuary that specializes in birds. They may be able to help you determine if he’s sick, hurt, or just hanging out. I found a list of them here. Good luck!

You can also read up on pigeon health. That may help you determine what’s going on with your bird.

What a lovely bird!

It is possible that he flew into a window and is just getting his bearings back.

I would not worry at this point and do just as you have by leaving him be.

If he is still there in a couple of hours I wold put out a cup of water and after 4 hours some crumbs.

I would hold off on rescue till he has had at least 4 hours rest.

@Dr_C I think that’s what I’ll do.

@Dog I think he hit the glass pane when he tried to fly away. I’ll keep an eye on him.

Thanks everyone! I will be sure to post updates on pigeon friend.

In the future put some stickers on your glass pane.
They come in birds too.

Yes, birds can suffer concusions or other brain injury from hitting flying into windows.

Look at his eyes…do the pupils seem normal and equal in size?

Does he show any sign of lesions on or around his eyes or beak/ mouth?

There is an illness called avian pox ( not contagious to humans of other domestic animals, but very contagious to other birds )
Some symptoms of the disease are swollen eyes with lesions ( blisters ) the mouth, throat is effected too, is the bird gaping or gasping, labored breathing?

This disease cause pox to form in the airways and throat and the bird is unable to swallow, an ugly way to go.

If you are able to handle the bird you can tell his general condition by feeling the keel bone ( breast bone ) that runs diagonally down the mid section of his chest.

Birds in a state of starvation or very underweight will have very pronounced keel bones.

Impossible to say, just keep an eye on him/her and if the bird remains immobile for many hours it is safe to assume there is a health concern. Many wildlife groups have members that treat pigeons.
They are not protected by any state laws, but a few volunteers usually agree to treat them.

I have pigeons and doves roosting on my front porch and lawn all the time. Some have even nested in my topiaries. Just let it be.

what did you name him?

According to your pic, it is night time? He has to stop flying!! He has found a safe place to roost. Let him be. When he has rested and the sun begins to come up, he will continue on his journey.
We once had a pigeon fly over 400 miles to come home after being moved (and re-homed). It took him about 4 months to find his way. He must have slept in many places on his way, and since yours chose your porch, he probably is headed for home where people and buildings are. Your porch is familiar and feels safe to him. Let him rest.

Poor guy. My daughter used to be a wildlife rehabilitator, and I remember from her experiences that birds can be touch-and-go.

@casheroo Pigeon Friend.

He ate a few of the breadcrumbs and has moved a couple inches. I’m going back to bed now. I’ll report back on Pigeon Friend in the morning.

The most humane thing would be to put him out of his misery.

It IS entirely possible he is just roosting on the balcony for the night.

Most birds sleep at night just like we do.

@SeventhSense I see. So if we were to see you lounging on your sofa after a bad day should we put you out of your misery?~

I am certain that this bird is just roosting or recovering. He senses that he is safe and has seen that Richard respects his presence and is not going to bother him.

I feel so bad about this.

I can’t see it clearly but that looks like a youngster. You can tell by their beaks looking “too big” for their faces. His apparent lack of fear is another indication. The babies are surprisingly calm about humans.

Odds are he was hatched somewhere up above your balcony and he has fledged the nest. They leave the nest and are a bit vulnerable for a few nights while they perfect their flying skills enough to return to the vicinity of the nest and their parents. They stay together as a family unit for a surprisingly long time. Put some grain and water out there and leave it alone.

You can treat sick pigeons but it’s better if you just offer them the support of easy to obtain food and water and leave them to recover if they can.

@Merriment Good advice! I feel better if all that you say is true.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir thanks and yes, it’s true based on my not small experience with pigeons :)

@richardhenry you are such a lovely person <throws mountains of hugs> What a lovely, caring question, and great answers everyone <hugs>. I love pigeons, and when i saw this question I really feared replies that… well most people do not care about them. Thank you so much for being the sweet kind wonderful people I’ve come to expect from fluther <hugs all> xx

He’s walking around now and looks happy. He still hasn’t left though, which seems a bit weird.

Pigeon Friend has flown away.

Thanks everyone.

Awwww….

@richardhenry That is good news!! he’s ok and, as I said you are a very lovely person, thank you for looking after him <hugs> xx

Just don’t say we didn’t warn coo if you come back as a pigeon in your next life!

I am so very happy!

Yeah! :-)

I always think of that saying when someone claims that a certain action won’t make a difference, it makes a difference to that ONE!

Yay!

Cool beans!

Bye, bye birdie!

Later PF! Come back and visit!

Run the sick pigeon off before he shits all over your balcony and gives you bird flu.

@Dog
If he had broken his neck it would have been the most humane thing obviously. Unfortunately, some are too squeamish to show compassion when necessary but are more than happy to hypocritically have others slaughter their chickens and put them in a bucket down at KFC.

@SeventhSense

I see your point, but….I don’t think it is entirely true, or necessarily hypocritical.

Just because I eat chicken once in awhile doesn’t mean I am a hypocrite if I don’t have it in me to break an animals neck with my bare hands.

I am a strong person, ( woman ) and not overly squeamish, but there are limits.

I just had the vet out to euthanize my old cat last weekend due to a failing heart, I held him in my arms while he was sedated and then the final injection.

I dug a grave and buried him by myself, but there is no way I could have hit him with a baseball bat or broken his neck.

@Coloma
Point taken and yes it’s not for everyone but don’t hate the butcher.

@SeventhSense

Never.

I am well aware that if I choose to consume meat I am letting another do my killing for me.

@SeventhSense…Except that it flew away, and there was nothing wrong with it. Probably for the best that I didn’t break it’s neck after all.

@richardhenry
Well ya that would have sucked for him.