Freak accidents

[David Swain]

Anyone had anything like this happen ? We had eight yearling cocks out for a fly today and after exercising for about 15 minutes I was watching them getting ready to land on the loft again. They were on their second short circuit when one bird suddenly dropped like the stone with one wing flapping. It crashed into some old pea stickers in the veg patch and couldn't move so I was able to pick it up quite easily. To my surprise it had broken it's wing at the shoulder. The only thing it could have struck in flight was another bird in the group. As always seems to be the case, it was one of our best prospects and had taken a top nestbox. Now it can't get off the floor of the loft so we are having to keep lifting it on and off the nest in the hope that it might regain some small power of flight. But from past experience with similar injuries that's unlikely so floating it's eggs and moving it to a floor level nextbox in the stock loft is it's best hope.

I wonder if this kind of collision happens very often during liberations when there are thousands of birds flying in close proximity. Perhaps someone with convoying experience could answer that one.    

[hepste]

David, I did one season's convoying, and never experienced anything of this nature.  I suggest that maybe some damage had been sustained previously, perhaps a minor hairline fracture, which then gave way during normal exercise or as a result of a small bump with another bird.

[Lennut Tar]

Anyone had anything like this happen ? We had eight yearling cocks out for a fly today and after exercising for about 15 minutes I was watching them getting ready to land on the loft again. They were on their second short circuit when one bird suddenly dropped like the stone with one wing flapping. It crashed into some old pea stickers in the veg patch and couldn't move so I was able to pick it up quite easily. To my surprise it had broken it's wing at the shoulder. The only thing it could have struck in flight was another bird in the group. As always seems to be the case, it was one of our best prospects and had taken a top nestbox. Now it can't get off the floor of the loft so we are having to keep lifting it on and off the nest in the hope that it might regain some small power of flight. But from past experience with similar injuries that's unlikely so floating it's eggs and moving it to a floor level nextbox in the stock loft is it's best hope.

 

It's very unusual for this type of thing to happen etc, (freak accident) to any type of bird when flying in a flock formation. Just recently we saw the starlings in there thousands in Scotland, flying all together at dusk etc. It was an amazing site to watch , but they all flew in harmony with one another while flying. So !!!!!! "Really speaking"  ;D ;D ;D It just wasn't your day, & in hynsite   :D , you shouldn't let your little mob out.

Enjoy.

[whiteflight24]

your bird must have been struck by a slingshot, that is common here in the philippines

[Guest shadow]

has it been shot look for any signs of an air gun pellet that is more likly

[Guest Paulo]

has it been shot look for any signs of an air gun pellet that is more likly

 

Must be some shot with an airgun to hit a moving bird in flight  ;D ;D

 

I was quite a marksman when I was in the TA and I couldn't do that otherwise I would have the airgun down the loft ready to shoot the hawk. I think we can rule out a shotgun as well as he would have heard the shot even if it was a 410.

 

Only time I've heard this happening was when the birds had paratypoid and if you birds had it I think you would know about it.

 

I'd go for the previous injury scenario maybe hit something as a young bird and the injurys healed and now its give way

 

 

[Merlin]

This can happen a bird at any time luckily not too often,there is for want of a better discription a "cord" extends over the humerus joint occassionaly when this is stretched too far,it cant retarct itself,it should and will fly about the loft again,but never race,will always show the discrepency in wings whilst in flight  

[timbarra]

hi,

Firstly check the bird for small gunshot, or pellet gun wound.

 

secondly , if no shooting injury found, it could well be the pigeon has damaged some tendons in the wing and this would take at least a year to recover, not just physically but mentally, its confidence would be low.

 

lock pigeon in box food and water and float his eggs.

 

 

good luck

[David Swain]

 

Definitely no external injury of any kind and 100per cent certain he hasn't been shot as we live in the countryside and the birds never went out of sight or sound. It's a couple of weeks since the accident and he has shown no sign of being able to fly up off the floor. But he is successfully helping to rear one healthy youngster and as long as we pick him up and put him in his box each day he seems perfectly happy. He manages to get down to the floor when his hen takes over the nest. The plan is still to move him out of the widowhood section and into a bottom box in the stock loft in the next week or so.  

[jimmy white]

if hes def not been shot, and def not hit wires etc, i couldnt imagine a collision happening , im wondering if theres any slight chance of the bird taking a heart attack in the air  :-/