Forwardsteps on Nostr: Wow! After 3 days of care, it has flown the coupe. I watched it wander this morning ...

Wow! After 3 days of care, it has flown the coupe. I watched it wander this morning and on occasion stretched its wings, which made me really happy. It flew from our path, over our garden and into the old man's garden that's behind us. I'll leave his hutch, water and food set up overnight just in case. Pretty cool, huh? 🏆👏

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After the third night the pigeon we rescued (after a cat attacked it), had wandered out of the hutch that I built around it.
I love how it walked right over to my feet. 😮
It foraged for a bit of food. I've had food and water ready for it nearby for the past 3 days. I sprinkled some of it around the area he walked as well.
Did a bit of an AI chat to check I was doing all the right things. 🧡
HERE IS THAT CHAT:
🕊️ Pigeon Recovery — Summary
We are looking after an injured pigeon with a neck wound.
What we've observed
• The neck does not appear crooked or swollen.
• There is a wound, but there is no obvious pus/discharge or active bleeding.
• The pigeon is able to stand and move around independently.
• It moves to a different place to sleep each night, suggesting it is still mobile and choosing where it feels comfortable.
• Food and water are available to it.
• We haven't clearly seen it eating.
• It has potentially gone two nights and three days without us seeing it eat or drink.
• However, the water level was lower today, and we topped it up. This suggests the pigeon may have been drinking, although evaporation or another animal could also account for some of the loss.
What this likely means
A pigeon that stops eating or drinking when injured is not generally considered to be deliberately trying to “suicide.”Injury, pain, stress, illness, or weakness can cause a bird to eat less or become less obvious about feeding.
The fact that this pigeon is standing, walking around, changing sleeping locations, and apparently possibly drinkingis encouraging.
What we're doing
• Keeping fresh water available.
• Keeping food available, preferably close to where the pigeon rests so it doesn't have to travel far.
• Providing a quiet, sheltered area away from cats, dogs and excessive disturbance.
• Giving the pigeon space rather than repeatedly handling it.
• Not force-feeding or syringing water into its mouth, because this can cause aspiration and make things worse.
🩹 The wound
For now, we should leave the wound alone.
• Don't pick at it, peel anything off, squeeze it, or try to open or close it.
• Don't apply creams, ointments, disinfectants, alcohol, peroxide, essential oils, or other household products to it.
• Don't try to straighten, manipulate, or massage the neck.
• Avoid unnecessary handling of the pigeon, as stress can be harmful to an injured bird.
• Simply observe the wound and let it heal naturally unless a wildlife rehabilitator or veterinarian gives specific instructions.
The fact that there is currently no active bleeding, pus/discharge, or obvious swelling is reassuring.
What to watch for
Seek help from a wildlife rehabilitator or veterinarian if:
• The pigeon becomes unable to stand or move normally.
• It becomes very weak or unresponsive.
• It has difficulty breathing or swallowing.
• The wound starts bleeding.
• The wound becomes increasingly red, swollen, wet, foul-smelling, or develops pus/discharge.
• We become confident that it has had no water for several days.
• Its overall condition noticeably deteriorates.
Water
An adult pigeon may drink roughly 30–60 mL of water per day under ordinary conditions, although this varies with temperature, food, activity and health. An injured or dehydrated bird may need more.
Because the water level was lower today, we can monitor it by putting a measured amount of fresh water into the dish and checking the level again around the same time tomorrow. This may help determine whether the pigeon is drinking when we're not watching.
Overall
At this point, the pigeon has several encouraging signs: it is mobile, standing, choosing its own resting places, has no obvious neck deformity or swelling, the wound isn't actively bleeding or producing discharge, and the water level has gone down.
For now, the best approach is to provide easy access to food and clean water, leave the wound undisturbed, give the pigeon a quiet place to recover, and monitor for changes.
If its condition worsens, or if we become certain it isn't drinking or is unable to eat, professional wildlife or veterinary help should be sought.

You're welcome. ❤️ A few additional things are worth keeping in mind:
• Predators: Cats, dogs, rats and even other birds can stress or injure it. If possible, give it a sheltered spot with some cover.
• Heat and weather: Make sure it has shade and somewhere dry. Dehydration can happen much faster in hot weather.
• Droppings: Keep an eye on them if you can. Regular droppings are a useful sign that food and water are going through its system. A sudden major reduction can be concerning.
• Appetite: You don't necessarily need to see it eat. Look for disturbed food, seed husks, or droppings near the feeding area.
• Avoid handling: Even if you want to check the wound, unnecessary catching and restraint can cause considerable stress.
• Don't give medications: Don't give human painkillers, antibiotics, or other medicines unless a veterinarian specifically directs you to.
• Neck movement: Pay attention to whether it can comfortably lower its head to drink/eat and raise it again. Difficulty doing so would be more concerning than simply eating when you're not watching.
• Overall behavior matters: A pigeon that remains alert, stands, walks, changes resting places and reacts to its surroundings is generally more encouraging than one that becomes increasingly still or unresponsive.
One particularly useful thing you could do tomorrow is measure the water you put out and check how much is left 24 hours later. That will give you a much better indication of whether it's actually drinking.
And honestly, based on everything you've described so far, I wouldn't panic tonight. Keep things quiet, make food and water easy to reach, and let the little bird rest. 🕊️❤️

I'm glad. 😊🕊️ From everything you've described, there are several genuinely encouraging signs. You're giving the pigeon the most important things right now: safety, quiet, food, water, and space to recover.
Hopefully tomorrow you'll find that the water has gone down a little more and the little fellow is still moving around. ❤️
You're doing a kind thing by looking after it.