Pigeon – Injured Leg

This racing pigeon came to us with a very swollen leg, where it was being strangled by a leg ring. The ring would have been fitted by the owner, it is used to identify the pigeon.

The poor boy was in a lot of pain, his foot and leg was very badly swollen and hot. Trying to remove the hard plastic ring was a delicate operation, we needed to remove it to allow blood to freely flow and allow the swelling to settle, without harming his leg or over stressing the pigeon.

We took our time using a dremel, we cut through the ring enough to break one side, then we repeated the same on the other side.

The pigeons skin was dying around the ring, forming a hard ridge around it, making the removal very challenging, we needed to remove it without ripping off his skin.

After 30 minutes the ring was off, he was given antibiotics and pain killers. We had a happy pigeon!!

Today he can walk again and the swelling is reducing. We hope to release him in a few days.