Opal came to Palomacy through a local parrot store. From time to time people bring them pigeons and they immediately call me. They told me she seemed healthy, was eating well and active.

But upon examining her, I found four puncture wounds hidden underneath her feathers. Wounds and injuries are often hard to see because feathers can hide so much. If the injury didn’t bleed much, you would see no evidence. What seems like a small puncture could be deep and life threatening and even if the wound is small, depending on the bacteria that was introduced, a small wound can become fatal.

Opal and I headed to an avian vet and she was put on antibiotics and for the topical, we are using Manuka honey. Sticky and messy but it works wonders with shallow wounds. (She came in with the purple dye on her, likely a failed effort by the person who flew her to deter hawk attack.)

Best of all, I was able to take Opal because when I reached out on social media, I found a wonderful new foster volunteer, Jesse. Palomacy can’t continue to help pigeons without new volunteers fostering and new adopters giving them forever homes. Upon meeting Opal, Jesse’s mom was moved to write this post on Facebook (further raising awareness).

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