Here at Wing and a Prayer we try our absolute best to ensure that all the birds that come into us receive the best care and have the best outcomes. Obviously the optimum situation is the birds come in, are treated and released back into the wild. However, sometimes this is not always possible.

Cisco came to us as a very small nestling wood Pigeon. Being the first of the season he was by himself and we hand raised him as we do with all the other babies. Right from the start he was extremely attached to us and even when we paired him with another nestling that came in, he really wasn’t interested in being with them. Once he was weaned Cisco was put out into the Aviary with the other birds to start the process of wilding up.

Unfortunately, during this time he received an injury which turned out to be a break to one of his legs, on top of that he was not thriving in the Aviary as he did not want to be away from humans. This is very unusual for wood pigeons as generally they wild up very easily especially in the company of their own kind.

We tried everything that we could to reset Cisco‘s leg with painkillers, splint and bandages (which we have done many times before) however he did not handle the situation well and during his healing time became more more attached to his handlers and unfortunately, despite many many attempts, his leg has set itself in less than ideal position. It is already obvious that Cisco will be living out his life with us in captivity, however, this is exactly what he wants and he will have the best quality of life.

As a self funded rescue, we try to do as much treatment in house as possible however on this occasion we are going to have to reach out to the vets for treatment. Cisco’s leg is currently in a position that he cannot walk around and therefore even though he will be a domesticated pigeon he still needs to be able to move around in the Aviary in order to have a quality of life and exercise. At the moment this is not possible due to his break.

We’ve consulted with a vet who treats birds and they are willing to have a look at him, sedate him, x-ray and set his leg in the correct position. This should mean that he would be able to live his best life with us here. Unfortunately, this is going to cost in the region of £300 depending on how much they need to do.

I rarely ask for money but on this occasion I need to reach out to my wonderful supporters and see if anybody can spare a few pounds to help us reach the goal whereby we can get Cisco the quality of life he deserves.

we appreciate any help that you can provide us.