On Wednesday when l was walking my dog in the woods, l saw a pigeon hopping and fluttering along the ground. I'd just started the walk, and for various reasons l didn't really want to pick it up, so l decided that if it was still there (there was a lot of heavy undergrowth) when l came back, l would get it, and l have to admit, hoping it wouldn't be. Well, coming back, there it was, on the path.
It's been in the house now since then, and l don't know what to do with him. He's a feisty fellow, and l can't see what's wrong with him, except that one wing hangs slightly lower than the other, and on the crease of the wing and body is a bare patch. He flaps his wings easily enough, he's eating and drinking OK too. I've left the top half of the door open, he's in the space behind the door, and l keep hoping he'll recover and fly off, but not so far.
The thing is, l haven't got the room in my house to keep him long term, and my dog's banned from that room now, which isn't really practical.
Should l take him back to where he came from and see if he'll fly? How can l know before releasing him if he will? If not, can anyone suggest a place that might take him (l'm in Camborne, Cornwall). I phoned the RSPCA last year about a baby pigeon, and the guy said, basically, we're not coming out just for a pigeon, you can take it to a vets but no-one's going to spend the time hand rearing it. Injured pigeons get put down. I hear there's a place in Penzance, but they don't come out and l can't get to them.
If anyone has any other suggestions that would be great.