found young pigeon

Question
Hi.  I found a young pigeon in the street 3 days ago trying to dodge cars and a black cat.  I took him home and my family has been feeding him thawed peas, wet puppy chow, and has recently introduced some wild bird seed.  He has been eating and drinking water well.
I can see he has some puncture wounds (likely from the cat)and possibly a broken leg.  He only uses one leg and needs to balance with his wings and beak.  He doesn't seem to want to move around a lot.  Should I buy him a perch so that he strengthens his one good leg in hopes that he can learn to hop?
How can I help him with learning to fly?  I don't think his wings are injured, but I'm not sure.  Do we have a chance to release him back to the wild?
Thank you for your help!

Answer
Hi Maxine

It's good that there's people like you out there that will stop to help an injured animal in need. It's surprising how many people would have looked at that bird and thought nothing of it.

Anyways, it seems like he is healthy (other than the puncture wounds and the potentially broken leg) because he is eating and drinking fine. Keep doing what you are doing. Regarding the perch, I do not think it is necessary to purchase one for him, as pigeons would rather remain on the ground, and pigeon fanciers use rather flat and wide perches for their birds. He should be fine as long as you encourage him to walk around on the ground. To do this, maybe place some of his food a ways away from him and get him to walk to it. Hopefully he will start to hop around soon. And, whatever the movies or books may say, you do not need to teach a young bird to fly. They are quite capable of learning to do it themselves. It is their instinct, so they will teach themselves. I have saved some wild birds and raised my own pigeon's babies in the winter and they always seem to rise a few inches above the ground when they get excited, and when I take them outside, they fly around but always come back to me. Only time will tell if you can release him back into the wild. If he survives into adulthood, which I sincerely hope he does, and seems 100% healthy, then it may be safe to release him. But if he indeed has a broken leg and it heals and he is disabled and cannot walk properly, then it would be unwise to release him. He would most likely succumb to the element, starve, or be eaten. In this case you can keep him as a pet in a cage or let loose around your home (before you do though, make sure you read up on proper pigeon care) or, if keeping him long-term is not possible, then you can take him to a wildlife animal rescue or animal shelter where he will be taken care of or find a new home.

Hopefully I helped a little bit, and hopefully the little pigeon is alright. Once again, I applaud you on helping him, and I'm sure he does too.