Found White Pigeon-Long Island NY

[sasha008]

I work at an animal hospital. When I came into work today there was a pigeon in one of the cages. It was found yesterday sitting in the road in Kings Park, New York.

It is pure white with dark eyes. It has a yellow band with the number 10535 IFA 2004.

The bird is weak but resposive and standing. When it tries to walk it stumbles. There are no wounds or fractures that I can see. It doesn't appear neurologic. I think it stumbles from weakness. It is very thin. The poop is nasty looking bright green and loose. The eyes, cere, mouth look clear. It shows no interest in food or water. It's crop feels empty. I tube fed it some baby bird formula.

Can someone let me know any meds the bird might need and how to track the owner. I would have to bring the bird home with me as there will be no one here to care for it after we close. I do have 2 pigeons at home. I can keep this bird in a separate room, would that be ok to protect my birds?

Thanks! Jen

[Pidgey]

Can you get it on Baytril @ 15 mg/kg, PO, BID and Metronidazole @ 20 mg/kg, PO, BID?

Pidgey

[sasha008]

Yes I can give those meds. The bird weighs 288 grams by the way.

[Pidgey]

That's probably pretty bad for a white homer. He's probably down quite a bit on the weight. If you're into the science of it, there's a protocol for badly emaciated birds. You have to be very careful when tube-feeding them because it's actually possible to kill them by feeding them too much at a time. Read this:

http://www.urbanwildlifesociety.org/WLR/Emaciation.html

It'd be real good if you can get this bird under a heat lamp where he or she can get out from under it if necessary. It'd also be good to run a fecal float and see if there are any noticeable parasites (coccidial oocysts, worm eggs).

Another question is just how bright green is the poop and are the urates green as well or are they white?

Pidgey

[sasha008]

The poop he passed tonight has been an emerald green. No urates seen yet. The paper he was on when I came in was full of dried poop, like a grass green or lighter. The urates looked white. On looking at the bird some more, it seems he may have a slight injury to the left leg. He uses it but doesn't put his full weight on it when standing. Probably why he fell over when walking plus he's weak as well. The inside of his beak seems a bit pale to me. I'm running a float now. I have pet tinic and iron dextran injectable as mentioned in the article but I don't know if he has an infection or not.

[Pidgey]

You need to assume that he does (have an infection) because when they're at that stage of the game, you can't play around. If it turns out that he's got worms, you'd be better off with Levamisol as a wormer, even though it'll cause nausea. Many of the other wormers might be too hard on the system right now.

It really would be best to get him under a heat lamp because the infrared will penetrate all the way through and he probably needs the energy. I've brought a few back that were that bad by way of the heat lamp. I've been working on getting the variables in that Emaciation Protocol into something more tangible for you but that's easier said than done.

If you're using Kaytee to feed him, I'd probably start with a low dose and mixed thin besides, maybe no more than 10 ccs at a whack until you see solids beginning to come out the back end.

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

They can also get a condition commonly called "Paratyphoid" which is really a Salmonellosis of the typhimurium strains. Usually they get it from mouse droppings (the -murium is Latin for: "from mice") that can cause articular pain. You can see it present with lameness or an inability or reluctance to fly, too. Sometimes, a boil will occur over an affected joint. In such cases, we call it a "Paratyphoid Boil" but they can occur from a nasty E. coli and some other pathogens as well. Most of them can be addressed with Baytril; every now and then you come across something more stubborn and have to try other medications. The DDx can get pretty complicated sometimes.

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

Incidentally, birds often get a hemolytic anemia from a bacterial infection. If you want to run a PCV, you may want to be very careful where and how you take the sample because sometimes they can fail to coagulate properly and you can lose too much blood from a bird that doesn't have enough to give anyhow. If you're going to try that, it'd be better to clip a toenail and have the Clotisol VERY close at hand.

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

That said, you might rather get a respiration rate before you even try that. A normal pigeon's going to be somewhere in the low 30s. If he's breathing faster than that, it might indicate that he's anemic. If that's the case, then you really don't want to stress the bird.

Pidgey

[sasha008]

The fecal float showed tons of coccidia and a few whips. We don't have Levamisol or a heat lamp, I'll try to get a lamp tomorrow. I did use Kaytee very watery and a small amount to start. I haven't seen any boils or lesions anywhere.

[Pidgey]

Whips? Trichomonads?

You can use a Sulfa for the Coccidia. Amprolium's good. Appertex is also good (Clazuril). Whaddya' got?

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

Let's do another test while we're at it--feel the bird's general body shape paying particular attention to the abdomen. See if you think the abdomen feels "full". There shouldn't be a lot of mass behind the legs--it should just taper out. If the (I'm assuming) prominent keel widens noticeably behind the legs, then we've got oviduct trouble. Hopefully, it's just pure stress-induced Coccidiosis but sometimes there are other reasons.

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

Normal Bloodwork Parameters if you feel it necessary to go that route:



Pidgey

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by sasha008

I work at an animal hospital. When I came into work today there was a pigeon in one of the cages. It was found yesterday sitting in the road in Kings Park, New York.

It is pure white with dark eyes. It has a yellow band with the number 10535 IFA 2004.

The bird is weak but resposive and standing. When it tries to walk it stumbles. There are no wounds or fractures that I can see. It doesn't appear neurologic. I think it stumbles from weakness. It is very thin. The poop is nasty looking bright green and loose. The eyes, cere, mouth look clear. It shows no interest in food or water. It's crop feels empty. I tube fed it some baby bird formula.

Can someone let me know any meds the bird might need and how to track the owner. I would have to bring the bird home with me as there will be no one here to care for it after we close. I do have 2 pigeons at home. I can keep this bird in a separate room, would that be ok to protect my birds?

Thanks! Jen

Jen, here is who you need to call to TRY to find out who the owner is. These older birds are sometimes passed from fancier to fancier and records are not kept. Val may or may not be able to help you. He can at least tell you who purchased the band and banded the bird. After that, I don't know.

Val Matteucci ................................(516)794-3612

[Pidgey]

Clazuril: 5-10 mg/kg, PO, QD or 6.5 mg/kg, PO, Once

Amprolium: 0.2 g/L, Drink, QD (I use Corid @ 0.625 ml/cup of water)

Sulfas are going to be based on which one you use and what formulation it is.

Pidgey