please help!

[litos]

Hi.

My pigeon (i called him Srulik, which is a nick name for "Israel", since we found him on our indepandance day party) - he's looking a bit stronger. his poop is still allmost liquide and very green, but he seems to be more alart when i put him down after giving him the antibiotics, so i think he is somewhat improving.

please look at this thing i found in the smear and let me know what you think about it. its a x100 lens.

Thanks!
lit.

[Pidgey]

Worm eggs in smears look a little different than worm eggs in floats. These actually resemble worm eggs more than anything else although the shapes are a little "off". Personally, I'd try to acquire some worming medicine for them but I've no idea what it's like finding wormers in Israel. We have another member from Israel but I don't think I've seen any posts from her in a very long time. You might try checking your saturated salt solution to make sure it really is saturated before you do another float test or two.

Anyhow, if you can find and obtain a wormer, get back to the forum for dosing instructions for pigeons.

Pidgey

[litos]

could you give me the name of a wormer to look for? i could get some from the animal hospital, but i have to know what to ask for. is it the same as dog's wormer? is it a liquide? is it given oraly?

i attach pictures of the back (it does look like some bird tried to eat this poor pigeon) and the leg. i need very spesific instructions as for how to treat the leg. i saw the drowings on your link, but where does the stick goes? and - would the pigeon be able to sit with this tape and stick?

thanks.
Lit.

[Pidgey]

Ivermectin, Panacur (which is Fenbendazole and you gotta' be real careful with that one), Oxfendazole, Piperazine, Levamisole. See if you can get one of those.

Well, the beauty of using the wide masking tape (and I have no idea whether you've got that stuff there) is that multiple layers give you stiffness and a stick isn't necessarily needed. There's kind of a funny color up the leg a bit within the feathers that I'd like you to take a closer look at--it's in the bottom left picture. Anyhow, they can heal if you keep them in a towel donut. That's when you roll a towel up from all the edges inward until it makes a nest that they can lay in with a hollow spot for their legs to sit in. If he's not inclined to move around then that can work pretty well, too.

Pidgey

[litos]

yeh, i was looking at that.. its a small cut of the skin. i washed it with water and then put some Polidine solotion, and there for - the funny color.
i trided putting him on the towel - he rather sit on the edge of his food bowel, holding it with his good feet... i think his instinc is the grab something.

i have some wide masking tape (the bowen one that is used for closing boxes? like this? )

Thanks!
Lit.

[Pidgey]

The yellow one. However, if it's been too long, it might not matter anymore. How long has it been since you got the bird in the first place? If it has been closer to two weeks then it might not matter anymore.

Pidgey

[litos]

we found it on our "Israel Indepandance day BBQ", and that was on May 8th. its 2 weeks today. too late?
and what do you meen when you say "too late"? will it never stand on that leg again? will it ever fly?

[litos]

Srulik looks much stronger. i spent some time with him out in the sun during the weekend. i thought it'll do him good, to see some other birds. beeing indoors for 2 weeks, all alone, can be quite dipressing.
i have no idea if that was the trigger, or just time and medication, but he looks so much better today! and also make some sounds (to make me leave him alone when i come to give him the antibiotics...)

Today i took him out of his busket and watched him in my empty coop- and he was running around. i suppose the leg is healing well. he still can't / wont fly, but i'm hoping he will, as soon as some new feathers grow.

i'm still trying to get the wormer (i should have it in 2 days or so). how long do you think i should continue with antibiotics?

here is today's happy picture, Srulik on 2 legs, in the coop!

[Pidgey]

I meant that it's too late to bother splinting it because it's probably already formed some kind of union.

He's looking a lot better! How long have we been on the antibiotics so far?

Pidgey

[litos]

we started on the 15th. it's been 11 days.

[Pidgey]

Well, considering that we were originally giving him the antibiotics prophylactically in case he picked up Pasteurella from the (likely) predator that might have gotten hold of him (if memory serves; goodness knows it's having a devil of a time of late), then you're past the dangerous period and can stop it now.

Pidgey

[litos]

Hello my Pigeon-loving friends,
Just a short message to let you all know my feral pigeon in getting better. we stopped the antibiotics, and he is a much more lively (and wild) bird. i try not to interact with him too much, and can't wait to see him fly away! (not because i dont like him, but because i belive that he should (if he can) go back to being "as free as a bird").

The other news is that new feathers are starting to show on his back, and it seems a bit troumatic to his not-fully recovered skin. his back looked really good and healed befor the feathers appear, but now it looks as if the feathers are tearing the skin where the wonds are. i attach a picture. is there anything i can do for him? or is it just a matter of time?

thanks,
Lit.

[Pidgey]

Oh, that looks okay. Just give him some time and it'll all get covered over.

Pidgey

[litos]

Hi all,
just wanted to update you about my pigeon.

well, new feathers are gowring all over his back, covering the wonds. the tail was the last to start growing, and my pigeon didn't try flying without it. i was keeping him in my empty chicken house in a small open Laundry basket (that way, it was easyier for me to check on him). a few days ago i came into the chicken house and found him out of the basket - which means he flew out, which is great. i can't wait to send him to freedom. i will keep him in the chicken house a couple of weeks, just untill his tail feathrs are all grown. then i will open the chicken house's door and let him fly away or stay - whatever he chooses to do.

i wanted to thank u again for helping me out. i couldn't do it without you, and i feel this pigeon wouldn't servive without the antibiotics and feeding and mostly - the protection i gave him trough his healing time.

i allso wanted to say that if anyone from Israel would need help in the future - i will try to help with my (little) experiance - and you can tell them to email me at litos.mail@gmail.com.

all the best!
Lit.

[SerendipityCA]

Dear Litos,

I can't tell you how wonderful this story has been to read. And, I got to read it all at once, including Saturday's wonderful post, and the photographs, so I didn't have to wait to see the happy result.

What a lucky little guy your pidgie is, to have been found by someone as caring and competent as you. Here I am halfway around the world from you, and I marvel at this story - and how probably, all around the globe, people I'll never meet or hear about are doing things like this, quietly being kind to animals just because they feel compassion. Bless you.