Strange flight feather damage

[John_D]

This is "Rolo", who we rescued on Saturday. She seems quite young, but should be flying OK. However, she was hiding in a doorway and running out for food, and made no attempt to fly when we went to catch her. There is some damage to her wing feathers which we haven't seen before, so anyone any ideas?

John

[Reti]

It doesn't look like the typicall mite destruction, rather like something fugal, maybe. I've never seen this before.
Hope someone has an idea.

Are all feathers like this?

Reti

[Pidgey]

Hi, John,

Is that breakage in the feathers to the lower left of the picture? It's almost like the bird has been flapping in close quarters (like a cage) enough to rough up the wings. And are the leading edges crusty or is that an optical illusion?

Pidgey

[Trees Gray]

It looks like all the flights on one side were run thru a buzz saw, rather rough looking, no clean edges, like the blade was not sharp. I'm sure that is not the case, but it does look like she ran into something. How does the other wing look?

The outer flights do look crusty.

[feralpigeon]

Hi John,

Looks like the feathers on a bird I picked up w/a fungal problem.

fp

[pdpbison]

...time for some nice, warm, luxurious Baths...

Looks like some sort of crud and abrasive damage...


Phil
las vegas

[John_D]

Hi folks,

Both wings are like this, yes. She was like this when we found her, so it won't be from flapping in a cage - unless she had been in one and someone released her of course. There is some kind of encrustation, too. We thought it looked almost as if edges had melted.

How did you sort out the fungal problem, fp?

John

[Pidgey]

John,

Now that you've answered the question about encrustation, I'd like to say that I've seen some sick pigeons who essentially had hardened poop built up on their wings due to dragging their wings in it. When they're standing, after all, the leading edges are towards the ground. And often when they're sick, they just don't preen at all.

How's the rest of the bird?

Pidgey

[feralpigeon]

Hi John,

I'd like to say to you definitively that yes, this was definitely fungal. However, if I'd brought this bird to the vet, it probably would have been euthanized.

It was in a flock that I regularly feed and check in on. For a time, someone had decided to lace food and do other dirty tricks like put out moldy bread for them. That would be a new batch of moldy bread every morning for them to feed on.

The bird I'm referring to was easy for me to follow (unknowingly at the time) as it was the only one w/a ball foot. It was doing fine w/it's disability as far as I could see. After about a month of stopping and sweeping up the dirty tricks food in the am on my way to work and trying to lure them to a different site to eat, I drove by one a.m. to see quite the frenzy. There was the flock, taking turns attacking a limping, bleeding pij that was unable to fly and was ambulating only w/the help of its wings. When I got up close, it was Ballsy, w/a huge hole in his back.

He is doing better these days, however, his breathing continues to be labored although improved from the first few weeks of his stay here. Had skin sloughing off under feathers, broken feathers and responded well to the copper sulphate treatments. He also had discoloration of tongue and cere, the tongue and cere have improved but never completey resolved.
What appeared to be blackish has lightened to a greenish caste in places.

His hole closed up & he's walking these days. No small victory for him. He will be here for a while if not indefinitely. I doubt anyone will want to adopt him. I'm afraid he'll always need a close eye on him for medical needs.

Best,

fp

[Trees Gray]

Originally Posted by John_D

Hi folks,
How did you sort out the fungal problem, fp?
John

Hi John,

I'm not fp, but you should know, if you don't want to risk taking the bird to the vet, why not cut up a clove of garlic, put some in the water dish, if you haven't already. It is anti-fungul as well as anti-bacterial. It won't hurt the bird, but will defenitely help him.

[Trees Gray]

Originally Posted by feralpigeon

It was in a flock that I regularly feed and check in on. For a time, someone had decided to lace food and do other dirty tricks like put out moldy bread for them. That would be a new batch of moldy bread every morning for them to feed on.

The bird I'm referring to was easy for me to follow (unknowingly at the time) as it was the only one w/a ball foot. It was doing fine w/it's disability as far as I could see. After about a month of stopping and sweeping up the dirty tricks food in the am on my way to work and trying to lure them to a different site to eat, I drove by one a.m. to see quite the frenzy. There was the flock, taking turns attacking a limping, bleeding pij that was unable to fly and was ambulating only w/the help of its wings. When I got up close, it was Ballsy, w/a huge hole in his back.

He is doing better these days, however, his breathing continues to be labored although improved from the first few weeks of his stay here. Had skin sloughing off under feathers, broken feathers and responded well to the copper sulphate treatments. He also had discoloration of tongue and cere, the tongue and cere have improved but never completey resolved.
What appeared to be blackish has lightened to a greenish caste in places.

His hole closed up & he's walking these days. No small victory for him. He will be here for a while if not indefinitely. I doubt anyone will want to adopt him. I'm afraid he'll always need a close eye on him for medical needs.

Best,

fp

Who could be so mean? I'd like to do some dirty tricks to that persons breakfast.... Do you have an idea who it could be?

I'm glad Ballsy is in your hands. Sounds like he will be in your capable hands for sometime. The labored breathing is quite an issue in itself. Is it open beak breathing, or seeing the air sacs going up and down on the back?

[re lee]

I may be wrong but the bird looks as if it has been where it roosts or lives in a dirty area. Like the outer flight feathers have dried droppings on it. And it looks as if it is a soft colored bird. Softer colored featherd birds will breakdown there feathers the more they fly. As the feathers are of a weaker structure. Is it pretty much red all over do you have a whole picture of the bird you can post. Even homers that get lost for a while and fly and fly there feathers break down. If the droppings appear normal Then the birds over all health is not that bad. I read the bird had maybe a swollen foot. This could be a problem perhaps. moldy bread. The person putting it out may think its good enough for the birds. You sometime may see that person and let them know that it could weaken the birds some.

[John_D]

Thanks for responses, folks.

Pidge, yes, I think it could be old poop and maybe some stuff from wherever it has been roosting. The bird does need a good bath - she had one when we brought her home, but she wants a good soaking I think. The breast feathers are all kind of matted, too. Unfortunately, I didn't take a full pic of her at the weekend. She's a dark brown color - not what I'd call a red - with bronze/chocolate showing in the plumage. A real mix. I'll be getting some pics when she's cleaned up, next time I'm there.

She is a city pigeon, Robert, and they hang around there on roofs, pick in trash bins sometimes, get pretty dirty. Know what you mean about homers. I picked one up couple of weeks back and she was kind of greasy and the feathering felt hard - like this little one now in Cynthia's care. (My fancier friend here said, that homer hadn't just dropped out, she's been living rough a few weeks at least. I believe she may have been in the race from the S of France to the UK about two - three months back, like another one I found exhausted around that time.)

FP, that's quite a story that "Ballsy" has - bless you for taking care of him!

I'll pass that on about the garlic, too. I know Cynthia has a clove or two in the kitchen

Anyway, the bird is in the 'doviary' now. Crop emptied OK after a while, and she had done some decent poops. She now has all the food and water she wants, her own big box and perch. Cynthia may put one of the 'trusty' birds with her to help her out by example

John

[feralpigeon]

Originally Posted by Trees Gray

Who could be so mean? I'd like to do some dirty tricks to that persons breakfast.... Do you have an idea who it could be?

I'm glad Ballsy is in your hands. Sounds like he will be in your capable hands for sometime. The labored breathing is quite an issue in itself. Is it open beak breathing, or seeing the air sacs going up and down on the back?

Hi Treesa and all,

Ballsy breathes w/a labored breath heaving up and down, no open mouth. He also has some involuntary twitching.

I think it was someone from the newly painted Paint Store on the corner. They also would put food out w/mayonaise that was turning. What ever was on the crumb mixture, would burn my skin when I swept it, along w/some intestinal discomfort. So for these reasons, I would suspect the action to be deliberate. The pigeons are successfully moved accross the street now. An old man used to feed them @ the paint store corner for years and would arrive on a bike w/food,they apparently would land all over him. It was a hard habit to break them of, staying there that is.

Thanks John and Treesa for your kind words,

fp

[minimonkey]

Thank goodness for folks like Feralpigeon who help save these poor fellows from the human race's ignorance and cruelty. It makes me so sad/mad/etc to think of anyone deliberately harming animals -- I just hope that what goes around, comes around.