not herself!!!

[gailpataa]

I've had a little female pigeon for about 7 years shes always been lively and cheeky. Shes the love of my life but for the past few weeks shes been very dull and mostly just sits on her perch with her feathers fluffed up and appears to be sleeping. She doesn't eat a whole lot or drink alot. She refuses to take a bath and that was one of her favorite pass times especially when i would warm the water. I live at a race track and of course there is hundreds of wild pigeons, often when someone finds a hurt or sick bird they bring it to me to see if i can help it. I'm afraid she has contracted something from one of them. Could someone please help me!!!!!

[John_D]

Hi

What are her poops like? Have they changed in color or form these past few weeks? A competent vet would be able to test a sample of droppings for parasitic infection quite quickly, and for possible bacterial infection with further tests.

Does she live inside or in an outdoor flight? If she is indoors, then it would be difficult to pick up an infection from the environment.

Does she actually come into contact with any of the birds you take in, or share food/water with any of them? Proximity or shared feed would be the usual route of an infection. Were any of the birds diagnosed with any infectious illness?

Check in her mouth to see if it is pink(ish) and clear of any obstruction. Check for any nasal or oral discharge, or watery eye(s). Check for any 'foreign bodies' on her feathers, which could be mites or bird lice.

Let us know what you feed her and, if she does not get natural unfiltered sunlight at all, if she gets any calcium supplement (containing vitamin D3, which sunlight would normally generate).

[Skyeking]

Originally Posted by gailpataa

I've had a little female pigeon for about 7 years shes always been lively and cheeky. Shes the love of my life but for the past few weeks shes been very dull and mostly just sits on her perch with her feathers fluffed up and appears to be sleeping. She doesn't eat a whole lot or drink alot. She refuses to take a bath and that was one of her favorite pass times especially when i would warm the water. I live at a race track and of course there is hundreds of wild pigeons, often when someone finds a hurt or sick bird they bring it to me to see if i can help it. I'm afraid she has contracted something from one of them. Could someone please help me!!!!!

Has she been laying eggs? If not, when did she quit laying eggs?

A compitent vet would be the best option.

[gailpataa]

She actually hasn't laid eggs now for about a year, the last time she started wanting to nest I gave her an egg to set on from a feral pigeon that someone brought me that was hurt and laid an egg a few days after i got it. ( I turned it loose). She settled down with the egg right away. She hasn't laid any of her own for quite sometime before this even. During the time she was setting a friend of mine found a very tiny (approxiatly 2 days old) baby pigeon that had fallen from a nest in a barn into a deep pile of straw. I really didn't know what I was going to do with it because I've never hand raised one this small. So I thought well I guess I could try and see if my bird would take to it (shes always been very mean to any other bird put near her) This is the most priceless thing I have ever seen. Just as I came home she happened to be off her nest and was in the other corner eating, so i carefully put the wee thing beside the egg and stood close by to make sure she wasn't going to attack it. As she started back to her nest she stopped dead in her tracks cocked her head around a couple of times ( I swear she was thinking "I know I wasn't gone that long") She carefully went over and snuggled down on the baby and the egg and raised the baby as her own. But she still hasn't laid any eggs and I have been concerned about this.

[Dobato]

Best post up a photo of her and of her recent droppings, the clearer and better lit, the helpful. Also, what is her breathing like, when she is resting no activity how many breaths is she taking a minute, in/out or up/down count as one breath. What do you have on hand in the way of meds, just in case?

Karyn

[gailpataa]

To answer your questions her poops are not really normal there kind of green with clear outside, and she does live inside ,unfortunately she has come in contact with food and water that some of the other birds have been into. The birds I have brought in are hurt birds or young birds that have fallen from the nest a week or so to early and finding the parents is next to impossible. I feed her wild bird seed (all her life except when very young I raised her on warm wet dry cat food, not knowing better) which she stills munches on when loose around my home. She also likes to munch on muffins or other bread-like food but I try not to let her have to much of this. I have to admit she doesn"t get alot of sunshine but thats the way its always been and shes 7 years old. I don't give her extra calcium but why after all this time, would it start to bother her? Shes always been a very healthy happy bird. I just read something about the feathers changing texture for some reasons and it does seem like hers are starting to change a little and she also hasn't molted this year or very little anyway. Could this be from the calcium you mention or bugs and could you tell me how to treat her for bugs and or correct her feed. This little bird has made alot of sad days in the last few years a whole lot happier for me and I hate to see her like this.