Blood in Droppings?

[Scuiry]

Folks,

I have a baby pigeon that just developed what looks like red traces in her droppings. Nothing like profuse bleeding or anything, just dark red marks or traces.

I've seen this sort of thing in adults occasionally and it just goes away. But I've never seen it in a baby (four to six weeks).

She had a fecal yesterday but that was before I noticed this. I'm still waiting for the results.

I'm inclined to think that things like this happen in pigeons once in a while and it's no big deal. However, this baby has had a long and rocky "early childhood" with the parents abandoning it and having to hand-feed it myself. Does anyone know if this happens occasionally in babies?

Many thanks,

Daniel

P.S. Looking forward to some of your private responses too

[Reti]

Hi Daniel,
I don't want to scare you, but the only time I saw this was in Sir B. when he had aspergillosis. It does not have to be aspergillus with your baby, I guess there can be a whole lot of reasons to have blood in the droppings, and as you said, it might just go away. I am just giving you one reason.
Other synptoms Sir B. had was vomiting, not eating and sleeping a lot, also I think he had fever because he was cold and shivering.
I hope your baby's bloody droppings are of no significance.
Reti

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[Scuiry]

Hi Reti,

Yes, I remember your loss of Sir B. and the problem he had. I am waiting for the fecal exam results later today. She seems fine in every other way (well, except for her size; early childhood abandoment, etc.) She now weighs only 20 grams less than my smallest pigeon.

I also wondered if I may have inadvertenly hurt her with the feeding needle and she is bleeding a little now? It only started yesterday. A few minutes ago it was pinkish in one spot, not dark red.

Daniel

[Reti]

Could be just a slight injury, Daniel. If it is, I hope it is healing.
20 gr. is really small, how old is s/he?
Reti

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[Scuiry]

She's 213 grams - only 20 less than my smallest pigeon.

Someone mentioned to me that this is one symptom of paratyphoid. I've had no experience with this disease but none of my birds are exposed to the outside, and none of my indoor birds have ever been out of the house except to the vet. This is the first hint of anything like that and I have over fifty birds.

Comments, anyone?

Daniel

[Reti]

Daniel, I would monitor her weight very closely, like twice a day, morning and night. I am saying this because Sir B, was losing weight, and that means that something is wrong.
Also you can try some Baytril.
I don't have much experience with pigeon diseases, only what my babies had.
Tiny had paratyphoid, he was skiny, had no feathers, I had to tube feed him. He had treatment for a long time. Now he is a healthy 410grams.
If you could take her to a vet that would be the best, I think. Did you get the results of the droppings?
I hope she will be well really soon.
Reti

[Scuiry]

I haven't put her on a scale today but every time I pick her she feels heavier/more plump.

I honestly don't know what I'm seeing in the droppings. I examined them very closely last night (hope no one here is having breakfast at this moment). It's a reddish tinge or streak. I don't actually see what I would call drops of blood. If this is not blood, I am guessing it has something to do with how she is digesting the formula. Her droppings have been turning from the color of the formula to normal greenish. She seems fine in every other way.

I was able to reach the vet yesterday and he does not think this is Salmonella. I know, I know, TEST, TEST, TEST. I think if she had paratyphoid she'd be a whole lot sicker. She's bright, alert, responsive and clingy when I'm around. She has her siesta moments too

This is all uncharted waters for me. But then I seem to get the exotic pigeon ailments (burst air sacs, mysterious eschars, birds that stop flying for no reason, then mysteriously fly again). I see things that no one anywhere I've chatted has ever seen. Now, I can add stunted growth and strange inexplicable reddish streaks in the droppings.

Daniel

[Trees Gray]

Daniel,

I have nothing "enlightening" to say, but the birds always seem to find the right person to help them with their ailments. You seem to be a very meticulous rehabber and are very observent. So, I figure, you will get to the bottom of it, or heal the birds, regardless!

Treesa

[Reti]

Hi Daniel,
i thimk I forgot to mention that when Tiny had stunted growth (he was half the size of his sibling at tw weeks) he was very alert, hungry all the time, but generally acting normal, he still had salmonella, though.
I think testing would be the right way to go.
Reti

[Scuiry]

Originally posted by Reti:
Hi Daniel,
i thimk I forgot to mention that when Tiny had stunted growth (he was half the size of his sibling at tw weeks) he was very alert, hungry all the time, but generally acting normal, he still had salmonella, though.
I think testing would be the right way to go.
Reti

I'd be willing to subject to her a blood screening if I really thought this was a possibility. None of my birds are exposed to anything outside. None of my birds have ever been sick. They have to take the blood sample from her wing. I don't want to put her through that unnecessarily.

She is growing now, and weighs almost as much as my smallest pigeon. It seems to me that she got off to a bad start with her parents virutally abandoning her early on. The very first day she hatched the male started mounting the hen, wanting to drive and start all over again. That's way too early to be working on the next nest. Plus the hen was fighting off a sinus infection at that point. I don't think she was able to care for it between the male wanting to start a new round of eggs right away and her sinusitus.

But the reddish droppings have me stumped. Today they seem normal. Who knows how these things work?

Daniel

[Reti]

Daniel, if they are normal today, and she is acting otherwise normal, just wait and see.
If you see the blood again, could you just take her droppings to a vet to have them examined? That's what I would do. I don't like to take my babies to the vet either if not absuletly necessary. It is too stressful for them.
Reti

[Scuiry]

The reddish droppings are gone, but I had a harrowing experience with Faith on Saturday. She developed crop stasis, vomited and aspirated some of it, starting a downward spiral that nearly killed her. She is on Baytril now and oxygen being fed into her compartment. She could not breathe outside the compartment on Saturday and collapsed. I will know more on Wednesday about her prognosis.

Some people have warned me about Paratyphoid. She is now on Baytril for her respiratory infection which is also standard treatment for Salmonella. Either way, they're going to get at the bottom of this.

In the meantime I took her nest mate in for blood work to check for Paratyphoid, a precaution only.

Will report back as I learn more about both of them.

Daniel

[Scuiry]

Just so you all know, this symptom stopped not long after I posted this question. In the meantime the bird had a close call with aspiration pneumonia but has recovered completely.

Some of you wrote to me privately and expressed concern about Salmonella. I did not have her tested but I had its adopted nest-mate done. Both blood and fecal samples were done and neither is shedding Salmonella. As highly contagious as this is I would expect with their close contact for several weeks that if one had it, the other would get it too.

Faith (that is her name) is about half her normal size for an eight week old Fantail. If she gains another sixty grams she will be the size of my smallest Fantail. It has been a harrowing three weeks trying to manage her care but she is now out of the woods and just has to eat a lot to catch up with her older siblings.

Maybe all's well that ends well

Daniel

[Chikory's Inner Chicken]

I did not read all the replys, so I dunno if this topic is over or not. But I had a pigeon that does that from time to time. Her name is Speck. She was in no hurry to mate, so I put it down to that. Because once she got married and laid eggs, she was fine. I did however find some more recently, but it was only one or 2 drops. She now has a baby that hatched just afew days ago, and is still doing well. So it may just be nothing. Just be sure to worm them atleast every 6 months, 3 if you let them out, or when ever you introduce a new bird into your cage. That might help. Also, greens! Lettuce is not good for them to eat too often, I find mine love the inside of the lettuce, the core. bean sprouts and alfalfa is good. Cabbage - very bad! Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

~Chikory