Is this a male or female ? picture provided

[KORMEZ]

hey i have had pigeons for 10 years but sometimes this ODD bird out of a few is hard to tell if its a female or male i thought ill try it out hear as more eyes are better then 2

i think she's a female since i can fit 1 finger on her but she doesen't look like a female but then again she i have never seen her coo she is still young maybe 4-6 months old i hope she is a female.












she is a turkish tumbler btw


OH and i forgot to add i have another female, every time i touch her bottom area it always feels like she has an egg is this normal or :s she does not show any signs of egg failure laying or anything

[jbangelfish]

I don't know the breed and various breeds can have a different look but it looks like a hen to me. What do you mean about the egg with your other bird?

[KORMEZ]

i meant when i touch her bottom like sex area i can feel a tip of egg its been like that for weeks now :s im going to get her together with her mate now see if they mate maybe shell lay :s ive never seen her lay since i got her new hope things go well

[Trees Gray]

How old is she and how long has she been with her mate?

If she an issue with an egg stuck in there, you should not mate her, that might compound the problem.

Isolate her and take her to a compitent avian vet and have her examined.

[jbangelfish]

It is more likely that you are feeling her pelvic bones. If she had an egg there that long, she would be eggbound and be having trouble walking by now. Once an egg is ready to be laid, ie, has the shell formed, it will drop very soon, probably within a day.

Bill

[KORMEZ]

its not her bones :X feels like ther is an egg der

[Trees Gray]

Originally Posted by jbangelfish

It is more likely that you are feeling her pelvic bones. If she had an egg there that long, she would be eggbound and be having trouble walking by now. Once an egg is ready to be laid, ie, has the shell formed, it will drop very soon, probably within a day.

Bill

Not necessarily, they can have an egg stuck and act fine for sometime, but it needs to be taken care of immediately.

Originally Posted by KORMEZ

its not her bones :X feels like ther is an egg der

Please isolate the bird and put her on a warm heating pad with towel in between her and the heating pad.

Give her a drop or two of olive oil down the throat-each day. Give her liquid calcium supplement. A drop of colloidal silver for infection is also important. Also, if she has access to humid air, like close to a hot shower-that is helpful. But be very careful she doesn't get any hot water on her. Bathing is also good for her. Take her to an avian vet as soon as possible. If she expels the egg still make it a point to take her to a vet and have her checked, these issues are very serious and rarely get better on their own.

[jbangelfish]

Is this bird able to pass feces? If so, I don't see how it could have an egg stuck. If a bird was unable to pass feces for weeks, it would be very ill or dead.

You might be able to examine the vent by gently pressing on it with your fingers. If there is an egg present, you should be able to see it. If it truly has an egg stuck, as trees said, a heat pad is the best treatment but you can also put a couple drops of olive oil or vegetable oil directly into the vent to help her pass the egg. Eggs that actually get stuck in a birds oviduct are usually soft shelled and don't slide as they should. I have helped birds as small as finches to pass an egg. They will become so uncomfortable and listless that they will allow you to help them. Of course, you have to be very gentle. If you are getting soft shelled eggs, your birds need more calcium in their diet. There should be ground oyster shell in your grit.

I also think that putting this bird with it's mate would be a good idea as it will stimulate her hormones and help her to lay any eggs that she may have. If she eats, acts normal and has droppings like a normal bird, there might not be anything wrong at all. It is not normal for pigeons to be without a mate and keeping them separated for prolonged periods is not really healthy for them. It is OK to keep the males and females separated over the winter as this is not a very good time for them to raise young, at least in the cold areas of the world but when it begins to warm up and spring is in the air, they all want to mate, lay eggs and raise their young.

I would not rush a pigeon off to a vet or probably much of any other bird for that matter. Birdkeepers and pigeon keepers usually have so many birds that they could not afford to do this. It is best to educate yourself on the various health problems that they can encounter and be your own vet in most cases. There is so much information available via the internet and books that we can learn to treat any problems that they may have.

I have sown torn crops with a needle and thread, set and splinted broken bones on pigeons, birds of prey, chickens and treated a variety of illnesses in birds. Every medication that they could ever need is available to all of us.

I hope I'm not coming off as a know it all or stepping on any toes here. I know that I am new to the forum but I have had birds for over 50 years and have pretty well seen everything. Please don't think I'm rude, I am a stubborn old coot but I'm also trying to help.

Bill

[KORMEZ]

ok thanks you very much ill just take er to the vet but how bout the other bird
anyone else think its a female

[Trees Gray]

Hi Bill,

Welcome to our forum and thank you for your advice.

I appreciate all the information you are giving, and we are always open to good sound advice. I agree that you need to learn and do as much as you can for your birds, but this type of issue can get serious fast, and can be critical for someone who is new with birds.

It is standard proceedure to recommend to anyone on our forum, who suspects their hen has an egg "issue" that they not only try the treatments recommended but always that they take the bird to a good qualified avian vet or rehabber, because these types of issues can get very bad quickly and we have seen it.

Not everyone that comes to seek advice here are rehabbers and has the vast experience that you seem to have. We make recommendations that have been proved to be successful, but not for all cases-so we recommend seeking a qualified avian vet or rehabber.

I have had a hen with egg stuck and she pooped fine and acted just fine, but that doesn't mean I should not intervene as it was obvious she wasn't going to pass it on her own.

We have seen many different scenarios here, where calcium, heat and moisture do not always help, and there was more going on then meets the eye. Some hens have a chronic infection, some don't properly absorb calcium. Many times a good avian vet is necessary to do detailed examinations and do surgery.

[Pidgey]

There are other things that can happen which cause odd lumps in their abdomens. They can have tumors, calcified debris from an ectopic egg or from a ruptured oviduct, or even an infection that causes something like a cyst. Does the entire back end of this bird feel like it's fuller than it should be?

Pidgey

[KORMEZ]

no just when you put ur finger firmly on her vent you can feel an egg or what feels like a round tip of an egg i gently pushed it a little and it does go backwards a slight her droppings are fine but its been like this for a while so i have no idea what it could be and she is not showing any sighns of sickness :s its just really weird, they also mated today with her partner so im going to give it a few more days maybe she will lay :s

[Pidgey]

Kormez,

You might want to read this one:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=10686

Pidgey

[ND Cooper]

Do I think this bird is a female? After useing my x-Ray vision, and consulting my neighbors wife's crystal ball, witch only enhanses my own personal observations , This pigeon is: ..................
A.............
Female!
No applause, just throw money!
Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou.
K, prove me correct in 2 to 4 more weeks, Thanks, ND Cooper

[ND Cooper]

Small shoulders.