Another Baby Pigeon

[surya-s]

Can I give the pigeon a bath? Is it ok as he has the pox and wearing sponge? How do I give him a bath? As the pox is still developing, may be it'll cover the eyes completely in a few days. How long does it take the pox to dry and fall? Will he take food himself if and when the eyes are covered? As both me and my husband have to be away at work the whole day, how do I feed him when he can't see the food and eat?

Could the moderators move this post to the Sick or Injured pigeons section, please?

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by surya-s

Can I give the pigeon a bath? Is it ok as he has the pox and wearing sponge? How do I give him a bath? As the pox is still developing, may be it'll cover the eyes completely in a few days. How long does it take the pox to dry and fall? Will he take food himself if and when the eyes are covered? As both me and my husband have to be away at work the whole day, how do I feed him when he can't see the food and eat?

Could the moderators move this post to the Sick or Injured pigeons section, please?

You can let the bird take a bath, but this would not be advised in a flock/loft situation unless the bird were completely isolated from the others as the virus could be spread via the bath water. You can offer a non-tippable pan (cake/pie pan with about 2 inches of tepid water in it) as a "bathtub". Make sure the bird gets completely dry after bathing and does not get chilled.

It IS possible that the pox lesions will completely cover the eyes before they start to shrink and drop off. You need to put the food and water in EXACTLY the same place each day for the bird. If it has a few days to learn where the food and water is, it can probably fend for itself. I have totally blind pigeons that are completely self sufficient, but I have to be very careful about where things are for them.

You WILL have to assure that the bird is getting enough nutrition by checking the contents of the crop. If the crop is empty, then you need to feed the bird by hand. Since it is not a tiny baby, it should be able to survive on two to three feedings a day. In our Resources Forum you will find a number of different ways to hand feed. I feed by a crop needle attached to a syringe. Others use a "balloon" feeding approach, others feed from a spoon .. Just have a look at all the ways, and pick one that you think will work for you if needed.

Please post back with any questions you may have and let us know how you and the bird are doing.

Terry

[surya-s]

Thank u Terry, I'll try bathing the pigeon, and no, I do not have any other birds. In fact I am not at all familiar with birds, just took this one in since he couldn't use his legs properly and was abandoned by the parents. I actually found him in a toilet in our college. As far as I know we do not have any rehabbers here, so I am trying to do what I can. My only previous experience with a bird was with another pox affected pigeon, which died.
And thanks a lot Larry, for so much details. Cochin SEZ is just 2-3kms from my house.I'll enquire there.
I shall keep sending the updates.

[maryjane]

I'm glad he's still doing well. You can easily give him a bath, just fill the bathroom sink with a few inches of warm water and plop him in, holding him in one hand while using your other hand to wash him. You can do that a few times a day if you need to. He may even enjoy it. Also, you can feed him any dog biscuits, kibble, or cat kibble if you have any available. Good luck and keep us posted.

[alhowiriny]

The course of the infection varies depending on the strain of the virus, the condition of
the bird and the present of a second infection. from my observation some take 3 weeks
others up to 4 months and some don't make it at all.

Since feb & march are the months of mosquitoes here.. therefore pigeon pox. i have 6
pigeons (squabs) with mild form of pox, i used glutaraldehyde on 2 of them to dry the
warts and they've healed by 90% in about 2 weeks. the rest of the pigeons still infected
(for the 4th week now), the worst place of infection is around their vent.. its so ugly!

You better watch for any other second infection[s], and providing vitamins / mineral to
them is a good idea. here i use 'date molasses' for young pigeons (it contains almost
everything), and its natural. for the older pigeons i use multivit+electrolytes since its
cheaper.

[surya-s]

I managed to get masking tape and and put on Hero's legs. Now I realise that he's got his left leg splayed completely which he's using to move and crawl but the lower part of the right leg he's not using at all-and it is swollen too. He uses right leg's knee to balance. The toes on that leg seems like not functioning(Can be seen the photos I've posted before). Could the toes be broken? If so it must have calcified, right? Is there anything I can do to make him get up?(Now he always crawls, balancing on knees, wings and tummy and sometimes uses beak too. Terrible to see, so I am keeping him in the basket itself most of the time). There is no facility for surgery of pigeons here..not many people keeping them as pets. If there is nothing that can be done, am I doing a cruel thing by just keeping him alive like this?
On the brighter side he keeps eating rice and defrosted green peas. Today I gave him some soaked cat food, bit of calcium and multivitamin tablets. Only a bit of each went inside as he kept shaking his head showing disgust. So much so good.

He doesn't make any sound-is that normal?

[Larry_Cologne]

The squeaker pigeon Findi, rescued on March 5th from under a train bridge and brought to us by a friend, did not want to use her left leg. She had a bruised and swollen ankle (the leg joint towards the rear, below the hip), and the toes were limp and seemed lifeless. She can now use the leg and toes.

Don't give up!

Can't give you much other advice.

Many vets know something about birds. Some are better with birds than others, but all vets, I think, study comparative anatomy at some time or other in school. Check out your local vets, and universities. Some biology professors at universities may not actively practice veterinary medicine, but can be quite knowledgeable about birds.

Larry

[Larry_Cologne]

Type "kerala india university" into the google search bar (of the google.com english language version) and you will see ten results listed, with map links.

http://www.keralauniversity.edu/

This is a list of the alumni of the Zoology Department of the University of Kerala. Phone numbers listed. Maybe ask one of them for help. Most people like to be asked for an expert opinion on how to contact the person who might help you.

Most of these people should be able to tell you where to get help, maybe free help.

Larry

[surya-s]

Thanks Larry. I'll try that. He's doing better today. In another 2 weeks may be he'll recover from the pox and then I can concentrate more on the legs and approach the vets.

[surya-s]

The day before yesterday he was very ill, not eating anything, showing signs of terrible pain and shaking as if having bad dreams. I prepared a solution of powdered Thuja occidentalis tablets, a vitamin supplement called Vimeral, a tiny bit of Calcium tablet and Aspirin and a little Glocose, all dissolved in 350 ml water, and gave to him with an eye dropper. He must have had 2-3 drops only. I also applied Thuja cream on his lesions.
Yesterday he looked a little better. The lesions are having cracks-looks like they are drying. His eyes were about to be covered with the small growth on the eye margins, but it is not growing anymore. I applied a drop of Ciplox to the eye. There is a small cataract like layer in one ofthe eyes. And his mouth is slightly purple. He is peckin on rice and eating some. Peas etc he is refusing to have and if I try to force feed, he just shakes his head and throws it. I can't try too much since his beak also has quite a bit of lesions on it. His droppings are pure dark green, water with some solid part, but no white part.

Today also the same, but the lesions are cracking more. I have left his legs alone for the time being, till he's free from the pain of pox. I gave him a small bath also in the morning. He's very sleepy- may be the Aspirin.

Are these good signs? How do I know if the pox is really healing? Please advise if anything else's to be done.

[TAWhatley]

Hi Surya-s,

The pox looking like it is cracking is a good sign .. it's drying up and will hopefully be falling off soon.

Being very sleepy is not a particularly good sign but not necessarily a terrible one either. It's really hard to say how well or unwell this pigeon is. You are certainly doing your very best to care for the bird and are doing a fine job of it.

Just keep in mind that too much aspirin could be a serious problem and that the longer you wait to try and improve or repair the splayed leg the less likely it is to be successful.

I'm thinking that lack of nutrition is probably the biggest problem right now, and we need to figure out how to be getting enough food into this youngster.

Also now wondering if there is also a canker problem here. Is the mouth and throat clear of any growths aside from the pox on the beak area?

Terry

[surya-s]

Originally Posted by TAWhatley

Hi Surya-s,

The pox looking like it is cracking is a good sign .. it's drying up and will hopefully be falling off soon.

Being very sleepy is not a particularly good sign but not necessarily a terrible one either. It's really hard to say how well or unwell this pigeon is. You are certainly doing your very best to care for the bird and are doing a fine job of it.

Just keep in mind that too much aspirin could be a serious problem and that the longer you wait to try and improve or repair the splayed leg the less likely it is to be successful.

I'm thinking that lack of nutrition is probably the biggest problem right now, and we need to figure out how to be getting enough food into this youngster.

Also now wondering if there is also a canker problem here. Is the mouth and throat clear of any growths aside from the pox on the beak area?

Terry

Thanks Terry. I think I have sort of got the hang of hand feeding, and he is much more energetic today, too. He's eaten rice, wheat grains, horse gram, split peas etc and the droppings is quite firm, though still green. I have stopped giving Aspirin and the vitamin supplement since he's eating better, but am still giving dissolved Thuja. I am attaching pictures.The right eye was almost completely covered day before but today it is much better. My problem now is bandaging the leg. As we can see the legs still have swellings. He feels a lot of pain if I try to tape it. I am thinking of going to a vet to do it for me. The other leg that cannot be seen in the pic is always bend at knee and he walks by supporting himself on that knee.
Please take a look and tell me if it is okay to do the taping with swellings on the leg.

[Reti]

The leg looks quite bad and needs to be taken care off asap otherwise s/he will never be able to walk.
The older they are the harder it is to bring the leg into a normal possition.
If you have a vet you can bring him to he can give you some Metacam for pain.
Reti

[Feefo]

I have posted the support bandage a few days ago, hopefully that will reach you soon. It will be kinder on the leg.

Is the lump om his shoulder a pox lesion?

You could also give him echinacea to boost his immune system.

Cynthia

[surya-s]

Originally Posted by cyro51

I have posted the support bandage a few days ago, hopefully that will reach you soon. It will be kinder on the leg.

Is the lump om his shoulder a pox lesion?

You could also give him echinacea to boost his immune system.

Cynthia

I got the bandage today at my parents' place(that's the address I gave since we are not here during the day when post comes)- I'm going to pick it up tomorrow. Thanks a lot Cynthia..wonderful of you indeed.(Pity Hero cannot understand there are such sweet people so far away, concerned about him).
Yes, the lump is a lesion-he's got it on both shoulders. Is it bad? Also beneath his wings there aren't many feathers-we can see the skin.
He's very enthusiastic about food- eats a good variety now. That lifts my spirits. Soon he should be free of pox. And with the bandage the legs also should get better, I am praying for that.
Will keep posting on the progress.