Stress of shipping safe for a PMV survivor?

[Elizabethy]

Hello-

I've got a PMV survivor, rescued king pigeon June Bug, who has made an incredible recovery. She is strong and fit and has a mate and lays perfect eggs (which I steal and replace with fake) and can fly to the highest perch and is all round great.

But I'm wondering if I could ever dare safely ship her? At times of excitement/stress (like when I'm putting their food out or catching her to weigh or something), she'll twirl and stargaze a bit. It doesn't last but I believe that this is a remant of the damage that PMV did to her central nervous system that is expressed at times of excitement or stress.

And it just occurred to me that putting her in a shipping carton and sending her off in it to go through who-knows-what for 24-48 hours could really trigger problems/discomfort for her already sensitive nervous system.

What do you folks say?

(Of course- this is a whole separate issue from the question of whether someone could safely adopt a recovered PMV survivor... Would doing so be safe for their birds or a health hazard? I'm interested in answers to that question as well...)

Thanks, PT!

[John_D]

Hi Elizabeth

On the second question, once a pigeon has ceased to shed the virus (allowing a couple of months from first appearace of symptoms, to be safe) it's no longer infectious, and poses no risk to other pigeons. Guess you've had June Bug longer than that, anyway.

I can't say from experience how an entire lengthy shipping process may affect a recovered bird. For what it's worth, I can share that a couple of years back, I was transporting three PMV pigeons at a time, in various stages of recovery, between my place and Cynthia's on alternate weekends. That was generally between 4 - 5 hours each way, in pet carriers. They all quickly adjusted to their temporary accomodation, and re-adjusted on return, with no noticeable signs that the journeys had affected their condition adversely.

John

[Feefo]

Pigifan transported 20 pigeons by air from the UK to Greece a few years ago, I think there were PMV survivors among them. I have pm'd him to have a look at this thread.

[pigifan]

Indeed I have transported 27 pigeons from the UK to Greece by plane. 16 were PMV survivors. 3 of them had obvious neurological symptoms and one had really serious problems - head on floor most of the time.

They were put in their crate at 4 pm and they were released next day at 8 am. That is 16 hours in the dark and in confined space. They had food and water though as it should be attached to every compartment of the crate (it is the law).

None of the PMV pigeons were affected negatively in any way as far as I can tell. The survivors that had no neurological problems before the journey did not show a relapse after it.

By the way I was on the same plane as the pigeons and personally I would not ever send a pigeon by post knowing their life depends on factors such as delays, lost in the post etc...

Also, I should mention that technically it is illegal to transport PMV pigeons (that currently have the virus, it does not refer to survivors) from one country to another. However I knew there would be no checks in Greece and I was told that even if I did the opposite journey, entering the UK, they are not checked either. Especially at Manchester Airport. I was told this by the director of the cargo company that deals with the boarding of the pigeons onto the plane.

[John_D]

Thanks Pigifan. That is a much more relevant example, and with a good sized sample of birds, too.

I think that darkness is a factor - I've long lost count of how many 'pigeon miles' I've done, but I have found it preferable to transport them after nightfall.

John

[maryjane]

I have my dear little Dolores from Reti, shipped from Florida on a three day journey and she is a PMV survivor. She was absolutely fine when she got here. I have other PMV survivors whom, after recovered, go in with my other birds and do not spread the virus. Of course these are vaccinated birds too so keep that in mind. But as I understand, once recovered, the PMV bird cannot spread the virus to healthy birds.