[Truce]

Hi there.
Probably the wrong place to post this, but I need some assistance diagnosing an illness currently going through our flock of pigeons.

Symptoms:

The pigeons feathers have a mildly ruffled appearance, and are somewhat fluffed up to spite warm weather.

The pigeons poop is a whitish color with streaks of green. not sure if that is normal or not, dont usualy pay atention to that.

Also we have observed that some birds are listless and droopy, prior to a sudden death. 3 or so have died in about a week. Otherwise no abnormal behavior, they seem fine and are cleaning etc, until they start to fade, then its obvious but too late as they are gone shortly after.

If I were to examine them more closely what should I look for?
Are there clues in throat, eyes, mouth and feet that I might not be seeing?

It would help to know specifically what is going on so that we can treat the pigeons accordingly, but If we can’t determine the illness, some basic care instructions would be greatly appreciated.

Any good advice helps, thanks! Truce.

 

[Charis]

Truce...the droppings you are seeing are an indication that your pigeons are not eating. The fluffed posture means they are trying to maintain their body heat and are feeing ill.

Have you treated your pigeons preventively, in the past, for anything?

Do they have clean food and clean water always available?

Can mice get into your loft?

Is the keel bone sharp?

Here's a symptom chart. Look it over to see if any other symptoms match up.

http://www.chevita.com/en/pigeons/symptoms/index.php

 

[sky tx]

Just my opinion
If you really want to know whats wrong with your birds??????????????????
STOP GUESSING
Take a sick bird to a bird vet.
But then again----the birds may not be worth the trouble.

 

[Charis]

Just my opinion
If you really want to know whats wrong with your birds??????????????????
STOP GUESSING
Take a sick bird to a bird vet.But then again----the birds may not be worth the trouble.

I agree with you.

 

[Truce]

Thanks for taking the time to respond,
The list was very helpful!

We have never had to treat them before, and provide plenty of food and water, although we could do better at keeping the water dishes cleaner.
Mice can access the loft, and I will have to check the keel bone.

Of either Salmonellosis or Paramyxovirus infection, which do you think might be more common or likely? Thanks again!!

 

[pigeonmania]

Just my opinion
If you really want to know whats wrong with your birds??????????????????
STOP GUESSING
Take a sick bird to a bird vet.
But then again----the birds may not be worth the trouble.

I agree with this as well.

 

[John_D]

Thanks for taking the time to respond,
The list was very helpful!

We have never had to treat them before, and provide plenty of food and water, although we could do better at keeping the water dishes cleaner.
Mice can access the loft, and I will have to check the keel bone.

Of either Salmonellosis or Paramyxovirus infection, which do you think might be more common or likely? Thanks again!!

Hi

The symptoms you described do not indicate Paramyxovirus.

It sounds like some kind of enteritis, and common causes of that would include infections of Salmonella and/or E.Coli. Both bacteria can commonly be found in a bird's system anyway, but can cause actual illness in a weakened immune system (such as by a viral infection). Mice, when present, are not automatically a cause of the bacterial infections, but they can be if they contaminate food and water.

If you know of a bird-experienced vet, I'd certainly concur that this would be the way to go. A necropsy on a deceased bird could provide answers, poop samples could be thoroughly tested or a sick bird examined.

If it were likely to be either of the bacterial infections mentioned, then an antibiotic such as Baytril could help, but probably only available on prescription, hence need for a vet visit.

 

[Pidgey]

If they're fading away in kind of a sleepy path to a coma, it's probably an encephalitis, which can have a number of possible causes including a very pathogenic Paratyphoid. That said, we'd usually put them all on Baytril in the waterers and hand-medicate any particular birds that look like they're not drinking.

Pidgey

 

[Truce]

@John D
Ok. That makes sense.
Sounds like finding a vet is the way to go…
Thank you so much for your help!!!

You too Pidgey!

 

[Jay3]

Once you establish a relationship with an avian vet, you can often just bring in a sample of their droppings to be checked. This will usually help to diagnose what they have.

As for the mice getting in, why is that happening? You need to work on your loft so that they aren't getting in. They can make your birds very ill. And if they are getting in, they are getting into the feed. But even if they weren't, it doesn't matter. They still leave droppings. The pigeons pick around and pick them up. That all it takes. You need to take care of that ASAP.