[Joeyspesh]

Two beautiful souls together. Has she shown any interest in eating seeds?

thanks Marina! I do so love her! 🥰

no interest in eating them, but she will play with them on and off all day long. If I encourage her to eat them (for example when one is in her beak, by tilting her head back) it’s
A. Usually unsuccessful and
B. Always followed by gagging until the seed is vomited!
I feel like she just cannot bear the thought of something solid in her throat or crop! The first feed of the morning she almost always gags, (formula) though in the past 3 days she hasn’t actually expelled anything. I can’t figure it out because if I don’t put the syringe tubedeep enough into her cropand It deposits in her Esophagus she will gag definitely, but that first feed of the morning it’s like she needs to bring it up into her esophagus as a habit? Almost like she’s moisturizing her throat or checking the formula. I felt maybe she was thirsty but she won’t touch water and if I give her water on her tongue she just flicks it out.
I do think there’s progress, for 2-3 days now she’s only gagged after the longer nighttime period, first thing in the morning. The other feeds in the day she will gag with the tube in her throat but after that she just goes about her business! I’ve never seen her look excited her food, but she does settle after getting it!

 

[Joeyspesh]

Hey Friends!
today Xena was ultra interested in the seeds (she always has them around to play with) ... so I decided to give her some. She had 13 sunflower hearts before she began to gag. She didn’t actually expel any, she just gagged a lot!
then this evening I decided to give her some peas.. she had 16, started to gag, gave me one back (puked it on to my hand) ... then a few mins later started trying to pick them up again, so I gave her a few more. So far, so good! No gagging since 45 mins!

 

[Marina B]

That's great!

 

[jonrf]

So glad to hear she's eating on her own and actually keeping most of it down!! That's teriffic!

She definately has to get used to eating solids, and she may just be at the age (or a bit older) that she should be eating completely on her own. That is wondeful she is expressing interest in eating. It is a clear indicator that she's weaned. Poor little girl been through a lot, and this news made me smile.

Be sure to try more fresh, washed leafy greens. Too many sunflower hearts are potentially bad as it can tend to lead to fatty liver disease, so use as a rare treat

I am doing better. I had a difficult time getting past my sinus infection, but it is gone now

 

[Joeyspesh]

I think I need to slow down on solids as today she didn’t keep anything down. I’ll give her a few peas at each meal, and slowly increase! 🥰
@jonrf while she picked the seeds up herself she wasn’t able to do more than that, I fed her everything. But it’s still a win in my opinion!

 

[Joeyspesh]

My dog Nemo left his toy on the couch today, and Xena took the opportunity to snuggle up to it and fall asleep. Could she be any cuter??? I’m besotted with her!

 

[Joeyspesh]

She kept a few peas down today, and is loving her lion!

 

[Joeyspesh]

Xena seems to be pretty stable at the moment. She’s managing to keep down 10 seeds or peas at a time, supplementing her formula (Inhad feed both). She loves to annoy the dogs and peck at their toes, but by now they just stay asleep and ignore her.
hope you all had a nice Christmas!

 

[Joeyspesh]

This week I’ve noticed that when Xena is relaxing she often favors the right side... (see the pic, she loves to drop her wings and relax when snuggling on me but recently it’s also when she’s sitting on her cage) and I’ve also noticed her right foot is regressing to it’s old ways (pre splint, all claws kinda bunched up and the thumb facing forward with her standing on the side of her foot).... today I did some investigating and I’ve discovered that her right toes don’t have any grip at all anymore, they just kinda hang there, and she stands on her inner ankle which appears to be fused in a strange position. I tried to use the same method for a splint as I did before, but she just wasn’t able to stand on the foot straight and was quite literally falling over. So i took that one off and just created a soft splint with vet wrap. My goal is to get her back claw (thumb?) to point backwards, and her others to face forwards. I wrapped each individual toe a few times with vet wrap, and then a soft wrap around all 3, and soft wrap around the back one. I’m not sure what I’m hoping to achieve, But before I try to get a vet appointment I felt it was best to wrap for a few weeks and see if it doesn’t help. She doesn’t seem impressed with the wrap and has taken to what I call her nesting, where she snuggles in her crate between the brick and the crate door. (Contained, as it were - she seems to enjoy the structure around her).

anyway, bit worried about the lack of grip but I have a feeling that this was the case last time and the grip came back after the splitting? Or at least some movement? I guess we will see. Has anyone had experience with a pigeon who has lost grip in the toes?

in other news, I’ve added blueberries to her diet and she is managing to keep down x2 at a time (i chop up small and hand feed). She’s obviously still on formula top but I’m hoping that will phase out slowly, i almost don’t want to jinx it but she hasn’t gagged in 48+ hours - not even after the solid snacks, so fingers crossed!

her droppings remain to be quite soft and liquid... once in a while there’s a bubble, but 9/10 the liquid is bubble free. I suppose it’s to be expected given that she’s still on formula. I read on the forum last night a pigeon who took almost a year to self feed, so I haven’t given up hope!
Anyway. She has slow feather growth on her head and face, but the rest of the body is looking good! I wonder when her white ring will appear round her neck? I think she was about 4 weeks old when I found her in mid September, so surely it’s almost time for that grownup plumage?

 

[Marina B]

Curled up toes is a sign of Vit B2 (riboflavin) deficiency. One can actually make a shoe from cardboard and tape the toes on there in the correct position. I found if you google info for chickens, there are lots of info. Chickens are basically just a version of a much larger pigeon, they get the same diseases etc. Google curled up toes in chicks.

I also have a young pigeon with curled up toes and health issues. Strange enough, been handfeeding for 3 months and she also gags when I feed formula balls. Canker treatment did nothing for the swallowing issues. She also have no desire to self feed.

 

[Joeyspesh]

Hi @Marina B - I wouldn’t call them curled up really, more like,,, floppy. It’s like her ankle is fused in the wrong position so she walks on the inside, of her ankle/foot, and all 4 claws/toes point forward but they are very much straight.

I had made a splint some time ago (which seemed to be successful), let me show you!

It was cardboard and vet wrap and then some adhesive bandage. It has initially made the cardboard shaped like the toes but she was able to stand on the inside edge of it, so I had to add a flat piece to the bottom which helped her to stand up like you see in this pic. Sadly the same method didn’t work this time, she wasn’t able to stand on it at all and just balanced on the edge of the “shoe” which is why I made a soft splint instead. She absolutely hates it though, I think her foot or ankle might be giving her pain because she’s now avoiding weight bearing and in the night I woke up to her using her wing instead of her foot. I will give it another day but I’m not happy about that at all, might have to go back to the drawing board. That foot has such little if any grip I’m worried there’s something more permanently wrong with it.

We both have a bird with the mystery illness! I just wonder what it could be. I wish I could get to the bottom of it.

 

[Joeyspesh]

Well.... I just managed to get an emergency appointment at the vet as she kinda deteriorated this morning to falling over on that side and using her wing to move. On examination it was clear there’s some pretty intense swelling on both legs, and this is exactly what happened last time the salmonella reared it’s ugly head! He thinks it’s salmonella again (still) so he’s ordering some meds I can pick up tomorrow. Poor little Xena can’t catch a break! For now she’s propped up in her carrier with a rolled up flannel keeping the weight off the right side. She’s just had some formula and blueberries, tried desperately to vomit but after 3 minutes of trying, she fell asleep.
Sadly because of the issues in Italy with pigeons it’s not possible to test her for salmonella as the local health department would get a notification and she could be removed and killed. So no tests to clarify 100% but it does seem to be presenting the same as last time!

 

[Spencer]

Well.... I just managed to get an emergency appointment at the vet as she kinda deteriorated this morning to falling over on that side and using her wing to move. On examination it was clear there’s some pretty intense swelling on both legs, and this is exactly what happened last time the salmonella reared it’s ugly head! He thinks it’s salmonella again (still) so he’s ordering some meds I can pick up tomorrow. Poor little Xena can’t catch a break! For now she’s propped up in her carrier with a rolled up flannel keeping the weight off the right side. She’s just had some formula and blueberries, tried desperately to vomit but after 3 minutes of trying, she fell asleep.
Sadly because of the issues in Italy with pigeons it’s not possible to test her for salmonella as the local health department would get a notification and she could be removed and killed. So no tests to clarify 100% but it does seem to be presenting the same as last time!
View attachment 96656

Oh no this is so depressing she's come so far doesn't deserve all this . Stay positive and so will all of your friends on the forum .👍🏻

 

[Joeyspesh]

Oh no this is so depressing she's come so far doesn't deserve all this . Stay positive and so will all of your friends on the forum .👍🏻

Thanks Spencer! I’m staying strong for her, the bet is so impressed with how amazing she looks so I’m happy!
I’ve just found out that salmonellosis can cause birds to regurgitate food! @Marina B I wonder if it’s possible your bird has this also?

 

[Joeyspesh]

@jonrf are you online!? I need some help! Sending you a DM

 

[Thesis79]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Joey - I'm British and live in Porcia, Northern Italy. Last week I found a fledgling pigeon really suffering with Pox and had been attacked by what I suspect was the neighborhood cats - she found shelter under my veranda and didn't move when I approached. On closer inspection it was clear she has Pox, and was severely lethargic, and bloody.

I took her inside, gave her a shallow bath in my deep sink to assess the damage, and once I refilled the sink with clean fresh water she literally dunked her entire face in the water to drink. Her wound was under her wing was about 4 inches long. Its now fully healed and the least of my concerns.

I managed to get the recommended antibiotics (Azitromicina here in Italy) and have been administering twice daily for the past week. The only thing that concerns me is that the pox are much much bigger, maybe 5 times the size.

I keep her cage and water spotless - clean it out twice a day and replace the water 4 times a day. Her right eye is now completely covered with the lesions and her left eye is quickly being covered. She has a huge pox/canker in her beak, and her beak is now scissored and can't close. I didn't know that this could be different from the pox (I am new to this, I have only ever rehabilitated healthy fledglings when I lived in the countryside) so I thought the antibiotic would do the trick. Apparently not. Last night the outer part of the mouth pox/canker seemed to detach a little, and I think in the next day or so it will fall off?

I have just ordered the pigeon vitality tablets for cankers and some pigeon multi vitamin. (It wasn't available anywhere locally so I will be waiting 1-3 days for international delivery from the UK).

She's not able to eat alone, and isn't interested in pecking any of the seeds. I am giving her vegan dog food kibble which is soaked in water - the first few days I blitzed it up and used a syringe to feed her, but now she is able to manage the wet kibble pieces if I introduce them to her beak so this seems like an improvement.

She's getting plenty of food and water, she's still taking the antibiotics - is there anymore I can be doing? She actually seems much healthier to look at in general, and is very alert and active in her cage. Her energy and personality has improved dramatically in this week and she seems 'happy' if that makes sense. The actual aesthetics of her face? Dramatic decline! My local pharmacist said the pox has to just run it's course and so long as she's getting food and water and the environment is clean, she should improve and that it will always look worse before it gets better.

Happy to accept any advice. The following items should arrive in the next few days.

• New Pigeon Vitality Tricoli-Stop tablets
• Dac Pox Cream 15g
• Pigeon Vitality MultiVitra Super concentrated 500g

(PS: All the local vets I called last week suggested I release her and she'll die naturally, which I refuse to do clearly)

By the way, her name is Baby Snuggles.

Thanks everyone! I'm a bit nervous about posting. I have read all the pox and canker threads but I haven't seen any pictures that look as bad as she does! If I can figure out how to upload pictures, I can show you.

Awww please keep us posted. Sweet bird. Your doing an amazing job keep up the great work

Well.... I just managed to get an emergency appointment at the vet as she kinda deteriorated this morning to falling over on that side and using her wing to move. On examination it was clear there’s some pretty intense swelling on both legs, and this is exactly what happened last time the salmonella reared it’s ugly head! He thinks it’s salmonella again (still) so he’s ordering some meds I can pick up tomorrow. Poor little Xena can’t catch a break! For now she’s propped up in her carrier with a rolled up flannel keeping the weight off the right side. She’s just had some formula and blueberries, tried desperately to vomit but after 3 minutes of trying, she fell asleep.
Sadly because of the issues in Italy with pigeons it’s not possible to test her for salmonella as the local health department would get a notification and she could be removed and killed. So no tests to clarify 100% but it does seem to be presenting the same as last time!
View attachment 96656

What kind of pigeon issues in Italy? That's sooo sad. Please keep her fighting and fighting for her and give her a pat on the head and best wishes and love from all of us on this board who are rooting for her to get healthier and stronger stay strong and keep up the amazing job you are doing with Xena she's beautiful.

 

[Joeyspesh]

Awww please keep us posted. Sweet bird. Your doing an amazing job keep up the great work

What kind of pigeon issues in Italy? That's sooo sad. Please keep her fighting and fighting for her and give her a pat on the head and best wishes and love from all of us on this board who are rooting for her to get healthier and stronger stay strong and keep up the amazing job you are doing with Xena she's beautiful.

Thank you so much! Italy sees pigeons as pests and it’s not legal to give wild animals care or medical attention, so veterinary care is next to impossible! She’s sadly taken a turn for the worse, so I have an emergency appointment Thursday morning at an avian vet. My local vet is stumped and he can’t do X-rays on birds.

 

[Thesis79]

Thank you so much! Italy sees pigeons as pests and it’s not legal to give wild animals care or medical attention, so veterinary care is next to impossible! She’s sadly taken a turn for the worse, so I have an emergency appointment Thursday morning at an avian vet. My local vet is stumped and he can’t do X-rays on birds.

Awww that's horrible I'm in canada we have lots of certain types of animals as protected including the Falcon ugh which I'm not a fan of 1 because they eat pigeons and 2 there's falcons who have a nest nearby at the local Hotel chain. But sadly pigeons are not protected I think unless it's racers which we do have a racing club in my city and my friends dad used to have 60 birds that he would breed and sell to people who race pigeons but he only has 30 now he had to downsize he moved. I wish more people like us would like them and protect them and help them medically that breaks my heart all creatures need help their helpless sweet birds. I had this one bird who came in my door way in the summer time and i think it was the same bird who would sit on the back of my balcony chair and watch me and once i was playing calming relaxing music and this same bird came and sat next to me by the keyboard I turned and was surprised and she didn't budge sat there starring at me till I said that she should be inside and she jumped down and went outside it was the cutest thing. I pray and hope everything gets better with Xena my heart breaks for her

 

[Joeyspesh]

Awww that's horrible I'm in canada we have lots of certain types of animals as protected including the Falcon ugh which I'm not a fan of 1 because they eat pigeons and 2 there's falcons who have a nest nearby at the local Hotel chain. But sadly pigeons are not protected I think unless it's racers which we do have a racing club in my city and my friends dad used to have 60 birds that he would breed and sell to people who race pigeons but he only has 30 now he had to downsize he moved. I wish more people like us would like them and protect them and help them medically that breaks my heart all creatures need help their helpless sweet birds. I had this one bird who came in my door way in the summer time and i think it was the same bird who would sit on the back of my balcony chair and watch me and once i was playing calming relaxing music and this same bird came and sat next to me by the keyboard I turned and was surprised and she didn't budge sat there starring at me till I said that she should be inside and she jumped down and went outside it was the cutest thing. I pray and hope everything gets better with Xena my heart breaks for her

She just has to make it another 36 hours... and then she gets a legitimate avian vet appointment with X-rays and tests! Fingers crossed!

 

[Thesis79]

She just has to make it another 36 hours... and then she gets a legitimate avian vet appointment with X-rays and tests! Fingers crossed!

prayers for this sweet baby girl please keep me posted can't they take her sooner?