[ante bozanich]

I just took in a young feral pigeon. It looks like she has a bad case of Trichomoniasis. I have two Spartrix 10 mg pills right now and want to start her on it but I can't remember what the correct dosage is and what is the best way to administer it. I would appreciate help with this ASAP. Thank you.

 

[Feefo]

Hi Ante,

Give her one spartrix tonight and one tomorrow.

If her throat is obstructed so that she can't swallow, then crush the spartrix, add one ml of water and pick up all the mixture in a syringe, then place it in the lower bowl of her beak drop by drop.

I once crushed the spartrix and placed it undiluted in the lower bowl of a very sick pigeon's beak, hoping that it would wash down gradually in the saliva. I am not certain whether it was a good idea, or whether the saliva washed enough down, but the next day half the canker nodule had disappeared.

Cynthia

 

[ante bozanich]

Hi and thanks!

I already gave her half, so I'm going to proceed with the second half of this pill. It went down but I had to help her with the cotton swab. Maybe second half I will crush a bit. Most of the white stuff and damage seems to be underneath and on the top of her tongue. I hope it did not spread to far into her lower jaw bone. She coughs occasionally so it may have effected her breading passages. She has been going for pigeon feed seeds. How much of it she's able to take in I don't know but I do see the seed in her mouth and throat. I wonder if I should start feeding her with a tube?

I had some other questions regarding a male feral who has a problem with balance and wobbles in a certain way. I also have a female feral who had a seriously broken bones in her ankle. The cast has been taken off almost two weeks ago but she is still hesitant in using that foot and toes. However, I think I better concentrate right now on this canker emergency.

PS I am not sure what you mean by "the lower bowl of her beak."

 

[Charis]

She may mean lower back of her throat.
Please don't use a cotton swab as you may cause a bleed.
Do you know how to tube feed? if so, I would carefully feed her that way being careful not to dislodge any of the canker in her throat.

 

[Feefo]

Hi Ante,

When you open the beak the lower beak in front of the tongue forms a bowl. If you drop liquid in there she can swallow without aspirating.

Most of the white stuff and damage seems to be underneath and on the top of her tongue.

This area is inhospitable to trichomnads, they are unlikely to survive there. It could be yeast or pox.

Cynthia

 

[ante bozanich]

She may mean lower back of her throat.
Please don't use a cotton swab as you may cause a bleed.
Do you know how to tube feed? if so, I would carefully feed her that way being careful not to dislodge any of the canker in her throat.

Thanks for your concerns. I am aware of danger of bleeding and have been instructed how to tube feed and have done it with numerous pigeons for several years now with the help of, in my opinion, best pigeon rehabbers around at Animal General in NYC. However it's Sunday and I forgot whether it's one half or a whole pill for Spartrix. Nonetheless, Pigeon Talk has been also for us the best source of information, support and help otherwise.

Thanks kindly again. I am going to give her about 15 ml of Hand Feeding Formula as carefully as I can right now. I think I'm getting very good with this. I've never had any problem yet. (Knocking on wood.) I think she needs it. She's been picking on seeds for about couple of hours now since I got her and her crop is still empty.

 

[ante bozanich]

Hi Ante,

When you open the beak the lower beak in front of the tongue forms a bowl. If you drop liquid in there she can swallow without aspirating.



This area is inhospitable to trichomnads, they are unlikely to survive there. It could be yeast or pox.

Cynthia

You got me concerned now. I've dealt with a case of pox before but it was on the eye. I have never seen what pox looks like inside the mouth. What I can see is basically two nodules. One, white nodule is attached to her tongue right bellow her breathing hole. The other nodule is not white and could be pox and is attached to the base of her tongue mostly at the lower beak but entire base of her tongue is swollen and bleeding slightly. Perhaps this unfortunate individual has both pox and canker.