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Found pigeon with severe neck wound (a part of the skin is not there) and it is not eating

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Hi the injured pigeon I found still doesn’t eat or drink by himself after 27h. He only drinks when I bring the water to his beck. I also made him drink it mixed with honey, salt. I was told I should force feed him since it’s been a day so I made him eat 4 small unsalted sunflower seeds but I read that it’s bad for him? Is there anything I can do about it? I just learned about baby bird formula Nutribird and I’ll go buy that tomorrow to feed him with syringe but please tell me anything I should and should not do I’m very worried.
For context I found the pigeon yesterday evening and the wound was fresh there was still some blood drops. I took him home in a box and I cleaned his wound with saline solution. I also read in this forum that the wound should be kept wet (?) so this morning I applied honey (it was holiday yesterday here so I couldn’t go buy anything and I read this in an injured bird research paper I hope it’s fine). He was just laying and sleeping the whole time yesterday but he seems to do better today (cleaning himself and stretching his wings). He cannot fly however and under his wing, on his body there’s a small open wound. His right eye seems blind from the attack he could never close it and it doesn’t seem to move or react at all..
I attached a picture of his droppings (before the force feeding) hopefully it can provide some insights to his state. He also has louse which I will buy a spray tomorrow at the pet store.
I’m a student and I cannot afford the vet cost I’m so sorry..

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Marina B said:
The wound does not look too bad. You can put some antibiotic cream on as well. Looked like he got attacked by an older pigeon, there might be something else wrong with him. Can you take a flashlight and check inside the beak and back of the throat for any unusual yellow cheesy or whitish growths? The inside must have a nice pinkish colour.

An easier way of feeding: Mix the handraising powder with a little bit of water to form a soft clay. Then make small peasized balls and handfeed to him by placing one at a time deep inside the beak over the tongue (if the inside is clear of any growths). Easier if you have him on your lap. Feed him about 90 balls per day, divided into 3 meals of 30 each. Let him drink water after feeding. Make sure the crop empties inbetween feedings.
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Thanks for your reply! The pictures actually doesn’t show the gravity of his wound cause I couldn’t manage to remove the feather. So the whole skin piece of the top head was “detached” like I could lift it up. And the entire back neck was open, up until his shoulders. I’m not sure if he was attack by a cat and I read that if so he would need antibiotics? The problem is where I live anything with antibiotics requires a vet/doctor prescription. I only have human Penicillin V pills.
His droppings are very liquid and has a dark green color, if this helps with any diagnosis..

I’m going to feed him the mixture today as you suggested. Also he seems to be uncomfortable because of the louse, but with the wounds im not sure if I should wait or how can I treat the louse yet?
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Marina B said:
Do you have a powder (Carbadust) to treat the lice? If so, then you can put some powder under his wings and below the body but stay clear of the wound. He will need antibiotics. I could not find a lot of info reg penicillin online for pigeons, but looks as if it will be safe for a pigeon. Unfortunately I can't advise reg the dosage. I always give an amoxycillin based meds such as Betamox or Clavmet to pigeons to treat infections.
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No I don’t but I’m going to buy a treatment powder today. Is it ok to have this powder and him keeps pecking/chewing ( sorry English isn’t my first language) on the itchy spot?

I will wait then maybe for someone to recommend reg antibiotics.. I also couldn’t find any info..

Also his throat everything is pink!
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Marina B said:
I've done some searching on this site. A pigeon weighing 350 g will need 30 to 35 mg penicillin twice a day. I'm sure if you give him 25 to 30 mg twice a day, that will be ok. He looks like a youngster. You can crush the tablet till powder form, split the powder into the correct dosage. Now take one of those formula balls and soak up all the powder and handfeed to him.
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Marina B said:
I've done some searching on this site. A pigeon weighing 350 g will need 30 to 35 mg penicillin twice a day. I'm sure if you give him 25 to 30 mg twice a day, that will be ok. He looks like a youngster. You can crush the tablet till powder form, split the powder into the correct dosage. Now take one of those formula balls and soak up all the powder and handfeed to him.
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Oh perfect thank you so much!!! It is fine if it’s human penicillin right? Just to confirm as I’m a bit nervous with giving him pills
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Marina B said:
Yes, you can put the powder on. Human meds are safe for pigeons. The Betamox I use is also meant for humans.
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Thank you so so much for your replies! So I’ve fed him food mixed with penicillin, they only had the spray treatment and I gave him that too (so many louse fell out!!). I wonder if I should do sth with his wound externally? Should I clean it daily with saline water or something?
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Marina B said:
Yes, you can put the powder on. Human meds are safe for pigeons. The Betamox I use is also meant for humans.
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I just inserted another picture of his current dropping. It’s very liquid and it’s smelly, yesterday they weren’t smelly at all! Is this normal?
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Marina B said:
The wound must not dry out, keep it moist. Can't you get Bactroban from a pharmacy? Otherwise Betadine will also work. Do you have natural unfiltered apple cider vinegar? Add some to his drinking water. 5 ml acv to 1 litre of water. See if this makes a change to the droppings. Are you feeding him the handraising balls?
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I’m feeding him “egg food” mix with water, it’s the only powder from the pet store here has.
The pharmacy is closed at this time already (Saturday), I’ll try to find betadine at the drugstore cause Bactroban requires prescription here. What about Honey? Should I apply that to the wound after rinsing?
i will try to find natural unfiltered vinegar at the supermarket.
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Marina B said:
Yes you can try honey. Will be a bit messy. You can also mix turmeric with water to form a paste and put that on.

How is his water intake? Can you measure his daily intake in ml?
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Ok thanks on my way to buy everything now.
Unfortunately no cause he doesn’t drink on his own, only when I bring the water container to his beck then he drinks a bit. How much should he drink a day? Should I use the syringe to make him drink more?
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Marina B said:
Yes you can try honey. Will be a bit messy. You can also mix turmeric with water to form a paste and put that on.

How is his water intake? Can you measure his daily intake in ml?
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So I just fed him and cleaned his wounds with saline and a disinfectant spray for wound without alcohol (biodine is only sold at pharmacies and they were closed already), applied honey and I managed to take a closer picture, when I lift the skin. Does it looks like it’s infected? There’s some yellow liquid but no smell. Also, the large open part on the neck without skin is unfortunately dry already.. The bird is very stress when I clean him and I could hear slightly his breathing. Please advise me on what I should continue to do daily? For example, the penicillin for how many days should I give him?
He doesn’t eat or drink on his own at all, just cleaning himself frequently, sleep a lot, and today he chirps when I grab him for food or cleaning. I can’t tell if he’s in critical condition or not? His droppings are a bit more solid now but still dark green.. I’m so worried
Eyelash Feather Beak Snout Twig
Hand Human body Gesture Feather Event
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Ok will do as you said, thank you. He seems better today, this morning he tried to fly by flapping his wings on the edge of the box though still not eating or drinking by himself. He squeaks when being grabbed and resisted to eat strongly this morning too. Though his droppings seem better, more solid and less green.
Should I give him anything else along/after the antibiotics?
for how long/ often should he drinks the the acv drink? 2 times a week?
One of his eye looks cloudy and blind, I have the borax acid eyewash for human, should I use it on him? Is it still possible to save his eye? Because with a blinded eye Idk if he will be able to fly/ survive outside
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Bird Ingredient Publication Recipe Beak
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I’ll look it up then.

The eyelid of that eye is also injured, he has not closed the eye at all since I saved him and it had blood clot at first. What do you think of the odds that it’s blind?

Ok will try. And water? He doesn’t drink neither and very little when I bring it to him.

Germany (Frankfurt)

oh and his weight is 255g. Is this a good weight? I can feel his keel. Not sure if I should give him something more fatty like mixing in crushed peanuts to his paste?
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injured eye pictures
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i feed him the balls, so only 5ml of water to the mix. But he doesn’t drink by himself and only a little when I force. Should I make the food more liquid and use a syringe to feed him? I tried to teach him drink the water with sound and my finger in the bowl etc, but doesn’t seem to work
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