[Michaela]

Hi Everyone,

I'm from Europe and have limited experience with pigeons. I took some of injured birds to the local animal shelter, but they usually don't take care of sick birds that need a lot of time and attention.

Two days ago i found a feral pigeon on the ground, looking exhausted, barely standing, eyes seemed closed.

I picked him/her up and brought it home. After a quick examination it seemed that he is exhausted, maybe as a consequence of eye problems.

He would not eat, but he immediately drank quite a lot of water that we made him drink from a cup. If we give him water and he recognizes it, he would then drink by himself.

We try to keep him warm by having quite a high room temperature.

Droppings:
He did not leave any for over an hour, afterwards his poop seemed like water only. A day or two after, still very watery, clear liquid and some dark green content among it. Only on two occasions some white content in between.
The frequency of pooping is about every hour and a half.

Feeding:
He would not eat alone. We feed him by opening his beak and inserting seeds. We feed him mostly small corn, buckwheat, and other mixed seeds.
He vomited a few seeds and some water on a few occasions after feeding, but not the whole meal. I'm not sure he eats enough.

Drinking:
If we give him room temperature water and he recognizes it, he would then drink by himself. He drinks regularly, almost every time we give him the cup. Today we also tried to give him home made hydrating solution (water, honey, salt).

Eyes:
It seems he has his eyes closed. It seems he cannot open them. The eyelids seem very dry and static. I think he cannot see a the moment. Around the eyes, and on the feathers below, there is a lot of thick, dark, red or brown stuff. The dried stuff on the feathers is hard to the touch.

Observations:
His beak seems fine, his mouth look's ok, maybe a bit dry.
He's puffed most of the time. Sometimes he's shivering after drinking.
He's standing firmly now compared to the day we got him.

Medicines:
We have no pigeon medicine. I don't think we can get any. I don't know of any human drugs/meds appropriate for pigeons. There are no vets for birds in my area.

My questions to you are:
- what to feed him?
- how much to feed him?
- how often to feed him?
- what is his illness (see droppings)?
- can i use some human medicine?
- what can i do to help his eyes?

I appreciate all your answers.

 

[zombiecupcake]

Have you come across this sticky thread yet?
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f20/basic-steps-to-saving-the-life-of-a-pigeon-or-dove-11265.html
It may have steps that you have overlooked.

I cant stress enough about the "pedialyte" (an electrolyte filled drink used for sick children) I'm assuming you would have this or something like it in Europe?
Pedialyte has saved many animals for me, from various birds to small mammals.

 

[Skyeking]

Please follow the steps in the link above FIRST, the bird needs warmth, and after rehydrations you can try to feed him (thawed and drained) frozen peas that have been warmed up.

Please gently look down inside the beak and down the throat it should be pink and let us know if there is any kind of lesion.

The bird may be starving, is his keel bone (breast bone) sharp and protruding?

 

[Michaela]

Hi, zombiecupcake, Skyeking - we followed the mentioned steps before, now we added warm bottles next to him to add more warmth.

We don't have special electrolyte drink available, so we just used home made rehydrating solution made out of water, honey and salt.

Looking at his throat looks pale pink or even slighty white, not seeing any unusual stuff. I've seen another pigeon that had something in his beak and throat before, and this one doesn't look like the case.

About five hours ago we fed him about 150 buckwheat seeds and 15 corn. The poop on the earlier picture is from the time after the feeding. After a few hours his poop is still just water with very few bits of green. If i feel his breast i think he has seeds in there. Are thawed peas a good idea in this case? Is it possible that he is not digesting food properly?

 

[Skyeking]

Thank you for helping this needy bird.

Thawed peas are easier and quicker (possibly less stressful for the bird) to give and they get both water and food at the same time. It is possible he may not be digesting properly. Is his crop emptying?

Have you added a drop of organic apple cider vinegar and/or probiotics to his food?

His keel bone is down further from the crop (where you felt the seeds) -that is just under his neck. The keel bone (breast bone) is between both legs. If it feels sharp and bird is very light he is starving.

 

[zombiecupcake]

Hi, zombiecupcake, Skyeking - we followed the mentioned steps before, now we added warm bottles next to him to add more warmth.

We don't have special electrolyte drink available, so we just used home made rehydrating solution made out of water, honey and salt.

Looking at his throat looks pale pink or even slighty white, not seeing any unusual stuff. I've seen another pigeon that had something in his beak and throat before, and this one doesn't look like the case.

About five hours ago we fed him about 150 buckwheat seeds and 15 corn. The poop on the earlier picture is from the time after the feeding. After a few hours his poop is still just water with very few bits of green. If i feel his breast i think he has seeds in there. Are thawed peas a good idea in this case? Is it possible that he is not digesting food properly?

Just make sure hes warmed up more before you feed him again. Sounds like hes ate quite a bit which is good. I would think as long as your providing him warmth he will be able to properly swallow and digest the food.

The mix of honey and salt sounds fine IMO, but maybe someone else has a suggestion.

There could be a number of reasons hes sick, too many to ever narrow it down just by a photo.
Seems like you've taken the right steps to save this bird.
Good job for you wanting to help him!

 

[Jay3]

He will definitely need antibiotics. And should also be treated for canker. Tropical fish stores usually sell Metronidazole for fish. You can call around and ask. trimathoprin sulfa would be a good one to get and you may be able to get that at a pet or fish store also. If not, then see if you or any of your friends or relatives have any left over antibiotics. If you can secure some, you can come back on and let us know what you got and we can help you with the dosing. You can also order meds from pet places or pigeon supplies online and have them over-night it to you. This poor baby is sick and is going to needs meds to get better.

 

[Feefo]

What country are you in?

 

[Skyeking]

What country are you in?

Slovenia...............

 

[Feefo]

Can't think of anyone I might know there!

 

[Feefo]

You might see more symptoms soon, it looks as if it is in the first stages of an infection...please tell us if there are further developments.

 

[Charis]

Can you buy human antibiotics at the pharmacy? if so, ask for metronidazole or flagyl and in addition, enrofloxin. Ask for the smallest pills they have as they will be easier to figure out a dose.

 

[Michaela]

Thanks to all for answers,

we have now fed him about 50 thawed peas dipped in pure probiotic yoghurt drink. Indeed much easier to feed him. His keel bone indeed feels sharp so i think he is quite starved.

Will try to have him drink pure natural mineral water with lots of electrolytes and minerals. Also have an isotonic drink from store but I'm not sure if this would suit the bird. Also got an organic apple vinegar, maybe i could add a drop to his water?

I don't have any leftover antibiotics at home, drug stores are pretty much closed till Monday, delivery from online suppliers takes ages. I'm also not sure if any real medicine are available at pet stores, I think you can only get them at the vet.

Maybe still the best thing to do in the meantime is to look for a vet that could treat him.

 

[Michaela]

Oh, you can't buy serious drugs here, or pretty much anywhere in Europe, you have to have them prescribed by doctor...

 

[Charis]

Can you buy medications for farm animals, like chickens?

 

[Michaela]

Hi, Everyone, thanks again for all the help. A friend of ours took the pigeon to a bird-friendly animal shelter. For some future reference - what kind of antibiotics is good to have at home for such cases? Maybe there is a forum thread that already covered that?

 

[Jay3]

That was already mentioned in this thread. metronidazole or flagyl (for canker)and in addition, enrofloxin(for infection). Good to have Nystatin or similar to control yeast or Candida that can be caused by the use of antibiotics.