[eternal]

Two weeks ago I found a pigeon with a broken wing, probably due to a cat bite (I saw a teeth mark).

He was in good shape and well-fed. I noticed that he is eating little, so I immediately put him on Chloramphenicol and after maybe 10 days of antibiotic he started to feel better, but he is still isn't eating although he sometimes picks some seeds. He wants to get out of the cage and doesn't look sick.

He is still on Chloramphenicol. When I got him, he even had a big wart (less than 1 cm in diameter/ less than half an inch in diameter) on the broken wing. Now it's gone. Could that be a wing boil? It look like wart, it wasn't watery, but looked like a piece of meat, like a wart.

 

[Libis]

I wish I could help beyond saying maybe he just needs more recovery time before he can eat for himself?

Have you checked for canker? (from what I'm reading Chloramphenicol doesn't fix canker--though I'm not really familiar with this specific antibiotic.)

 

[spirit wings]

Two weeks ago I found a pigeon with a broken wing, probably due to a cat bite (I saw a teeth mark).

He was in good shape and well-fed. I noticed that he is eating little, so I immediately put him on Chloramphenicol and after maybe 10 days of antibiotic he started to feel better, but he is still isn't eating although he sometimes picks some seeds. He wants to get out of the cage and doesn't look sick.

He is still on Chloramphenicol. When I got him, he even had a big wart (less than 1 cm in diameter/ less than half an inch in diameter) on the broken wing. Now it's gone. Could that be a wing boil? It look like wart, it wasn't watery, but looked like a piece of meat, like a wart.

Im not sure if it was a boil or just a scab from his wounds. it is gone now so it is hard to tell what it may of been. If the bird is alert and still doing well then he must be eating something, or are you crop feeding him.

 

[eternal]

He has been on antibiotic for two weeks and he is still sick! He isn't eating on his own, I am crop feeding him, but he sometimes eat few seeds.
He sometimes looks very sick, all puffed, and sometimes he looks completely healthy. I am giving him vitamins every other day. What should I do now? Should I stop with Chloramphenicol and switch to some other antibiotic? It's clear that Chloramphenicol helped him to some extent, but he still has enteretis!

 

[Jay3]

Maybe that drug isn't the best to treat him with.
Name: Chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin, many others)

Description: Chloramphenicol is a bacteriostatic antibiotic used against a broad range of gram + and gram - bacteria.
Usage: Bacterial infections shown to be susceptible to chloramphenicol.
Adverse reaction: None seen with any frequency.
Dosage: 30 - 50 mg/bird, 2 - 3 times/day intramuscularly. Ophthalmic ointment or drops are useful for conjunctivitis used two times daily.
Comments: This drug is broken down so quickly by crop flora, adequate blood levels are hard to attain orally.
http://www.pigeoncote.com/vet/formulary/formulary.html#antibiotic

 

[Bella_F]

Eternal, I agree with what Libis suggested about treating for canker; that's what I would do next. I think 2 weeks on one antibiotic with no change in condition is too long. Either the antibiotic is wrong, like Jay3 said, or you are now dealing with a secondary cause of enteritis- canker, worms, or coccidia.

Do you still have canker meds that you used for the white pigeon when it was sick?

 

[spirit wings]

also an antibiotic can cause the good gut bacteria to be diminished and cause digestive upset, I would do what the others have advised and perhaps add a probiotic to replenish some good bacteria in his gut. he could have partyphoid also, the boil or scab you say could be a sympotm of that, you may of thought it a cat bite but perhaps it was not... it is so hard to guess what is going on with these guys without some testing.. I had what I thought was a sick fantail, I took her in to my vet and come to find out she had a large tumor and she was unable to pass eggs so she had one of those still in her too and an enlarged liver, I was getting ready to medicate the flock in the loft she came out of but did not have too as her symptoms were hers alone and would of never known what the problem was if I did not have her examined and xrayed.. so that is just an example of how I was wrong about her symptoms and I could of just gave her meds not knowing and she would of slowly died anyway and probably sufferd. if you are able to get him tested it would help allot.

 

[John_D]

What are his droppings like?

The boil may have been, as you suggest, due to the wound. If it was partyphoid, it would be common to have 'boils' or 'lumps' on the wing joints on both wings, maybe on leg joints, and it's doubtful they'd clear up so quickly.

Can you keep check on his weight in grams.

 

[eternal]

I have good news. The pigeon started to eat two days ago, and I paused with Chloramphenicol for 2 days, yesterday and today, tomorrow I will continue for another 7 days just to be sure. The droppings are great now, well formed, he is eating like crazy, his crop is completely full, I think it will burst!

I really didn't have a case where a pigeon was sick even 2 weeks after an antibiotic.

In September I rescued a pigeon and she wasn't getting better even after 8-9 days on antibiotic and in the end she got better, but it took time.

Why is that? Does this mean that the bacteria are becoming resistant or what?

 

[eternal]

I paused with Chloramphenicol becuse Chlorapmphenicol can suppress bone marrow. The bacteria can't become resistant in two days? And in case you don't know, in the past I saved many lives with Chloramphenicol because the bacteria were resistant to Baytril, Bactrim, etc.

Here are the pictures. I cut his wing feathers because he keeps his wing down.

http://imageshack.us/g/542/imag0133h.jpg/

 

[Charis]

Antibiotics can make a pigeon feel sick and not want to eat.