[Blue199]

Hello, I rescued a baby pigeon from his parents who weren’t feeding him a while ago, and he has since then grown up. He went through quite a few health problems, specifically with his legs, but since has improved greatly with calcium and now stands and walks. But on Monday, he all of a sudden would not stand, and has had diarrhoea. He has improved a little, but will become stressed and throw himself down on the ground and “swim” on his wings until he is comfortably sitting. He also frequently pulls one of his feet under his wing, but this causes him to fall. It seems deliberate though, and his feet and legs seem fine. Does anyone know what the cause could be? I can supply photos if needed. Thanks in advance

 

[Jay3]

What was the problem with the legs before?
What did you do for the problem?
How much calcium does he get?
Yes pictures would be helpful.

 

[Blue199]

He couldn?t stand up from being malnourished, so he was given a few drops of calcium in water every day and he improved and got stronger. He doesn?t receive calcium drops anymore but he has calcium grit, and that has been doing him fine for quite some time now. He did have problems with his feet and legs from the lack of nutrition, and still has a few difficulties with walking, i.e he flaps to aid him, but he has learned to walk quite well with some help, he also had severe diarrhoea, but that cleared up once he got proper food. It has returned now though, but not as badly, and it looks different

 

[Blue199]

I?ll take some photos and post them up for you now

 

[Blue199]

Here are some photos of him “swimming” and standing up normally. As you can see he pushes one leg behind him while doing this, and I haven’t managed to get a photo of it, but he lifts the other leg up under his wing to fall down like this

 

[bootface]

I'd start him on the calcium drops again, see if it makes a difference. We usually give animals a syringeful several times a day if we suspect calcium deficiency. You see results very fast.

Are you sure it was just nutritional deficiency that caused his difficulty walking? If he had a spinal injury or a pinched nerve or something congenital, this could just be it worsening.

I don't think this is related, but his nails look overgrown. Does he have natural surfaces to walk and perch on? Or did he just not walk much?

 

[cwebster]

He is a cutie. Hope he is better soon.

 

[Jay3]

He may have a played leg, which needs to be taped into the correct position, and that would have been more effective earlier on. The nails being overgrown, as was mentioned, are not helping him to walk any. They need to be trimmed. Just be careful in not cutting the quick where it would hurt and bleed. Can't see the leg position well in those shots, but is probably splayed. That only gets worse if not fixed. It won't get better on its own.
And yes, he needs the calcium and also D3. If he isn't getting sunshine for D3, and you are not giving it in a supplement, then he isn't able to use the calcium that you give him.

 

[Blue199]

Thanks for your advice guys

I definitely think it wasn’t a spinal problem, due to him getting better almost immediately after I started on the calcium.

He does walk around on natural surfaces, and I am going to clip his nails, I have just been concerned about hurting him, but it does need to be done. Curiously though it’s only the one foot that they are long on

He does go out into the sunshine, and he quite enjoys it, but I’ll start doing that more

How would I go about taping the leg? I don’t want to do it wrong and make it worse

 

[Blue199]

About the nails, is there a way to spot the quick to avoid hitting it as his nails are black which makes it hard, I can’t find too much info about it. Also if I do accidentally hit it what do I do?

 

[Jay3]

With black you can't see it, so just take off the tip where it hooks. Then the quick will recede some, and you can go back and take a bit more a week or so later. Take a little bit at a time. If you do hit it, and it bleeds, you can use something like blood stop powder that I keep in the loft just in case. Or if you don't have something like that, pressing flour on it till it stops bleeding helps.

 

[Jay3]

As far as taping the leg, first I would like to see how he holds it. Hard to see in that picture.

 

[Blue199]

Alright thanks, I?ll take off a little bit at a time

I?ll put up another photo for you soon

 

[Blue199]

Sorry I took a little while, been really busy. Here’s some more photos of his legs, hopefully you can see a bit clearer here

 

[FredaH]

I use ZolcalD calcium drops and give it twice a week regularly, mine are indoor birds and must have added calcium and D3 due to only receiving filtered sunlight. The dosage directly to the back of the throat is 0.1ml per 100 grams body weight.
A calcium deficient bird will go downhill rapidly, can lose the ability to stand and fly and in severe cases can look paralysed. Once dosed regularly it soon returns to normal but should continue to be dosed a couple of times a week in water. I have a bird who has low calcium compared to my others and I have to direct dose her weekly, whereas the others are fine with it just added to water. She has laid shelless eggs in the past, they are like jelly and only have membrane covering the outside.

He's a lovely bird, I hope he responds well to treatment.

 

[Jay3]

They don't really look splayed. Hopefully just getting the calcium/D3 will help. Unless it is something else going on with that leg. Poor baby.

 

[Blue199]

Sorry for the late reply, email wouldn?t work properly. Thanks for your help again. He?s been getting some more sun now, and happy to say the diarrhoea has stopped, and he?s moving around normally now! I will keep an eye on his legs