# feeding with a canker



## Punawild (Nov 3, 2012)

*feeding/eating with canker*

My little zebra dove, 15-16 days old now, acted hungry but wouldn't actually eat a few days ago. After 2 days of forcing him to eat and reading the forum here I thought ‘canker’. My vet was great, fit us in after office hours, and sure enough there was trichomoniasis on the slide after a crop culture. Vet said I caught it very early and gave me meds. Three days in baby wants to eat, sees me and the wings start shaking & the cheeps come but at best he will only take a 4-5 swallows. Then he turns his head away & I’m stuck having to gently 'force' fed him. Any idea how long it will be before I get my little ‘Piglet’ back? (I was so happy I caught it early that I forgot the ask & the office is closed for a 4 day weekend.)


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## minimonkey (Apr 7, 2005)

What med did the doctor give you?

I am very glad you caught this early! I'm not familiar with zebra doves -- I have ringnecks, but they've never been sick. I have treated pigeons for canker quite a bit, though, and it can take a few days before they really feel better from the treatment.

Keep up with the forced feeding until the dove is eating happily again. His/her crop may be sore from the canker, and food may be causing it discomfort. 

Since you have a vet, it might well be worth a call to him or her with this question when the office reopens. It's possible there's something else going on, too, in addition to the canker.

Is this bird a rescue? How do its poops look?


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## Punawild (Nov 3, 2012)

Yes, Piglet is a rescue. A friend's boyfriend saw a dove sitting on their driveway for hours. When the sun set it flew away and under her there was naked baby. (It was probably first time parents cause the nest was really badly made and just broke apart.) Zebra doves are small little things, much smaller then the spotted/lace neck doves that are also here in Hawaii. Even now at 16-17 days old and a 3.5 cc down eaten he's only 41 grams. 

I will be calling the vet to see what he says when they open on Tuesday morning. I most definitely will continue forcing him to to eat. I worked too hard to get him through that first night and really like the little thing. His poop is a nice olive green with a little white, every now & then a little watery but not often. The first day he didn’t want to eat he pooped way more then usual but it’s gone back to normal. The med is metronedazole (sp?).

Aside from still not really being interested in swallowing much he's doing really good. He preens, flies to me and will peck at seeds & soaked soft quinoa. He can't/doesn't eat them yet but he is getting the mouth feel of them. We discovered he could fly on my day off when my b/f was nice enough to take the early morning feeding so I could sleep in. He woke me up says 'he flew away & I can't find him!' Took a good 10 minutes but I finally found him back in his window nest. The little brat. (The cat was no help at all. Over the years he's learned that birds were something I didn't like him paying any attention to so he spent the whole time we were searching laying in the dog's bed looking in the opposite direction the bird was found, lol.)

Well, I started this post this morning and I just fed the baby his last meal of the day so I might be able to finish without any interruptions. (Insane Saturday!) For the last 3 days the time he shows the most interest in food are the evening feedings and tonight Piglet ate the most he has on his own since he started feeling bad, 3 full ccs.  Only had to force another cc down before putting him to bed. Hopefully he's turning the corner.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

You let his crop empty before feeding again...yes?


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## minimonkey (Apr 7, 2005)

I'm glad he's feeling better -- your story was very cute, about the boyfriend, and the cat 

Be careful with the cat, though... even a playful swat can really hurt a bird, and cats sometimes like to play, even if they aren't being vicious. 

Charis' question is a good one, about letting the crop empty fully. Sometimes it is a bit hard to tell with small babies if it is empty.

What's the dose of Metronidazole? 

It sounds like your little Piglet is on the mend, which is great  It also sounds like he/she might be just about ready to start weaning... which is exciting (but I always find it a little sad, too -- they grow up SO fast!) 

I looked up a picture -- Zebra doves are beautiful. And wow, yes, tiny!


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## Punawild (Nov 3, 2012)

Yes, I let Piglet's crop empty. I don't want to have to deal with sour crop on top of everything else. I ruffle up his chest feathers to look just to make certain he's good and empty. 

Yesterday afternoon Piglet seemed to get over the hill & _really_ started feeling better. Every feeding since he’s been eating more & more on his own. Haven’t ‘force’ fed him once today and this afternoon I saw him pick up & eat a few seeds. Going to keep up with the meds and keep an eye on him but I think he’s going to be okay. Weaning is sad but it's also nice be able to use that time cuddling them rather then feeding. 

No worries, I have every intention of keeping an eye on the cat, Suds. He’s another rescue of mine and has been raised with other baby birds so I trust him but there’s no reason to give him & his instinct the opportunity. 

Zebra dove are sweet little things. I have groups that come every evening to help the chickens with their evening meal. When they first take off their wings make this pretty little whistle.


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## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

What are you feeding the dove? If it's painful for dove because of canker in the crop you may feed him via syringe, only if you know how to do it. That way a smooth liquid food will go directly to digestive system, rather than peas or seeds sitting in the crop and giving discomfort.
He may not be eating also because it's on Metro. How much Metro are you administering?


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