# Found lost pigeon who can't fly



## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

2 days back I found a pigeon who was walking on the road on front of my house. He was flapping his wings but can't fly. So I took him inside. He is eating well drinking water as well droppings are green and solid. he doesn't seems injured I tried to let him fly but he can't take a flight.dont know what is wrong with him. He has difficulty in finding seed sometimes he eats on his own but sometimes I need to take seeds near his head. He just sleeps all day.sometimes he tilt his head when sleeping. I have attached some pictures.
Please help!!!


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

He is not looking well. Where in India are you located? There is a pigeon rescue centre in Mumbai if you are closeby. Can you catch him and check deep inside his beak and back of the throat for yellow growths? That is one of the symptoms of canker. Any other symptoms? Is he having difficulty swallowing? Drinking excessive water? Canker can be treated with metronidazole that you can get from a pharmacy.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

I live in a small village there is no piegon rescue centre nearby there is no yellow growth inside his mouth. He pick up seeds but toss it. Not drinking much water.sometimes turn in circles.should I give him mentronidazol and how much should be given??


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

I guess he has lump below neck


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

No need for metro. He might have paramyxo virus. No meds for that, the virus needs to run its course and will take about 6 to 8 weeks. This is highly contageous to other pigeons. Can you confine him somewhere? You can put his seed in a deep bowl, will be easier to eat. Also, water in a small bowl. What do his droppjngs look like? If he is getting enough food, it should be brown and plenty. If green and creamy, then he is producing starvation droppings. You can handfeed green defrosted peas, about 150 per day divided into 3 meals.

The lump you are seeing is normal, that is the trachea. It becomes more obvious when the crop is empty.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Thanks marina
I don't have any other Pigeons.today I gave him wheat and rice seeds in bowl, he ate well.His droppings are green ahe white.Will he survive? He just sleeps all-day.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Salmonella infection can cause the same symptoms as PMV when the brain gets affected. Will you be able to get antibiotics? Enrofloxacin (baytril) works best for salmonella. I'm not so sure about the dosage, don't get that meds in our country. Hopefully someone else can confirm dosage. Otherwise you can give him (Betamox 500 mg amoxycillin). He will need 12 mg for every 100 gr birdweight twice a day. He must weigh about 300 gr, so you can give 35 mg. Empty the capsule, divide the powder into the correct dosage. Wet a small piece of bread, cover with the 35 mg powder and put deep inside his beak for him to swallow.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

I will get meds for once the shops open but it's really difficult for me to feed him meds as he is scared of me, don't allow me to touch him. Can I mix medicine in water? And r u sure abt the lump near his neck as it reddish


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You can use the metro and amoxy together. Give him 40 mg of metro once a day and the 35 mg of amoxy twice a day. You will need to give the meds orally, when you put this in the drinking water then you have no control over the amount he takes in.

He will be scared of you. You can put him on your lap against your body for better control. Just open the beak and put the small piece of bread deep inside over the tongue. If he spits it out, you need to put this deeper inside.

You will need to confine him. You will need to treat him for at least 7 to 10 days. If the meds start working after a couple of days and he feels better, he might fly away and then you can't finish the whole course.

Can't you get a large cardboard box to house him in? Even an old birdcage will work.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Ok I will give him meds as u mentioned thanks for the help.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Keep us updated. You can add apple cider vinegar to his drinking water twice a week. Leave that as his drinking water for the day. Will help prevent yeast.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Yes...I have him meds but he is does seems intersted in food from morning. He pick up seed and then shakes his head sooo fast that seed falls down.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Put the seeds in a deep dish, might be easier to pick up.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

It's deep dish only


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

I opened his beack and push seeds in his mouth as he is not eating enough on his own. Am I spoiling him? Will he get habitual with this way of eating and never learn eating normally?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

No, you are not spoiling him but saving his life. He will prefer to eat by himself if he could instead of being forcefed. After feeding him seeds, you can dip the tip of his beak (not over the nostrils) in a bowl of water to make him drink.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Thanks Marina 
He never makes any sound is that unusual?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

If he is sick, then he won't coo or make any other noises.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Ok..I am giving him meds.Today he was active all day. Walk and spin many times, tried to fly as well.but still twists neck.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Poor thing. Rather keep him in a room. If he flies away and you can't get to him, he surely won't survive. Stress aggravates the symptoms, try to keep him as stress free as possible.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Yes I will take care that he won't fly away....I Guess he gets stressed when I gave him meds or if tried to put him in cage


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Can I feed him fruits or something else than seeds?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

No fruit. You can handfeed small pieces of cooked carrot (Vit A) or the defrosted green peas.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Ok thanks...


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

It's been 6 days I m giving him medicine, he still can't eat on his own, spins sometimes. Attaching his recent pic please tell if he seems any better? Should I continue with medicines?? He scratches himself too much.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

He does look better. Give the meds for another 4 days. Remember, you are giving the meds for in case he has salmonella. This can cause the same neurological symptoms as paramyxo virus. If there's no improvement on the meds, then he probably has paramyxo. No meds will help for the virus, only supportive care. After 6 weeks, he won't be contageous to other pigeons. But the symptoms might continue for the rest of his live, or there will be an improvement. He might never be able to have a normal life again. Are you giving him vitamins, esp Vit B?

He probably has lice, that's why he is scratching so much. Can you get carbadust from an agricultural store? If you can, dust him very good and work the powder into his feathers and under the wings. Just cover his head with a cloth when you do this.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Ok thanks for clarifying.I just hope pigeon sart to eat on his own.I haven't given any vitamins to him yet. If You suggest tablet and dosages, I will get it. 
I will try to get karbadust. Is there any other alternative for this which I can get from pharmacy?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You can get a human vit B complex. The soft gel capsules. Squeeze out about 1/4 and give this to him daily for about a week. The only other alternative to karbadust will be to get something from a petshop that is specifically for birds or pigeons.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Ok I got vit b capsule. Will try to get karbadust as well.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

I gave him vit b capsule, he seems to be sleepy and drinking more water and watery green droppings. I am worried for him😟


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

He will drink lots of water and droppings will be very watery. You will need to be patient with him. Are you still handfeeding?


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Today he seems better. Yes I am handfeeding him but he don't co-operate while feeding, he tries to bite me and often refuse to eat. I tried with different methods like using water bottel as well but he don't open his mouth. I feel his beak is aslo bit hurt bcz of forcefully feeding.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You really should try the defrosted green peas.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

I tried green peas as well but he eat nothing on his own.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You will need to handfeed the peas. Also, not the dry peas. The frozen type one gets in the supermarket.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Yes I got frozen peas...He is doing good Today.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

That's great. Try to feed him 40 to 50 peas 3 times a day.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Yes...it's been 10 days so I stopped his meds. Some times I feel his beak bit warmer but it may be bcz of hot weather..


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Hi marina,
He vomited half food today. And watery green droppings from the morning. I see some red thing in droppings it can be blood. Please help!!!


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Can you post a photo of the dropping? Is it possible he might have injured himself?


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

I am not really sure if it's blood. He is not hurt. But I am worried bcz he vomited once.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Did he vomit again or was that just a once-off? Are you giving him the apple cider vinegar in the drinking water? What are you currently feeding him? Can you check inside his beak again for yellow growths? Also check way back inside his throat.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

He Just vomit once. I m feeding him frozen peas,carrot,rice ,wheat and perl millet seeds. Giving him apple cider vinegar as well( twice a week).


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

The yellow urates in the droppings can be a sign of canker. Any other symptoms? Drinking excessive water, difficulty swallowing, losing feathers on the breast, crop slower than usual? So far you've only treated him with amoxycillin for a week (if I remember correctly).


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

There is no yellow growth inside his mouth I checked inside his throat..He just have swelling or lymph bellow neck .yes I have given him amoxy for 10 days.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Canker does not always show in the throat, that is just 1 symptom. I would put him on metronidazole 40 mg once a day. So if you can get a 400 mg tablet, crush and divide into 10 heaps. Take small piece of wet bread, cover with powder and feed to him. The lump you are seeing is his trachea, more visible when the head is thrown back as in the photo.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Ok I will get metronidazole.thanks Marina.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

How is he doing? Any improvement in the droppings?


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Yes...now droppings are not watery...but he tried to fly fall yesterday and crash on wall....and got his breastbone injured... There's is open wound


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Well I'm glad he is doing better. You need to keep him secured. If you don't have a cage, then put a cardboard box on its side and cover the front with see through mesh or shadecloth. It's better to keep him confined for his own safety. Don't stop the metro, do the full course of 7 to 10 days.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

I have cage but he just hate being inside it.when kept inside cage continuously spins and try to get out of it. We have to get him outside.yes I am giving him metro for 10 days.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Ok. Have you tried covering half the cage with a blanket? This might make him feel more secure.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Ok I will try that...but is the chest bone Injury a matter of concern??? He is not bleeding but I can see wound and he is scratching it with his beak.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You can rinse with saline water to get the dirt out and then put a little bit of antibiotic cream on. I'm sure the wound will heal by itself.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Hi marina
Pigeon is doing well now. He stopped spinning, neck twisting and also eating on his own. And trying to fly at little distance. But I haven't release him because he try to fly and land on street and starts walking. Can we release him after few weeks??
And Thanks alot for all u help. This would have not been possible without u....I am really happy for him.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

I'm so glad there's an improvement after all the effort you've put into saving him. After 6 weeks, he won't be contagious to other pigeons. Unfortunately, the symptoms might return in future if stressed. There was another poster that kept her two PMV pigeons for longer than two months before releasing them back into the flock. They were also perfect normal again.

I would suggest keeping him another 2 weeks at least or until he is able to fly better. Will you recognize him again once released? You can always put a white dot of acrylic paint on his breast so that you can keep track of him.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Yes I will keep him with me for few more weeks. He is so dear to me I really don't want release him. But I can't keep him away from his friends. I guess I can recognise him. I will try to keep track on him.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Hi Marina 
I noticed Pigeon is losing more feathers. Specially from tail.is it ok?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

He is looking good. Maybe he is damaging the feathers.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Can I do something about it? Or he will be fine?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

He will be fine, the feathers will regrow in time.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Marina...I mentioned about chest bone injury few days back. It is still not recovered I tried cream turmeric everything.He gets cover on wound but pigeon removes it with his beak.it is not visible properly in picture. Wound is very bad.... He must be in pain what to do?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Just continue to put the cream on. I guess the wound is healing and probably itching and that's why he keeps on pecking at it. His keelbone looks very sharp. Is he eating enough?


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Yes he is eats 5-6 times a day and atlest 15-20 seeds at a time... now he pealed of the the scap on the wound with his beak .I can see inside red skin.i don't feel it's healing it's very deep wound. He seems distrub. And Drinking more water.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Maybe you should try and cover it with a bandage. Put lots of betadine on, then fasten a bandage from under him and tie it on his back. That's the only thing I can think of to do. Remove every 2 days to check on the wound.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

I tried fastening bandage before as well but he just some how figure out to remove it. Still I will try it . I m concern because it been 15 days and still that wound is not healing....thanks Marina.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

Today morning I took him out for feeding he tried to eat as much as possible, drank water and just flew away.....we tried to search him but can't find him.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

He did spend a lot of time outside so must be familiar with the area. I'm sure he will return. Keep on leaving food and water outside and lets hope he returns.


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## Praju (Apr 12, 2021)

I hope he is doing well.and come back to visit us. Thank you so much for help marina..


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Only a pleasure! Thanks for taking such good care of him.


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