# Sick or just lazy?



## Celestia (Aug 19, 2015)

Greetings everyone. 

I am new to this website and I was hoping to find an answer to my question. 

I have a pure female white pigeon who has been acting very lazy lately. This is an example of what she looks like https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3334/3196497543_407e1b96d9_b.jpg 

She is fed pigeon mix once a day until she loses interest. 

Her story - 
I found her one morning outside my Pigeon cage trying really hard to get in and eat. She was dirty, skinny and a little sick judging by the looks. So, I took her in and did everything that I could to help her out and I was successful in bringing her back to good health. A few weeks go by and she began mating with one of the males, who by that time the male already had a different mate. She became extremely active. Flying really high whenever she was released and never stood in one place for more than 30 seconds. 

Long story short - She became the primary mate after the male had lost his first mate. And it was around this point that she became lazier and lazier. She has raised approximately 5 chicks with her mate and now refuses to fly for long. Whenever she is released, she will almost immediately land in the garden and begin eating dirt, grass and plants. She's active on the floor, but not when flying. The only time she'll fly for more than 5 minutes is when she is scared by a Hawk or something. 

She loves sleeping in corners, calling her mate and shaking her wings. AND she is only puffed up when sleeping, resting or after taking baths. This has been going on for a few years now. 

I hope someone who experienced the same issue can shed some light on this weird behaviour. 

Thank you!


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

That's for the story and it would not hurt you to take her to an Avian Vet to have her droppings checked out. She could be maybe about to lay some eggs. But I would take her to the Avian Vet just for a check up...Thanks for sharing..


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## Celestia (Aug 19, 2015)

Yes, I was planning to do that this Friday. But I'm hoping I could get more answers before then.


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## DoveSvN (Apr 4, 2013)

What do the droppings look like? 

Sometimes pigeons don't show any physical and obvious signs when sick. So the best way to determine what's wrong with it is by looking at the droppings.


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## Celestia (Aug 19, 2015)

The droppings usually change from black and white, to a little greenish, watery and brown. 

I was told that the appearance and color of the poop can change depending on what they last ate, and how much water they drank. Is that true?


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

Hi Celestia,
Welcome to PT  and thanks for bringing the bird in and letting her be a part of your pigeon family.
Its advised to let pigeons raise only three clutches per year. Raising babies isn't easy. It consumes the bodies from within.

Breeding her back to back has caused her calcium reserves to deplete. Do you give her calcium regularly? If not, please give her calcium supplements with vitamin D3. And also give her codliver oil capsules. Have you got'em? Also buy some fake eggs to replace the real eggs with, for hatch control so she gets rest in the meantime.

Letting pigeons pick on ground may give them worms. And that cause pigeons to go weak. Do you deworm your pigeons when needed?


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

Can you post clear pics of her droppings?


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

O! She's an immaculate gorgeous babe! Thanks for sharing her pic


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

Also, is she moulting? I see her flights shed/renewed


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## Celestia (Aug 19, 2015)

Thank you Jass. Pigeon talk seems lovely already. I'm getting quick friendly replies.  


Anyway, her last clutch of eggs was in August of 2014 and I have not let her raise anymore since then because I cannot deal with too many pigeons at this point. The fake eggs idea seems plausible. But I highly doubt that'll change anything because she continued to behave the same way when her real eggs were being incubated by her mate. She just loves walking around and eating stuff. Being her usual lazy self. 



I also cannot control her from eating off the dirt. If I chase her off my garden, she'll fly to my neighbours' and eat there. This is an issue I really cannot control... I've even tried feeding her before releasing, but she still sticks around eating stuff from the backyard. It's like she was bred JUST to eat. lol  

I also don't give her any calcium, but I will from now on. Thanks for that information. I don't have any pics of her droppings, but I will upload one in the morning.


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## Celestia (Aug 19, 2015)

Ohhh no Jass. That's actually not her. I didn't know how to upload a picture on here. So I posted an example of what she looks like. I'm sorry, I should've been more clear on that.


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

That's okay! You can go to postimg.org and upload a pic directly from your device there and copy paste the direct link to the pic here where you type.

There's a link above on top of this page FAQ. You can know everything there, about how this site works.


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## Celestia (Aug 19, 2015)

I will check that out. Thank you.


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Ok so if this was my hen, I would not breed her, allow her to rest AND since she is eating dirt and grass and crap, since she goes to ground, I would minimally worm this bird. Do you supply all varieties of grit for her? If she is eating dirt, then she is looking for something. Also grass and stuff will harbour possible coccidia and worms from wild birds. I would give her both worming meds and parasite meds and see how she does. You may be pleasantly suprised.

I just had a hen that would lounge a bit too much, she would start to lay around, would not coo, seemed tired and was a bit thin, I decided to reworm her as I had done 4 months prior, and was SHOCKED at the amount of roundworms that came out of her for 3 days SHOCKED I tell ya. So I immediately rewormed the entire male and female coop even tho they did not show signs of worms. Only one other bird pooped out worms, so wondering if they both spit out their pills 4 months ago. Anyway, what a difference a day makes after worming, she is up and cooing and busy and same old bird. Give it a go, a general worming. Might as well do all the birds  I used worm out pills from vetafarm, one pill in the mouth, one time and ur done. I have the gross pics to prove it. Email me if u want to see what they look like.


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## Celestia (Aug 19, 2015)

Thank you for that information CBL. I'm not breeding her right now and nor do I plan to do it any time soon due to her situation. But She continues to lay eggs and that seems to be dragging her down even more. 

I booked an appointment with a Vet tomorrow morning and hopefully whatever is bothering her can be resolved ASAP. 

And for everyone else that responded, thank you guys as well for posting useful information on here. I learnt something new today.  

I will keep everyone updated!


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

Please do let us know what the vet tells. Hope he's a specialised avain one. A regular vet might not help, has happened many a time before, here on PT


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## DoveSvN (Apr 4, 2013)

Yes, please do keep us updated and good luck!


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## Celestia (Aug 19, 2015)

Jass and Dove, 

That has happened to me too actually. I visited a vet not far from here who did not specialize in birds. All I got was a clueless vet who literally guessed what was wrong with my other bird and told me to visit an Avian vet instead... AND I had to pay for this useless consultation. I would have never taken my bird there if I knew they did not treat birds, but unfortunately I was lied too by the nurse at the desk. 

This vet I'm going to tomorrow definitely treats birds. I really don't want to pay for another pointless consultation and guessing. Haha  

Also, I apologize for not uploading the dropping pictures. I got really busy today and didn't have enough time. But the vet should be able to help from here on. Thanks again!!


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

No worries!!!
Hope the vet you're going to meet tomorrow diagnose what up and your bird gets well soon. Do let us know!


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## Celestia (Aug 19, 2015)

UPDATE - I took her in to the vet on Friday and had her droppings and the inside of her beak tested and the results came back as Coccidia. She has been placed on meds right now and will be checked again on Tuesday. Hopefully she recovers as soon as possible. What the Vet told me was odd though. She said that when a pigeon is infected with Coccidia, they lose interest in eating and/or drinking because they lose most or all of their appetite. This is completely opposite to my bird because She is constantly eating. She also said that their droppings can change from solid to very watery, which is true because my bird did have very watery poop at the vet clinic. 




I will continue to update this thread in regards to her progress.


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

Thanks for the update. 
Yes the behaviour you described was either of worms or cocci. Both are internal parasites. Symptoms vary from bird to bird. So if she diagnosed the bird with coccidiosis, go ahead with the simple treatment.

PS:From now on you'll have to find ways to contain her so she can be prevented from picking on the ground by offering her grit


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Pigeons do love to forage (range feed), but unfortunately they can pick up parasites that way. I would get her a pick cake and make she has access to oyster grit.
Please provide a good probiotic and/or organic apple cider vinegar in her water once she is off the meds. It will help keep her good gut bacteria on track.*


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

CBL said:


> Ok so if this was my hen, I would not breed her, allow her to rest AND since she is eating dirt and grass and crap, since she goes to ground, I would minimally worm this bird. Do you supply all varieties of grit for her? If she is eating dirt, then she is looking for something. Also grass and stuff will harbour possible coccidia and worms from wild birds. I would give her both worming meds and parasite meds and see how she does. You may be pleasantly suprised.
> 
> I just had a hen that would lounge a bit too much, she would start to lay around, would not coo, seemed tired and was a bit thin, I decided to reworm her as I had done 4 months prior, and was SHOCKED at the amount of roundworms that came out of her for 3 days SHOCKED I tell ya. So I immediately rewormed the entire male and female coop even tho they did not show signs of worms. Only one other bird pooped out worms, so wondering if they both spit out their pills 4 months ago. Anyway, what a difference a day makes after worming, she is up and cooing and busy and same old bird. Give it a go, a general worming. Might as well do all the birds  I used worm out pills from vetafarm, one pill in the mouth, one time and ur done. I have the gross pics to prove it. Email me if u want to see what they look like.



If you didn't worm them again in 2 weeks time, that is why they still had worms. No wormer works in just one time. It kills the worms but not the eggs. They will hatch and mature if the bird isn't wormed again in about 12 days to 2 weeks time. And some say to worm again in 3 weeks time.


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## DoveSvN (Apr 4, 2013)

I've heard quite a few stories of which are similar to yours Celestia. It all depends on the bird pretty much. Glad you got your bird to the vet asap because Coccidia can be fatal in some cases. Please do keep up updated through the progress.


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## Celestia (Aug 19, 2015)

UPDATE - Heya guys, I have another update for you all. I took my bird in for her second vet appointment and was told that her condition is improving gradually. I am currently treating her with Baycox and Pssitavet and I have noticed a slight improvement in her performance and overall health. I have another appointment booked in for Monday of next week to check up on her condition again. Hopefully she makes a full recovery by then. 

I'll keep you guys updated.


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

Amen! Complete the med courses and she'll be fine. Good luck


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## DoveSvN (Apr 4, 2013)

Wonderful. I'm glad she's healing. Thanks for the update.


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## Celestia (Aug 19, 2015)

UPDATE - She has finally and fully recovered from Coccidia. I took her in to the Vet yesterday and I was told that she looks healthy, has gained weight, looks lively and energetic. 

Glad all is back on track.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Very glad to hear your girl is doing well!


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