# Sick pigeons on my balcony (images)



## wizard1 (Aug 31, 2011)

Hello everyone.
First of all I need to tell you that I don't know anything about pigeons or birds in general and the problems they might face.
A few days ago I saw two black pigeons on my balcony.
They seemed to me unwilling or unable to fly and I left them there.
I thought they wanted to build a nest and I didn't pay any attention to them.
Yesterday I realized that they had some strange bumps on their heads and thought that they might be sick.
Unfortunately today I found one of them dead.
I have uploaded some images and would like to know If you can recognize what disease they might have been suffering from and if there's anything I could do to help the other one.
Any opinion,thought or advice is more than welcome.
Thanks in advance...


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi

_Looks_ like a very bad case of Pigeon Pox in a youngster. 

This is a viral infection which is not transferable to humans, but which can be fatal to pigeons, particularly if it prevents them from eating and drinking. There's no antiviral treatment for it, unfortunately. 

It appears as lumps (or lesions) usually on bare parts around eyes and beak, or on legs. But, it can also appear inside the beak and be accompanied by another illness known as 'canker' (real name Trichomoniasis) which is a parasitic infection. 

It's possible the parents were Pox carriers and/or passed Canker to the young through feeding.

If you can pick the bird up and gently open the beak, provided it is not already loosened and fragile, you can check inside and see if there's any yellowish/white growths.

It's likely the bird is not able to go anywhere, and probably hasn't been eating or drinking. Best taken in and placed in a box on soft paper bedding, and kept warm. He may well need rehydrating - slightly warm water with glucose (or honey or sugar) at 1 tablespoon per liter, and salt at 1 teaspon per liter, mixed in. Dipping beak in a small pot of it may encourage him to drink if he's not too far gone, or it can be carefull dropped into the end of the beak (but never squirted in, as it may go down the airway). If he does any droppings, they may be a metallic green, indicating starvation - let us know.

He won't be contagious, but just wash hands after dealing with him.


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## whytwings (Feb 12, 2011)

To me it looks like it could be a bad case of pigeon pox which I have experienced myself in the past . It is not contagious to humans but is highly amongst pigeons . I would suggest they can't see very well at all . Unfortunately there isn't a cure for it , but in time the pox will clear and they will have life long immunity from the pox after going thru it . The pox can be transmitted by lice mites but generaly Mosquitos are the culprits .

The bird does need to be caught and nursed until the pox sores dry and eventually crumble away . I have had success in using AMOXYCLAV to treat this , hopefully someone else maybe able to verify I am seeing the same thing and maybe offer you some alternatives .

Good luck trying to get him , should be a bit easier if you come up on the side covered by the pox .


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Wizard, thanks for caring and trying to seek help for these little guys. The survivor could be helped, but it will take some hands on care to really help him. As mentioned, it appears to be an infection, pigeon pox, that affects pigeons, no harm to a humans. Probably having a hard time with both food and water, you can set a box trap to catch it and we can help you with what needs to be done to nurse the bird while it recovers. Here is a link to how to make a trap:

http://www.racingbirds.com/ptrap.html

Good luck,

Karyn


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## wizard1 (Aug 31, 2011)

Thanks for the valuable information.
To be honest I am a little bit hesitant of catching him because of the infections he might carry.
I have seen him drinking water by himself on various occasions.Can you judge how old he might be from the pictures?If I keep giving him water and something he can eat do you think he can survive by himself?
What about the reason he can't fly?Is it because of pigeon pox?


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## pidgey boy (Dec 23, 2010)

he looks young, i dont think he will be able to survive by himself


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

wizard1 said:


> Thanks for the valuable information.
> To be honest I am a little bit hesitant of catching him because of the infections he might carry.
> I have seen him drinking water by himself on various occasions.Can you judge how old he might be from the pictures?If I keep giving him water and something he can eat do you think he can survive by himself?
> What about the reason he can't fly?Is it because of pigeon pox?


Pigeon Pox is not contagious to humans. 

Non-flying could be the weakening effect of the illness, if he is not able to eat. Difficult to tell, but if his vision is blocked then obviously he will have increasing difficulty in seeing food even if it's there.

He may also not be quite fledged yet, though he looks to be about ready were he not sick.

He won't have a strong immune system as his age, which is probably between 30 - 40 days, so the Pox virus could prove fatal.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Poor guy. Please bring him in and help him. You are all he has. Any of us wouldn't hesitate to care for him and we would not suggest you something that would put you at risk.


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

I will add again, this little guy will not make you ill, what he has can only be given to another pigeon. Outside of that, in the time I have spent on this forum I can not recall a sick bird ever making someone who was trying to help it ill. You made the effort to find us here in order to help this poor little guy, and we have suggested what needs done now to do this, if you catch him will will help you with what to do too care for him, and you can keep him in a box in your bathroom until well again.

Karyn


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## whytwings (Feb 12, 2011)

I think he's a young bird and since you state that there was a second one that died it was most likely the other nest sibling . I think it's probably safe to say he has no sight on the right hand side and if the left side is even partially covered he  needs your help  and it will surely perish either by starvtion ......and is such an easy target for a predator . The pox covering his eyes will hinder his flying ability and it needs help !

I feed ferals at a city location .....I can have 20 birds clammering over me ,on my shoulders , on my head and by the time I have finished feeding them my arms are scratached and bleeding and I've never caught a thing . I'd be more concerned with what I could catch from handling money before anything I could catch handling a feral pigeon with * pigeon* pox .


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