# Cold feet



## Chiki (Dec 22, 2010)

Hi everyone!
I went to put my dove in his cage yesterday and I noticed his feet were cold. Not COLD, actually they were pretty much close to room temperature. I thought it was because maybe body temp gets lower at night. 
Today I took him out, and his feet were still cold. He eats, moves, and behaves normally, it's just his feet! Is this abnormal? I can't reach the vet until tomorrow and I'd like to know how serious this could be.
Thank you!


----------



## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

If he is otherwise fine, eating, drinking, behaving normally I wouldn't worry about it. Of course it is always good to have them checked by a specialist.

Reti


----------



## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

Respiratory Illness !!


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Some pigeons have warmer feet than others.


----------



## Chiki (Dec 22, 2010)

What do you mean by "Respiratory Illness"? What kind? D:
I'll call the vet first thing in the morning. Though his feet were a little warmer today.


----------



## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

If a pigeon has Upper respiratory illmess,you will see wet eye ceres from drainage,and the nose will be brown,not white....Lower respiratory illness is harder to see,but cold feet are one thing that can happer....HEALTHY pigeons do not have cold feet...Healthy birds have warm feet....Now !! If it`s 20 degrees outside,you must think that the weather is causing it....But if it`s warm,the feet should feel warm....Click on my Combine web site below this post....Click on links,and click on health systems....It`s great for getting answers to medical problems.....Alamo


----------



## Chiki (Dec 22, 2010)

Hi Alamo! Thanks for your answer. I called the vet and he told me I shouldn't worry, since he is behaving and eating normally, and no drainage, sneezing, or anything like that is happening.
I'll keep an eye on him, nevertheless. Thank you all for your wonderful advice!


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

I always thought those heated perches sounded nice...lol...


----------



## Chiki (Dec 22, 2010)

Ok, I got a new symptom: Clear, almost completely white feces. Yesterday I found one, and the vet said not to worry, probably too much uric acid in that one dropping. But today I found a few of those. Latest feces of the day were brown and normal, except one that was a little cleared than the others. The ones that I found and were very clear, were pretty much dry, could it be that they are getting clearing when drying?
I'll be calling the vet again, first thing in the morning. But like I said before. He is acting completely normal.
Has anyone had lighter feces before? (Sorry they are out of focus, I used my b/f iphone, my camera had no batteries)


----------



## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

The color of the droppings,most of the time,has to do with what the birds eat....Unless the bird has slimey green,or runny green droppings,or all water,or little pieces in water,the bird is probally OK....If this is the same bird with the cold feet,I would keep it seperate from the rest of the birds,just in case it has something that the other birds can catch...Keep an eye on it....Alamo


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

I think you may be being a hypercondriac with your bird.. if you look hard enough you can tell yourself something is wrong.. feather preening turns into ruffled up and sick....etc.. like said before as long as she is eating and acting normal that is a huge clue that she feels fine..


----------



## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

I don't want to venture an opinion as to whether your bird has normal or abnormally cold feet, but here are some links to information which may be of interest to you. Information is on birds in general, with notes on specific species.

http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Metabolism.html

http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Temperature_Regulation.html



> When it is cold, the lack of insulation on the legs makes them a site of potential heat loss. To minimize such loss, the arteries and veins in the legs *of many birds *lie in contact with each other and function as a countercurrent heat exchange system to retain heat. Arterial blood leaves the bird's core (trunk) at body temperature, while venous blood in the bird's foot is quite cool. As the cool blood returns toward the core, heat moves by conductance from the warm arteries into the cool veins. Thus, arterial blood reaching the feet is already cool and venous blood reaching the core has already been warmed. In addition, by constricting the blood vessels in its feet a bird may further decrease heat loss by reducing the amount of blood flow to its feet at low temperatures. Thus while the core temperature of a duck or gull standing on ice may be 104 degrees F, its feet may be only slightly above freezing.


I was always fascinated that of the feral pigeons I rescued and rehabilitated, they seemed to care less whether they were indoors where it was warm and cozy, or on the brick wall across the street in subzero weather, watching the local action. They came for food, but wanted to be where the action was. I must have been too boring for them. LOL.

Larry


----------



## Chiki (Dec 22, 2010)

Thanks guys. And YES I am a little hypocondriac about him. He's my baby, it's like I'm a first time mom, since he's my baby AND my first bird. I absolutely ADORE him. And I'm pretty much constantly worried about him. It's not healthy, I know, but the truth is that I really really don't want to lose him.
Thanks for all your good advice. I had a friend who had a dove that started doing "whitish" droppings and then it got worse and worse until the droppings were solid, but COMPLETELY white, and he passed a few days ago. They were not in contact but when I saw those clear droppings I freaked out!
I called the vet, he said that I should give him som liver protector (and I'm pretty much translating literally, since I don't know the medication name) and some vitamins and minerals with aminoacids, I inquired if the vitamins where not bad for the liver and he said they are soluble in water so they shouldn't affect the liver. I also asked him about aminoacids due to the nitrogen excess, but he said it wasn't a problem.

Thank you for helping me put my feet on the ground again 
And thanks Larry for the interesting links, I'll read it carefully later!
Regards


----------

