# Please Help - Sick Dove?



## dove8021 (Mar 16, 2015)

Hi Everyone.

I have a sick bird and I’m not sure what is wrong or how to help her. I’ve had this kind of “problem/sickness” repeatedly now.

It first appeared when I started breeding with ringneck doves about a year ago. I bought a dove from a bird market and she would show the sings below. Eventually she died, unbeknownst I thought she was just an old dove but now this sickness is appearing again.

I brought on a new dove a few months ago and immediately she showed these signs:

-	She puffs up. At first glance it looks like the normal puffiness my doves adopt during cold weather. But she does this in 32 °C plus (90°F).
-	It’s almost like she pulls her head in-between her shoulders. Like she shrinks into herself.
-	Sometimes she’d shake her head
-	Her droppings are completely normal.
-	She seeks out the sun and when we heat up the cage (with a heat lamp) it’s like nothing is wrong.
-	She’s losing weight even though she still eats.

I’ve had this problem with a previous dove too and I took her droppings to our vet to be tested but he found nothing wrong.

At first I’ve only had this problem with the new dove but I think it might be contagious because more and more of my doves are showing these sings. I’ve given her some antibiotics that my vet prescribed but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything. 

Here is a picture of the dove:










She’d sit like this all day, sometimes mostly with her eyes closed like she’s sleeping. Even when she’s walking around on the ground she’d puff up like this.

I would greatly appreciate some help.

Thank You
Nico


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Have you tried giving them apple cider vinegar and probiotics in their drinking water on a regularly basis? It helps to restore the good bacteria in their system. Hopefully someone else will be able to give advice as well.


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## wiggles and puddles (Sep 3, 2015)

It almost sounds like coccidiosis. According to _"Pigeons (Complete Pet Owner's Manual) Vriends, Matthew, Erskine, Tommy" _

Coccidiosis symptoms is described as "infected birds have little or no desire to eat or drink, will remain puffed up on perches, lack any desire to move or close their eyes. Droppings are usually very loose, greenish in color and may become very watery. Loss of weight occurs, and death can occur in young birds". 

It sounds like this, with the exception of the droppings and her appetite, but it also says that a infected adult pigeon that has coccidiosis can emit the bacteria throughout the loft, and you mentioned that some of your other doves are starting to show signs of the same sickness, so I don't know if this is what your dove has, but it is worth asking your vet about.


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## GimpieLover (Dec 18, 2005)

Puffed up, reluctance to move, eat, or drink is the characteristic of an unwell bird. Not a characteristic of once specific illness. 
Unwell birds should be brought indoors and kept warm. 
What was the antibiotic she gave you? Are you dosing it individually to each bird or just putting it in the water?
avc is a good idea, it will help if they have candida. Can you post pictures of their droppings?


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## wiggles and puddles (Sep 3, 2015)

GimpieLover said:


> Puffed up, reluctance to move, eat, or drink is the characteristic of an unwell bird. Not a characteristic of once specific illness.
> Unwell birds should be brought indoors and kept warm.
> What was the antibiotic she gave you? Are you dosing it individually to each bird or just putting it in the water?
> avc is a good idea, it will help if they have candida. Can you post pictures of their droppings?


Totally agree with you, what I posted was just an idea, based on some symptoms, and the fact her other birds are now getting ill, that is why I said I didn't know, but it was worth asking her vet about.


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## GimpieLover (Dec 18, 2005)

cocci would have shown up in the fecal test though.
eating and losing weight is a gi issue. the fact that her droppings are supposedly normal, is strange though. 
No visible signs of worms? Do you treat regularly for worms? Does she eat, and like the food you provide? Balanced diet?
Throat clear?
Hard to make an educated guess with just limited information. The more you can tell us, the better we can help.


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## wiggles and puddles (Sep 3, 2015)

What kind of fecal test was done? Was it a lab test that would have picked up any abnormalities or a visual under a microscope looking for parasites and that sort? That was what I was having a hard time understanding, the symptoms don't make a lot of sense with the gi being so contradictory.


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

It could be a whole bunch of things especially working with a diagnosis from a different country with different major type of illnesses in that part of the world..What antibiotic did your vet proscribe? Without proof I kind of think it is some kind of a echo virus or something and contagious as well. Sometimes young ones just go light and die..It's hard to tell..It's sad because it is a cute dove..--- but after all they are all cute...hope you can figure it out and help the birdie...Can you take a picture of the droppings and how many doves do you have?
What kind of food and water containers do they drink and feed out of and how do you store your bird seed? Hope you come back and give us all some imput...your turn Dove 8021..


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Please post a photo of the droppings. Hope your bird does not have something like echovirus. I don't know if doves can get this. We lost our Chloe pigeon to that. Can you take your bird to an avian vet? Really cute bird!


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

dove8021 said:


> Hi Everyone.
> 
> I have a sick bird and I’m not sure what is wrong or how to help her. I’ve had this kind of “problem/sickness” repeatedly now.
> 
> ...


The help the bird needs is at the veterinarians office, where they can do diagnostic test to see if there is bacteria or a viral infection or some thing else. I think it would be too risky to hope someone online that is NOT a vet diagnose your dove.


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## dove8021 (Mar 16, 2015)

Thank you to everyone for the replies and help.

At first I gave her Antibiotics called Cosumix Plus, which our local pet store gave us. It had very little effect.

I gave her the medicine orally, but I also mixed it in with her regular drinking water to make sure that it will remain in her system. I also changed the medicine water daily to keep it fresh.

I searched around on the web and I found the same, that it could possibly be coccidiosis. So I gave her coximed along with the whole loft which is a medicine specifically for coccidiosis which I bought from out local vet after I discussed my dove with him as well. Sadly I’ve noticed that our vet is more skilled with cats and dogs and not quite so knowledgeable with birds.

Unfortunately we clean her cage regularly and I don’t have any photos of current droppings but I’ll take some pictures as soon as possible and post them here. I gave her a few days rest to see how she handled the medicine but after she got worse I started with Fosback Plus T this morning (antibiotics) A woman who extensively breeds with birds suggested the medicine.

I separated the sick doves from my loft and as they recovered I placed them back. She’s still separated from the rest and so far none of my other doves have shown signs of this sickness.

Her droppings were normal for the first few days but lately they have been watery and greenish. My other doves have shown remarkable recovery but yet she still seems ill.

Thank you again for all the feedback and help.


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

Hope everything works out for you and the dove makes a comeback like your other doves have done...Thanks for the update..


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## wiggles and puddles (Sep 3, 2015)

Hope your bird feels better. The picture of droppings will help. How long have you been using each med and have you used more then one at the same time?


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## dove8021 (Mar 16, 2015)

Hello Again.

Here are some pictures of her droppings this morning.

















The seeds aren’t part of the droppings themselves but come from her food bowl. 

I’ve given her the first medicine for a five day period but when nothing happened I started with the second after a few days (Where she didn’t get any medicine). Also I never gave her more than one medicine at a time. I understand that taking her to a vet would be optimal but where we live our vets aren’t exactly qualified for caring for birds, I’ve asked my vet multiple questions before and he couldn’t help me. If they test her droppings the only thing they can tell me is whether she has worm eggs or worms.

That’s why I’m desperately seeking help here.

Thank you so much for the help so far. I really appreciate it!


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## wiggles and puddles (Sep 3, 2015)

The vet's office is limited in what they can tell you with her droppings but can you send them to a university, like a vet school? I would also look in the old threads on this forum, searching what you think she may possibly be suffering from, and see if you can get ideas or new information on the old threads, since many also have pictures and posters list what medicines they think would be helpful. You could get new information you could then take to your vet. Maybe even start a new thread if you think you might know what it is, and ask what to do.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Dove8021, From the pic you posted :
Is the floor grey and white? Or all white shown in pic is bird's droppings? 
The pic is causing confusion actually.


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## AndreiS (Jul 28, 2013)

It could be salmonella, in which case only antibiotics would help, Lincomycin - Lincospectin or, if not available, Enrofloxacin. The treatment lasts three days and in second day the bird sould already seem mostly recovered If not signs of improvement, than start treatment for canker.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

She needs a veterinarian. Perhaps that should be mentioned again. Trying to guess and hope for the best while giving medications that can just make her intestines and stool worse, get a fecal checked and an exam by a vet so you can use the right medication with the right directions. Kinder to the bird instead of playing a guessing game.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Whytpigeon said:


> She needs a veterinarian. Perhaps that should be mentioned again. Trying to guess and hope for the best while giving medications that can just make her intestines and stool worse, get a fecal checked and an exam by a vet so you can use the right medication with the right directions. Kinder to the bird instead of playing a guessing game.


Poster has been to a vet who was unable to offer much, and has been advised to send off samples. Do you know of any testing labs to which samples can be sent?


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## dove8021 (Mar 16, 2015)

Good Morning Everyone

Once again thank you for all the help and advice. I will see about testing labs or vet schools near me where I could test the droppings more effectively. And thanks for the advice on looking at older forums. 

I have given her antibiotics for a few days now and I must say she’s looking a lot better this morning. I have high hopes that she would make a full recovery.
I dearly appreciate the help and time everyone put in to help me.

All the best
Nico


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Well, that's a great update. Be careful about the dosage also as underdosing could make them drug resistant and overdosing may cause many other side effects. 
Also, when you complete antibiotics course, don't forget to give probiotics to restore her good gut bacteria because antibiotics kill good and bad bacteria both.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Maybe Onderstepoort Vet Clinic in Pretoria might be able to help if you want to have the droppings checked.

Hope your dove makes a full recovery.


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## AndreiS (Jul 28, 2013)

dove8021 said:


> Good Morning Everyone
> 
> Once again thank you for all the help and advice. I will see about testing labs or vet schools near me where I could test the droppings more effectively. And thanks for the advice on looking at older forums.
> 
> ...


What kind of antibiotics have you beennn giving? The medicine you mentioned, Cosumix Plus, is a sulpha drug, active substance sulphachlorpyridazine, which is effective / moderately effective on salmonella, according to this table. If the situation keeps improving, give this medicine as long as the vet indicated. If the things turn worse, you may try the injectable antibiotic I mentioned, Lincomycin-Lincospectin, which almost never fail (sulpha drugs often built resistence in bacteria and coccidia).

But take in consideration that sulpha drugs are hard on liver and you have to give B vitamins during the course and afterward. And after the end of treatment as well, is important to give for several days probiotics, to rebuilt the good bacteria flora destroyed by antibiotic. Probiotics are effective if given for longer periods and a good practice is to give them permanently in the water.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Just reading your posts and looking at the pictures, my guess is coccidia and maybe a secondary infection. it doesn't look like salmonella droppings. They are bright neon green or yellow.
I agree fecal analysis is the best option. It's very important you get the right medication and a correct dose. 
Don't let it go on any longer or the bird might run out of time.


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## dove8021 (Mar 16, 2015)

Hello Again.

Yesterday we found a Pigeon Vet by luck and we have an appointment with him today. Her puffiness is completely gone and she finally started eating on her own although she’s still a little drowsy (with her eyes closed, mostly sleeping).

I do have some probiotics that I plan on given her as soon as the antibiotics course is over. Even her droppings are looking better.

Have a nice day 
Nico


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

That's great. Do update us on how it goes with the vet.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Hope she keeps improving. Please let us know what the vet thinks.


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## wiggles and puddles (Sep 3, 2015)

That is a wonderful update. I am so glad you found a pigeon vet. Please let us know how it goes.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

How is your bird? Hope the vet was able to help.


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## dove8021 (Mar 16, 2015)

Hello Everyone

My apologies for the late reply

We’ve been to the vet and he found it difficult to identify the exact source of her sickness, he believed it was some sort of bacteria. We got 4 in 1 tabs from Medpet which works on a wide variety of sicknesses at the same time. Like Canker, E. Coli, Paratyphoid and Coccidiosis.

After the first day of treatment there was already more improvement. After three days she’s a completely new bird. She’s alive and awake, eats fine and her droppings are back to normal. She’s even “calling” for her mate.

Thank you for everyone’s input and helping me.

Kind Regards
Nico


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Nico, am so glad to hear that your bird is improving!


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## dove8021 (Mar 16, 2015)

Good Morning Everyone

The following webpage was given to us http://www.avianlabs.com/ according to the info it’s a series of home tests you can do for different kinds of sicknesses.

I was wondering if anyone had some knowledge about this?

I thought it would be a wise investment for the future because with this sick dove I’ve noticed that it’s hard to get accurate tests from the droppings. I’ve read that it was successfully launched in the USA but I’d like to know if anyone has heard about this or tried it.

Have a nice day


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