# Advice needed - new Lahore won't eat/drink



## Jemofirongate (Feb 15, 2014)

Hi, I am a pigeon novice and just got my first pet pigeon. I did lots of research before buying but there's nothing like having the real thing to learn about caring for pigeons I guess!

She is a Lahore hen about 10 and a half months old from a very reputable breeder and is in excellent condition.

I have given her food and water but I see no evidence she is taking any. Should I be worried yet? I expect her to be a bit unsettled as she's in totally new surroundings but at what point should I think about trying to get some water in her?

Also, when she is in her cage she stands in the same place and quivers when I come near - not sure what this means - is she scared? 

Inside the cage she is rooted to the spot and doesn't move but I have got her out a couple of times and she has a wander around the room and bobs her head and looks about, she even relaxes enough to have a bit of a stretch and a preen so I assume she is more relaxed outside the cage?

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on the best way to get her settled and what I should/should not be doing to help her relax? when should I start being worried about her not eating/drinking?

Thanks all, I am grateful for any advice!!

Jem


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## JoeA92 (Feb 11, 2013)

Try giving her a bit of privacy, leave the tv or radio on low. At first mine wouldn't eat or drink in front of people.

I just brought home a young ringneck dove (approx 11wks old, when we asked about her on wed) yesterday. Your pigeon seems to act similar to my dove. Try not to alter her cage to much after she gets comfortable in it. I removed a bottom grate a bit late and she seems to stay on her (seemingly) favorite perch towards the back and doesn't seem to move much. 

Just after I got her she did the same. When she woke up she was a little more active and less reserved. Her cage has a clip-in set of food and water trays with a perch. She had a slightly chaotic morning after breakfast since Sunday is cleaning day and I held her a bit while fixing up her cage. I'm a novice myself so my input might not be the most helpful, but hopefully someone else more experienced can share some thoughts.

Edit:after this morning she's a bit "fluffed up" I figured possibly her crop was full so I removed her seed dish. She doesn't seem terribly flighty but more like you described. 

Also, pic? 
Here's one I've taken after this morning.


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## JoeA92 (Feb 11, 2013)

Also, I keep the drinking water closer to the perch she spends her time at. Water is important just as it is for humans. I also sprinkled some seeds on a cleaner area of her cage, which eventually she did eat it.


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## banndsand (Dec 5, 2013)

Indeed, when I first got my ringneck dove, she didn't eat, drink or relieve herself for a few hours. After receiving tips on here, I just sat near her cage reading and playing games on my phone, not looking directly at her, and she seemed a little more at ease. After a bit, she relaxed and took care of her needs.

And Joe, do you have a grit dish as well as the food and water dishes? If you think her crop is full, maybe she wants some grit to help break down the food.


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## JoeA92 (Feb 11, 2013)

banndsand said:


> Indeed, when I first got my ringneck dove, she didn't eat, drink or relieve herself for a few hours. After receiving tips on here, I just sat near her cage reading and playing games on my phone, not looking directly at her, and she seemed a little more at ease. After a bit, she relaxed and took care of her needs.
> 
> And Joe, do you have a grit dish as well as the food and water dishes? If you think her crop is full, maybe she wants some grit to help break down the food.


I picked up some grit (ecotrition bird gravel) and added a bit to her food the first day. She has not had any grit today though. I didn't find really any consistent info about grit from different sources I've consulted. How much grit does she need and how often should it be replaced?


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## banndsand (Dec 5, 2013)

I keep my grit in a separate dish from the food and I keep both available in her cage pretty much all the time, since most doves tend not to over-eat and usually are pretty good at regulating their diet so long as everything is readily available to them.

I've seen a lot of people recommend a grit mix of some sort of sand or clay, some crushed oyster shells and a bit of charcoal. Your product seems to check off every ingredient, which is excellent.
Because the grit gives them calcium as well as allowing them to break down their food, I'd also recommend a bit of sunlight every day or some vitamin D to help metabolize it. Some bird seed varieties come with vitamin D already in them, which can be helpful. Calcium will be especially useful when your bird is old enough to start laying eggs. She will need plenty of calcium to get them out.

Ordinarilly I give my dove the same amount of grit as I do food. For her food I used to put a lot, but she made a lot of mess (flicked all the seeds that weren't her favorites out of the dish), so now I just put enough for a couple days and give her fresh seed when I notice it is getting low, or every other day, whichever is sooner. I apologize for the vague measurement, but I'm sure that given a bit of time you will know how much your bird eats by checking her food dish.
I probably don't replace the grit as often as I should, though I'm assuming every couple days or so is probably a decent estimate. Someone else might be able to give you more information on that.

Unfortunately I am actually somewhat inexperienced at this myself, having only had my little Curie since late last year, but I found this site (link) very helpful (their diamond dove page has some useful info as well) during my pre-adoption research phase, along with a pile of other sites google found for me. I went and compiled most of the information I found into a google document, which I can share if you need it. And of course the nice people on the forum are always quite helpful with any questions we have. 
I hope any of this helped and wasn't just repeating stuff you already know! I figured it's best to cover a lot just in case it might prove helpful.


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## JoeA92 (Feb 11, 2013)

banndsand said:


> I keep my grit in a separate dish from the food and I keep both available in her cage pretty much all the time, since most doves tend not to over-eat and usually are pretty good at regulating their diet so long as everything is readily available to them.
> 
> I've seen a lot of people recommend a grit mix of some sort of sand or clay, some crushed oyster shells and a bit of charcoal. Your product seems to check off every ingredient, which is excellent.
> Because the grit gives them calcium as well as allowing them to break down their food, I'd also recommend a bit of sunlight every day or some vitamin D to help metabolize it. Some bird seed varieties come with vitamin D already in them, which can be helpful. Calcium will be especially useful when your bird is old enough to start laying eggs. She will need plenty of calcium to get them out.
> ...


I've been changing her feed daily and having it available most of the time except in training, about two medicine cups full. (I've also got her to eat a couple seeds from my hand, from the safety of the perch today). I've been adding grit in the food dish though. I don't see her drinking very much though, I've seen her drink but not much of a change in the water level. I change her water about twice a day. I've got one of those sunlamps people use for SAD and vit D which is by her cage which is on in the late afternoon. (Our living room doesn't have much overhead lighting, so it gets a bit dim with just the lamps on). Thanks for the info and sorry if this derailed the post jem.


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## Jemofirongate (Feb 15, 2014)

*Update - still not eating, now sneezing!*

Hi,thanks for your replies!

I have had her 4 days now and although I think she is drinking she has eaten hardly anything at all though is showing a mild interest in pecking at a few seeds on the floor but I'm not sure shes actually eating them? Im giving her a standard fancy pigeon mix with vitapink minerals grit which you can add to the feed. This includes vitamin d.

I am giving a day's ration of food at a time as recommended in a pigeon book ive got so in theory she should have eaten the whole dishful in a a day but it looks barely touched at all.

She gets quiet time on her ownduring the day but I like the idea of having a radio on so she hears human voices so I will do that

4 days in Im starting to get really worried about it. I do think shes drinking as he is doing some watery droppings but they now don't have a lot of solid in due to the lack of food.

She has also started sneezing which is causing me some concern

Any ideas? Is it time to take her to the vet?

Jem


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## banndsand (Dec 5, 2013)

For your brand of grit it says if you mix it with the food, to put 2 tablespoons of grit for each kilo of food. Are you sure your mix is properly proportioned? I normally keep my grit separate and my bird doesn't go through it quickly at all, so if there is too much she may just think it is grit and ignore it.

Do you know what kind of food she was eating before you got her? Maybe she was eating pellets or something else that would make her unaccustomed to your current food.

A thing I would try would be to see if she is interested in treats (chopped unsalted peanuts, mashed hard-boiled eggs, little apple pieces, greens, etc.) and if she shows an interest you could put a little in her food to get her to associate it with delicious yummies.

Also you mentioned that she quivers sometimes when you approach. Does it seem like she might be shivering, or is it another kind of quivering? I found it helpful to keep a thermometer near my bird's cage when I first got her to make sure daytime and nighttime temperatures weren't too cold, as I currently live in a basement room.

I hope any of this helped. 

EDIT: Also I'm sorry I don't know what could cause the sneezing. My bird sneezes sometimes and I don't really know why. I figure it might be because I need to get an air filter in my room. But a visit to the vet is always recommended as a general checkup when getting a new pet, so if you have the time and money I'd recommend it anyway


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## JoeA92 (Feb 11, 2013)

Pigeons do have sensitive respiratory systems as most flying birds do. 
Sounds like your piji should see an avian vet as it could be serious. Just curious, Does she seem lethargic with feathers ruffled or alert and sleek? If it's the first then your piji is very likely seriously ill. If she still looks fine she could still be ill as birds in general are good at hiding illness.
Also as banndsand said, try different foods. Mine learned to eat spray millet and red bell pepper. I put it in/by her food.


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## Jemofirongate (Feb 15, 2014)

Hi, thanks again! - forgot to say shes not quivering any more, so at least thats an improvement!

I pre-prepare the feed by mixing the grit into the food in accordance with the instructions in a large plastic tub with a lid and then putting some in her feed dish from this pre-prepared mix. The grit is so fine its like powder so you can't really see the grains of the grit except for it turning the food a little bit pink

The food mix looks the same as the food I saw at the breeder's place when I got her, so I hope that shouldn't be an issue

I have sent an email to the breeder to ask for advice, I'm also gonna look inside her mouth to see if anything is untoward there

I think you could be right about taking her to a vet for a general checkup - would an ordinary vet have sufficient knowledge or must I seek an avian specialist?

Thanks - Jem


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## JoeA92 (Feb 11, 2013)

An avian vet would be best. I've generally seen rates in the 45-60 USD range (google says 26-35 pounds) for general visits.


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## Jemofirongate (Feb 15, 2014)

*Update 23rd Feb*

Hi Just a little update on my Pigeon, Lola!

Her condition is much improved, she seems more relaxed and is cooing at us regularly now. She likes it when you talk to her and nod your head 

I took her to the vet for a checkup and she said her weight is normal and her body condition is good and not to worry about the amount of food she's taking. She thinks she might have a dodgy tummy so she has prescribed antibiotic drops for 5 days and a probiotic powder to add to her water.

I'm going to change the grit, and have puchased some proper grit to give her in a separate dish. I have moved her to a cooler room with an open window for fresh air and we will take the cage outside on dry days for air and sunlight

All in all, I think shes doing okay, I'll be happy if her droppings don't look so frightful but hopefully the medication will sort that out

Thanks everyone who replied with advice!!

Jem


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