# pigeon not eatting



## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

A few days ago I cleaned my pigeons house and she seemed to be afraid of something in there, like I put her nest in the wrong spot or something, her food bowl is her nest and she had just laid eggs before I cleaned her house.

She stoped sitting on her eggs so I took them out, I have seen her eat but not very often and she feels thin. Her crop had a little food in it yesterday when I put on her flight suit and we went out for some sun. Her crop is empty now, and I dont see any new poops. How soon in the morning do pigeons usually eat? I think im going to look into feeding her some Exact by syringe.

She is acting normal but seems a little tierd.


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## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

Well I got her to eat a little bit of the Exact, she seems to think it will help if I wear it. It didnt seem to make much of a difference to me though.

I dont know what is wrong, do you think that she is tring to lay another set of eggs because she didnt reconise her nest?


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi,

About what age is your bird - new fledged, adult? 

Have you checked out inside her beak/mouth just to ensure there's nothing unusual, which could cause an obstruction or make her poorly?

How have her poops been up till now?

Pigeons generally eat pretty much when it gets light in the morning, and again any time from midday to couple hours before dark. What food does she normally have?

John


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Mistifire said:


> A few days ago I cleaned my pigeons house and she seemed to be afraid of something in there, like I put her nest in the wrong spot or something, her food bowl is her nest and she had just laid eggs before I cleaned her house.
> 
> She stoped sitting on her eggs so I took them out, I have seen her eat but not very often and she feels thin. Her crop had a little food in it yesterday when I put on her flight suit and we went out for some sun. Her crop is empty now, and I dont see any new poops. How soon in the morning do pigeons usually eat? I think im going to look into feeding her some Exact by syringe.


Pigeons will eat about a tablespoon of seed in the morning and afternoon. If they are allowed they will nibble a little during the day.

If she laid eggs a couple of days ago it is unlikely she is going to lay again.

What do her poops look like, and how old is she? Make sure to give her supplemental calcium as well as grit. She may need to replenish her calcium reserves.


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## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

She is an adult and an indoor only pet, the only pigeon I have. She gets a pigeon mix and grit and calcium, she has free choice to all of it. 

Poops are a little bit darker green than usual but have the white cap and was firm. 

Nothing in her mouth out of the ordinary.

The eggs were laid more than a week ago she sat on them for a bit before I cleaned her cage.

Edited to add info: latest poop was the same green and snake like with a white cap.


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

Hi Mistifire,

Try some controlled feedings. By that I mean, clean out all the spilled seed that might be in the cage and then put out exactly two tablespoons of food for the day. You will have to measure what remains, gathering up spillage to figure the total amount eaten. This will give you a better idea about how much is being eaten, what is being eaten and wether you need to intervene at all. I am of the school that a short period of fasting is OK for a bird, not to be worried about. I would not rush to tube-feeding for any bird that misses a day of meals. Sometimes they are just not feeling well, like people, and can be a little under the weather for a whole variety of reasons (including egg-laying time, stress, anxiety etc) but it is not necessarily the end of the world. 

Cameron


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## naturegirl (Nov 7, 2005)

My vet told me to keep watching my pigeons weight regularly by weighing her once a week so I bought an inexpensive food scale battery operated from Walmarts. It weighs in lbs,gram, ounces. It cost me about $28.00 it has paid for itself already in more ways than one. This way you can check her weight weekly and see if she is losing weight or not. It could be just a spring thing too remember. Just keep a close eye on her. Good Luck


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## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

Her food dish is where she sleeps and when I tried to put other things in her nest to sleep on is when she started to be afraid of that corner of her house. 

I tried to put some timmothy hay strands and some 3 inch square pieces of cloth in her nest with the food over it to try to get her used to the other stuff slowly, she noticed it was not the same right away and would not eat much from the dish until I removed it all but the food and put it in a new corner, now she will lay in the dish again but I still can feel her keel, and she is weak. 

She was sitting on my shoulder and went to fly off but instead of soaring away she flapped straight down. She seems to be sleeping more than usual. 

I did not tube feed her, just put a little in her beak and she would swallow it.
We sat there for about an hour or so slowly feeding her the Exact. 

I fed her yesterday morning and then left her to see how she does. There wasnt any change yet, it was still dark and she was sleeping when I left for work so I will see if it looks like she has eatten when I get home.

I know she is drinking though, and she will protect her space still.

naturegirl - I have a scale but she doesnt sit still enough to get a good reading, I have been looking for a less expensive digital one, I will have to check Wallmart. 

Camrron - That would help alot, but I dont know how she would take it if I changed her nest again since it seems it all started when I changed it the first time. I have even tried giving her a small food dish and leaving the new nest materials in the old nest but she sat in the small dish.


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

Mistifire,

I am starting to wonder about your birds health a little after your description of sleeping. Mind you, pigeons, when in a trusting environment will sleep and nap happily when it suits them through the day. Generally though, sleeping during hours they would normally be awake is not such a good sign. She is not fluffed up I hope. That would be a sure sign of illness, that she is feeling cold.

If your weigh scale is large enough, then the best method to weigh a bird is to put her inside a container. Weigh the container first with the bird, then weigh the container without the bird. Subtract the difference to get at the actual bird weight. Does this make sense.

Now about firm droppings. Firm has many meanings. One is that a firm poop is actually too dry and is a sign of dehydration so this is something to keep an eye on. You are the best judge of this.

An ill bird, even a pet with access to water can become dehydrated when it is sick. This happens to ill people all the time (who have the knowledge to know to take fluids when ill) so it's not so strange that it could be an event for a bird too. So watch for flaking/dandruff coming off the bird. Skin flaking is a definate sign of dehydration and you will need to take steps in such a situation to protect your birds health. Have you seen a vet? How is your bird doing tonight?

Cameron


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## Camrron (Dec 19, 2005)

I forgot to mention this the first time around Mistifire. Three of my 4 birds have slept in their food dishes. It seems to be a comfort to them to actually be on top of their food supply. Mostly instinct and a protective thing I am sure when it comes to food resources. So I don't think that in itself is a worry unless your bird is having a strong reaction to her secure food supply being withdrawn. I wonder. The food dish I use now for rescues is way too small to be slept in. That's my solution to avoiding the problem of them pooping in their own dish and eating from it later. I also try to use a water dish that has high sides. Too many of mine have pooped in the water during the day only for me to discover at days end it is polluted with pijjie-poo. There are better ways though, commercial water dishes affixed to cage walls etc. Perhaps others will comment on water and food dishes.

Cameron


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## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

She doesnt seem dehydrated, I guess firm could be more clear, like it could be picked up easily, but also soft enough that you dont want to squeeze too hard. 

She had a small dish for food but somehow she managed to lay her first egg in there and she would stand with one foot in the dish and the other out of it. I felt bad for her so I put a bigger dish in and she wouldnt use it until I filled it with food. The small dish was barely wide enough for the egg so I dont know why she decided it would be a good spot for a nest. 

The scale I have is big enough but it is not digital, so every twitch moves the needle even if she is in a container. It worked great when she was a baby. I really want a digital scale but I havent found one that fits my budget and is big enough for the animals I have.

She is not puffed up, I am starting to think she is getting another egg ready because she was calling me to a new nest spot she found, behind her box perch. There are getting to be more poops in the cage and they are fairly consistant. She is still not eatting as much but it may just be that she was stressed and now in nesting mode. 

I hope this is a sign of her feeling better.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

*So watch for flaking/dandruff coming off the bird. Skin flaking is a definate sign of dehydration 
Cameron[/QUOTE]*

When I took Squeaks in for a Vet Checkup, I mentioned "dandruff" (flaking). Dr. Burke said to give him more baths. I did and that took care of the flaking. Maybe "hydrating" IN and OUT??? I will also offer him water when he's out and about during the day. He also has access to the cat's water dishes. When he REALLY seems interested in messing with the water dishes, I know it's time for a bath. LOL

Squeaks has also pooped in his water bowl but very rarely and usually during the night sometime or early morning. His water is changed every day so I catch the dirty water, hopefully, quickly! I might check out a ceramic water container to hang on his cage, if there is such a thing. Don't like plastic.


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## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

Sorry to drag up the old thread, I thought it would be easier this way.

An update on my pigeon, she didnt lay an egg, she seems to still be tring out different nesting spots in her house, but she seems to be eatting regularly still less than she was eatting before, she still seems thinner but that may not be too bad as im sure she was a bit overweight before since she doesnt like to fly much.

I think I may have found why she seems to be a bit off, it appears like she may have hurt her wing somehow. she still doesnt fly but instead of going straight down like before she glides down more gracefully, she will use them both and seems pretty strong in both wings. the one I think may be injured when I feel it seems less meaty than the other one, (I cant think of a better way to explain it) and she holds it differently so the feather tips are below her tail a bit instead of sitting on top of the tail. 

Her house is smooth sided, (she refuses to be anywhere than the large clear rubbermade container that she was raised in) So I dont know what she would have hurt it on. The lid is ventilated and just set on when it is not safe for her to come out, otherwise it is open but she wont come out except to sit on the edge of the house unless I pick her up, then she sits with me. 

If she can use it and doesnt seem to be in visible pain, and I can feel a difference inbetween the two sides does it sound like it is just a sprain?

P.S. on the topic of sleeping in dishes I think she slept in her water dish.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Doesn't sound right. Can you get her to a vet or get a fecal sample to a vet to get a float done?

Pidgey


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## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

I probably could find somewhere to do a fecal for me but she does not leave the house, she has never touched the ground outside and has never been with any other animals, I know she doesnt have parasites like worms. What would they be testing for? 

Also the vets I have taken her to even the avian ones dont know much about pigeons, they will just tell me she looks fine or give medicine for something she may not have, they are a bit closed minded.

The only thing I have to go off of is that she seems to be eatting less and her wing looks a bit off, her behaviour is not far from what she has been like since day 1.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Did you raise this bird from the egg? If she's never been outside, then she might have a problem with vitamin D3. You need full spectrum sunlight and going through glass won't get it. You can supplement but some vitamins are almost as bad in overdose as they are in underdose.

Pidgey


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## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

I did raise her from an egg,
I have reptile lights for full spectrum which she sits by sometimes, she gets a drop or two of oil from a vit D caplet once a month or so, when she lays an egg I give it to her twice a month to help her use the calcium faster. She gets to go out in the sun, but it is on my lap on the front porch.

In fact last time we went out for sun we were out long enough that I had a pigeon foot print on my leg where I didnt get sunburned.  

I would like to find her a better cage so she can have her own UV lamp during the day but I cant find any under $800 that dont have bars horizontally which may hurt her if she flaps against them and is a decient size. I am also in the process of planning a Sun pen because I want to be able to let her and my other pets be out in the sun safely, they would get to stay out longer that way.

Do any of you have a multi-vitamin dosed for pigeons you recomend? I dont want to give her too much of anything, which is why she doesnt get a whole vit D caplet.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, bearing that in mind (raised from egg), it's not too likely that it's Coccidiosis or worms.

If you were suspecting it was a bruised wing, you'd have to have looked into the feathers to see if there was a dark blue-greenish coloring. That's the sign of a bruise in a bird but it would be gone by now. There are some infections that can cause swelling though.

Pidgey


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## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

When you feel your pigeons wing, right where it connects to the body do you feel a bone or do you feel more muscle or something similar? On one side I feel a bone more than muscle but it doesnt feel out of place and she did not show discomfort when I applied pressure around there. 

I will have to feel it again and see if there is any change.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I can't imagine a way to properly describe how to check a bird's wing for breaks or injuries in the area you're describing without a plethora of pictures. Here is a link to skeletal drawings:

http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/skeleton.html

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

And here is a link to some other illustrations that may help some:

http://community.webshots.com/album/548651267ZOyQyc

I will say that not every swelling in that area is due to a fracture or strain. It is a complication of some strains of Paratyphoid (Medically: Salmonellosis) to cause swelling of one or more wing and leg joints. In the typical presentation, it's usually just one joint. Less commonly, the juncture of the humerus with the Coracoid/furcula/scapula is affected and there is swelling.

When this happens, it may affect the joint in a similar fashion as arthritis. That is, inflammation may cause distortion of the bones and damage may occur to the cartilagenous portions of the joint.

It's possible to get Paratyphoid from mouse droppings so the bird wouldn't necessarily need contact with other birds to contract it. Is this a possibility?

Pidgey


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## Mistifire (May 27, 2004)

There isnt swelling in the wing that seems injured, it is more of the opposite. I can feel the bone in the injured wing but not in the other one, the non injured one feels more like muscle. 

http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/birdwingskel.gif 

In this picture it feels like it would be the Coracoid that I can feel. It didnt seem broken but with the pictures you found I can feel again and compare it. 

Thank you for the links, I am going to bookmark these. I have to get back to work, lunch is over but I will post back after I compare what I feel to the pictures.

We had a mouse in the house a few years ago when someone demolished a shed but it never went on the same ground level the animals are on. I dont think she would have had contact with any droppings.


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