# Motion/car sickness in pigeons?



## Rev&George (Jun 24, 2008)

Hi everyone,
just wanted to know if anyone else has had experience with motion sickness in pigeons?

I have a 4 year old hen pigeon, Georgie, who is semi-blind. She has scarring over her eyes that prevent her from seeing properly. We believe she can see light and movement, but nothing distinct.

Georgie starts feeling nauseous quite soon after being in the car and will vomit quite a lot. We don't want to leave her with a pet-sitter when we go on holiday (since she misses us and doesn't eat properly) but we don't want to subject her to very long trips in the car.

Any suggestions? Is there anything that you can give a pigeon that will help alleviate their nausea?

Thank you.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Hi Rev...I don't think the motion sickness necessarily has anything to do with Georgie's vision impairment as most of my pigeons get car sick especially Romey. She becomes so severely ill, that the vet comes to us if she needs veterinary care. 
I have noticed that younger pigeons for the most part, do okay with car trips.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Charis is right, I have had the same thing with my birds. I would leave her at home rather than take her with us, as the trip can't be fun for her.


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## Rev&George (Jun 24, 2008)

Thanks for your replies. I've been looking into motion sickness in birds and some people say that ginger in the water helps settle them. Not sure if this is true or not.


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

Its interesting to see folks views on motion sickness in general.
Ive got a young feral at the moment who doesnt want to leave.
Hes been out in the car several times when I've been doing other soft releases and he seems to love it, as long as hes not covered up and can see out the cage and all around him. (In fact he loves to sit on the dash and see where he is going).
If when hes in the cage & it is low down on the seat, he sits in the corner & shakes & does runny poops.
If the cage is at window height, or he is out of it, he sits happily & doesnt poop at all.
So maybe sight does have a part in their reactions, or even possibly affects their sense of balance & thus the "sick" or poop outcome.
On the other hand, what of all the birds transported for racing, they seem to be ok when enclosed, maybe because they are used to it on a regular basis from a young age, or are with other birds.
I would agree its not a good idea if it causes the bird stress, but you would have to weigh that up against the stress it would go through without you there when you leave it behind.

My cousin suffered very badly from travel sickness when he was young, & someone told his mum to sit him on a pile of newspapers in the car.
Old wives tale, but it worked.....maybe the papers just raised him higher to see better ?


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

None of our birds have ever had trouble with riding in the car, whether they could see outside or not. It might just depend who is sensitive. Some people get sick, others don't. My aunt's dog used to always get sick, mine only got sick when I fed her scrambled eggs (I was 9 *facepalm*) before a trip. 

Counting everybody (birdwise) up we've driven with 1 cockatiel, 3 budgies, 2 finches, 4 diamond doves, and 4 ringneck doves. The ringnecks, budgies, and diamonds have been driven all over town to babysitters and the vet without issue (besides a bit of fear in the more nervous birds and annoyance/scolding from the most dominant of the budgies.) The finches were likely driven around before, as they are recent rescues and had to get to the rescue facility somehow. My youngest two ringnecks seem to kind of enjoy car rides--though they started riding in the car at about 1 month old.


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## Cyreen (Jun 6, 2010)

Ollie (pigeon) is fine in vehicle and so is baby Zetta (Caique), but Joule (also a Caique) has gotten car sick from her first ride home from the breeder. I've tried different carriers and perches, covered and uncovered - no good, she pukes (which is _really _weird considering some of the flips she does when she plays).


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

I have seen some of my birds get car sick as well. Doesn't happen a whole lot but it does happen sometimes.


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

I want you all to think about this, birds (canary's) were used in coal mines to detect poisin gases. So in some cases your pigeon may in fact be picking up faint gaseous odors.Now do you feed your bird before you go for the drive, if you will be driving 2 or 3 days feed the bird when you stop for the night.I am not saying that these apply for all cases. .GEORGE


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Chamomile tea is a good digestive aid and nerve tonic that can be made for pigeons and may help with travel sickness-per rehabber, if it isn't a case of what George has mentioned.


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## Rev&George (Jun 24, 2008)

Thank you everyone for your comments. 



george simon said:


> So in some cases your pigeon may in fact be picking up faint gaseous odors.


I never thought of that before, George. It could very well be the case that she's smelling something that's upsetting her. 

I don't feed my pigeon before a car trip so that she doesn't feel the need to throw up, but I know she'll still feel unwell but at least on an empty stomach she won't feel as bad.



Skyeking said:


> Chamomile tea is a good digestive aid and nerve tonic that can be made for pigeons and may help with travel sickness


Thanks for the suggestion, I will try the chamomile tea. Hopefully it'll help.


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