# Please help this sick pigeon!!!



## WanderingLoner (May 4, 2008)

Hello everyone,
i need your help to cure this pigeon. i rescued him 7 days ago and it has been living with me ever since. When i rescued him he was sitting on the footpath, not flying away even when people walked by very close to him. The pigeon has some sort of swelling around its eye. its yellowish/reddish in colour. The same kind of swelling is also present on its head too. When i got him in the swelling had some sort of crust on it but now the crust is gone and this weird yellow/red pus like thing is visible. he keeps scratching himself a lot all over his body and scratches that eye region a lot. There is more swelling on one side of the eye and he can not seem to open that eye completely. He is still a young pigeon and not an adult. i can tell this because my father used to have a lot of pet pigeons. This pigeon makes a squeaky sound like baby birds do. he does eat on its own. Does not fly much, in fact the only flying that he does is from the floor to the washing machine and back. i feed him small grains(not sure if its wheat or barley or something else). he does not eat any large grains like adults do. Sometimes my little brother tries to touch the pigeon's head or beak and the pigeon actually tries to hit back with its beak or wing. I want to know only two things.
1. can any one tell me what problem does the pigeon has and how to cure it, or will it heal by itself?
2.My brother only wants to play with the pigeon but since the bird hits back does that mean he is getting annoyed or is uncomfortable with that? should i stop my brother. he does not touch the swollen part, he only brings his hand close to the pigeon's mouth.
Note: to help identify the problem i have attached the pictures of both of its eyes. Thank you all in advance for you help


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for rescuing this poor youngster.

How does his poop look, is it yellow??

This may be canker or pox, if it is canker it needs to be treated, ASAP with Metrodonizole and/or Spartrix, this can kill them.

If it is pox there is only supportive care that can help, like 50% tea tree oil to water dabbed on a Q tip on the lesions, but not near the eye. You can use colloidal silver to dry the lesions around beak and eye. Some good nutrition for supportive care will also help. 

Where are you located? We may have someone near to help.

You need to keep the youngster as stress free as possible, make sure he is kept warm and out of drafts.


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## WanderingLoner (May 4, 2008)

hi, thankyou so much for the fast reply, i did not pay much attention to the droppings but i think they were normal greenish colour but a bit small in size compared to the adult's droppings. today i did notice that the droppings were slightly watery. i am at work now i will have to check properly and report back tomorrow. i live in UAE(United Arab Emirates). Its a small country located in the Middle East next to Saudi Arabia. I have never heard of those medicines before, can i get those at any pharmacy or will they be availabe at a pet shop? i was thinking its a minor problem and will heal itself but if its as serious as you say it is then i will ask my father to take him to the place where he used to buy those pet pigeons before, i think they have medicines too. one more thing i would like to know, can these problems spread to humans or not?
Edit: is there any way i can confirm if it is canker or pox? is the pigeon in pain?
should i immediately take the pigeon to see a doctor or is it ok if i wait a few days because i may have to re arrange my work timings to take the pigeon to a doctor.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Can you check down the throat and see if there are any yellow looking lesions there?

I'm leaning more towards pox, which will require drying the lesions, but i would still get the meds for canker to be safe.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I've been to Abu Dhabi before but I don't know what all medications you can get at the chemist/pharmacist. I'm pretty sure you can get the Metronidazole (it's often called "Flagyl") as it's a widely used anti-protozoal for humans. You should be able to get the other ones, too, but you may have to look for a natural, herbal store.

This does look like pox, which can be spread by mosquitoes and mostly on the unfeathered portions of skin. This nestling had a lot of that (unfeathered skin) showing very recently so it's not an uncommon presentation of the disease. They look bad but they usually heal pretty well. It can get fatal if they get something called "wet pox", which makes lesions inside their bodies instead of just on the outside. You're not going to know about that unless he starts getting really sick. Let's hope it just stays on the outside for now, that's one that almost always looks bad but turns out okay in the end.

Pidgey


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I'm so glad you took this pigeon in. Poor little bird wouldn't have survived without you. It's wonderful to meet another kind person.


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## WanderingLoner (May 4, 2008)

Trees Gray said:


> Can you check down the throat and see if there are any yellow looking lesions there?
> 
> I'm leaning more towards pox, which will require drying the lesions, but i would still get the meds for canker to be safe.


i will take a look when i get home. In case it dose turn out to be pox, is it safe to give the pigeon the medicine for canker (is it safe to give medicine for a disease that he doesn't have?) and how exactly is that canker medicine used? is it a liquid form that i should apply on the lesions or do i have to make the bird eat/drink the medicine.

one more thing i wanted to know, can this be transferred to humans or not?
once again thank you all for your help.



> I've been to Abu Dhabi before but I don't know what all medications you can get at the chemist/pharmacist. I'm pretty sure you can get the Metronidazole (it's often called "Flagyl") as it's a widely used anti-protozoal for humans. You should be able to get the other ones, too, but you may have to look for a natural, herbal store.
> 
> This does look like pox, which can be spread by mosquitoes and mostly on the unfeathered portions of skin. This nestling had a lot of that (unfeathered skin) showing very recently so it's not an uncommon presentation of the disease. *They look bad but they usually heal pretty well.* It can get fatal if they get something called "wet pox", which makes lesions inside their bodies instead of just on the outside. You're not going to know about that unless he starts getting really sick. Let's hope it just stays on the outside for now, that's one that almost always looks bad but turns out okay in the end.
> 
> Pidgey


as you mentioned that the pox heals pretty well, do i have to apply that tea tree oil as trees gray mentioned or does the pigeon heal on its own?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

WanderingLoner said:


> No, there are few diseases that can be transfered to humans, be sure to wash your hands before and after handling any bird or pet.
> 
> I wouldn't give the bird canker meds if he doesn't have it, but I would get it just in case, because canker can mame and disfigure quickly, and it needs to be treated promptly.
> 
> The bird is covered in Pox, if that is what it looks like, so any supportive help will help this youngster. Betadine can also be used, but it should be deluted on the pox lesions. Since this is a youngster, the stress of fighting this ilness will means he is depleted in gut bacteria, if you could find some human grade probiotics or avian probiotics it will help him. Also apple cider vinegar in the water, would be helpful at this time.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

WanderingLoner said:


> i will take a look when i get home. In case it dose turn out to be pox, is it safe to give the pigeon the medicine for canker (is it safe to give medicine for a disease that he doesn't have?) and how exactly is that canker medicine used? is it a liquid form that i should apply on the lesions or do i have to make the bird eat/drink the medicine.
> 
> one more thing i wanted to know, can this be transferred to humans or not?
> once again thank you all for your help.
> ...


Well, the things we use to dry the lesions just help keep them from spreading on the bird. Those would be the tea tree oil, colloidal silver, Betadine (which is 10% Povidone Iodine) and anything else I've forgotten to mention. What I meant was that the lesions that have already occurred will eventually go away on their own (those are called "dry pox", by the way) and you might not even be able to tell that they were ever there in a few weeks.

Pidgey


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## WanderingLoner (May 4, 2008)

ok, before i give the pigeon any medicine i need to clear up a few things,
curing cankers = Metrodonizole and/or Spartrix (should get these medicines just in case)

curing pox = 50% tea tree oil / colloidal silver / betadine.

ok so to get rid of pox is it ok if i use only one of the 3 mentioned medicines or i have to use all 3.
To help the pigeon i should get human grade probiotics or avian probiotics. (what are these? are they eaten by the pigeon)

how many times and how often should i apply the medicine?

i drink fresh fruit juice everyday(homemade) (mostly orange), is it ok if i add some juice to the bird's drinking water so that it can get some vitamins and what other nutritious food can i feed him for a healthy growth?

am i missing anything?

sorry for asking too many questions but i am a very cautious person and don't want to mess up anything and want the pigeon to get well soon. ty


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Canker (not the same as "cancer", by the way) is usually a lesion on the inside of the bird and you can often see cheeselike buttons inside the beak and throat. Canker as a condition (it's actually "Trichomoniasis") is a localized and severe inflammatory response to a one-celled organism called a "trichomonad". It's a flagellating protozoa, which means it has little whiplike flagellae that help it to move. There are many different treatments and many different dosages in avian formularies for the use of Metronidazole itself. They range from 10-30 milligrams of medicine per kilogram of bird, twice daily, orally, for many days (usually 10) to 200-250 milligrams of medicine per kilogram of bird, once daily, orally, for however long is required.

We usually see that medication in 250 or 500 milligram tablets in countries like you're in due to the fact that it's a human-use medicine. As such, we try to help folks divide it out depending on exactly what it is that they're able to acquire.

The other medications are topical treatments and so you can put them on multiple times per day. You're not going to overdose them with topical treatments and you're just trying to keep the stuff from spreading or getting a secondary infection.

Pidgey


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

curing pox = 50% tea tree oil / colloidal silver / betadine.
ok so to get rid of pox is it ok if i use only one of the 3 mentioned medicines or i have to use all 3.

You should have at least one to use. I just hope you can find it, at least you have a selection.

To help the pigeon i should get human grade probiotics or avian probiotics. (what are these? are they eaten by the pigeon)

Probiotics enable pigeons to have a healthy gut flora, they are cultures that allow good gut bacteria to multiply and thrive, which are needed to digest food well and keep bad bacteria down. Any organic yogurt without sugar can be used as well as probiotic capsules- which you would find refrigerated.

You can give small amount of fresh green kale, or endive, or carrot bits, and even spinach greens. You can thaw and drain frozen corn or peas and give him a tiny bit of that too for a snack. 

I thank you again for being such a kind and caring person to this youngster. He is lucky to find you.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

You are truly a kind person to take in this young pigeon. I agree with the others that it looks like pox.

I wouldn't give it any orange juice.


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## WanderingLoner (May 4, 2008)

thank you all for your help, i am going to start giving the pigeon medicine and good food and report back in a few days as to how he is comming along.


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

Thank you so much for caring for this sick pigeon. With good food and water and care, he has a good chance of getting better.

Margaret


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

This is from the book "Healthy Pigeon"








Medications mentioned are Chevita's Germany, but there is a lot other produsers and replacement ones shouldn't be difficult to find as chlortetraciclyne is used for humans to.

Thank you for helping this bird!
Plamen


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## Lovetotalk (Apr 19, 2012)

*Hi,

I think my Pigeon may have one of these illnesses. She has swelling around one eye, and is irritating her slightly and is red and has a little liquid in her pupil, and her beak is permanently hanging open a bit, and when I pick her up, she makes a strange sort of "huffing" sound and does not fly very well. I only noticed her being unwell this morning, which was only about one hour ago and I'm not sure at all what she has. It is cold outside today and I'm worried this is making her worse. she is not eating much and I have separated her from her flock just to be safe. I'm worried she's depressed because her mate died yesterday and she is not doing well. 

Please help me, I do not want her to die 
I have read these posts, and I still cannot find any of these suggested medications.

By the way, I live in New Zealand, so hope fully there are some supplies here.

Thank you very much. *


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