# Giving antibiotics to pigeon



## [email protected] (Jul 9, 2018)

I posted in here a little over a week ago about finding a pigeon and being unable to find a vet for her. Long story short, I finally was able to get her to a vet.

Her health is actually quite good. She's a little skinny but besides that all she has is some feather lice and some pressure sores on her feet. We got dust for the feather lice and antibiotics for the pressure sores. It's a 10-day course of antibiotics that was recommended by the vet to avoid any possible infection in her foot since she said an infection in the foot could quickly spread to the kidneys.

The problem is my boyfriend has a lot of qualms about starting the course of antibiotics. We've only had the bird about 10 days now and we've been working hard the whole time to get her comfortable with our hands. My bf is afraid that administering the antibiotics will make the bird hate us or undo all the work we've done. They're liquid antibiotics that need to be put straight into her mouth using a syringe so one of us would have to hold her in a towel while the other opens her mouth to put the antibiotics in. My bf wants to wait and only use the antibiotics if we start to notice signs of infection. I told him I think we should start right away as a preventative measure for infection.

I've never had pigeons but my family has a 13 year old green cheek conure that I lived with for 10 years and before that we had a budgie (and cockatiels before that! but I was too young to remember). This is to say I'm fairly experienced with birds. My boyfriend has never had a bird before. For those of you who are experienced bird owners what can I say to reassure my boyfriend that the bird will be okay? I really don't want to give the antibiotics to the bird by myself because it would be a lot more difficult without someone holding her for me. Or is there an alternative way to administer them? Or could I perhaps use rubber gloves (the kind I use when I wash dishes) while I give the antibiotics so that I can assure my boyfriend that she won't get scared of our actual hands? I feel like he needs a second opinion from an expert to be convinced.

Summary: How can I reassure my bf that giving our pigeon antibiotics won't keep her from loving us some day?


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## bootface (Jun 29, 2017)

Don’t wait for the bird to show signs of obvious infection, it could be too late by then. Being alive is more important than liking humans. Did the vet give you something topical for the feet? Often oral antibiotics isn’t enough for bumblefoot.


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## [email protected] (Jul 9, 2018)

I agree, I'd rather the pigeon be healthy than love us. (Although if I could reassure my bf that this wouldn't permanently 'undo' the bird that would be ideal so I can have his help in this.) My bf thinks there's a very small chance of infection but I'd rather be cautious, especially because the pigeon accidentally took off one of her scabs yesterday and started bleeding. We only got oral antibitoics from the vet, no topical. I know it's meant for humans but would something like Neosporin work as a topical ointment?


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## bootface (Jun 29, 2017)

Neosporin works. You can also soak the feet in warm water and Epsom salts. I’ve only used chlorohex soaks, but I’ve read Epsom salts work. Make sure she has soft places to perch, and no narrow perches. 

None of my pigeons like me, so I can’t really give advice on taming. It will probably set you back a bit, but foot infections can take weeks of multiple-times-a-day treatment to clear up. 10 days of oral medicine is a lot easier on the bird than that.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Well if the bird gets an infection and dies, then it isn't really going to matter that he still liked you.

Most of my birds like me, (not all of them), but any that I have had to medicate for one thing or another still like me. It didn't change anything. The only bird I had that liked me until I had to treat her was my beautiful Roxy, who hated me forever after breaking a wing and needing to have her wing wrapped and rewrapped for a period of time. But I would rather have her fly again than to like me. But giving meds never changed anyone.


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## [email protected] (Jul 9, 2018)

Ok so my bf was finally convinced about the antibiotics and today we gave our pigeon the first dose. I followed everything we were told by the vet about giving antibiotics. My bf held her in a towel burrito while I opened her mouth and injected the liquid at the back of her mouth on the right side. Shortly afterwards she regurgitated the contents of her crop. Is this normal? Was it the taste or maybe shock? Should I be worried?


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## blackcoffee (Jul 20, 2018)

Hi everyone! The vet prescribed us a 10 day course of baytril to treat any possible foot infections due to the pressure sores, which are healing from what I can tell. From what I could find here (http://www.melbournebirdvet.com/baytril-the-myths-and-reality.aspx), this antibiotic seems intended for treating existing infections, not as a preventative measure.

For anyone experienced with baytril, is it okay to use such a powerful antibiotic pre-emptively? We started the course today and she's since lost her appetite after vomiting up lunch. I'm not worried about the treatment hurting the emotional wellbeing of our bird but I do want to minimize any unnecessary physical strain, particularly when it comes to her appetite (as k said earlier she's pretty underweight as it is).


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## bootface (Jun 29, 2017)

You can try giving it to her on an empty crop and waiting an hour before feeding her, but that's something you should call your vet about. She might not be able to handle if she's very thin.

The same antibiotics are used for prevention and treatment. That article is referring to using it to prevent common illnesses, like respiratory infections. This won't work because they will just be re-exposed as soon as they're in the proximity of other birds (such as in a race). Your bird has wounds that could easily become infected, and they should be healed by the time you stop the medication. We used Baytil on every animal with signs of wounds at the rehab center where I volunteered. If you wait for a small animal to show signs of infection it can be too late to save them.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Some meds are better given on a full crop. I haven't had problems with Baytril either way. If you are having a problem with vomiting though, make sure that when she is being held that you are not holding her to tightly, and giving a few drops of Pepto Bismol 30 minutes before medicating usually helps a lot. Baytril is very good and wide spectrum, so it should protect against infection. You give antibiotics to prevent infection. As bootface has said, if you wait till infection has set in then it can be too late. You want to prevent it.


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## Wildlyfe (Apr 21, 2018)

Is your Baytril flavored or straight? If it isn't flavored, that might be part of the problem. Baytril is pretty bitter. These days most vets are putting it in flavoring to mask the taste. I work as an assistant for an avian vet, and our experience is that cherry syrup works best for Baytril. I have dosed a lot of pigeons with it. I don't know how often you are giving it. It can be given once daily or split and given twice daily if needed. You just need to pick one and stick to that. You can check with your vet, but if you are doing the full dose once daily, it might work better to split it up. 

I know people are often told to aim for the back of the mouth, but I much prefer to give oral medications a different way. I hold the bird slightly on their side (but still upright), and maybe hold the head secure if needed so that I can put a few drops at the hinge of the beak. I wait until it disappears (it will often just drip into the mouth from there) before I put a few more drops, waiting for the bird to swallow at various times. It is not always quick, but I don't worry about it going down wrong. If they do sputter a little, just hold them upright for a moment. My birds take it really well. I haven't had any hold grudges. They may get annoyed, but only until the course is over. 

I handle my birds a lot. Most are not thrilled about it, but the more you handle them, the less stressful it will be when you have to. You don't want the only time you handle them to be for medication. For a new, sick bird though, it might be best to handle it as little as you can. It really depends on how it reacts to all the stress.


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