# Blood in mouth, trouble breathing. :(



## pidge-girl (Jun 10, 2009)

I have a very young mourning dove (3 weeks old) and she was brought into the center I work at yesterday evening. she was doing fine today other then what looked like a slightly abnormal beak, the top and bottom don't set on each other right. and also what sort of looks like the begining of pox on the underside of her beak.
I had been checking on her every half hour when I noticed she had started to breathe with her mouth open. Not in a panic or stress way, more like she was having trouble getting air. I know this is never a good sign so I went to find someone to get a better look at her, and by the time we got back, (about a minute) she was spitting up blood. her nares and throat were both filled and she was gasping for breath. We got a paper towel to clear the blood away and noticed her air sacs were expanded and her crop was really full. We took her into the clinic area and used a needle to pop and release the air from behind the base of her neck and tubed her to extract what was in her crop. all we could draw out of her was Exact formula, but mixed with blood. poor thing had blood in her crop. I don't know if it was from her swallowing her blood or an injury involving the crop. 
Our vet on staff will be here in the morning, but I wanted to know if anyone has ever seen this happen or know anyway to help the poor little one.
Also, before I started work today, they were training a new intern on tubing the doves,I'm worried that might have something to do with it?
 
She is a sweetheart and I hope she pulls thru the night. Send her some love <3


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Ths if from a case study about a moorhen that was bleeding from the beak after an accident:

"He was fighting for breath through the blood. Death can soon follow this sort of situation. I held him head down with the tip of his beak just touching water, which if done with care can draw the blood from the mouth. As soon as I was able I gave him Calendula 30 which stopped the bleeding very quickly."

(Homeopathic treatment for birds by Beryl M Chapman.)

The tube feding could have dislodged a canker nodule or a pox lesion.

Cynthia


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## pidge-girl (Jun 10, 2009)

She made it thru the night! Poor thing is still having trouble breathing. It's my day off today but I went in just to check on her, she had been crossed off the vet board because the new person that was training in that room couldn't tell the differance between mourning and white wing doves and said they were all white wings so she must have died! I was so sad cause that ment she missed the first round the vet makes in the morning  
But luckly I put her back on the vet board and let them know she was still alive! 
So this morning I was finally able to look in her mouth because the blood had cleared thru the night, and I think it is canker  There is yellowish cheesey substance closing in on her throat.. The vet is in her morning meeting, so hopefully she'll be able to look at her soon.
Thank you Cynthia! keep your hopes up for this little one


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Sounds like canker...get that sweetie on meds quick. 

Also, I would concur that probably a nodule dislodged or tore, and bled....be careful (I don't have to tell you this, of course) in the feeding/medicating...scraping or breaking a nodule can be enuff to do the bird in.

Some insist on messing with the nodules (swabbing with meds, etc)...IMHO not a good idea, for the reasons noted above. 

Hopefully the meds can clear it up and she can receive the nutrition and warmth to fight this one off. Try to lasso the vet soon, a 3-week old Mourning Dove is a bit of a delicate bird.

Keep us posted.


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## pidge-girl (Jun 10, 2009)

I know our vets will have medications for her, but in your experiance, what has worked best to help clear canker? I'm not going back to the center for another hour and a half, so I really hope they are being gentle with her. 
We have homeopathic and regular veterinary medications in the office. 
Thank you!


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Metronidazole....Flagly


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I am glad that she is still alive, I hope she makes it.

Sadly, in my early rescue days I was tube feeding a pigeon with canker when he struggled and as I was using a steel needle tube that dislodged a nodule and caused a bleed. I had no idea what to do and the poor thing died. 

Cynthia


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## pidge-girl (Jun 10, 2009)

She didn't make it. I showed up at 3:00 to a empty little nest in her incubator 
It's sad how much you can miss a little life that you only knew for one day..
Thank you all for wishing her the best though.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I'm really sorry. I understand how you feel.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I'm so sorry about the poor little bird. You really tried. Next time, maybe they will be better prepared. It doesn't take long to get attached.


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## FloridaLuv (Dec 19, 2008)

ahhh-- gosh darn it!!! I have been following this thread and I just wanted to say; You did what you could.... and Im sorry s/he didn't make it!


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