# Rescued Collared Dove



## ellieb (Aug 13, 2020)

Hi there, thanks for for admitting me to this amazing forum! I'm in South Wales, UK.

I picked up an adult Collared Dove six days ago and have been trying to look after it since then - it was lethargic, with a clearly damaged eye, and it let me pick it up without struggling. For the first day and night it had green poops (which I think is a sign of starvation, from what I've read here) but after giving it some rehydration fluids it started to eat seed of its own volition and is now eating pretty well, with normal white/brown poops. 

It had three ticks around the eye and another three on its head, all of which I removed and then cleaned the areas with leucillin and a dab of manuka honey (antibacterial). I've attached a photo of the state of its eye when I first found it, totally scabbed over, swollen and black - the eye on the other side is fine and bright. I've been washing the area with warm saline twice a day, with a dab of honey and a dab of vaseline to soften the scab, which has now fallen off - I can now see a hint of the eye underneath, but not sure yet whether it's irreparably damaged, it's still quite swollen. I went to my local vets to ask for advice/eye drops/antibiotics but they said they advised putting it to sleep, and I feel it deserves a chance, so I'm doing my best.

I really just wanted to ask if anyone has an opinion about the eye - I read up about it and it sounds like ticks can cause that kind of haemorrhaging and damage, but I'm certainly no expert. I've checked his mouth/throat for canker and can't see anything. He's quite skinny still so I imagine it'll take a while for him to recover? 

Thanks for any help and suggestions x


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

I've never encountered this problem so can't give advice. Sounds to me like you are doing a great job, just continue with what you are doing. Might take a long time for the eye to heal and for him to gain weight. Don't release him unless you are sure the eye is completely healed and that he is able to see from both eyes.


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## John B (Sep 27, 2012)

Is the eye totally impacted? Can you open up or peel back the eye lids or are they fussed together?


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Hi, thanks so much for caring about him and welcome to PT!

I don't have any experience with ticks so I can't give you an opinion about the eye. I only want to post a link:

http://www.pigeonrescue.sirtobyservices.com/commonailments-2/ticks/

They suggest to give a course of Baytril because it could speed up the healing. You could also see the photos of a dove who had a tick and made a full recovery.

I would give him a complete vitamin supplement, it will help him to get stronger.
Something similar to Omni-vit Oropharma would be good.

https://www.versele-laga.com/en/gb/oropharma/products/oropharma-omnivit

In any case, be sure that the supplement contains vit K, it is necessary for blood coagulation (I read that ticks inject an anticoagulant). 

If you are on Facebook you could try to contact the group for an advice and an opinion:

http://www.pigeonrescue.sirtobyservices.com/findusonfacebook-2/


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## ellieb (Aug 13, 2020)

Thank you Marina, John and Colombina, I really appreciate your help! Colombina, I'll look into getting a complete vitamin supplement, thank you. The dove is still doing well, eating quite a lot, and the swelling is going down. I can now see just a glimpse of the eye that was underneath all the blood and swelling, but can't tell yet whether he's got any sight in it still - I guess if he hasn't then he won't survive for long in the wild, which would be a shame after all this - but we'll see. 

Thanks again! x


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

I'm really glad to hear that he is doing well! I really hope that he will make a full recovery! 

A blind or nearly blind eye means a blind side and so inability to see predators and to escape from them, to see cars, etc.
In that bad case you could try to look for a good home for him.

Keep us updated!


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## ellieb (Aug 13, 2020)

Thank you Colombina, he's still doing very well! He's now drinking his water with vitamin supplement and doing plenty of eating and preening. I do think unfortunately he is probably blind in his left eye though - I'm going to ask around and see if I can find a bird rescue or similar who would be able to keep him safely in an aviary with company, but in the meantime will keep feeding him up! If I can get a good photo, I'll post one of what his eye looks like now compared to the previous picture x


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Thanks for the update!

How is he doing? I hope he is still doing really well! I also hope you can find a good place for him (in case he is really blind in his left eye).

Please keep us updated!


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## ellieb (Aug 13, 2020)

Hi Colombina, thanks for asking - I have good news! About five days ago I noticed he was starting to get a bit of vision back in the bad eye, blinking properly etc, and by yesterday he was very lively! I'd created a run in the garden with space for him to fly from branch to branch and he was able to judge the distances perfectly every time, even when I moved them about at random. This morning, I took him outside to go in the run, he sat on the edge of the cage for a few seconds and then took off very strongly, flying off into the woods where I found him - success! 

I wanted to get a photo of the difference in his eye from the one I posted originally because it was quite remarkable, but he had other ideas  Very happy to have had this little guy's company for the last three weeks and to have fed him up, given him some vitamins/minerals and sorted out his ticks, and that he's been able to go back to his old life. Thanks for your help! <3


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

What a wonderful news 😊 ! I love happy endings!!! 

You really did a great job!!!


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## ellieb (Aug 13, 2020)

Thanks Colombina, it's a lovely feeling when they go isn't it! This is the second bird I've rescued (first was a wood pigeon) but this one was much more challenging - and to think the vets wanted to euthanise him! So happy for him. Since I bought a new bottle of pigeon vitamins and haven't used much, I'll ask around and donate it to a local pigeon keeper. Thank you again for your advice and support! xx


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

I know, saving a life is a lovely feeling, a great satisfaction!

Unfortunately some vets don't care about pigeons or doves, they just want to euthanize them or simply refuse to visit them. I had bad experiences in the past.

As I said, you really did a great job, I'm so happy that he met a good person like you! Lucky bird!


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