# Found a pigeon with PMV, not sure how much food/water to feed her



## VCTF (Dec 6, 2018)

Hey everyone,

So, no experience with birds whatsoever, but I live by the beach in Brazil and just found an injured pigeon (actually, she found me ).
There doesn't seem to be any experts in birds in my city and most don't even know how to diagnose a bird, but one of them gave her sulfaquinoxaline as an antibiotic and a vitamin mix.
So I took it to Google and narrowed it down to PMV as she has all the symptoms as far as I noticed. Of course, I'm not ruling out secondary bacterial infections, so I continued with the antibiotics.
However, I'm having a hard time with the food/water quantities for her as she can't feed for herself.

Currently, I'm giving her with a syringe:
0.22mL sulfaquinoxaline every 12 hours. (antibiotic)
0.1mL vitamin mix three times a day (http://www.vetnil.com.br/idiomas/index.php/produtos/hidrovit/?lang=en?linha=aves-ornamentais)
~5mL baby mix three times a day (https://translate.google.com/transl...Papa-para-Filhotes-Todos-os-Tipos-de-Passaros)
~2mL water after the baby mix

She is very skinny so I'm assuming she needs a lot of calories. She has water and solid food available for her 24h/day but I haven't seen her eat by herself. I've seen her sip the water a couple times.

I'm really sorry to be asking what seems such ridiculous questions, but I'm totally unexperienced with birds... Am I going on the right direction here?


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Thank you for helping the burd! More expert people than me should answer soon. If it is PMV he should recover. Can you post a photo? If you have access to frozen peas, you can defrost them and manually feed her peas i believe.


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## VCTF (Dec 6, 2018)

Sure, some images and videos: https://imgur.com/a/amGljrO

I think her green eyelids are because she decided to dive head first in her poop in one of her neurological attacks  should I try cleaning her with a damp cloth?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

She is not getting enough food. Feeding her peas will be a better option. Get a bag of frozen peas, defrost in lukewarm water and forcefeed her at least 30 peas 3 times today. Then tomorrow start feeding 40 peas 3 times daily.

You will need to put her on your lap facing to the right (if you are righthanded). Reach with your lefthand over her body and head and open the beak with those fingers. Have a pea ready in your righthand and put deep inside her beak over the tongue. Give her time to swallow and proceed with the next one. If she spits it out, then you are not putting it in deep enough. You will struggle in the beginning, but it will become easier once you get the hang of it.

Peas contain a lot of moisture, so they don't need as much water. But after feeding the peas, you can dip the tip of her beak (not over the nostrils) in a small bowl of water to get her to drink. The vitamins you can add to the drinking water.

Leave a deep dish of food with her, sometimes they do figure out a way to start eating by themselves.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Marina B said:


> She is not getting enough food. Feeding her peas will be a better option. Get a bag of frozen peas, defrost in lukewarm water and forcefeed her at least 30 peas 3 times today. Then tomorrow start feeding 40 peas 3 times daily.
> 
> You will need to put her on your lap facing to the right (if you are righthanded). Reach with your lefthand over her body and head and open the beak with those fingers. Have a pea ready in your righthand and put deep inside her beak over the tongue. Give her time to swallow and proceed with the next one. If she spits it out, then you are not putting it in deep enough. You will struggle in the beginning, but it will become easier once you get the hang of it.
> 
> ...


Agree with Marina. Also don't leave her outside in the bright sun where she cannot get into shade and out of the sun. Not sure where you are located, but she needs to be kept warm.


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## jameswaller (Nov 4, 2008)

*ill pigeon*



VCTF said:


> Hey everyone,
> 
> So, no experience with birds whatsoever, but I live by the beach in Brazil and just found an injured pigeon (actually, she found me ).
> There doesn't seem to be any experts in birds in my city and most don't even know how to diagnose a bird, but one of them gave her sulfaquinoxaline as an antibiotic and a vitamin mix.
> ...


-you should be commended for caring about wildlife enough to try and help,-pmv,wry neck,etc. are not pretty..-you are in brazil,and have internet,this is a plus for medical care-rx-/information,-my experience with bird illness is not vast.-but I have experienced enough to know bird illness puts him at great risk.-I have nursed several pigeons through it,though they are unable to fly-but alive,--the crop must kept somewhat full-I ground up wildbird food-and syringe fed them,-if he drinks water,{thats a plus,}--monitor the poops and try to keep the area clean.--keep warm,quiet area.--medications I have tried are flagyl,bactrim,baytryl,sometimes it works-these are for bacteria and you are dealing with a virus,so you are treating the immune system-and crossing your fingers.-I will follow this thread and try to help,god bless you-sincerely james waller


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## VCTF (Dec 6, 2018)

Thanks everyone for helping us out! May God repay you all!

Here's an update, 7 days after her rescue:

I've started giving her the peas and it seems to be working out fine. After the peas, I also give her some baby mix to load her with some more nutrients and probiotics.
She looks more alert and more resistant to my efforts in feeding her, so I assume she is getting stronger.
Her poop is getting more solid now and looks a lot like peas 
The neurological symptoms haven't shown much improvements that I noticed.

New questions have arised:

1) How can I know her crop is full? I've seen some pictures but they all look the same to me. 
2) Should I wait until her crop is empty for the next meal?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Just give the amount of peas that Marina has suggested as long as she keeps them down, then wait for it to empty or nearly so by the time you feed again. You can pretty much tell how well it is emptying if she is making a lot of droppings. Should usually be about 5 or 6 hours between feedings. The crop should feel like a soft pillow, but not hard or firmly packed.


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## VCTF (Dec 6, 2018)

Hey guys, another update:

I think I may have overfed her. She managed to regurgitate some peas and I noticed her crop feels full of peas, even after 24h without eating them.

I'm just giving her water and a bit of baby mix 2 times a day now and massaging her crop to try and help her digest. I believe 30 peas is too much for her.

Her neurological symptoms seem worse, but I'm assuming it's normal. She sleeps almost all the time. Maybe because of the full crop?

Should I give her something else to help her digest these peas?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Yes, warmed baby applesauce with just a bit of warm water added, but thick, not soupy. Feed only this till crop empties. This will usually help the crop to move. If your bird has a problem with the peas, then maybe you can get some baby food peas in jars, or else blend the peas up and then feed them to her. When you start again, do just 20 peas and work your up to 30. I wouldn't increase past that for now.


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## VCTF (Dec 6, 2018)

Hey guys,

Unfortunately, she passed away last night. Her neurological symptoms kept getting worse and last night, she couldn't stand anymore. This morning, she wasn't among us anymore. 
I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your effort in helping me, in my bird ignorance, take care of her.

May she rest in God's lap now.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

I'm sorry you lost her. Thanks for what you did for her. There must have been something else wrong as well.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I'm really sorry.


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## ls0128 (2 mo ago)

I have a beautiful, sweet white King Pigeon that walked into a friend's house last week. They couldn't keep him. I got him on Friday, 11-18-22. He started showing symptoms on Saturday. He has the same PMV problem as above and I am desperate to save him. Took him to Emergency vet yesterday. They thought I should euthanize him but I brought him back home with me after spending almost $300. Would gave been $1,000 if he spent the night! I don't know what a crop is but I'll google it. He can't eat or drink. What kind of baby food should I give him?


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