# LOSING BALANCE



## MarinaLWalters (May 12, 2004)

Hi. I am a new pigeon owner. I have two unreleasable pigeons. I obtained the one last year (Pesto) and the other (Pico) this year. Pesto has been doing fine until today that I am aware of. I am off on vacation and have been spending lots of time with the animals (birds and rabbits). The buns and pigeons live together in a 20' x 12" protected outside area. She has been puffed up. Her balance is definitely off. I did not notice this yesterday. She was eating today for sure. She feels thin, but I am NOT sure if that is due to what is wrong with her or b/c she has been feeding her baby. The dad does not seem thin at all and he has been helping with the feedings. The baby was born on 5-8. I have never had birds before. I work for a vet (thus how I obtained the two-both with severely broken wings) and have never seen anything like this except with birds that were diagnosed with West Nile. For them we do Baytril Injectable, Dexamethasone, and SQ Fluids until we see how they are doing (if they are getting better or get euthanized). The living environment is clean as are the feed/water bowls. We have experienced A LOT OF RAIN in the past two weeks here in PA. What is the proper course of action for Pesto? How about Pico and baby Poncho? Any concerns that they might get sick??
Thank you for your information!!
Marina 

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## MarinaLWalters (May 12, 2004)

ALSO--> I forgot to mention that her other baby died. It was smaller, so I just assumed "survival of the fittest". Not sure that is of any importance or not. Also, the house is 20' x 12' , not 12"-slight typo.
Thanks again!
Marina


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## dano7 (Feb 10, 2004)

You've got a major problem and an emergency trip to your vet is order not a guessing game over the internet - sorry to be blunt but I'm talking Wednesday morning. The rest of your birds would likely get the resulting treatment.


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## MarinaLWalters (May 12, 2004)

From what I have seen from researching on Pigeons.com, either Baytril or dewormer is in order. I gave a dose of oral Baytril since I do have that. What do adult Pigeons get force fed? We only feed baby birds at work and for that we use Lafabers baby formula. We also have bird vitamins. She is eating right now, I am just interested if it gets to the point where she will need to be force fed. I know that it is not a "guessing game" which is why I wrote in to pigeon "experts"; I was just looking for advice from anyone with experience who had any clues so that I could get the proper meds from work tomorrow.
Thank you for your time.
Marina


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Marina and welcome to pigeons.com. This link may provide you with some helpful information regarding symptoms to diagnosis:

http://www.chevita.com/tauben/e-index3.html 


The lack of balance could be from a number of things .. Paramyxovirus being one of the most likely, but could well be other things as well. Have a look at the Chevita site .. the drugs recommended there are those of Chevita which is a European company but we have equivalents here in the U.S.

Best of luck with the bird, and please keep us posted.

Terry

PS: The smaller baby not making it could be an indication of paratyphoid (salmonella) in one or both parents .. Baytril is a good move for that possibility.

PPS: The Lefebers is fine for a debilitated adult as well as the babies.


[This message has been edited by TAWhatley (edited May 25, 2004).]


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## Nooti (Mar 14, 2002)

Hi, if you work for a vet you shpould be able to get hold of these two drugs - Trimethoprim sulphamethoxazole and amoxycillin and Clavulanic acid. Baytril is useless in most bird cases, but a course of a combination of the above two drugs should sort out any problem your pigeon is facing. I would also combine a calcium and vitamin supplement as the loss of balance could be something as simple as a calcium deficiency.
Dose - Amoxycillin - 87.5mg/kilo SQ, q24 hrs - 7 days. Trimethoprim sulphamethoxazole - 50-100mg/kilo IM SQ PO q12 hrs - 7 days.
Hope this helps.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Marina,

Whenever I have to take a pigeon to the vet I consult Nooti first, then tell the vet what she has suggested. The vet inevitably agrees with what she has told me and charges me for nodding!







. A lot of vets just don't know enough about pigeons to even make a diagnosis, so it is always useful to consult those with more experience to get background knowledge even if you also have to go to the vet.

We also use other people's experiences to learn from so please keep us updated.

Helen, considering the protected housing situation does the fact that it is the hen that has lost weight and has balance problems and that one of the chicks failed to thrive and died point to Paratyphoid? 

Marina, the droppings of a pigeon with PMV look like a small dark worm in a pool of water because of the effect of the virus on the kidneys. The dropping from paratyphoid are sticky green. Can you describe Pesto's droppings?

Pigeons with PMV can take months to recover, but most of them DO recover, so bear that in mind if you are advised at any stage to consider euthanasia!


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_All beings are fond of themselves, they like pleasure, they hate pain, they shun destruction, they like life and want to live long. To all, life is dear; hence their life should be protected.

-Mahavira_


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## Nooti (Mar 14, 2002)

Cynthia
my guess is the two are possibly unrelated. The baby who died sounds as though it had paratyphoid - I have never seen weaklings or runts in baby pigeons except when there has been a medical reason. And the fact that it is the hen losing balance and not the cock suggests a calcium deficiency.
Could also be a coccidia burden which is why I suggested Trim/sulpha.
Very difficult to diagnose without examining the bird and only going by owner's description.


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