# Found a pigeon with Twisted Neck Problem



## neeraj14 (May 22, 2020)

Hi, two weeks back a pigeon fall in my front yard. At first he seems to be thirsty and hungry. I gave him water and food to eat. He was not able to fly and we have a stray cat in our neighborhood, so I brought him in our house. He found a nice place under our sofa to sleep. I thought he is dehydrated as its summer; gave him more water and food. I thought he will regain his energy and will fly back. He was scared at first but in 2-3 days he started feeling comfortable but was not flying and not showing any signs of injury or illness. I never had any pigeon; so was not much informed about them. Initially he was twisting his neck or star gazing sometime but we ignored as thought it could be his normal behavior. But in a week twisting neck behavior increased. After twisting his neck, he start circular motion backwards again and again. I did start reading about pigeon and found this could be PMV or neural disorder or any head injury. Due to corona virus lockdown I am not able to get a vet’s appointment. Found one online and send him some videos. At first they said he is good and just need some vitamin syrup. One vet confirmed a neural disorder but none of them confirmed a PMV. I started giving him multi vitamin syrup and a neurobion forte as suggested. He has no other symptoms other than twisted neck. Twisting neck behavior is increasing day by day. He walks a little and again start twisting and circular backward motion. His poop seems to be ok. He tries to fly but can only lift him up by half a foot. Sometimes he looks very good and try to roam around in my house. He seems to be having some trouble with sleep at night or in darkness. He mostly covers his sleep in day time or when I am around. I thought he is scared when alone so I put him in an open box in my bedroom from last 3 days. But whenever I check on him, he is awake and standing at same spot until its morning. Today he is sleeping a lot. Like one nap for 10 mins and again wake up for 10 mins and repeat. I gave him some electrolytes as suggested by vet. But he seems to be eating properly and drinks periodically. Whenever my wife keep him on her lap, he right away goes to a deep sleep. He is now twisting his neck all the time and do a side way barrel roll to flip up again. Its seems his previous owner abandon him as he dont want his lot to get infected. As by his behavior he doesn’t seem to be a wild one. I dont know if he is going to die but I want to give him best care; so he can fight against his illness.


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## neeraj14 (May 22, 2020)

Please provide your suggestions for his improvements. Thanks!


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

It does sound like PMV. He will just need supportive care to fight off the virus. A good seed mixture and added vitamins to the drinking water. As long as he is able to eat and drink by himself, then no need to worry. It will take about 6 to 8 weeks to recover, although the symptoms might be there for life. The one bird I have, was at her worst by week 6. She had horrible seizures, but was able to eat by herself the whole time. Today she is perfectly normal.

Keep his environment stress free (stress can trigger the symptoms). If he is in a bad shape at night, leave a light on.


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