# Older Ringneck Dove Sick



## nourigat001 (Aug 6, 2019)

Hello! My girl Oona was rescued by me in 2009, so I'm not sure exactly how old she is. I keep her ion a large indoor cage with her partner, and last week I noticed she stopped flying around and perching. A couple days later she wasn't leaving the cage floor, just shuffling around using her wings as crutches. She was eating and drinking.
This weekend I noticed she wasn't getting any better so I put her in a small box with water, vitamins and food, on a heating pad and still no improvement. I make sure she gets water by dropping it on her beak - she does drink. I haven't noticed her eating and she's still just sitting there. I live in a very rural area and no one here has experience with doves, so I don't have a vet I can take her to that would actually know what's going on. My vet said they can give her some pain meds.
Also, I gave her a bit of dewormer a few days ago and no improvement either.

Please help!


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Is it possible she might be eggbound? Does she get regular calcium with added Vit D3 in the drinking water? You are keeping them indoors, so they don't get direct sunlight for the body to absorb calcium. When did she last laid eggs? Laying eggs deplete the body of calcium.


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Hi, when did she start to feel sick? In the laying eggs period (before or after laying an egg) ? If so, she could maybe suffer from a temporary eggs laying paralysis.
Once my pigeon Apple suffered from a bad case of it: she couldn't fly (I mean she couldn't do her "small flights", she is a broken wing pigeon), couldn't walk, etc. She pull herself along with wings...

I'm going to copy an article from 

https://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/eggrelatedproblems.htm

(You can read there also about egg binding, as Marina said it could be another option). 

"Temporary (Egg Laying) Paralysis
This temporary weakness / paralysis can occur either during or after the laying of an egg and is thought to be caused by the egg pressing on the sciatic nerve.

The hen will have weak or useless eggs and will therefore be unable to walk or to fly and will probably be pulling itself along with its wings.* The other pigeons seeing a fellow pigeon that behaves as if it is ill will follow their natural instincts to protect the flock and will attack and peck at the affected hen's head.* That will cause her to seek shelter and she risks becoming trapped in small places.

If you see a pigeon that has trouble standing and walking, or is pulling itself along by its wings, it needs* to be taken somewhere quiet and warm to rest.* If it is likely to be a laying henm then calcium supplements formulated specially for birds, such as Calcivet, Calcivite, Zolcal D or Gen Liquid Calcium, given according to the manufacture's instructions can help strengthen the muscles.** They usually recover in a couple of days but they need to be monitored just in case there is an egg that is stuck".


Apple recovered in a few days, fortunately she laid both eggs, I gave her extra calcium, vitamins, I had to hand feed her and to offer her water. Giving water by dropping it in her beak could be dangerous, you could offer her water just putting her water bowl in front of her many times a day. If she doesn't eat on her own, you need to hand feed her. 

Do you always leave available in a separate bowl a source of calcium (like oyster shells, picking blocks, or cuttlebone, etc) or do you regularly give her a liquid calcium supplement? Does she get vit D3? Do you regularly give her a complete vitamin supplement (vitamins + trace elements + amino acids)?


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