# Baby pigeon can't walk...



## zetta (Jun 7, 2015)

Hello all, I have zero experience on pigeons, and i happened to rescue a little squab which had fallen from its nest. I don't know how old it is i feed it boiled wheat and give it water with a syringe, at the sides of its beak. It definitely has a leg problem : It prefers to lie on its back or on either side with its legs to the side as well. It can move the legs and it stretches and withdraws them but it cant seem to be able to clench. When left down it uses its wings to move his feet following at the back. Finally i made him a doughnut shaped "nest" but still has trouble resting like a normal bird, i found it on its side or belly facing up. I haven't taken him to a vet i live in a provincial town in Greece, no experts here or shelters i can contact... Please advise...


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Forget the wheat. Here is a link on feeding baby pigeons:http://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/caringforababypigeon.htm

A baby bird formula would be best for the bird to get the supplements it needs, but you can do the peas and corn, if you do hand feed the peas/corn be sure to supplement with calcium/D3 as that is probably why the baby is unable to stand. It is totally deficient in calcium/D3.

Follow instructions carefully. Thank you.*


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## zetta (Jun 7, 2015)

Thank you for your answer and advice, excuse my ignorance : can i feed it boiled (and cooled of course ) corn? or canned corn? I will buy the calci/D3 supplement tomorrow.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I would give him peas rather than corn. Peas are easier to digest. Canned aren't great as they do contain salt. Frozen is better. 
The calcium and vitamin D3 is very important, as was mentioned. You can probably get it at a pet shop. I use CalciBoost that I buy online.
This will help a lot, but the legs may still have to be wrapped into a normal position, and he would have to be put into some sort of donut where the legs could be suspended under him. Try giving the calcium and D3 first.


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## zetta (Jun 7, 2015)

Thank you! How is this administered? If i feed it peas can i use it in the water ? how much is the dosage for such a small bird? I know my questions seem silly, but i have no knowledge about pigeons.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

When you are able to get the calcium and D3, you can tell us the strength.
individual dosing is better as you can't control how much he drinks.


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## zetta (Jun 7, 2015)

There is something else that worries me about the little pigeon.After hand feeding him,I put him in his box, where i have placed a doughnut shaped towel, in a normal perching position, but soon it turns on its back with the belly facing up, legs stretched. I checked it thoroughly today, it doesnt seem to have a visible injury(it fell from its nest) or a fracture i can detect. is it normal some pigeons rest this way? Maybe i overfed it but i really don't think this is the case. Besides not standing or walking it lies down oddly...Is there a chance he has some other disease causing this behaviour except for calcium/D3 deficiency?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Have you given the youngster the calcium/ D3 supplement? It is possible that it may be some other issue, but it may take a day or two for it to get the strength to stand. 

When feeding, always feed when crop is completely empty, make sure baby is warm, and the peas are warm.

thank you again for helping this little one. *


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## zetta (Jun 7, 2015)

I haven't given the supplement yet as i ordered it online and it needs a couple of days to arrive. I fed it some pulverized egg shell and put it in the sun for 10 minutes today till ii get the supplement. i fed it defrosted and slightly warmed peas and it drunk 9 ml of water. It is more lively that it was in the previous days, still can't stand on its legs and still lies with the belly facing up even though i place it normally.


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## AndreiS (Jul 28, 2013)

I think that rather he injured / fractured his leg when falling from nest. He looks very bad overall. 

I would immediately give him an antibiotic injection treatment (3 days) or at least oral antibiotics - 30 mg amoxicillin / day for 5 days, in order to prevent a very possible infection following the fracture / injury. If not doing this, expect him to die sudden (as result of sepsis). Does his droppings somehow look green and aqueous? And as antibiotics veyr probable will cause candida, give also 2-3 times a day a half tablet of Nistatin, crushed and mixed with water. Also the water must contain apple cider vinegar, which reduce the incidence of candida.

Food is very important and giving only peas is insufficient for a sick bird. Kaytee baby bird formula contains powder made from a variety of seeds, plus probiotics and amilase enzyme.

He also needs probiotics, vitamins and as was said, calcium + D3.

All these are vital for saving him.





For identifying a bone fracture and properly imobilising function of the bone, as well as for general care of fractures (you gonna read how necessary antibiotics are) here is a very helpful manual:
https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf




The dark red skin indicates to me that is dehydrated, as result of some days he did not eat. This is a serious condition and I lost most such birds, from lack experience in some cases at least. The death occured in most cases because they developed Candida from the sweeteness of some food I gave (grinded seeds, some equivalent to Kaytee), and Candida blocked their crop, leading to more dehydration and death. So maybe giving Kaytee is not a good idea, rather peas, but not in their entire form. I pell each pea and then make them a paste by passing them through a fine sieve. I mix the paste with some water to make it more fluid, warm a little and give it with a syringe and tube. The tube must be around 20 cm long and must reach he bottom of the crop (in order to prevent food entering the respiratory tract), the rest of procedure as indicated in Skyeking's link.


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## zetta (Jun 7, 2015)

Thanks for the advice AndreiS. I think i will take it to the vet tomorrow, although as i have mentioned, there is no vet in my town who specializes on birds, and i am really afraid they would suggest putting the bird to sleep which i want to avoid... I have amoxillin at home, for humans it is in 500 mg capsules, i just estimate the dosage and give it diluted in water once a day? That till i take it to the vet which will be in more than 20 hours form now...


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## zetta (Jun 7, 2015)

I am taking it to the vet in 30 minutes, however I don't trust any vet as they are no specialists in birds and i believe they do not care to help them besides a simple diagnosis. Is there a way i can post a video of the bird here?


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## zetta (Jun 7, 2015)

Zetta Bili I took it to 5 vets, the first one said it is paralysed. She pinched the upper part of its lower back with a needle and it did not react to pain, she said maybe it hit her back badly when it fell from the nest. She said she gives it like a 2% chance of recovery and that it should either ne euthanised or left to die on its own. She meant die naturally, because at some point the baby's system will fail. The other vets where inconclusive. Another one physically examined the bird thoroughly and told me he cannot feel or see any fracture and swelling. Probably it is neurological as Jessica Safford suggested, he prescribed multivitamin and minerals to administer once a day with the water it drinks. The last vet i took it to specialises on birds and she suggested sending it to a wildlife rehab centre, she gave me all their telephone numbers. I think I will call them within the week, or the next one, but i will try some days with the vitamins and sling to see how things are going. he is more lively and eats on its own, pecking at the peas while I hold it so that it does not move. The vet told me that the poos appear to be normal and the reflexes of the bird are ok despite its standing inability. tell me what you think.


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## zetta (Jun 7, 2015)

I have communicated with a greek rescue group located on a greek island (far from my town) and i sent them a video of the bird. They concluded that it is not paralysed since it moves its legs and flaps , but that the muscles of the legs have become weak and little active because the pigeon for a reason keeps its legs stretched in an abnormal position. They adviced me to keep it in a box with stripes of newspaper in a perching position with the legs bent under it. Also they asked me to do physiotherapy to the bird. by making it bend and stretch its knees. I put together the box but it WILL NOT perch in it, rather it flaps, bends and overturns in a belly-up position. I will try with the sling later today. I have some questions: 1.How do I know the bird is in pain? when i put it in the paper box it reacts, how can know it is because it hurts? 2.How exactly do i perform physiotherapy on the bird? 3. Is there any other way besides the sling (if it fails) to keep its legs in a normal position and not stretched back? 4. It will not drink water, but its poo is rly normal. Why is that? It has an enormous appetite but refuses to drink. 5. Do you think that besides calcium/D3 which I give it should take medication like metacam (meloxicam) that some people have suggested?


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Give the bird time, can WE see a video of this birds movements, if not here then email me directly, pm me and I will give you my personal email. Metacam is a good idea, that way if there is any general spinal inflammation that no one can see or feel the meds will do their job. Has anyone said any air sacs are ruptured? This can cause the bird to roll. It may not want to drink water as it gets enough in the hand feed or peas soaked, so dont worry about that for now. For rehab they mean literally just hold the birds foot and move the leg up and down and in and out, as it would bend at ankle, knee and hip so as to not just freeze or atrophy in any position. You are in essence moving or walking for the bird manually. Continue as you are. I think it is HILARIOUS that 5 vets can come up with so many opinions and the first few that said the bird is paralyzed are useless as u clearly stated the bird moves its legs to stretch them back. Just goes to show you how wrong they can be. The one who said to just let it starve to death, make a note and NEVER go back to them again. They should take their own cruel advise. I never knew a professional could say such idiotic stuff in all my life. Anyway, Im off topic now. Keep up the good work and let us know how this bird is doing.


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Oh also to stop it from flipping over, put the bird in a smaller shoe box and also roll up a few face towels and put them on each side of the bird for support. That should keep him upright. You can also gently place a stuffed teddy bear over top of him across his back to weight him down a bit and it is a comfort to him as it would be for a parent or sibling to sit on or next to him. He will feel more secure and BE more secure in that position. Thanks.
CBL


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## Tariq1984 (Oct 3, 2021)

zetta said:


> Hello all, I have zero experience on pigeons, and i happened to rescue a little squab which had fallen from its nest. I don't know how old it is i feed it boiled wheat and give it water with a syringe, at the sides of its beak. It definitely has a leg problem : It prefers to lie on its back or on either side with its legs to the side as well. It can move the legs and it stretches and withdraws them but it cant seem to be able to clench. When left down it uses its wings to move his feet following at the back. Finally i made him a doughnut shaped "nest" but still has trouble resting like a normal bird, i found it on its side or belly facing up. I haven't taken him to a vet i live in a provincial town in Greece, no experts here or shelters i can contact... Please advise...


Fyi for anyone with this problem. 
One of my baby birds started eating on its own seed and such after it’s mom was eaten by a hawk. I thought I was doing just fine and it look like it till one day it stopped walking and he lost all leg and foot function. He would use its wings to crawl around but on closer inspection I found out it was doing just a really bad job at eating and he was extremely skinny. I thought he was going to die so I found this Pigeons.BoZ and it really wasn’t too helpful except somebody somewhere said I could try feeding at peas.
I Tried but it was still too young to wanna eat the peas and it was really hard to force-feed it so I started with hard boiled egg yolk mixed in water. It was really difficult for both of us but we learned. As he got stronger I started to force-feed the peas. After about a week he started eating on his own and now he is thriving And extremely friendly. started With 10 peas for a meal then 20 and on till now he is eating like 60. 
Good luck! And I hope this helps!


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