# poisoned pigeons?



## tonyastonehocker (Mar 27, 2018)

I am new so forgive if Im doing this wrong. I have had feral pigeons for years now and all of a sudden they couldn't fly and their heads were spinning around. It was heart breaking. The ones that I caught around 9 of them I took to a wildlife rehab. vet. The man I spoke too said they are spinners and was probably genetic. If its genetic then why do they all get sick at the same time? Another lady at another time said it was avitrol poison. So many died and i still have 3 in the house. I had one of my fav's Walter in a cage for 9 weeks and he flew away just fine. I was so happy. The three i have im not sure if they can fly yet. On next door.com a man was bragging that once he feeds them they dont ever come back....poisoning them? Has anyone else had this problem? All my neighbors hate pigeons and rats. Sprinkling rat poison on fences to get rats and so far one dog has died. They are so careless with poison and dont think about the second hand poisoning. I almost quit the nextdoor.com cause people were so mean to me about the pigeons. I have always loved them and always will. I live in Las Vegas Nevada.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Can't tell you for sure what is wrong with the birds, but if you believe they are being poisoned, then why let them fly free? Or are they free birds? Do they just come to your yard for feeding? There are a lot of jerks out there that might poison them. But also could be an illness like Salmonella or PMV. Also, if the people in your area are so hateful about pigeons, and it bothers you, then I wouldn't go on there. Not worth it. How many birds have died?


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Would contact your local PETA and ASPCA and report the poisonings.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

They won't be able to do anything about it. Businesses poison them all the time legally. Poor things.


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## bootface (Jun 29, 2017)

It might be worth having a necropsy done on one of them to find out what’s going on for sure. If you suspect poisoning I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep feeding them. If there’s less food in the area they’ll hopefully go somewhere safer.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

bootface said:


> It might be worth having a necropsy done on one of them to find out what’s going on for sure. If you suspect poisoning I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep feeding them. If there’s less food in the area they’ll hopefully go somewhere safer.


^ Good idea.


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## tonyastonehocker (Mar 27, 2018)

*pigeon poisonings*

The pigeons that come here are wild. They are not my pets. I have favorites that have been coming here for years. I have low standing fountains that they bathe in and drink from year round. Walter was one of my fav's that was so sick I was able to catch. I kept him in a dog crate Extra large in our spare bedroom. I made sure he was quiet and well fed. Id take him out after awhile and let him practice flying and flap his wings. By the end of his stay his head wasnt spinning and he could fly from end to end. He looked great and when I talk to the rehaber she said if he doesnt fly off no harm done and just catch him again. I was nervous . Walter always follows me around the yard. He was never scared of me. When I saw that no more pigeons were dying or spinning I felt is was safe to let him go. He flew on the roof with no problem and he comes back everyday for food. I always know its him cause he pecks at the slider to get my attention.The really sick ones I took to a wildlife rehab vet where she does something electromagnetically everyday for a few weeks then releases them.Im so terrified if it was poison they will do it again.Yes I agree about not going on the neighborhood web site but its also good because people lose their pets and it alerts all neighborhoods in the area. I just wont bring up pigeons. I wanted to get the pigeon birth control that comes in feed form but the company said the pigeons have to come daily to eat out of a feeder and he also told me which I didnt know its illegal to feed pigeons here. Ill see if i have the info that i was sent and if I do ill post it.
Thank you


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## tonyastonehocker (Mar 27, 2018)

This is the article for the poison AVITROL
HOME » SEARCH OVOCONTROL » AVITROL
AVITROL (4-AMINOPYRIDINE)
Avitrol, manufactured and marketed by Avitrol Corp, Tulsa, OK, is an avian toxicant used as a chemical frightening agent in pigeons, starlings, blackbirds, sparrows, crows and house sparrows. The active ingredient, 4-aminopyridine, is an acute oral toxicant, which acts on the central and motor nervous system. The product is registered as a restricted-use pesticide by EPA and approved for use in all states, although only through licensed pest control operators. 

Avitrol is toxic to all vertebrate species, not just birds. Its action on the motor nervous system usually causes behaviors characteristic of an epileptic seizure or convulsion. Birds eating treated bait will be affected in a manner that, varying by species, will artificially cause them to emit distress and alarm cries and visual displays used by their species when they are frightened or injured. This may include flying erratically, vocalizing, trembling, dilation of the pupils and other symptoms consistent with the loss of motor control. This behavior can frighten the flock and cause it to leave the site. 

In laboratory testing, if the dose is lethal, death will usually occur within an hour following administration. If the dose is sub-lethal, there will be a recovery period which may be as short as 4 to 5 hours. Surviving birds typically have no lasting effects from 4-aminopyridine.

An alternative to Avitrol poisoning is a contraceptive program to control reproduction. OvoControl P can manage pigeons in a safe and humane manner without the risk of dead or dying birds. The number of birds in treated flocks declines through attrition. See the website, ovocontrol.com for further information and details.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

How sad and cruel. Nets are sometimes used to discourage birds from nesting, without killing them.


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## avjudge (Jul 4, 2017)

And this is what the Humane Society says about Avitrol (and love 'em or hate 'em, this rings true): 'The misleadingly marketed Avitrol brand poison is used to kill pigeons. Promoted as a “flock frightening agent” or “repellent”, it is in fact a nervous system poison. Birds who consume it suffer convulsions and die. It is not only traumatic for the birds to die this way, but also for any people—especially children—who witness or try to help the dying birds.'

They do, however, like OvoControl.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

The drug in Ovotrol is nicarbazin, which is used as a coccidiostat in chickens
It does have side effects. Someone posted on Pigeon talk a few years back that there was an article stating that when the Ovotrol was stopped that it was possible for the birds to then come down with Coccidia that could take them out, as the immunity that they would normally have built up had been destroyed by feeding them Ovotrol for so long. They now had no immunity to Coccidiosis. It would then be easy for a cocci outbreak to wipe out many birds in a flock. 
From 2 different articles. Sorry, I lost the links to the articles. 
It also may result in reduced heat tolerance in birds exposed to high temperature and humidity; 

it can cause increased sensitivity to heat stress, which may result in growth depression and even mortality in broilers; death may be due to cell degeneration processes in liver and kidneys; (Do we want to do that to feral pigeons?)
Just pointing out that there is no such thing as a completely safe way. Sometimes things sound good, but upon closer look, they are not the wonderful answer they appear to be.
These side effects are not that often mentioned, as they are more interested in eradicating these pest birds.


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## avjudge (Jul 4, 2017)

Well, if my city or neighbors were determined to do something about a pigeon problem, I can tell you which I'd prefer them to use between a nerve poison and a contraceptive with some side effects! I assume that's the choice made by the several animal welfare organizations whose sites I visited in running down a few google hits.

But it's always good to be aware of what the side effects are. I was kind of wondering - just not enough to google it  - because I know there are nearly always some. It's true that "life is a series of trade-offs."


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

There is netting that can be used without harming birds.


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## Seijun (Apr 14, 2010)

I was just coming on here to start a topic asking about pigeon poison..
There is a large feral flock near my house. Today I noticed a large amount of mixed bird seed that had been deposited under the big shopping center sign where they always hang out. I am scared that it might be poisoned. Is there a safe way to tell? I went back as soon as it was dark and swept up as much of it as I could and took it home in a garbage bag. It looked and smelled like just normal bird seed, but no way am I taking chances.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Maybe just some kind person feeding them. Where do you live?


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## Seijun (Apr 14, 2010)

That could also be it, but I don't want to risk it  I live in Portland Oregon. The pigeons live in an area that is all businesses and fast food joints. I estimate the flock to be about 50 or so birds not including mates on nests. I will buy some fresh seed for them. I am thinking of leaving a note at the spot asking, if someone is trying to poison them, to please contact me so we can discuss non-lethal options. It would devastate me to see them harmed..


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