# Help!! Low weight, and feathers not growing properly!!



## elisinman (Aug 10, 2009)

Hello everybody. I'm fairly new and have a few questions. 

About two months ago a pair of pigeons took over an old abandoned nest on my front porch. They began "renovating" and soon laid two eggs. I was not aware that the eggs had hatched until i saw the two little heads bopping around like they were swordfighting one morning. About a week before i noticed the babies one of the parents disapeared. I assume that the babies were about a week old when i noticed them. Later that day i climbed a latter to get a close look at the babies and i could tell they were hungry. They were so hungry that they waddled over to the edge of the ledge to beg for food from ME!! I checked their crops and noticed they were empty. Their eyes looked sunken and they were very scrawny. I decided to keep an eye on them and if they hadn't been fed by midnight I would take them inside and feed them. When midnight rolled around and I hadn't even seen the parent I broght them in and fed them some exact. I started by using a medicine dropper bulb and they would stick their beaks right in and suck up the food. I soon found out that i would have to bathe them after every feeding so I adopted the feeding syringe method. I hate to "Slam Feed" them but I dont have the time to feed them bith the bulb. 

Anyways, I have had them for about three weeks and one of them is doing very well. He is the older of the two and I named him Charlie after my grandfather. But his sibling, George, is much smaller than Charlie and seems to have a problem growing feathers on the back of his head. Then i noticed he wasn't growing any tailfeathers either. After further investigation I found an infection right above the tail. I found out that it is the preen gland and I belive it is abssessed. I have begun administering 60 mg of amoxicillin daily. I did squeeze it like a pimple and puss came out but i cant get anymore. I will try to post some picture in the next day or so meanwhile can anyone give me a littl advice. I checked and don't have a vet in the area that will look at this bird. Help Please!!
ellisinman


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I's pretty sure your baby has canker and need to be treated with metronidazole.
let me get you a link where you can buy the medication.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/catalog/1309.html

number 1319 ...1/4 pill to each pigeon for 7 days.


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## elisinman (Aug 10, 2009)

I am no expert but i had ruled out canker because i have no problem with feeding and their mouth looks fine. I had read about an infected preen gland and it seems to fit the description, but again i am no expert. Can anyone weigh in on a preen gland infection?


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I found this on a google search, I don't know if it will help:

http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/uropygial.html

Canker can infect parts of the body other than the mouth or throat and can start in other areas, for instance if infected pigeon milk is spilt in the nesting bowl it can infect a squab via the navel or the cloaca. However, I have not heard of canker infecting a pigeon via the preen gland...yet.


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## FloridaLuv (Dec 19, 2008)

Can you post a picture?


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

There was also this, on http://www.budgerigars.co.uk:

_Preen Gland Tumours, Cysts and Abscesses

In these conditions, the preen gland is enlarged and distorted in shape. As a result the small feathers over the gland become raised and the tail feathers tend to fall out and not regrow. Two affected birds were received as atypical "tail-less wonders". Cysts and abscesses can be drained but tend to recur, and surgical removal is the best treatment for these conditions. Preen gland disease is not associated with any particular feather type._


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## elisinman (Aug 10, 2009)

*Here are some pictures*

Sorry. The quality is bad but i will try a different camera later.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I don't think many of us have experience of preen gland problems, they are probably not all that common in pigeons.

I found this information, relating to budgies, on Pet Natter. It seemed pretty helpful:

http://www.petnatter.com/Articles_Swollen_Preen_Gland_in_Budgie_100004027?comments


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## elisinman (Aug 10, 2009)

thank you. it is very useful. It has seemed to shrink a bit. I have been administering Amoxicillin and it seems to be shrinking. I can tell the bird is in pain. But this dosen't explain the slow growth of feathers. The feathers on his head are very small and there are patches that are bald.


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Canker and cocci can affect not only feather growth but baby growth in general. I would use carnidazole (Spartrix) for youngsters though.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

There are several things that can cause problems with feather growth. If you are feeding Kaytee Exact then I think that nutrition and vitamin deficiency can be ruled out.

I don't think it is caused by canker, you say that you have had them inside for three weeks and the symptoms of canker would show within 6 days of infection. Squabs would get a canker infection through being fed by stressed or infected parents who had an overburden of trichomonads, so they shouldn't have been exposed to infection since then.

Also canker affects the feather follicles of the skin adjacent to a nodule, for instance a nodule in the throat/mouth area would cause the front of the neck and the area under the beak to be bald. But if you are worried you can treat them both.

He could have an infection of the feather follicles, but I don't know to what effect that would affect his growth. Can you describe what the skin around the affected areas looks like?

His failure to thrive as much as his sibling is worrying, it could be a response to an infection or it could be something like paratyphoid. If you look at this thread and the links to photographs you will see the difference in growth and development between two siblings when one has paratyphoid. But the difference in both examples is pretty dramatic!

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=5857&referrerid=560 

I think it would help if you posted a picture of him and his sibling, so that we can compare them, and of his neck. Also, can you describe his poops and whether how well he is eating compared to his sibling. And I know that sibling pigeons are very gentle with each other, but is it possible that his sibling is pecking at his head and neck?


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## elisinman (Aug 10, 2009)

Okay so when i got home tonight I went to check on my buddies and started my head to toe once over and noticed that the scab over georges preen gland was hanging off. So I carfully removed it looks so much better. I was even able to squeeze quite a bit of puss out of the gland!! The absess seems to be receeding. After looking at the thread above I see alot of parallels between my story and theirs. The main difference is that George does not look as bad as theirs. He is gaining weight and the infection is clearing up. It even seems as if some feathers are just starting out on its neck. Georges eyes are clear and not sunken at all. I will post some pictures of the two together soon. 

I am in the middle of moving from Missouri to Wisconsin so I have been very busy so I have been using the syringe so they really dont choose how much to eat. I am not really experienced so I feed them until their crop is full and don't feed them again until it is empty. The poops vary depending on what I have fed them. Peas, corn, exact, etc. so it is hard to tell. I can say that both birds seem to have poops that are consistent with one another.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

It is difficult, because each pigeon is different to you have to feed until the crop is squidgy like a beany baby or a balloon 3/4 filled with water. Unless the crop isn't emptying , I would feed them three times a day, 30-40 ml each time if feeding formula, probably 30-40 peas or corn kernels...but I would keep feeling the crop while I was feeding. I would ensure that the crop empties completely overnight.

Cynthia


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