# Ive found a 1yr old racing pigeon.



## Mactr3 (May 18, 2006)

Ive found a racing pigeon and am in the process of locating its owners. Its tame enough except it seems to hate when i pick it up. Its fairly fat and wont fly when i leave it outside. It flew once but half an our later it came back and walked straight inside the house. He's got an injured eye, its got a kind of membrane over it. There was something in it but it came out after a couple of days of using optrex eye drops (please correct me if this was wrong). Im from Ireland and have located the area the pigeon is from but still no owner. Is it possible that he's homing to my house now rather than the owner.


----------



## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

It's always hard to tell, but if his eye's in trouble, he probably thinks that since you're taking such good care of him that it's a bad idea to leave. A one-eyed bird usually doesn't make it out in the wilds. Is it possible to take a digital picture of the eye and post it or email it to one of us?

Pidgey


----------



## Mactr3 (May 18, 2006)

I dont have a camera at the minute so ill try and describe it. It had somehing in it then it fell out. Now it looks like there a kind of membrane covering the eye, but you can see trhough it and his eye is definitely there and moving inside the membrane, but the stuff covering his eye isnt poop or anything else its definitely coming from the eye. His feathers are fluffed all the time so i think he mite be sick. His poop looks alright except its a bit watery. Before feeding him it was green and slimy now it seems ok except the watery part. If i bring him outside he runs straight back in the house. Tis kinda funny. Ive been feeding him bread and water so far, and he seems to like it.


----------



## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

It would be best for him if you could find some mixed corn or even wild bird seed. The bread is OK as a temporary filler so he doesn't starve, but he'll need a more nutitious, grain/seed type diet to help him get fit. Certainly provide him with a pot of water deep enough for him to get his beak in and suck it up.

Is it that you know who the owner is but haven't been able to get in contact? Be aware that not all owners will welcome back a missing bird, and it may depend also on how long this one has been missing. Is there a central organization in Ireland you can contact (like in England we have the Royal Pigeon Racing Association) who can track the owner from the band number?

If you can let the pigeon stay somewhere safe and secure, well away from animals, it would be most helpful.

It sounds a little like there may be some discharge from the eye. If he is fluffed up, it would be useful to provide warmth. Since most folk don't keep a heat pad lying around, maybe you have a hot water bottle you could cover with a towel (so it is warm but not uncomfortable) to put in a cage or box or whatever you have for him to lie on. 

Ideally, he should see a vet who knows about birds including pigeons.

I would also ensure you wash hands with soap after handling - just as with any kind of potentially sick animal or bird.

John


----------



## Mactr3 (May 18, 2006)

Are they usually friendly? I know where in Ireland the owner is but not who. I dont mind taking care of him until he gets better. I read on this forum that the owner might kill him if i return him sick. I have him set up in a box with no top and one side missing, i have a deep bowl of water in with and an electric radiator beside him. Ive goottn him some bird seed now aswell. Ill see if i can locate a vet aswell. Any idea what the dischrage indicates? For a pigeon he a big fella (<-? how do ya tell gender by the way).

He's lying down now, i dont think ive seen him lying down since he was here and Ive had him a few days. Is this bad?


----------



## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, they will lay down or hunker down for a couple of reasons: 1) they're comfortable and feeling like lounging; and 2) they're sick and trying to conserve energy.

Saying that he's mostly fluffed up and has the eye discharge tends to confirm the second option more than the other. At least he's a smart pigeon and knows that you're a good person. One of the things that can be done in the interim is to treat the eye with an ophthalmic eye ointment with an antibiotic in it. It's possible that it's something called the old "one-eyed cold" which is a Chlamydia. Is there any way that you can tell if he's having any respiratory distress and/or maybe a clear nasal discharge possibly out of the same side as the bad eye?

Pidgey


----------



## Mactr3 (May 18, 2006)

Would eye drops for humans do (optrex) ? Thanks for all the help by the way. If his nose is in front of his eye, theres a wet pacth there, he's havin no problem breathing anyway.


----------



## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

The place where the discharge would be is from the nostril which is basically a tad forward and under the white portion called the "ceres" (and some folks say "wattle"). You've been putting the optrex in all along, right?

Pidgey


----------



## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I looked up the Optrex and it's apparently a range of products from the over-the-counter type all the way to the pharmacy/prescription level. Can you look at the label and find the active ingredient(s)?

Pidgey


----------



## Mactr3 (May 18, 2006)

Optrex Eye drops:
Hamamelis (Distilled witch hazel BPC 13% v\v)
Purified water
Boric Acid
Glycerin
Borax
Benzalkonium Chloride. Phew!!


----------



## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, then, to answer your question, no that's probably not enough. It's certainly a start and the pigeon's (might as well think of a name) own system might very well eventually fight it off but it's probably a lot better to get an antibiotic. The hope is to save the vision in the eye. If there's a nasal discharge, then there's also the possibility that the infection is in the upper respiratory system where an ophthalmic ointment isn't really going to get and it may require a systemic antibiotic but that's likely to have to come from a vet--I don't know what it's like getting that stuff in Ireland.

Pidgey


----------



## Mactr3 (May 18, 2006)

If his vision is at risk i have no other choice i suppose. Ill check up a few numbers now and bring him 2moro i suppose.


----------



## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, it's tough to say. Some infections can cause trouble to the actual eye and some only to the tissues around the eye and possibly the sinuses. There's not enough information here to judge from. Even a vet might have to run a test to be sure although they usually are more economic and try an ointment with Terramycin, a Polymyxin B/Bacitracin mix or even drops with Gentamicin in them as a first try. If it were a Chlamydia, they might even go with an oral Doxycycline for 45 days.

Pidgey


----------



## Mactr3 (May 18, 2006)

Ill try and get a picture of his eye on tomorrow. Maybe you can make a better assesment with that. Cheers and thanks for all the help


----------



## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Best of luck. By the way, what part of Ireland? I've got an old friend who moved to Cork and I'd love to be able to find his new number.

Pidgey


----------



## Mactr3 (May 18, 2006)

Im from tipperary. If you tried this site http://159.134.203.172/search.asp?source=Eircom . You mite be able to get it if hes listed.


----------



## Mactr3 (May 18, 2006)

Hes doin much better today, the eye looks a lot better even though he doesnt open it often. He's sleepin a lot of the time, i think this is because i have the heater set on low beside him. His poop is normal according to ur poop index. Anythin else i could do for him in the meantime? Any human medicin i could give him etc?


----------



## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, usually it's best to get a good diagnosis before you start pumping meds in although sometimes we all shoot from the hip. "Sleeping a lot" is often not a good sign, though. Do you mean that he's laying around with both eyes closed a lot of the day? Another question would be what human medicines do you have or can you get a hold of?

Pidgey


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Mactr3 said:


> Anythin else i could do for him in the meantime? Any human medicin i could give him etc?


No medicines, but you can certainly add human grade garlic capsule to the diet, one daily. It won't hurt a bit and actually it will bebefit his immune system and it is a natural antibiotic.

A drop of human grade colloidal silver also will do a world of good.


----------



## Mactr3 (May 18, 2006)

Well he's laying down but he's alert most of the time and gets up every now and again to drink some water and feed on some bird seed. I have no other pets so i dont have a lot of medication. I have paracetemol, sinutab, cough syrup, stuff like that. He's scratching at his eye every now and again, and since he has talons for fingers thats gotta hurt.


----------



## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, in that case he's probably just gotten comfortable and knows he needs the rest. You only have so much metabolism to go around and fighting off an illness can take an amazing amount of that. It doesn't much sound like you've got anything that'll help, medication-wise. Many antibiotic formulations will cross over but not so on the plethora of other stuff. Did you see about a vet appointment?

Pidgey


----------

