# Eruption wound on wild pigeon



## Columbidae (Sep 4, 2006)

Hi folks,

I have never seen anything like this before and need your input with a really big problem.

We have had very wet weather for the past month+ and this has resulted in many ferals becoming terribly sick with protozoal, bacterial and parasitic infections. I have six wild ones in-house right now, in various stages of (dis)repair, being treated for E. coli, Tetramaria, amoeba, Eimeria, fungus -- you name it, they got it. But they are slowly improving.

Here's the big problem tonight... One sweet little gal who I have in since July 26 had really started to improve within the past couple of days. Her fecal smear today showed lots of budding yeast. This was a result of metronidazole (for amoeba) and spectinomycin (for E. coi) administration, and despite receiving ACV in her drinking water and yogurt in baby cereal via crop needle. When I picked her up tonight to give her some nystatin, she had a flat dime-size open wound under her left wing that is weeping plasma. There is no puss, no fetid smell, just an open hole in her side that you can look at the fascia under her skin. What the #$%+ is that? 

Feeling her body, I discovered a lump about the size of three pencil erasers on her dorsal right side about two inches from the preen gland. It is starting to "erupt" on one end, and has the same appearance as the wound under her left wing, except that it is raised. I will aspirate this thing with a fine gauge needle to see if there are any microorganisms in it. 

I couldn't help but wonder if any of you have seen any parasites -- worms in particular -- cause a lump that drains like this. She received one dose of ivermectin and pyrantel pamoate for roundworms, and her fecal is negative for eggs.

Any help greatly appreciated!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

did you push on it to see if anything like a maggot or grub of some kind can be popped out?...I have seen dogs with lumps that turned out to be a fly maggot in the skin...but not sure if that is the case....


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Paratyphoid (Salmonellosis) will sometimes cause boils (eruptions) on joints due to overpressure of synovial fluid. Fine needle aspirates generally are very clean with nothing to be found other than a few RBC nuclei--you virtually never find the responsible bacteria. And, for that matter, Salmonellosis isn't the only thing that can do that...

However, you seem to indicate nodules on the actual trunk, not associated with joints. Can you post pictures?

Pidgey


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## Columbidae (Sep 4, 2006)

Pidgey said:


> you seem to indicate nodules on the actual trunk, not associated with joints. Can you post pictures?
> 
> Pidgey


I would love to post a photo of it! Do I host images to a photo site, then drop the hyperlink for them here, or is there an easier way?

I am going to clean up the bird, aspirate the lump, and shoot some images.

Thanks!


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

There's more than one way to post pictures here--you can use the "Go Advanced" button below the text-entry window and scroll down till you see the "Manage Attachments" button, which is pretty self-explanatory after that. However, you have to limit the size of the images to 100 KB.

There's another option where you have to go to your profile and add an album or something. I haven't explored that option since they upgraded the site and I've got an image hosting account so I link big pictures.

Pidgey


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## Columbidae (Sep 4, 2006)

*Update and photos*

Here are the photos of the eruption wounds on the bird:
Under the left wing...








It looks like viscera or entrails. The bird doesn't bat an eye as I probe and press it. Spirit Wings, I too thought the greyish white stuff looked like a maggot, but it is not. 

Back at right hand side









Overhead view of wet birdie with eruption wound on right hand side









I aspirated one of the wounds, Gram stained and found mostly RBC's, very few white cells, rare macrophages, and a few scattered clumps of Gram (+) cocci. No yeast or other mycoses seen. I had enough sample left in the needle to culture it, and it is growing some small colonies that I will ID after they grow out a little more. There were so few bacteria in the wound, I don't think the eruption was bacterial in origin. It wasn't abscessed or purulent either. This is why I was thinking more along the lines of a large parasite having erupted through the skin.

Does this look like anything you may have seen before?


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## Columbidae (Sep 4, 2006)

*Tapeworms too!*

Coincidentally, this bird pooped in her water dish and as the poop broke apart in the water, I discovered hundreds of tiny white "egg sacks" as such...









I prepared a wet mount of two of these puppies, and when I cover slipped them, the sacks broke open and released these...

















And picking one out for a glamorous close-up...









I sent the photos to a wonderful parasitologist acquaintance who informed me,
"The last 3 photos are beautiful photos of tapeworm eggs. That would make the first photo tapeworm proglottids (perhaps they swelled in the water)."
Ick, ick, ick! So I gave the birdie a plump dose of pyrantel pamoate tonight for the tapeworms. But I don't believe that has any connection with the wounds that simultaneously erupted on her back.

I ordered a bottle of Mediworm from Jedds. It's a much stronger tableted version of pyrantel pamoate plus praziquantel. Do you folks prefer any other dewormers for tapeworms?


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

That oughta' do it on the wormer.

Are you sure those little white capsules laying in that wound aren't... something like egg sacs? Check 'em to see if they're soft and movable.

Pidgey


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Columbidae, 





Where are you located?


Anyway, Welcome to P-T..!


Phil
l v


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## Columbidae (Sep 4, 2006)

Pidgey, I completely agree... that white stuff looks like egg sacks or something that should be dissected out. They are soft, but they don't move at all. I took a hand lens and bright light to them, and very gently pressed on them with a blunt instrument, before I noticed incredibly fine vascularization at the surface, and immediately stopped the "poking." So that ain't no bug!


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## Columbidae (Sep 4, 2006)

pdpbison said:


> Where are you located?


Upstate NY.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

You can study the skeletal structure here:

http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/skeleton.html

Better get a magnifying headset or something like it and take a closer look and probe.

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Tapeworms can sure do a number on an animals vitamin uptake. I suppose that it's possible that he's suffering a whopping hypovitaminosis. Can you take and post a picture of that under-wing lesion from a little further back so that we can see it with respect to the rest of the bird? Very occasionally, a bird will get a tear under there for unknown reasons but you'd get the idea that the skin just stretched too far and broke. I'll see if I can find a picture of one to illustrate that (Aias and Sabina had one like that once). If this bird was suffering the disintegration of the skin for a hypovitaminosis reason as well as a reduced immune system, then I suppose you could get something weird like this. Back in a jiffy...

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, crud! The correct pictures aren't available about Simone (Aias and Sabina's bird with that problem) anymore. I'm having a difficult time remembering who else had one like that...

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

The other ones are gone, too.

Pidgey


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

For your info, _Moxidectin Plus_ from the Australian Pigeon Company contains praziquantel for tapeworm. (In case you have some on hand).

Beautiful photos, Columbidae.

What photo were you looking for, Pidgey? Not the one with the hematoma under the wing?

Larry


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## Columbidae (Sep 4, 2006)

*Drats! -- another skin eruption*

I type this one-handed, while holding a wet towel-clad bird in the other hand.

She developed a third eruption through her skin overnight. Just finished bathing her in a sink full of Virkon to disinfect the skin and feathers, and soften the tissue around the wounds. Will try to get fresh pics this afternoon. The new wound is near her tail, dorsal side, where the tail feathers meet the body (I call that the "hip" area where the bird can wiggle and articulate her tail). It's smaller than the other two open wounds -- about 1/4 inch diameter. All I can think of are those stupid sci-fi movies where the alien germinates inside the host, then BAM! bursts through the skin and...

I am going to take some impressions of all three wounds -- all open and leaking plasma -- and aspirate the new one. Will acid fast stain for mycobac too. It blows me away that she appears unaffected by this. Eats well, great looking poop "balls" that are easy to pick up, no complaints handling her or touching the wounds. It's beyond weird.


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

Found this while trying to think of keywords for images Pidgey was referring to earlier:

Excerpt from question asked on how to help a pigeon, in this thread:
http://ask.metafilter.com/37850/Help-for-an-injured-pigeon-in-NYC
(don't bother to read the whole thread)



> ... the still-alive pigeon had a gaping bloody hole in its chest with maggots and large, live beetle in it.


If the pigeon doesn't mind you handling it touching its wounds, it would be interesting to know if it has been desensitized, if it doesn't feel tactile stimulation in the affected area. Maybe injected toxins? (Injected by mosquitoes or other insects?

Larry


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

Here is a link to tapeworm (in birds, spec. parrots) which you may find useful. Maybe you know all this already.

HAMILTON & DISTRICT BUDGERIGAR SOCIETY INC. (Canada)

http://www3.sympatico.ca/davehansen/tapeworm.html

Larry


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## Columbidae (Sep 4, 2006)

*Can biting feather lice transmit disease to pigeon*

Larry -- thanks for that info. 

Can feather lice be a vector for injecting bacteria or parasite eggs beneath the skin? This bird was loaded with them. What is best/safest/easiest product to get rid of them? Ivermectin orally did not clear them on this bird, so I had to resort to a pyrethrine spray.


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

I'm not going to recommend anything, since I have no expertise in this subject. I have some Moxdectin Plus (the "Plus" part of the name refers to the meds for tapeworm), so I thought I'd mention it. 

I'll leave the heavy stuff to Pidgey and others who have dealt with parasites.

I'll just do some web research. Pidgey has the books on pigeon care, so has much at his fingertips.

------------

Some older info (from 1996)

http://www.oldworldaviaries.com/text/styles/antimicrobials_4.html



> Old World Aviaries
> 
> Antimicrobials commonly used in avian medicine— Part 4: Antifungals, anthelmintics, and antiprotozoals
> 
> ...


*Excerpt, to give you a taste. Article written focused on parrots. Best to read entire article.*



> For cestode infections (tapeworms), there is really only one reliable, safe, and highly effective drug and that is praziquantel (Droncit). This drug can be given orally or by injection. Within an hour to several hours post administration, long tape ribbons may be observed issuing from the cloaca.
> 
> Ectoparasites are not that common in household pets but are seen occasionally with outdoor aviary birds. Lice and mites may be effectively controlled with applications of 5% Sevin (Carbaryl) dust on the bird and in the environment. You must ensure that the insecticide is 5% and not more concentrated. As mentioned previously, air-sac mites and scaly mites are usually controlled with Ivermectin.


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Larry


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## jenfer (Jan 7, 2008)

> This bird was loaded with them [lice]. What is best/safest/easiest product to get rid of them? Ivermectin orally did not clear them on this bird, so I had to resort to a pyrethrine spray.


I asked the same question not long ago about oral ivermectin and feather lice and got the brilliant response that oral insecticides would do nothing because lice aren't blood-sucking (which makes great sense when you think about it).

I would tend to use topical Ivomec for a bad lice infestation (not fond of any of the pyrethrin products; I have the sense that Ivomec is less noxious). I've also just picked off as many as I could until eventually there weren't any more.

Jennifer


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

*Miscellany: (Dog) fleas carry tapeworms*

*Dog fleas can carry tapeworm eggs.* I suppose there are many bacteria and parasites a pigeon can ingest along with his normal diet of seeds. 




> Dr. Sam's Thoughts
> Random Rants and Information from: Veterinary Associates Stonefield 203 Moser Road, Louisville, KY 40223
> 
> Fleas carry tapeworms, when your pet ingests a flea, the tapeworm egg in the flea’s belly hatches into a worm and this firmly attaches to your pet’s intestine.


http://www.vetcity.com/2005_07_01_archive.html

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> DISEASES OF PEAFOWL
> 
> By Dr. L. Dwight Schwartz, DVM
> Avicon, Inc.
> ...


http://www.peafowl.org/ARTICLES/2/

------------



> The life and life cycle of the flea
> 
> There are many hundreds of species of fleas. Collectively, all of the species of fleas are categorized under the order name of Siphonaptera. *The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felix,* is the most commonly found flea in the US and infests cats, dogs, humans, and other mammalian *and avian hosts.*
> 
> Fleas thrive in warm, moist environments and climates. The main flea food is blood from the host animal. Host animals are many species - cats, dogs, humans, etc. Fleas primarily utilize mammalian hosts (about 95%).* Fleas can also infest avian species (about 5%). *Flea saliva, like other biting skin parasites, contains an ingredient that softens, or "digests" the host's skin for easier penetration and feeding. The saliva of fleas is irritating and allergenic.


http://www.ttlntl.co.uk/3/Diseases/fleas.htm

Larry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Columbidae said:


> Larry -- thanks for that info.
> 
> Can feather lice be a vector for injecting bacteria or parasite eggs beneath the skin? This bird was loaded with them. What is best/safest/easiest product to get rid of them? Ivermectin orally did not clear them on this bird, so I had to resort to a pyrethrine spray.




Hi Columbidae, 



To my understanding, "no"...


'Feather Lice' as far as I recall, do not even bite the Bird as such, but limit themselves to feeding on the Feathers and minute detritis, dander and so on, merely.


'Mites' or Body Lice would be the ones capable of being disease vectors since they are biters and blood-suckers.


Time ( ie: a very short time, ) between biting an infected host, and then biting a new uninfected host, is crucial for most of the potential transmissions to be probable.


Same with Mosquitos, of course...


I think I recall hearing that some kinds of Malaria can occasion erupting 'pustules'...



Phil
l v


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Columbidae,




I will guess also that your Pigeon is deficient in the "B" Vitamins...possibly in other Vitamines as well.


I am pretty sure than any occasions of considerable exoparasite infestations would favor the B Vitamin deficient Host.


'Garlic' ( fresh, minced, added to he day's Seeds ) also will discourage exoparasites or create a discomfort for them which would encourage their leaving the Host.



Phil
l v


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

A very good, scientific, descriptive, not too long article referring to tapeworms:

http://compepid.tuskegee.edu/syllabi/pathobiology/pathology/avianmed/chapter8.html

*Metazoan Parasites*



> 8.1 Helminths:
> 
> The helminths may be classified as the round worms or the nematodes; *the tapeworms or the cestodes*; the flukes or the trematodes; and the thorny headed worms or the Acanthocephala.


...


> 1. General morphology and characters,
> 
> l) Tapeworms are flat, white, segmented, ribbon like parasites.
> 2) A complete tapeworm consists of:
> ...


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I wondered if this could be some form of atypical pox...or something else of viral origin?

Is the "content" of the erruption the same, regardless of where in the body it appeared? I think it is significant that the erruptions occured at roughly the same time.

Just a thought.

Cynthia


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## Columbidae (Sep 4, 2006)

*Update, photos and a little microbiology*

Very busy day. This is just one of six birds that are currently under care, but the open wounds moves her to the "front of the emergency room line."

The aspiration I took late Wednesday night appeared to contain very few gram positive cocci-form bacteria. After transferring the aspirate to a slide for the"pathology exam," I placed a single drop of distilled water on the backside of the needle to flush out the rest of the contents onto my agar culture plate. In other words, most of the sample went on the slide for staining and direct exam, and a trace amount of sample stuck to the needle got flushed out for culturing. And grow it did! Which kinda shocked me. The gross colonies look like staph, and they chemically test like staph, but they don't look like your "typical" staph under the scope. So I am subculturing them to another media to do a more definitive ID.

What they are for sure is necrotizing. After bathing the bird, I found that she just fits on the stage of my stereomicroscope, so I was able to get a really good close view of what is going on at the surface. Unbeleivable! The skin has been emulsified over the underlying bulge of protruding tissue. The bulge looks like a furuncle that has eroded the overlying skin and muscle. The "white stuff' in the first photo of the wound that I posted previously is ribbons of disintegrated fat and skin. The integument is gone and the underlying muscle and connective tissue is exposed and air dry. I could actually press the evulsed underlying tissue back through the hole that has formed in the chest wall. And incredibly, she does not flinch or grunt during the manipulation! I cleaned the three wounds by debriding the dead skin, feathers, and underlying tissue. And because the bacteria appear to be in the staph family, I flushed the wounds with my favorite antibacterial skin wound weapon -- lavender essential oil -- which I have had exceptionally good luck using. At least the bird smells nice! 

Per Pidgey's request, here are two photos that show the overall location of the wounds.
This was the first wound to appear under the left wing...









Followed by the wounds on the right side, with the large one on the right appearing first, and the smaller one to the left appearing as of this morning...









I administered Ciprofloxacin tonight to try to get some tissue penetration going while I am running an antibiotic sensitivity test overnight for the bacteria I isolated from the needle aspiration.

I did not needle any of the bulged tissue. The bird was stressed out enough with the disinfectant bath and tissue debriding, that I decided to wait until Saturday. It's possible I might actually be able to drain them, which would help to get the wounds on their way to closing up. Keeping fingers crossed! Thanks all for your continued interest and input.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

This is very strange and interesting .. I would have at first said that a projectile went through the body but then read the whole thread and saw the "new" wounds. Please do keep the photos and updates going.

Terry


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Do you think that it's a MRSA? You'd really hate to have an outbreak in pigeons that would require something like Vancomycin...

Pidgey


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Pidgey said:


> Do you think that it's a MRSA? You'd really hate to have an outbreak in pigeons that would require something like Vancomycin...
> 
> Pidgey




If I recall correctly, Raw Honey works well for MSRA...


Phil
l v


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Manuka honey seems to be the best, by most accounts.

Pidgey


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2008)

I believe that cryptococcus skin infection cannot be ruled out. I couldn't find any research on this for birds but here is a short blurb on this type of inhfection in HIV patients:

http://dermnetnz.org/fungal/cryptococcosis.html

"Cryptococcal skin infection

* Skin infection occurs in 10-15% of patients infected with Cryptococcus neoformans.
* In immunocompetent patients, skin may be the only site of infection.
* In immunosuppressed patients, especially those with HIV infection or 
AIDS, skin infection is usually a sign of disseminated disease.
* Skin infection presents as:
Papules (small bumps), pustules, nodules (larger lumps) and 
*ulcers* (sores)
Bleeding into the skin, presenting as pinpoint red spots (petechiae) or 
bruising (ecchymoses)

There doesn't seem to be enough bacteria in the wound to account for an MSRA.

Paratyphoid can be ruled out because these eruptions aren't on joints.

Tapeworm stays in the gut so that can be ruled out.

The only thing I can find that can't be ruled out is the fungus. If the bird can be X-Rayed, the original site of entry for cryptococcus is the respiratory system and if there are nodules in the lungs on X-Ray, there's a good chance this is the fungus.

Columbidae, do you have any Itraconazole on hand? If this is the cryptoccoccus fungal infection, it would take months to clear.


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## Columbidae (Sep 4, 2006)

*Update*

No new eruptions today. Yeah for small consolations! The three wounds have neither increased nor decreased in size. When I debrided the dead skin and other tissue yesterday, I rolled a sterile swab across a "juicy" part of one of the wounds, and at the suggestion of a colleague, incubated the swab anaerobically overnight. Heavy growth from the swab sample. That's not good... I'm letting that sample amplify a little longer in the incubator, then will stain it and try to ID what it is. 

The preliminary aerobic antibiotic sensitivity test on the cocci-form bacteria I aspirated from the wound is very encouraging. I started the bird on Cipro last night, and it was a good choice -- the organism is susceptible to Cipro and has a very wide kill back zone around the antibiotic disk. If anyone wants to see what that test looks like, I can post a photo of it.

These wounds are essentially herniations. The muscle and overlying integument is gone -- emulsified by microbes -- so there is nothing to keep the "innards" in, and they have from become "outards." She really needs mesh stitched into the muscle to contain the viscera, but that still won't replace the dime and nickel size patches of skin that are missing but needed to keep everything closed up. 

Pigeonperson -- no fungal cells found in the wounds, just bacteria (either aerobic + anaerobic, or something that is facultative and can live with and without oxygen). It was a great idea nonetheless.

Cynthia -- I agree with you. The timing of the three wounds seems more than coincidental, yet all I can find is an aggressive necrotizing staph.

I need a vacation (without sick birds finding out where I am vacationing ).


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Are you absolutely certain that the holes go into the thorax? The way they're built, that's a little... you sure?

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Anyhow, a dime-sized hole can be brought together and the bird should do it on its own in time. It won't come together until the pathogens are gotten rid of, though.

Pidgey


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Pidgey said:


> Anyhow, a dime-sized hole can be brought together and the bird should do it on its own in time. It won't come together until the pathogens are gotten rid of, though.
> 
> Pidgey




Yahhhh...this is my thought also...


'Nitrofurizone' powder would probably do it, as for eliminating the offending Bacteria...at least I have never seen anything it would not do far as infected punctures or open infected wounds.


And if the areas around these 'eruptions' and missing skin-tissue allow, then once the infection is caused to cease, the elastic margain of the surrounding skin would probably allow partial or complete closure with a few judicious Sutures.


Otherwise, this could be dealt with by taping over a 'plug' of folded Gause, saturated with antibiotic, such as 'Silver Sulfadine' or even 'Neosporin' or the right 'Honey', and over a couple to three weeks or so, the 'holes' should heal at their own pace.


Silver Sulfadine has the advantage of keeping things moist and supple and to eliminate or reduce itching in healing areas such as these.


Probably, a remedial Vitamin therapy would be good for this Pigeon also, as well as to provide particularly nutritious and high antioxidant foods, emphacising on the "B" Vitamines and fresh Greens or their Juices, also various trace-Minerals, but leaving out 'Calcium' of course for the duration of the Cipro regimen.


My 'infected chest' Pigeon of a while back, had a liquidizing infection about two inches by two, under skin which looed lit brittle 'cellophane' ( granted, different of course from your PIgeon, ) and it ceased on being subcutaceously irrigated a few times with a hefty solution of Oxytetricyline-Saline, followed by Silver Sulfadine ointment being applied merely topically, all the skin there came off with the subsequently huge debris artifact which was like a 'Breat Plate' of old Armour...but, he had no 'holes' as such, rather, naked Muscle tissue and Keel Cartiledge being exposed.


Granted, I have no idea what the offending Bacteria were...only that they abated once I initiated treatment via topical irrigation and an oral regimen also.


Anyway, other times, when I was dealing with 'holes', they healed up well with Nitrofurizone and 'Neosporin' saturated pro-tem 'plugs' being taped over, and time, but I feel the Silver Sulfadine ( which I did not have then,) has advantage for being moisturizing and not greasy and an excellent Antibiotic for keeping things tidy.



Good luck..!



I sure admire your ability to do the Lab things there!...that is really wonderful to be able to do, and please, always, keep posting info and images regarding that...it is very interesting and valuable to us all...and very inspirational to me..!


'Pidgey' tried hard to get me going on that but I have dragged my feet...




Phil
l v


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

I may be way off base here, but his legs and feet appear very healthy, very red, indicating a very active circulatory system. Doesn't appear (from my far-off viewing point) to be a bird that is being overwhelmed by illness. Which makes me think that, with all the medical support and advice provided for him, he may pull through. If cell migration kicks in later, the holes my even be covered by feathers later.

Hoping for the best.

Phil, you need a donation or two or some other assistance for a microscope and set-up? Good stuff isn't so inexpensive. Columbidae seems to have a good set-up for photos. Maybe he could advise on the essentials. 

I have a niece/godchild starting at Texas A&M. She wants to work with animals. I have this fantasy of co-opting her help for PT on occasion. Universities have lots of resources, and access to info. 

Larry


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## Columbidae (Sep 4, 2006)

*Slow but steady improvement*

My apologies for not updating sooner. Between two house pigeons, six additional pigeon inpatients (none of whom have exactly the same problem, so each requires different drugs and ongoing testing), and the daily grind of life, I am getting very little sleep.  I'm hoping the effort earns some sort of plenary indulgence "free pass" come judgment day...

All three wounds are stable, no more weepage, and the underlying inflammation has stopped. She receives Cipro twice/day, along with a little Nystatin to prevent fungal problems. At the same time I medicate her, I also paint her wounds with Neomycin liquid, then apply an oxygenating pet gel product called Oxy-Fresh. It's working quite well. The wounds have basically become hard atrophied black masses -- mega scabs -- which I believe will eventually fall off as the underlying tissues heal and closeup. I think her pigeon modeling career is over for the foreseeable future though.

Larry noted her red feet/legs as a sign of good health. I note the way she now bites and wing slaps my hand when I change her papers, followed by a gentle sinister "coo-croooooo" as a sign that she kicked Death's door down with those bright red feet, thumbed her beak at the Reaper, then left a poop calling card on his door mat! Ha!










Of the other five in rehab, that leaves one rambunctious kid practicing flight maneuvers in the basement, a big old roller pigeon with a serious yeast infection (something weird like Saccharomyces), two blobs who are very slooowwwwly responding, and a little palomino who charms by flitting his wings, attacks when getting his cage cleaned, but falls asleep in your hands when you rub his ears. Gotta love all the personalities! 

Phil, I'm going to start working on you along with Pidgey -- dragging your feet straight into your own home lab!


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