# Pigeon Displaying Neurological Problems



## Glenn T (Aug 30, 2008)

About 5 years ago I rescued an injured pigeon I found in my yard. Though her wing never healed, she has otherwise been in good health. The purple bands on her feet had no info, and all my attempts to contact organizations were ignored. I bought him/her a big coop and since she cannot fly she has become a happy member of the family. She gets a lot of love and has a clean environment. During the past few months she began exhibiting unusual fits where she would flap around like she was having some kind of episode. They usually subsided and everything was fine. Yesterday she had an episode in which her head was twitching, her body spinning, she was warm and now is very lethargic. She is eating but she is not as active as she used to be, she is not cooing at all and she is lying on her belly a lot (not something she ever really did before). I read a little about PMV and am wondering if she had some kind of stroke or episode. I love her like she was my own kid and am hoping she is not suffering the effects of old age. If anyone can give advice on what I can do to make her well, t would be much appreciated. Is there hope? I will probably contact a vet soon to see if there is treatment or options. Thanks.


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## KIPPY (Dec 18, 2003)

> Is there hope?


There's always hope.

I would probably keep her more confined so she doesn't hurt herself.
Many members here with good info. They will probably want to know if she is drinking, eating and how her droppings look.

I have two with neurological problems. One pretty much had a full recovery just as long as he's not stressed and the other is doing well but stresses me out.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi GlenT,



So sorry to hear of this.



I have seen quite a bit of PPMV, and, it has many 'faces' for sure.


Do you have Mosquitos in your area?


Also, what are her poops looking like? Color wise, consistancy wise, size wise, number-in-a-day wise?


Might be best to bring her inside and do a lot of Lap Time and so on, keep her warm and snug and under observation for the time being...


Can you post any images of her?




Phil
l v


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## Glenn T (Aug 30, 2008)

*Pigeon Displaying Neuro Problems*

I am new to this page so I apologize for not figuring out how to respond directly. Thank you for the responses. I am in NY and have to work tomorrow and yet am afraid to go to sleep and leave her alone. She is a white (albino), she appears to be eating and pooping. Not a lot of either, and the poop appears normal. I am not leaving her water dish in the cage when I go to sleep. I sm leaving her in her coop in the garage where it is warmer (than the air conditioned house) and am leaving a light on for her because I don't want her to get startled and have another fit. Her head does tend to drop a bit into the bowl if she eats or drinks, and there is a tendency to miss when she pecks at her food, or to peck and not get anything. I just think it is weird that she went from an active bird who cooed at the sight of me, to one that does not move around and DOES NOT coo at all. Do they suffer some kind of speech paralysis from neuro problems? She was a literal 24 hour chatter box until this episode. Anyway, you have to read my previous post if you are seeing this for the first time, since I can't figure out how to respond correctly to other people's posts. It keeps asking me to log back in and I am just too new to this. Thanks again to all, and I will try to figure out how to post a pic.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi Glenn

The description _sounds_ like PMV, but the circumstances seem unusual. 

The most usual way to get PMV is by contact with an already-infected pigeon. This could be through sharing food or water, contact with droppings, or just fairly close proximity (the airborne way). If a pigeon in a coop outside were 'visited' by other pigeons it might be possible for the virus to be transferred from outside, though I would suspect less likely than in an enclosed space. It is also possible for it to be transferred 'mechanically' by someone from, say, a loft with infected pigeons going to another place whilst carrying the shed virus on clothes. 

Pigeons who have had PMV in the past can re-exhibit the symptoms after any length of time, but without having the virus itself.

If none of these could apply in your case, it may be something else that is causing this.

Has anything affecting her living situation changed over the past few months?

I'm not clear on where her 'coop' would normally be (outside or inside)?

What do you feed her? It is possible for a consistent lack of certain 'B' vitamins to cause neurological problems, if a pigeon is not getting foods containing them. It should not occur if a bird gets a good all round pigeon mix with legumes, pulses, seeds and grain. 

Does she drink a lot more water than usual? Provide the water in a deep but not wide pot, so that she cannot have an episode where she could twist her head upside down in it. I've not personally known this to happen with any of our many PMV birds, but be safe.

Since you say she has been behaving oddly at times over a period of a few months, I'd be inclined to keep the options open, even though these are usually signs of PMV. The incubation period for PMV is usually much shorter.

If you go to a vet, do not accept any suggestion of having her put to sleep, or hand her over to anyone for 'care'. Do you know a bird-knowledgeable vet? There is a place in NY where they will consult on pigeons, but I don't know if that is only feral (non banded) birds. Part of Animal General, I believe.. the 'wild bird fund'. Another NY member would be better able to advise.

John

PS you can directly answer specific posts by pressing the 'quote' button to highlight the original post, though this can get a bit lengthy sometimes.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

I agree, John, I think this could be something else. Hidden mold or metal poisoning in her food or water, perhaps? Vitamin B, D, and calcium issues...lack of sunlight?

Here is what I would do...Support her care as per PMV as you described, low water dish (put marbles in the dish, as well) and toss out any old seed, buy new fresh seed and fresh greens for her to eat. Throw out any old grit, get new grit. Kale, spinache, brocolli. Give her bottled water for now, the mineral springs kind to replace any minerals she might be missing. Sterilize the water dish and seed dish, completely bleach clean her cage.

Add vitamins to her water, with colliodal silver and garlic pills just in case it's an infection, paratyphoid, some odd signs of internal canker, candidiasis, fungal poisoning, respiratory (When I'm having an asthma attack, I tend to 'miss' things I'm trying to pick up simply because I can't breathe. I'm also listless and don't make much noise.) The point is, these symptoms have shown up in other birds on this site for other reasons. Mold contaminated grit, in one case, wasn't it?
Since we don't know yet really at this point it's a good idea to cover some bases with natural remedies. Once there is a better diagnosis, we may be able to figure out what medicines to help as well.

I always feel good about being able to start care early even when I'm not sure what I'm caring for, with the natural remedies. Helps to not overload the bird with the wrong drugs if initial diagnosis proves incorrect. It's a pity PMV doesn't have any real antiviral drug cure.  We want to help but it's hard to watch and not be able to say, "I DID something" for the bird. Just have to wait it out and be there, like emotional support for her.


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## BirdDust (Feb 8, 2008)

I know some people may be against this, but I would set some mouse traps, or sticky pads around the coop. This time of year, mice are setting up and preparing for winter and you might have a few unhealthy ones in or around your pigeon at night that you don't know about. I do this routinely now as a precaution around my coops. Since I cannot completely seal off all my lofts and pens from rodents, I have found this to be asset in keeping my birds healthy. Mice and rats can climb a vertical wall, so even if you have them in elevated cages they can easily get to your birds. As others have said I would keep the bird comfortable and see what happens, but I would also rule out any rodents in the area.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

BirdDust said:


> I know some people may be against this, but I would set some mouse traps, or sticky pads around the coop. This time of year, mice are setting up and preparing for winter and you might have a few unhealthy ones in or around your pigeon at night that you don't know about. I do this routinely now as a precaution around my coops. Since I cannot completely seal off all my lofts and pens from rodents, I have found this to be asset in keeping my birds healthy. Mice and rats can climb a vertical wall, so even if you have them in elevated cages they can easily get to your birds. As others have said I would keep the bird comfortable and see what happens, but I would also rule out any rodents in the area.


Rodents are a problem and may be the culprit in this bird's ill health. There are live traps and rodents can be relocated. The sticky pads are cruel and should never be used.


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## Grimaldy (Feb 25, 2007)

Consider the possibility of meningitis, bacterial or viral. As John points out, PMV is spread by P2P contact with birds, and in your case unlikely.


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