# Sick wood pigeon



## Byronjay (Oct 5, 2021)

Hi,

I found a wood pigeon in my garden that couldn't really fly and was stumbling around in the mud. This was probably 6 or 7 weeks ago.

I took it in and googled it's odd head twisting and stumbling, which seemed like it might be pmv (normal droppings tho), and so I thought it might get better.

Until a couple weeks ago it stayed about the same, then it started to get worse, and now its neck is so useless it often gets into rolling fits as it struggles to control it. Itll back itself into corners and seems to empty its bowels all at once, just a big pile of diarrhoea once or twice a day.

I have been hand feeding it, as it cant feed itself now, for a couple of weeks (with peas mostly). Its also nearly finished a course of baytril (with no noticable effect) and it only really seems comfortable when it doesnt try to move, any attempt at movement is fairly uncontrolled and will often result in panicked tumbling and flapping.

Really what I want to know is if there's any chance it might recover, or am I just prolonging its suffering.

Thanks.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Only saw your post now. How is he doing?


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## Byronjay (Oct 5, 2021)

Marina B said:


> Only saw your post now. How is he doing?


Well its recovered from its particularly ill period. It is now feeding itself again, and holding its head up most of the time. It still has the odd attack of wonky headed panic and cant fly, any real excitement just results in flapping about on the ground. I noticed a mite/lice so I've treated it for those, which seems to have reduced its tendency to flip out. Its started to take an interest in preening again but its tail is destroyed, despite I'll my efforts to provide soft, forgiving housing, so I'm not sure it could fly even if it were physically able. I dont mind it staying as its feeding itself again, but I suspect it will never really be 100%.


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## Byronjay (Oct 5, 2021)

It would be great if I could get some advice though. I thought that's what this forum was for. 

It can control it at times, lift its head up and shuffle forward, but its neck wants to twist around to the right. When it takes a beak full of water its head jerks back over its shoulder and same with seed. Itll approach the dish and carefully reach down, grab a peanut and then its head will flick back and over its shoulder, itll stagger backwards into something and then, still gripping the nut, itll perform a fight with invisible forces as it struggles to throw it back and down its throat. If successful, it rights its head and shuffles forward to perform the whole act again. Itll often rest with its neck twisted round and its head on the floor upside down. Its droppings are fairly normal again now as I understand it. Is there anything I can do to make life easier? Does it sound like a brain injury? Or could it recover?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Sounds to me like typical paramyxo behaviour. If it was salmonella infection of the brain, the baytril would have made a difference. Stress aggravates the symptoms, so try to minimize this. No changes to the environment you are keeping him in. 

Two of my own pigeons got the virus a while back. The male made a complete recovery, the female is still neurogical. Just remember that he is not in any pain.

Are you giving vitamins and calcium with added Vit D3? This can make a difference.


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## Byronjay (Oct 5, 2021)

Marina B said:


> Are you giving vitamins and calcium with added Vit D3? This can make a difference.


I have not tried to give in any vitamins, I'm not sure what products I'd be looking at there.

I read somewhere that PMV would run its course in 6 weeks and the neurological symptoms may persist for longer. How long do you think would be the maximum amount of time before you could be fairly sure the neurological damage is permanent? 

It puzzles me because some days it shows less symptoms, and then the next itll be buckled over all day.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

My first PMV pigeon was a feral. She was at her worst by week 6 and then started improving. Took a long time for her to start flying again. The other two had this about 3 months ago and the female is still neurological. So I don't think she will ever recover fully. I recently made changes to the aviary, and that had an effect on her. 

After 6 weeks they are not contageous anymore. I think if there's no improvement after 2 to 3 months, then I guess they won't fully recover. He will be unreleasable anyway, as the symptoms might return.

Try to get vitamins, if you can't get some for pigeons then ordinary bird vitamins will also help. A good source of vit B will help. Add some brown lentils to his seed mixture.

I've read that even the clothes you are wearing (bright colours) can effect them. So maybe you can take note of what you are wearing.


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## Byronjay (Oct 5, 2021)

Right ok, thanks for your help.


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Hi, this is a good vitamin supplement:



https://www.versele-laga.com/en/fr/oropharma/products/oropharma-omnivit



It contains a wide range of vitamins, amino acids and trace elements. I'm used to add to it Oropharma Calci-Lux.



https://www.versele-laga.com/en/vl/oropharma/products/oropharma-calcilux



We have 4 PMV pigeons, three of them recovered in a good way. They all are married and have a happy pigeon life but I think that they would not survive for a long time in the wild. Marshall easily gets in panic and sometimes lands in a bad way (he crashes)... Angus "Top Gun" sometimes "looks at stars" and starts to walk back and forth. Drusilla always looks a bit strange.
Last spring Marshall had the symptoms back in a very severe way: for a whole week he had horrible seizures which looked like epileptic fits. Stress could increase the risk of having the symptoms back (life in the wild is obviously stressful and complicated so this is another good reason for adopting a PMV pigeon). 

Unfortunately Goliabianca did not recover in a proper way, he can't eat on his own and can't fly. He drinks and baths on his own. He can't interact with the other pigeons in a proper way but he lives with them without difficulties. He is very friendly and sweet with all of us. 

It's very important to not change his daily routine and habits because any change disorients him. Even replacing the water bowl with a different one is a source of stress (which means... Not drinking from that bowl...). Another example: the same two family members are used to hand feed him every day (I'm one of them!) . Well, if one of them is replaced by someone else he gets "agitated" and it becomes more complicated feeding him. 

Keep us updated.


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## Byronjay (Oct 5, 2021)

Ok thanks for all that.

This is all very useful information. Obviously I dont keep pigeons, I only ended with this one because I feed the garden birds, so it ended up in my garden when it became ill.

I got a large dog cage because I thought it might recover and the internet said it was ok for pigeons, but if its staying for ever I'm going to have to rethink I'm sure. It's very erratic because it's a wild bird, and not an especially young one. I think its had plenty of experience out in the world before it got cooped up in here. So that exacerbates its tendency to freak out I'm sure.

It's odd because some days it's quite placid and I'll stroke it's back or move it about while cleaning and itll be fine, then the next day it looks at me like I'm the most frightening monster it's ever seen, and leaps headlong into the roof of its cage. It just looks like it's going to hurt itself so badly, flapping and tumbling. It now has pillows padding as much of it cage as possible to reduce the damage it does to itself on those occasions it loses control.

I keep wondering if theres anything that can be done for its neck. It obviously is driven to turn its head over to the right when alarmed, and then of course it goes so far that it ends up tumbling after it. If it could only be limited somehow it might stay on its feet, but I havent seen anything about this so I assume it wouldnt work, and probably isnt really the cause anyway.

Thanks though. I'll see how


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

You're welcome.

The pillows are a good idea. When Marshall had seizures I bought a soft dog's bed and I put it into his home.

I read about some homeopathic remedies but I don't remember exactly what symptoms they would help to fight (I should re-read the article), try to give a look at the link:



Neurological Problems – Pigeon And Dove Rescue UK


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