# found emaciated pigeon, keeps throwing up



## Subipe (Feb 25, 2010)

Hi,

I am looking for some help. A couple of days ago I have found a feral pigeon that is unable to fly. It is an adult, and it does not have any clear injuries/broken bones. I also checked its mouth, and mouth and throat all look clear and healthy. The only thing that is obviously wrong is that the bird is absolutely emaciated; it only weighs about 180 grams, and there is very little left of it. It did not eat on its own initially, so I fed it corn, peas and grainivore raising formula. However, it did not seem to improve all that much, so I de-wormed it last Friday. After I de-wormed it, the bird started pooping out a LOT of worms (both big and small, at least all of them dead), and they are still coming out (it is now Monday). 
However, now the problem is that the bird keeps throwing up its food, this started after I gave it the worming solution. I am still hand feeding it peas, corn and grainivore rearing formula, but it is now eating small amounts on its own as well. Some food seems to stay down, but a lot is coming out again as well - I am not entirely sure why some stays down and some does not. Initially I was not too worried, as I thought the wormer would have caused the throwing up, but that was three days ago, and the bird is still throwing up. Should that not have stopped by now?

The poos (if any) are runny, and either dark green, or white/no colour and very slimy. The bird just sits around with puffed up feathers, not moving much, although it has perked up a bit since I gave it the wormer - that is also when it started eating small amounts by itself. 

The bird is so emaciated already, it cannot loose all that much more weight.. Does anybody have any advice?


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## kunju (Mar 14, 2012)

The slimy, dark green poops don't sound good. It sounds like there is no or little food getting digested. First, keep the bird in a warm place, preferably on a heat pad set on low. Second, make sure he drinks enough water. Feed easily digestible seeds/formula in small amounts first, check if he is able to keep it down...then gradually increase the amounts. (If he eats on its own, fine. But giving excess food which his digestive system cannot handle can cause vomiting)..


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Sounds like salmonella, if you can get your hands on meds for that, may not be too late, but in my experience, by the time they are throwing up food they will die. Worth a chance tho.


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## MicheleK (Nov 8, 2013)

I would get some 4 in 1 (you can get it from Foy's Pigeon Supply) and treat it ASAP with that. Foy's will put a rush on the order. Also, some Sulmet would help as well. You can get that at your local feed store. CBL and Kunju sounds like they are right. Get the 4 in 1 & Sulmet & heating pad or a "Warm Buddy" & it should be fine. The throwing up should not last long. Please let us know how it is doing.


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## Subipe (Feb 25, 2010)

Thanks heaps for the replies!

Well, the bird kept last nights formula down, so that was good. The small amount I gave it this morning is also staying down. I only gave it a small amount of seed to peck at by itself, some of which it ate with gusto - appetite seems to be improving. I just checked, and she has not thrown up (yet), it has been a couple of hours, so gave it another small amount of seed. So looking good this far today... Fingers crossed.. 
I did add some apple cider vinegar to her water (based on advice in other posts related to birds throwing up). Thought it might help, but if not it also would not hurt her either. 

I am in Australia, can't get access to the products offered by Foys pigeon supply.. what is 4 in 1? I might be able to find something similar here somewhere.. I'll see if I can find some sulmet here. 
I have not had her on a heating pad as it is summer here at the moment - temps are around 30 degrees Celsius during the day.


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## Subipe (Feb 25, 2010)

Well, she has thrown up again now.. Maybe the second small amount of seed was too much?


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Sometimes Pigeons throw up just due to stress.


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Try feeding it watery oatmeal, very easy for them to digest........


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

The bird is sick, or it wouldn't have been in that shape to begin with. Worming an already sick bird who is emaciated is very hard on the bird. Green droppings are probably starvation droppings, and vomiting could be canker or another illness. He should be treated for canker, which would be very common for a bird that is under stress, and a good wide spectrum antibiotic, like Baytril. 
Don't buy a 4 in 1. Those are no good to cure anything. Not enough of any one drug in them to cure anything. There are other pigeons supplies that you can buy from. Google it and find one that ships to where you are. 
The oatmeal may be easier on it than seed right now.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Thank you for trying to help this bird.

Get a good probiotic for the bird, even some plain sugar free yogurt (organic plain sugar free kefir will also work) with cultures will do. The birds gut flora is totally off track and no doubt all good gut bacteria has been depleted due to stress, starvation and the wormer-(stop that and a get "pigeon friendly" wormer- to use when the bird has regained all lost weight and is feeling better). You can also put a drop of organic apple cider vinegar in the water to help restore some gut motility. You will see a big change in the bird and it may start eating even better on its own. *


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## Subipe (Feb 25, 2010)

I realise now that I probably should not have wormed the bird that soon, but I only realised that after I had already done it. It was a once off dose - so not ongoing - I can't undo it, so just have to deal with it now. I'll know better next time.. It did get rid of an amazing number of worms though (40+ that I counted), they must have contributed to the starvation state the bird is in.. 

She threw up twice yesterday in the afternoon (compared to 4-5 times the day before), but not overnight and not yet this morning either. I am feeding her mostly granivore raising formula, with a little bit of small seed she can peck at herself. I did notice that the smaller things are less likely to be thrown up. I fed her defrosted peas and corn at the start, but they are always thrown up again. 

I am trying to get some flagyl - I think I can get that shipped here. I am not sure I will be able to get baytril, but she has been on enrotril for a couple of days now (left over from another bird, but still within the use-by-date), which I understand is similar (if not the same as) to baytril. 
I have been feeding her little bits of natural yoghurt (no sugar), and started adding a little bit of apple cider vinegar to her water. 

She did struggle a bit when I picked her up this morning - the first time she has objected to me handling her. I took that as a good sign; maybe some more energy? Poos are starting to look a little better.


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## Subipe (Feb 25, 2010)

Does anybody know if Oxymav B powder is any good as a general antibiotic at all? I seem to be able to get that here without too much trouble.


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Could you post a picture of the Bird? Diagnosing blind is silly, DROPPINGS can change on an hourly basis depending on a birds intake of food, stress ect.
Throw 2 extra cocks into a pen with one or two other established pairs, SOMEONES droppings will be watery or green in a few hours. unless the droppings are yucky for a day or two it means very little. 
Is this Bird getting any insoluble grit, and crushed oyster shell?


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## Subipe (Feb 25, 2010)

Yes, she has access to grit. The small seeds I am letting her peck at are from a pigeon seed mix that contains pigeon grit as well. For now I am just removing the larger seeds from the mix as she is more likely to throw them up again. 

Her droppings have been yucky since I found her last Thursday. This morning was the first time they looked a bit better. 

Will try to post a picture of the bird.


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Yucky is a relative term. PICTURES of droppings and the bird.


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## Subipe (Feb 25, 2010)

The bird itself


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## Subipe (Feb 25, 2010)

Some of today's droppings - they look worse than last nights droppings, but consistent with the past couple of days.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I say she isn't getting enough food.
Also, if giving antibiotic then you should pull any grit containing calcium or any vitamins containing calcium, as they can bind to the drug, and make it less effective.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Meant to ask you what the droppings smell like.


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## hamlet (Oct 26, 2004)

Hello. Would a hydrating solution be better in this case than water ? 
What was the wormer used and dosage please?
I do not think a treatment for typhoid is healthy for the bird right now because the liver might be partially injured.
What is the easiest food for the liver to digest in pigeons? I am guessing soaked or cooked seeds are better than dry ones. Yogurt and baby cereal have been used to raise young . 
Thanks.


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## Subipe (Feb 25, 2010)

I'm pretty sure she is not getting enough food into her system, but not for lack of availability.. If she eats seed she throws it up again, so she is still not getting it. Therefore I am now only feeding her granivore rearing mix (specifically designed to raise baby granivores - easily digestible, and should be really easy on their system). I still add a bit of natural sugar free yoghurt to every meal she gets. This she does not throw up, however, it sits in her crop for a LONG time, so she is still not getting that much of it - it just only seems to move at a very slow pace. 
I'll see if I can get a pigeon friendly hydrating solution.

Her droppings smell pretty normal, but a bit sour.

I will look up the info for the wormer in the morning, and will let you know the details. 

I did finally receive medication to treat trichomoniasis - would it hurt to treat her for that, in case that is the problem, and causing a blockage in her crop?


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## kunju (Mar 14, 2012)

Slow crop could be because of trichomoniasis, so it is best to treat her as soon as possible for it. After each feeding, massage her crop gently to get the crop moving. Liquid food is best. 
The usual medicine for trich is metronidazole, 40-50 mg given for minimum one week.


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## Subipe (Feb 25, 2010)

Hamlet, the wormer I used was called worm-enda, it is Levamisole Hydrochloride (equivalent to 8.48 mg/mL Levamisole). I used the recommended dose of 25 mL to 1 L of drinking water, as the sole source of water for 24 hours.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Treat for canker. That can also be the cause of a blockage. 
If you give a couple of drops of Pepto Bismol 30 min before feeding or medicating, it often helps to stop the vomiting.The medication you are giving could be making her vomit. Feed first to get some food into her before medicating. Give the Pepto 30 min before.


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## Subipe (Feb 25, 2010)

I am a little bit confused.. Isn't canker the same as trichomoniasis? If so I am treating for it already, since yesterday.
The meds go in the drinking water, so I'm not treating manually, although I do use the medicated water to make the feeding formula. 

Pepto is a prescription only drug here...

I think she has some type of blockage in her crop. She vomited seed overnight, although she has not had access to any type of seed for two days now (she only gets liquid formula).. They must have just been sitting there all that time...


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Where are you located?
Treating in the drinking water is really not all that effective. Much better when you give a pill so that you know he got the entire amount he needs. There is no way you can do that in the water. You are only teasing the trich. You can actually help it to build a resistance to the drug, because of under dosing.


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## Subipe (Feb 25, 2010)

I am in Australia. Was only able to find the powdered stuff that you add to the drinking water.. Flagyl is prescription only here as far as I know, and vets only hand out the powdered stuff. 

Maybe I can work out how much of the powder the bird needs to get, and make sure she gets that in the formula I'm feeding her?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I'm sure vets give Flagyl that can be fed to a single bird and in the correct dosage.


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## hamlet (Oct 26, 2004)

Hello. Found this on Levamisole from a vet in Australia.: levamisole- a useful drug but has the disadvantage that it can cause vomiting, and when used in its tablet form, food needs to be withdrawn for at least 12 hours.
I have read about using cayane pepper to speed up digestion. Also, orange juice is good for rehydrating pigeons. Alot of folks have recomended the use of apple sauce to aid in slow crop. And wheat germ oil is good for stuck crop. I was recommended to use a probiotic after the wormer. Some people use an antibiotic to keep down an inflamation caused by worms dying inside. And some recomend vitamins be used along with probiotics. Seeds could kill your bird now, because i lost a dehydrated pigeon with crop half full of seeds. I could not get the seeds out and it fermented and choked the bird. I was going to get some electrolites for under the skin, but time ran out. I am now looking for safe ways to flush the crop from seed for future cases. 
As long as the bird is warm, the minimal food will suffice. As soon as the inflamation is under control, the pigeon will have more energy to go around.
Hope this helps.


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