# Advice on new pigeons poop



## Vicious (4 mo ago)

So my old bird died recently (just a baby), he didn’t make it through his first moult, got very sick. I recently got my new pair on December 1st. Because my first was hand raised he was used to people and because he was sick when I got him had some very bad poops.

Supposedly these birds have been wormed. They were shipped to me and from what I understand, this stress can cause some very horrific poops*. I was wondering how long should this last? And when should I start to worry that it’s more than just stress?*

Also for background, these birds are about 6 months old. They have never been indoors and always outside in a loft. The breeder races most of his pigeons and has a firm belief that only the strongest survive - so he treats the flock but rarely the individual.

They are very avoidant due to lack of human socialization.

So I assume all this will add to the stress. I have added a little ACV to the water and have kept their food close to what they had originally and added some multivitamin powder to their food.

One of them seems healthy but one kind of concerns me, because I don’t know it, so I can’t tell if it’s naturally generally sort of just liking to (the brown and white one) chill or if it’s lethargic. The other (the black and white) is extremely alert, sneezing a little, but still doesn’t have the best of poops. We also don’t know their sex, but they don’t seem to care for each other very much. They peck each other when they are too close too each other or their respective perches.

Video of Pigeons The breeder assured me they were healthy, but I am taking them to the avian vet on December 9 to be sure.


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Im not sure why the pictures didn’t show the first time


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

They are gorgeous! Give them time to settle in, they are probably very stressed at the moment. Always better to have them checked out by an avian vet.


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Thank you. Yeah, they are very pretty. They seem to enjoy flying around the bathroom and looking at themselves in the mirror. They seem pretty active today, I am just letting them fly around. The black ones poop seems to be firming up a bit but the brown one still has very runny green poop. I feel like she’s very steadfast so I thought she was more calm but I am starting to think she’s more stressed. Between travel and the black one constantly pecking at her, maybe stress I am just worried.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

If you have 2 cages, maybe seperate them and put the cages next to each other. That will give her time to eat properly without the male harrassing her.


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## Leelee (Feb 9, 2021)

Vicious said:


> So my old bird died recently (just a baby), he didn’t make it through his first moult, got very sick. I recently got my new pair on December 1st. Because my first was hand raised he was used to people and because he was sick when I got him had some very bad poops.
> 
> Supposedly these birds have been wormed. They were shipped to me and from what I understand, this stress can cause some very horrific poops*. I was wondering how long should this last? And when should I start to worry that it’s more than just stress?*
> 
> ...


Sexting is easy...check their vents. A female vent is shapedike a wide "n". The male vent is shaped like a wide "u". They might be the same sex!


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Leelee said:


> Sexting is easy...check their vents. A female vent is shapedike a wide "n". The male vent is shaped like a wide "u". They might be the same sex!


Like when they are upright or upside down? And I have heard the shape is only about 70% accurate. But obviously I know nothing about sexing a pigeon other than some typical behaviors. *I am pretty sure the brown one is a female. She is still pooping watery poop*s and the black pigeon had pretty much left her alone other than pecking at her leg band. Can’t blame the black one for that. But the black one is bigger and younger than the brown one, has a smaller head, never fluffs neck feathers unless cleaning but tends to be more vocal. *The black ones poops are better but not great*. Neither are doing a dance although I thought I heard one doing the “come hither” coo dance in the box while I was driving but it could have been the “gtf away from me” coo.
The brown one doesn’t really like being in either of the “nests” or beds i have for each. It likes being on a wooden flat perch. The black one likes being in the hanging nest/bed, but doesnt like the brown one to get in or peck at the toys on it.
But the black one likes to follow the brown one everywhere when they are out and about. I don’t ever see mounting behavior and today it attempted to preen the brown one but I guess due to all the earlier chasing she just runs ad soon as she sees the black one coming towards her.


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Poop is still very bad. I have attached some pictures.

Although they seem to be getting along better. They are kissing alot today, and the black one still pecks from time to time but it is no serious issue.

I also caught the black one seemingly “claiming” the spray millet I gave them. He would come over and start lowering himself, shake his tail feathers and do scratches with each leg. I assume he was excited to have it and didn’t want to share it I will link a video that I caught at the end with some of his little dance.

Video 1
Video 2


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Could not view the videos. Let us know what the vet says regarding the droppings.


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Marina B said:


> Could not view the videos. Let us know what the vet says regarding the droppings.


Fixed the link you should be able to now view the video. I feel like the vet visit is taking forever to get here.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Was able to view them now. Did they receive treatment for external parasites and are you 100% sure they were dewormed? Maybe you need confirmation from the previous owner.


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Yeah I asked him before I bought them if they had received any vaccination or medication and he said he wormed them recently so they should be good, but I figured I shouldn’t start any treatment now since I am only 3 days away from the vet visit. I figure whatever they do will be better.

They are both pretty lively today and are constantly kissing and preening each other as we speak.


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## qaiserhasan (3 mo ago)

Vicious said:


> So my old bird died recently (just a baby), he didn’t make it through his first moult, got very sick. I recently got my new pair on December 1st. Because my first was hand raised he was used to people and because he was sick when I got him had some very bad poops.
> 
> Supposedly these birds have been wormed. They were shipped to me and from what I understand, this stress can cause some very horrific poops*. I was wondering how long should this last? And when should I start to worry that it’s more than just stress?*
> 
> ...


Hi. Beautiful birds. Give them some probiotics in water for a few days.


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

qaiserhasan said:


> Hi. Beautiful birds. Give them some probiotics in water for a few days.


Thank you and I have added probiotics and multivitamins. Both of their poops have gotten worse. More clear fluid with bits of green fecal. I see the vet on Friday, I am hoping that they hold out until then as they seem spry for the time being.

behavior wise - they “kiss” and feed each other. The brown one will lower herself to be mounted but the black just walks away or preens. I am thinking maybe both are females.
They have nests and beds, the brown one is super into the idea of playing mom.


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Update: We went to an Avian vet yesterday, the birds poop was normal no worms or signs of infection. They are doing bloodwork on both of them, but results will be in next week sometime.

She said they could still be stressed out and to offer them probiotics which i had started giving them some before the visit but stopped giving them anything a day before the visit.

When we got home we put them into two separate cages since we finally got our stuff from the POD. Their poops were a little better since we separated them. They are getting along now but maybe being together was stressful for them?

Bella (brown one) is now cooing for the other one. They haven’t mated (that I am aware of even though she presents herself to him he just ignores her). I have them next to each other for now.
Should we keep them separated or put them back together?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Let them out in neutral territory (the room) and see how they get on. If they are fine together, put them both in one cage. Seperate them again if too much chasing takes place.


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Okay, they get on great now, but when they were together the brown one kept trying to get some loving 🥰 but the black wanted none of that.

For now I am waiting on blood work because the brown ones poop got better but it’s still pretty bad and the black ones went from poor to almost excellent once we separated them, so I feel like she was stressing the black one out now. Plus we wanted to see if it would be easier for them to bond with us before they become a pair-pair and not just tolerant of each other.


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

I got news back from the vet. They are going to retest Aragorns poop for parasites just to be sure, but they both showed Coccidiosis in a dangerous amount and Bella has Capillaria. So I contacted the breeder to tell him, since they still have tests running and to keep him updated on if they get better. Glad to know I wasn’t just being paranoid. And I have them separated still.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Glad to hear there's progress reg identifying the problem.


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

They are such beautiful birds! At least now you know what the issue is and the vet can prescribed the right meds. Wishing them both speedy recovery!

Cute names Aragorn and Bella 💕


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Yeah, hopefully the medicine works because that was a two hour drive for me. I do have some meds that can treat these conditions so I am hoping the second round I can use the stuff I have but I wanted to use the vet meds to really kick this/these infection(s) in the butt.

Also thanks, my hubs named the black one Aragorn from Lord of the Rings and I named her Bella after a character in Hannibal.

Bella is being relentless about cooing to Aragorn, she won’t stop and I have to keep them separated, once we finish setting up yhe office we are planning on quarantining them to separate rooms for at least a month/month and a half to make sure they are both healthy before reintroducing them.

Anything I can do to ease her nesting/loneliness cooing?

I have tried putting fake eggs in her nest but she seems extremely uncertain about them. I also don’t know if she does take to them if it will ease any of her anxiety.


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

How about a little teddy bear (that she can rip to shreds if she has anxiety haha) but just make sure the stuffing is non-toxic and the stitches are strong. 

Try teddy bears, mirrors, toys and maybe soft music? 

My late Krikky loved her teddy bear and she danced and cooed to her favourite songs from Youtube!

Not sure about the fake eggs though... Bella must be thinking.. "we haven't even mated, how did these eggs get here?!"


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Miss-Sassypants said:


> How about a little teddy bear (that she can rip to shreds if she has anxiety haha) but just make sure the stuffing is non-toxic and the stitches are strong.
> 
> Try teddy bears, mirrors, toys and maybe soft music?
> 
> ...


I don’t know if it will work but I put a bear in both of their cages. Right now they are both still cooing to each other.

Aragorn is in the main cage and there is a mirror in there but I don’t have another mirror that I know of, but I will look for an extra one.

I do leave the TV on, they seem to like watching House.

We are still unpacking our stuff and I just bought some stainless steel bakeware last night because Christmas is coming up and baking will be done. I wasn’t sure if the stuff I had was teflon or not so gonna have to get rid of it. 😓

Thanks for the suggestion Miss SassyPants.


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

Aww... look at them! They are so lucky to have such a lovely place to live! They are so pretty!


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Miss-Sassypants said:


> Aww... look at them! They are so lucky to have such a lovely place to live! They are so pretty!


Thanks so much! They are very pretty, but to tell the truth I am a sucker for old classic frills, but my heart can’t take it after Monroe. Not yet.
My husband really liked the rollers and the homers so we went with these pair. They are really beautiful, just not very friendly.


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## Sunshine10 (6 mo ago)

I'm glad you finally have a diagnosis and good on you for persisting. Now you can actually treat the problem. They are both stunning! Also, your cage setup looks super inviting; no doubt that comfy and fun space will ease their acclimation to their new home and help get them well even faster.


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Sunshine10 said:


> I'm glad you finally have a diagnosis and good on you for persisting. Now you can actually treat the problem. They are both stunning! Also, your cage setup looks super inviting; no doubt that comfy and fun space will ease their acclimation to their new home and help get them well even faster.


Thank you, the top crate was a last ditch effort when I found out I needed to separate them. Fortunately we have two dogs and two crates. We are thinking of getting another cage since we are thinking about keeping them separated. To give them more personal room when we are out. I think I found a good vet this time, so that helps. I have been working on trying to bond with Bella by head nods and I finally had success today. She nodded back and let me touch her and “preen” her feathers on her head.

Aragorn is a different story. He hasn’t been getting as much attention as he should from my husband and he isvery scared so I am going to work with him this week coming up.

Bella’s poop is still horrible but a little better.
Ara’s is much better but sometimes missing urates. They finish their first round of meds on Tuesday


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

That's nice that Bella is getting more tamed  Aragorn will see it and realizes the humans are friendly and their caretakers after all... he will get round to it!

And yes, their cages are gorgeous, spacious and so fun! I really love the nest-swing!


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

So I feel like Bella’s poop is getting worse. Her last dose is tomorrow and then 7 more days for the ivermectin 2nd round dose. Would coccidiosis or capillaria cause poop like this?

I have only seen her vomit once after the spectra. She has only pooped a few times today as you can see in the picture. Otherwise she seems healthy but not eating much. She has started nesting today and I have had to bring food and water to her a few times today.

Aragorn’s poop is a lot better and I will include pictures.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Coccidiosis can cause green loose droppings.


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Marina B said:


> Coccidiosis can cause green loose droppings.


Thank you Marina! I wasn’t sure how it should look or if I needed to be worried about another thing like PMV or something.


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

Hang on in there... please don't lose hope. We are super rooting for Bella & Aragorn 💗

I too, have been dejected so many times, but I now realize that antibiotics takes more than 7 days to see the improvements. I had that episode with Twinkie too, and then a few days later, the symptoms began to clear up. You can do this... just a bit more time 🙏

As Marina has confirmed, those are indeed Cocci poops, so not to worry...

Also when nesting, the female poop less, but will give out a huge one when she's ready. They are stinkbombs but seeing the 'normal' cocci-poops, good luck with that! 

Please keep us posted ok.


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

So Aragorn is doing pretty well, I am a little concerned that he’s losing weight because he wants to be with Bella so he is eating but not as much as he should in my opinion. He is pooping and they look good. He also tries to get as far away as possible from us.

Bella, Bella…
Bella laid 2 eggs, the second one came yesterday. She seems content all in all and has become friendly with us. My concern is her poops are still extremely watery and green and not formed at all. I see her eat and I will feed her even if she’s sitting, she seems to have a decent appetite. It’s just a pool of clear fluid with green mush ( so it’s like in the picture sometimes more green mush, sometimes less). 

It also has had a sort of sour odor to it. It never gets better even when I am “sitting” on her -now fake- eggs so she can exercise and just get out in general. I have seed out on the table or around so she eats when she’s exploring too. My husband who isn’t squeamish wants to hurl when he sees her poop… and keeps asking me if it’s always going to be that way when she nests, and I can’t tell him one way or the other. So he’s kinda freaked out by that.

I also don’t know what healthy nesting poop should look like. So if anyone has a picture to share that would be great.

Is this still indicative of coccidosis or capillaria?


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## AnaRV (2 mo ago)

Hello, Vicious! I am interested in this because my female pigeon makes these same droppings two days before laying eggs and after that. After a couple of hours or a day after laying the second one, she returns to normal pooping. I thought this was normal when they laid eggs, because days before the first egg was laid, the vet told me that she was fine, but if she is not, I would like to know so that she can be rechecked! I found this where they talk about a similar topic: PLEASE HELP.. pigeon is ready to lay egg #2 and has diarrhea. 
I don't know if this was the question, but I found this: "Let us remember that when the females incubate, they retain their droppings for hours so as not to stain the nest, so when they leave it and deposition, their more copious and plastic appearance should not alarm us" El secreto está en las deposiciones (Está en español)
Maybe it helps. I hope your beautiful pigeon gets better!


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

*Aragorn* - have you tried feeding him pellets? You know those packed with nutrients and whatnot? Maybe give him both seeds and pellets... it may help with his weight.. I am glad his poops are great!

*Bella* - Congrats on the new eggs!! What an exciting time for her! I assumed they are not fertilized as she hasn't gotten the chance to hanky-panky with Aragorn yet? 😆

She is GORGEOUS by the way, they both are. And those pictures of her are sooo cute!! She looks so happy and comfortable and the cage looks really fun and engaging.

As for egg-poops, well during those years that my late pigeon had her eggs, her poops were really bad. They were huge, messy, stinky and did not look normal AT ALL. It is hard to gauge their health from the egg-poops alone. There is a chance that Bella is getting better but because those are egg-poops, it may not be reflected in the quality of her poops.

Maybe just go through the anitbiotic process as the vet has prescribed and see how it goes at the end of it? What were the meds that the vet has given?

Here is some info on Cocci - PIGEONS – THE MAINTENANCE OF RACE FORM – Cocidiosis |
Here are some other options for Cocci treatments just in case:








Coccivet | Vetafarm


Coccidiosis is a common, and sometimes deadly, intestinal disease caused by a parasitic organism. Coccivet is a safe and effective Coccidiosis treatment for use in pigeons and ornamental birds. Coccivet has much better activity against parasites than Sulphur treatments and may be prepared as a...




vetafarm.com.au












Coxitabs - effective treatment for coccodiosis by Harkers


Coxitabs is an effective oral treatment and control of coccodiosis caused by Eimeria labbeana and Eimeria columbarum in homing and show pigeons.




www.harkersonline.co.uk












Pigeon Supplies Plus — Belga Coxi (50 tablets) De Weerd






pigeonsuppliesplus.com





Here are some info for Capillaria:








A note on mixed coccidian and Capillaria infection in pigeons


Two adult pigeons were presented to the Teaching Veterinary Hospital (TVH), GADVASU, Ludhiana, Punjab with the history of weakness, anorexia, ruffled feathers and intermittent diarrhoea. Coproscopic examination revealed the presence of coccidian oocysts ...




www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov












Pigeon Wormout | Vetafarm


Oral tablet for the treatment and preventition of all types of intestinal worms in Pigeons. *** Not for sale in Australia.***




vetafarm.com.au












Pigeon Supplies Plus — Ropa-B Para (10ml)






pigeonsuppliesplus.com





Hope this helps! All the best, please keep us posted 🙏


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## Vicious (4 mo ago)

Miss-Sassypants said:


> *Aragorn* - have you tried feeding him pellets? You know those packed with nutrients and whatnot? Maybe give him both seeds and pellets... it may help with his weight.. I am glad his poops are great!
> 
> *Bella* - Congrats on the new eggs!! What an exciting time for her! I assumed they are not fertilized as she hasn't gotten the chance to hanky-panky with Aragorn yet? 😆
> 
> ...


*Aragorn*
I do have some pellets mixed in with their regular feed. I got him to eat out of my hand yesterday while he was in the cage. He wouldn’t at first so I showed him both sides of my hand and then gently cupped his chest before pulling my hand away and repeating. After doing this for about an hour according to my husband who thinks that is an obnoxious amount of time to spend, Aragorn started eating his food and even approached me to check me out. So I don’t see it as wasted time.

We are also considering clipping his wings for his safety, 1.) to see if it is his vision 2.) fear 3.) limit his access to floor until he grows his feathers back in the next molting.

He has flown into TV’s, doors, fans (that are off), mirrors, walls… And this is with no one moving around we don’t follow him around the rooms. We have limited his space to try and keep him safer but he just keeps running into things. I did talk to my vet about it and she thinks it’s a good idea for his safety too. When they were both together he would follow Bella alot but would still run into things. Now that they are separated he doesn’t have a guide.

He is not as active, finds a perch and stays there when he isn’t flying into everything.

*Bella*
She and Aragorn were both on an antibiotic called Septra Suspension. They finished this already and also took an oral concentration of Ivermectin. They have a 2nd dose of the Ivermectin tomorrow and two weeks after this I am taking their poop to be tested again.

Bella is very active when she is off her eggs and I am playing daddy pigeon for her and watching her fake eggs. (I do believe they were unferilized, but we didn’t want to take the chance). But the poops are awful 😂 I told my hubs at least he isn’t the one cleaning it up. I don’t really mind. I use to be a Nanny, I have seen all kind of poops come out of a little body. Lol

Anyways she acts healthy but she has been since I had her., even though she was pretty sick.

She flies flies well, explores, naturally curious

The poops just worry the mess out of me.


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

Aww you are a wonderful mommy to both these blessed little King & Queen 🧡 They are so very lucky!

I'm curious to see why Aragorn can be so clumsy... I hope he grows out of it soon. However, if your birds do not act 'sick' (all fluffed up or sleeping a lot) then it is safe to say they are ok, their immune system is fighting off the infections and they can recover given time.

All the best and please keep us posted, with pictures! 😘


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