# Whitetouch - Feral with Bad Leg Has Disappeared



## ante bozanich (Sep 19, 2006)

Sorry, another sad story.

One of the pigeons, Whitetouch, who I've been feeding on my terrace everyday for many years, has not shown up since last Sunday. She is disabled, has "dislocated hip." She can't walk, drags herself on the ground but flies with no problem. I have kept her inside for a while. She did not seem to be very happy indoor so I had decided to let her be free. 

Few months ago she started coming with a huge beautiful mate (light mottled bronze). Several days before her disappearance, I saw her stealing a twig from a nest on my balcony which belongs to another couple and carrying it away (I am not absolutely sure it was her). Another sign that they might have been building a nest somewhere is that I've noticed her mate pecking at her (I have read that this means he was trying to drive her to the nest). 

Today, for the first time since she's been gone, he showed up all alone. Unless she is somewhere sitting on the eggs, she is either dead or being locked up.

If she is sitting on eggs somewhere, wouldn't she be coming for food anyway?

After January's death this is hard to deal with and I am trying to figure out what might have happened all of a sudden.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Ante,

She could well be sitting on eggs. While they are nesting you won't see them together. The hen will sit on the eggs until she is relieved by the cock and then she can go and eat. John, who has regular visitors to his balcony, says that the parent birds swap egg sitting duty about 10 am to mid morning.

John's disabled pigeon visitor (he has no feet) disappears for weeks at a time.

Another friend of ours who tends to a feral flock found a hen that he had treated and then released disappeared in November. She returned in February.

It is so worrying when this happens because the feral pigeons we care for have a secret life that we can't see and can't control. I hope that Whitetouch returns soon.

Cynthia


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I'm so sorry to hear Whitetouch may have disappeared, but don't give up hope as she may very well be busy brooding.

I hope and pray also, that she is okay.


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

*Pigeon pair alternate nest sitting*

Hello Ante,

I have read that the male will take over nest sitting duty from about 10 A.M. to about 5 P.M. This was probably for the contiguous 48 states of the U.S. 

The time will depend on a number of factors, probably, some of which may be: 
How long the daylight is (what season of year the nesting is going on. In Germany we go from long summer days to very short winter days). 

Availability of food: If the female gets her fill quickly, and enough wing-flapping, she may spend more time on the nest.

Our male *Wieteke* had a varying schedule when he sat on four nests in sequence. Sometimes it was 9 A.M.to 4 P.M., sometimes they would switch every hour, sometimes she (*Mamieke*) would be off the nest only a couple of hours. 

We had avalable food and watr and grit nearby, and an open window (this was last year).

Sometimes he would have her sit almost continuously on the nest, while he sat in the sun across the street, or roo-coo'ed the other females taking their turns of the nest. 

Once, when he was deathly ill for afew weeks, she sat on the eggs and fed the babies alone for the first week. He refused to go near the babies when he was so ill, and showed almost no interest in them. He sat across the room from her, fluffed up, almost no voice. W thought he might die (coccidiosis and PMV showed up sequentially). After the babies were a week or so old, he took turns feeding them and sitting on them, even though he was still somewhat sick.

So, note the time when the male shows up. And maybe have some food and grit availalbe for her when she might come.

Larry


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## ante bozanich (Sep 19, 2006)

Thank you people. Here is quick what is going on because it is too much all at once. This morning when I looked outside the male pigeon was right out there alone again. I noticed he was moving his head in a funny way scratching the side of it and opening his beak frequently. I opened the glass door and I've let him inside the way I usually feed them. I grabbed him and looked inside of his mouth. His throat was completely shut. I could not insert the feeding tube in. Also I saw the white stuff... Canker for sure. I rushed him to rehabber. They took out bunch of that substance to open his throat. There was some bleeding. They told me to just offer him some small seeds and water and leave him alone till tomorrow for him to heal. When I got home and looked inside of his mouth the bleeding had stopped and his throat looked OK so I decided on my own to start him on spartrix right away. Then I grabbed another pigeon who was scratching his head and found out the same thing, not as bad. Now what do I do? I think Whitetouch, more then five years of friendship and love, is gone. I have to face to it and try to help the others the best I can. How many and how, I have to figure all this out? Time is of essence. I was told there is medication one can put in water. I am going to check in to this. I also have to be keep low profile about all of this from my neighbors. I am grateful for this site and being able to share this. I am alone and it's tough. Thank you people.


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## ante bozanich (Sep 19, 2006)

Here is what I have found. 
Canker powder medication for flock:

http://www.jedds.com/ProductDetail.asp?MainCategoryID=64&SubCategoryID=538&ProductID=2393

http://www.jedds.com/ProductDetail.asp?MainCategoryID=64&SubCategoryID=539&ProductID=2394

http://www.jedds.com/ProductDetail.asp?MainCategoryID=64&SubCategoryID=539&ProductID=2397

Please, does anyone have any experience in using these products? I don't know how effective it is to put this outside in drinking water for feral pigeons? I am not sure what would be the best solution? Tomorrow I am going to try to examine few more birds to see if they are all sick.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Ante,

I'm sorry your flock is having such terrible problems with canker. All those products you listed are effective. Individual dosing is the most effective means of stopping canker in its tracks, but with a feral flock, that would be pretty close to impossible to accomplish. The downside of dosing a feral flock with medicated water is that you have no guarantee that this water is the only source they will drink from thus leaving a great deal of doubt that all the birds are going to get an effective amount of the medication in them. If they don't get enough medication to eradicate the canker, then that may result in the canker becoming resistant to the medication given making it even more difficult to get rid of it. 

If you can be fairly certain that the medicated water will be the primary source of drinking water for the flock, then I would probably go for it.

I'm sure others will be along shortly with their thoughts.

Terry


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Ante,

I am sorry that Whitetouch has not returned and I know that despite eveything you will keep an eye out for her.

You were right to start the spartrix immediately and did well to identify the problem so quickly. 

There was a similar situation in my flock of ferals by the river, I picked up 7 pigeons there in 10 days and 5 of them had canker. 

I hate to think how many were missed before I took over the feeding but as you say, we concentrate on the pigeons that can be saved rather than dwell on the ones we have lost.

I didn't used canker medication, perhaps I should have, but I put down a product called "Canker Ex" in the water, hoping that that would stop the canker spreading to healthy pigeons. Once that ran out I started putting Milton in the water, it is a steriliser that is used for baby equipment and for washing food like lettuce which could cary e-coli.

For a while I thought that there would be no end to the victims but I haven't seen any since I released my five, cleared of canker, into the flock. I just hope I am not missing any new victims.and will look out for the head scratching this morning.

This time I didn't attempt to tube feed my patients I just gave them tiny seeds in their feeder as there was an opening to the esophagus. I think that helped the recovery rate but Spartrix worked incredibly quickly on the throat lesions so it could be that that speeded up their recovery.

I hope that you eradicate this little epidemic quickly. Canker spreads through water, through contaminated seed when pigeons that are unable tp swallow spit it out.

Cynthia


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Please, does anyone have any experience in using these products? I don't know how effective it is to put this outside in drinking water for feral pigeons? I am not sure what would be the best solution? Tomorrow I am going to try to examine few more birds to see if they are all sick.[/QUOTE]

It's as effective if they have no or little other source for water. I think it is a good idea.


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## ante bozanich (Sep 19, 2006)

Please and sorry, some more questions. Is there a proper way to put the pill down their throats? While I am giving Whitetouch's mate spartrix by tube, since his opening is very narrow, I am giving another pigeon whose canker does not seem has progressed as bad the whole spartrix pill. It went down, but I am not sure if I am doing it in the best way. Also, are any of you familiar with this medication:

_The ultimate single dose treatment of Trichomoniasis (cropcanker) in pigeons and raptors. Metronidazole, the active ingredient in Meditrich, is one of the safest and most effective treatments against Trichomoniasis in pigeons and raptors. _ http://www.jedds.com/ProductDetail.asp?MainCategoryID=64&SubCategoryID=539&ProductID=2396

I think this sounds good because this way i can catch them give them the pill and let them go. The pigeon who I gave the spartrix pill today I have to capture at least four more times to give her the rest of the four pills dosage.

Cynthia, I don't know how you did it. You must have kept them all in. You are a saint. 

Anyway, I have checked four more pigeons today, the once who I have noticed have been scratching the sides of their heads or opening their beak upwards in the air, and as far as I can see they are OK. Some of their mouths are darker then the others but I couldn't see any swellings, lesions or the white-yellow matter. I've looked as deep as I could using a cotton swab. I don't know what other symptoms I should be looking for? It seems that head scratching and opening of their beaks up in the air is not a valid sign of canker presence. Do pigeons do this for no reason? I don't remember noticing this before.

As far as Whitetouch... it's been hard, as if a large peace of me is missing... you know that feeling of a heavy lump in your throat and your chest which brings tears in your eyes. Anything is possible but two most likely scenarios keep going through my head. First, canker has killed her, which is strange because last Friday or Saturday, when I have seen her come to my place for the food for the last time, I do not remember noticing anything unusual in her behavior. But then lately I had been preoccupied by too many things and I might have unfortunately missed any sign of her being ill. The other and a hopeful possibility is, I see, as someone else out there with a kind heart noticing that she was in trouble and has taken her in. I will probably never know.

One very bright note... tonight I had pulled a creature from a glue trap. She is in very bad shape and can't walk yet, but I have been able to slowly give her couple of drops of soy milk and she took it in, which is a really good sign. I am preying and keeping my fingers crossed for all of them.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Ante,

The method of giving Spartrix to a pigeon depends on how bad the canker is. In one case I ground the pill up and put it in the front of the beak hoping that if here was an opening to the esophagus the powder would find its way down. Amazingly that pigeon's canker nodules halved in size over night and after that there was a visible entry to the throat. I have mixed it with water and tubed it when treating another pigeon also adminitered it in quarters and whole.

Spartrix is also supposed to be a single dose medication, but everyone agrees that it needs 3, 4 or more than that to get rid of the canker. 

I would not use metronidazole as a single dose. That can lead to the development of canker strains that are resistant to the antibiotic. I have, however, used Metronidazole at the same time as Spartrix.



> Cynthia, I don't know how you did it. You must have kept them all in.


Canker patients are very short stay ones and I have an attic that I converted into a temporary hospital. I have fairly big cages up there so the pigeons could share a cage (as long as they had the same ailment and came from the same flock) and retain their flock awareness.

I hope your little creature recovers and lives a long and happy life now. People who put down glue traps should be made to suffer the same cruelty that their victims experience, perhaps that would make them more compassionate.

Cynthia


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