# Crop wound



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

Hi,

I have found a young pigeon (feral) that is at the teenage stage. He has flight and tail feathers and can fly a bit but not completely. I found him sheltering at my back door this morning - I had the day off work as a one day holiday so it was lucky in a way!

Anyway the little fellow seems in fairly good spirits. He has a wound to his crop which I cleaned up with salt water and antiseptic cream to keep it moist. Seeds were coming out and I removed those in the wound. When he drinks water comes out so I tip him on his side to let some into his system after he drinks. I am afraid a vet is not an option due to my long working hours and they are not open. The nearest bird vet open on weekends is a long way away. There is one close to me but only open 9 to 5 Monday to Friday which is useless! My wife is overseas until the 12th June so no joy there otherwise she could take care of the vet.

I have heard of these wounds healing without stitching. I did attempt some outside stitches (really needs some inside ones too) but I gave up. Instead I have bandaged it as best I can. If it can just heal he'll be fine.

He also has a badly wounded eye but that is the least of his problems at the moment. I am unsure what caused this injury - possibly a bird of prey or a cat.

I have kept pigeons in the past and keep chickens now so I know the basics and have some materials like spare rearing coops etc. I have set him/her up nice and snug. He eats by himself and poops look OK.

What should I be feeding a pigeon with a crop injury like this? The outer wound is about as big as man's thumbnail with the inner crop perferation smaller - not too large. Most of the seed he eats does stay in his crop. Should I leave the seed inplace in the hole in his crop for the time being to "seal" the crop? Should I clean it daily? Am I doing right by applying antiseptic cream to keep the area moist? I was thinking perhaps I could buy some plaster and cut the feathers off and apply some of that super glue and stick it together. I understand they do this sometimes on emergency battlefield wounds. I would like some opinions as I am tempted to do this tomorrow evening after work.

Besides bathing his badly swollen left eye in saline is there anything else I should do with that?

I live in north Brisbane QLD Australia in a semi rural area. My little pigeon friend will have a nice home here if I can get him through this. Any advice appreicated by my pigeon friend and me!

Charles


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for helping this needy bird, he definitely would starve if not for your intervention.

Can you try feeding him frozen (thawed and drained) peas, they make a good emergency diet and perhaps they won't get stuck and digest and that way he will get some water too. 

If you have any colloidal silver, you can put a drop of that in the eye as an antibacterial.

sounds like a predator caught bird, so antibiotics (Baytril) are in order.


Others will be along with more help.


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

Thanks so much Skyking. Should I boil the frozen peas and cool them or simply defrost straight from the bag?

Baytril is prescription only here. Anything else that may help in terms of looking after the wound?

No C. silver - is perhaps I should continue saline treatment?


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Sene said:


> Thanks so much Skyking. Should I boil the frozen peas and cool them or simply defrost straight from the bag?
> 
> Baytril is prescription only here. Anything else that may help in terms of looking after the wound?
> 
> No C. silver - is perhaps I should continue saline treatment?


No, just warm the peas, no boiling.

Clavimox,Augmenten should aslo be fine for antibiotic.


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Just take frozen peas and put them in a strainer or simething and run warm water over them to thaw and warm them. Make sure they aren't too hot. Hold the bird and put the pea to the back of the throat, over the tongue. Let him close his beak and he will swallow. An adult pigeon would take about 50 or so at one feeding a couple of times a day, but with the crop injury, I would feed less in maybe 3 feedings a day. I know you work, so that may be as many as you can do at this point. Maybe feed before work, when you get home, and again later that evening.

He should really be started on antibiotics, as he could die from an infection from being attacked by a predator, and they really do need to be started as soon as possible. Often they will get an infection which will kill them within a few days. Maybe a friend or family member has some left over antibiotics that you could use. If you can get something like that, come back and let us know and we can help you with the dosing.


----------



## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Hi Sene,

Coincidently, I noticed a young pigeon recently with a crop injury too. It looked really bad to me, with seed and water falling out of the wound in a trail when the pigeon walked. It looked uncomfortable when it was eating, and stood right up high and leaned back after eating and drinking.

When I looked into the wound, the tear in the crop seemed low, and larger than a walnut; the crop itself was packed with seed, which you could see easily. Its the scariest wound I've seen, being internal and visible from the outside

I don't have money for Avian vets, nor the experience to attempt amateur surgery. So I took it in and did some research.

long story short, this is what happened:

feeding: It was eating well on its own so I continued to give it regular pigeon mix and occasional grain bread soaked in water (to keep the crop hydrated and to give food that couldn't spill out). The pigeon continued to stand up tall and lean back to keep (most of) the water and food in the crop. It preferred large seeds, like corn and pigeon peas.

Medicine: I gave amoxcillin, that I got from a regular doctor and mixed up into a pigeon dose (about 1/10 -1/15th of a human pill). I read here that you can put it directly into the crop wound if water is spilling out of it. I didn't need to do this though.

I believe its unwise to close over the outside wound via stitching, with the inner wound still open - the internal wound needs to breath.

Recovery: The bird looked in a bad way for 4 days- fluffed up, uncomfortable- and then it started to pick up steadily after that. Food and water stayed in the crop, which it accomplished by standing tall and leaning back. By one week it was noticeably on the mend. Within two weeks it was bouncing off walls. This one comes regularly to my place for food and its totally fine now (and especially friendly)


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

Just a quick update. So far so good. The crop has started to close. Only a few drops of water escape and no seed. The wound looks much better so fingers crossed so far. I have become very attached to this little fellow!

Bella - I agree re the wound - better not to close it completely unless the inside can be properly closed. I have taped a pad on it with antiseptic cream which seems to have done wonders in just a day. His bad eye is looking a little better. I think he still has sight in it although a little hard to tell as it is still badly swollen although somewhat reduced.


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

good update, did you start him on an antibiotic???


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

I have searched everywhere and only have been able to find some unused dog (250 mg) tablets called Clavulox containing 200 mg amoxycillin and 50 mg clavulanic acid. Is this any good? My pigeon is about 60% of adult racing pigeon size - what dose should I give?

Also I have some antibiotic cream - would this be better than antiseptic cream?

Help!


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Clavulox would be great. This is what I found for dosing:
Clavamox 125 mg/kg PO q 12 hours. A kg is 1000 grams, so you need to weigh the bird to find out how much he would get. An adult racing pigeon may be 400 grams, so not sure what your bird weighs. A 300 gram pigeon would get about a third that much, twice a day,every 12 hours. 

Yes, an antibiotic cream would be best.


----------



## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Hi Sene, Yes, That's an especially good antibiotic for this kind of wound in birds and animals. The clavulanic acid is added to minimise resistance to the amoxicillin by bacteria.

It needs 30-60mg of this. Is it possible to quarter this pill? If so, a quarter pill per day will be fine.


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

Great thanks for that. I have him started on the antibiotic now. No real change from yesterday but still looks quite perky and alert all things considered. It amazes me how with such a wound he pays attention to what is going on around him. Hopefully the antibiotic will help with the swelling around the injured eye.


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Please keep us updated. Thank you.


----------



## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Sene said:


> It amazes me how with such a wound he pays attention to what is going on around him. Hopefully the antibiotic will help with the swelling around the injured eye.


When I was researching this myself, I read an old post from a member here named Pidgey, who is a guru when it comes to caring for injured pigeons. He said that injuries to the crop cause very little pain as there are no pain receptors there or something (nerve endings?).

You're right, the Amoxicillin will help with the eye too.


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

UPDATE:

Well firstly now that things have settled down a little I want to thank everyone here that helped me so far.

It is now a week since I rescued Bluey and I am very happy to report that he is looking much better. He has no, nil, nadah water or feed leaking from his crop which appears to be healing over. I will try for a photo tomorrow! I have been keeping his main wound packed with antibiotic cream with a piece of sticking plaster over it to keep it there and moist.

He had other punctures in his crop which were small nicks and seem to have healed over totally as I cannot find them.

The swelling on his right eye is going down but still not good although I thnk it is going to heal. Whether he will have sight in it I am not sure as it is still weeping a little but decreasing in severity. I will be continuing warm saline treatment of it. I think the internal antibiotics are helping it!

This little fellow seems to like to sit on my lap or shoulder of an evening when I watch TV. He really seems to enjoy the company and is getting very tame I think! He is adorable. I have not considered his future (try to release or keep him in a coop with some pigeon friends) at the moment as I want to get him better before I even think about that.

I do really like him though and he is a good little bird and looks very nice. He is a blue bar with powder blue wings. Anyway I am still keeping my fingers crossed and don't want to count my chickens before they are hatched, but, things do look positive. I'll be considering worming when he is totally better along with some external parasite preventative although he seems to be clear of any.

OK well hopefully I will have a pic tomorrow of young Bluey!

Regards

Charles.


----------



## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

This is all great news. THANK YOU for caring for your new found friend. Best wishes for continued success with Bluey. It would seem like he also appreciates your efforts very much.


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

Thanks Almondman. I just want to correct my last post - it has only been 4 days not a week since I found Bluey! I spent so much time thinking about him I forgot I found him mid week by the back door not last weekend.


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for your continued care of this bird.

Please post a photo of this bird when you get a chance. Thank you.


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Looking forward to seeing pics.


----------



## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Hi Charles,

Thanks for the news, its amazing how fast they start to heal. I'm glad this is the case with your little one too.

The pigeon I had with the crop wound started to pass round worms & round worm eggs in its droppings while it was with me - the droppings themselves looked excellent, so it was only by accident that I noticed the worms. 

I usually use moxidectin for worms because it doesn't make them feel nauseous or put them off eating . I alternate this with Avitrol plus tablets which are levimisol and praziquantel.

I'm not sure if you knew this, but you can get moxidectin delivered to you from brisbane bird vet in Chermside (07) 3359 2233. I just ring them up and place the order over the phone with my credit card.


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

I have had a better look at his eye in daylight and I don't think he has sight left in it unfortunately. I'll continue treatment and try to get him better. If I can get him all healed up he will still have a good life without the eye although I would tend to want to keep him if that is the case so he is not blind sided by a hawk. Fiirst things first however!


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

I have taken some pictures of Bluey. Although he still looks a bit battered on day4 of his rescue he looks a LOT better than he did 4 days ago. His eye still needs a lot of recovery but it is getting better.

Please note that I have just bathed his injured eye so it looks quite mucky.










This is Bluey showing a bandage over his worst crop wound to keep the antibiotic cream in place. There is no leakage from this wound anymore although it was a very nasty one. Other crop wounds have scabbed over.










Another shot of Bluey.










His injured eye after a saline bath. Take into account this was one of his "minor" injuries to start with although now it looks the nastiest.










A close up of his bandaged crop wound. The plaster is lose enough to be changed without ripping out feathers as I teased the sticky part before applying each night. It is good enough to protect the wound and keep the antibioitic cream on it for the day.

His feathers are stained with blood but I won't worry about that until he is healed properly. At the moment it is just a case of keeping his food up and in the evening I let him join me for a play and some bonding time. It is a pity it is such a drab wet weekend here as I had hoped to get him in the sun to lift his spirits. Hopefully next weekend will be better. I'll post more pictures as his recovery proceeds. Wish us luck!


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Good pictures. Thanks. He's a pretty little thing. Glad he's healing. He may not loose the sight in that eye once he heals. You can never tell. Keep up the updates.


----------



## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

Have you tried checking the sight in the injured eye? If you could place the bird in the same position as in the injured eye picture, slowly bring your left hand up from behind him. See if there is any reaction when your hand comes into what should be the viewing range. If Bluey startles or tries to move away, he still has some vision in the eye.

But just because he doesn't move away, doesn't mean that the sight might not still come back if there is no reaction at this time.


----------



## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Oh wow Charles, that eye looks nasty. Is there even an eye there? Looks like the raptor got a good peck at it, or a claw in there. 

I wonder if something like Ciprofloxacin would be better for the eye (the human equivalent of Baytril) ? I'm not 100% sure on this, but as I understand it baytril/cipro is usually a bit better for aerobic infections (external), and penicillins for soft tissue/anaerobic (internal) infections. I guess the eye is a combination of both.

Anyway I have some cipro here you can try if the eye doesn't heal up by the end of the course of Amoxicillin (you can't use both together). I can post it to you & give instructions.

PS. He's a handsome pigeon.


----------



## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

Even after expanding the picture, it's still very hard to tell for sure if the eye is still there. I certainly hope so.


----------



## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

almondman said:


> Even after expanding the picture, it's still very hard to tell for sure if the eye is still there. I certainly hope so.


Me too; the wild ones I see with one eye don't usually make it for very long. I guess its quite a handicap.


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

There is an eye there. I saw it today as I cleaned away some scab. He does not seem to react on that side so possibly has no sight left in it. I will have to wait to find out more.


----------



## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Hows he doing now Sene? Hopefully healing up nicely..


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

Hi Bella. It looks like the crop is doing good. I am now concerned about the eye. I still have him on the antibiotic tablets of course but Sonce I drained it yesterday it has swelled up again. I will leave it alone this weak and just keep his meds up. He seems to have more energy as he is fighting the tablet much more when I give it to him. He has not eaten as much as yesterday so I am going to give him some peas in a monent to bulk him out a little and keep his tummy full.


----------



## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Let me know how it goes, Charles. I can send you Ciprofloxacin if its not healing.


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

Well he is eating better by himself and moving around much better. He even looks as if he might take off sometimes. His eye has not got any worse but hasn't got any better either. Will see how we go for the next 2 days and I might have to contact you Bel. Thanks again!


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

Well so far so good. You can see the skin growing over the outside of the worst of the external crop wound. Soon it will have grown completely across with a bit of luck and sealed up totally. Obviously with some proper stictching it would happen much quicker but it is amazing just how resiliant a pigeon can be with a bit of care and attention to recover.

His other crop wounds which were minor in comparison have healed. The wound on the top of his head is starting to feather over. His wounded eye is even looking less swollen and sore and when I hold my hand over it the heat that was present up until a day or so ago is much less.

I am happy to report that Bluey is walking well and feeding well by himself. He looks around when he is on my arm or shoulder of an evening with interest and I am concerned he might try to take off! He is at the stage where he should be learning to fly but I don't want him stretching that crop too much just yet. He will use his wings without any sign of hurt to steady himself on my arm flapping quite vigorously which at least gives him a little wing exercise. In a week I will be placing him i a small aviary type set up a couple of feet high with a perch that he can jump/flap onto to start stretching and exercising more.

Belle - hold off on the meds - I think he can manage without them but I will definately PM if there is any cause for concern.


----------



## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Hey Charles,

Thanks heaps for the update on Bluey & his wounds; the amoxicillin sounds like its doing its job well. I would have been surprised if it didn't work well for the eye, but you never know what bacteria the hawk was carrying, so its good to have alternative antibiotics available. Poor Bluey, that eye wound is so nasty, but glad its healing up.

PS. To me he looks old enough to have been flying already; he's immature but well covered feather wise. I see much younger ones than him flying around. You're right that he needs to build up fitness gradually- they can get exhausted if let go after some time with no excercise.


----------



## pigeonlover2k11 (Jul 6, 2011)

so...what happened with Bluey in the end? any updates? :/


----------



## Sene (May 29, 2012)

Sorry for lack of update but I am happy to report that Bluey made a full recovery and has been succesfully released. I see him sometimes in the wild flock that uses my bird bath. They help themselves to spilt grain from other livestock so except for the hawks and falcons that continually patrol especially in spring and early summer with young they lead a pretty good life. I have noticed a large increase in the numbers of the larger birds of prey over recent years and I don't like seeing them eating pigeons alive but I guess that's how it is. Thanks again to all.


----------

