# Question re treating pigeon in shock



## turkeyman (Jul 23, 2002)

Hello,

Although I'm afraid it's too late, but I'd like to know what is the general treatment for a care of a pigeon that seems to be in shock would be. We had found a infant pigeon (we'd say 2-3 month old judging from the fact that he didn't have any pin feathers) that seemed to be in shock. We don't know if he had been hit by a car or had some dieases. He was very lethargic,fluffed feathers, caulky yellow droppings(which I've never seen), and not eating and drinking at all. We had him over the weekend and felt it just had to take in something so we tryed giving it infant bird formula with the syringe. Next thing we knew he started breathing faster , got cold suddenly and just died on us.









We couldn't believe it! We feel so guilty that we might have done something wrong. Should we have just left him alone till he was better? How much longer could he have lasted without food or water? Any help would be appreciated .

Thanks


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## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Hello and I'm so sorry to hear about your baby









Please don't feel guilty, you cared enough to help him and there is nothing you could have done to prevent this from happening.. 
It is sad especially in babies but it could have been so many things that we really won't know for sure what it was.

If the pigeon was a squeaker than he must have been between 16-30 days old but not any older, a bird who is 2-3 months is practically an adult.

I've had afew pigeons in a shock but not very bad.. the best thing to do is keep them in a dark area with no noise.


Take care,

Mary



[This message has been edited by maryco (edited May 27, 2003).]


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## Guest (May 27, 2003)

For shock, you keep them warm and away from noise (dark quiet room). But this was a baby and unhealthy droppings, so not a good sign anyway. The one thing about the feeding, is if it gets in the lungs...goes down the wrong way, they can die quickly, gasping for air a few times. 

But it sounds like he was ill already and with doctor's care and maybe some medicines, he may have been able to survive, but when they are that young, they can die easily and the treatment comes too late. Many times, they went too long without the proper nutrition and they get natural antibodies from the parent's milk, so without that, they are super susesptible to illness.

You gave him comfort, food, and love and that was much better than what he would have had if you'd left him alone. As a rehabber told me..."they were already left for dead..so you can only try and then if they die, at least you gave them comfort".


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## turkeyman (Jul 23, 2002)

Judging from your responses it seems we might have inadvertently killed this bird. We feel really terrible. We should of just waited till he got a bit stronger before we tried to feed. Hopefully next time this happens we'll know better. Thanks for all your help.


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## ddpowell (May 16, 2003)

Don't you dare think you killed him. Shock usually happens to grown birds or injured birds. Older birds can go into shock by being taken in by humans. This was a baby..didn't know much difference. I seriously believe, the little one went without food for too long before you found him and his resistence was too low to fight infection. The vet told me, if they went several hours without food, then they can become quite suseptible to illnesses. They are very fragile at this age. Please don't blame yourself!


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