# Injured Pigeon found! Need some advice guys!!!



## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

Hello, 
I have been reading the threads for four hours now. Very educative. My husband found Osman (that's how we name it) an adult grey pigeon (very cute) in the corner of our parking lot last night. It was cold and the poor bird was shaking. My hubby didn't want to touch it as he's very picky, but came home and told me about the bird. I went outside with a cloth and grabbed carefully, he (I'm gonna assume he is a boy) didn't resist at all. 

He doesn't look that old, it does not look sick, after all the reading on this site, I am an expert on checking for canker, nothing, his/her beak is pink inside.

We put water in front of Osman, but he wouldn't drink it, so I wrapped his body again with the clothe (very slowly) grabed him and made his beak to touch the water. He drank a little bit that way. We put him in a box, put the water in a little container, put some cereal (corn flakes) and waited. A couple of hours later we heard noises from the box, he was eating the cereal. Im not sure if Osman is drinking the water, I have not seen him doing it. So I keep putting dropes on his beak.

This morning he loked more alert, I put the box out in the balcony an he got very excited (almost jumped out of the box) when he heard a flock of pigeons that flew over our heads. I brought him inside again.

Things that worry me: He looks so out of here, he barely moves, his eyes are wide open most of the time looking at nothing. Yesterday I saw a lot of mices walking over the feathers, (gross..my husband almost passed out) Theres a hump on his right wing. I cant tell if that's a fracture or something else.

Today I went to Pet'smart and got spray for mites and lices (Brand: Ultracare, active ingredients: Pyrethrins and Piperonyl Butoxide) and bird food.

We cover his head and sprayed him all over today at 7:00 pm. He tried the food but didn't eat too much. I repeated the please-drink-water treatment.

At 9:00pm we put him out of the box and he walked all over the apartment. We were so happy. But we notice that he kind of drags his right wing, the wing is noticeable bigger (swalowed we think) he tried to fly but the wing does not function at all.

My question for you guys... is this a broken wing? an infection? why the bird is so tame? Is just an old bird that is dying slowly ? it does not try to escape from us, it looks like in a hypnotic state most of the time. His breathing is OK. I attached some pics of Osman.

Regards,
Marcela & Sinan & Osman


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Welcome to Pigeon Talk and THANK YOU for rescuing Osman.

Others will be along to help and will ask what his poops look like, 

Where are you located? There may be members close who can help.

Do you have a heating pad set on low with a towel over it that he could sit/stand on with the option of moving off?

Do you have access to an Avian Vet in the area, if needed?


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

*Osman Pictures*

Here he is....


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

Poops are dark brown and watery but not totally liquid. I have no pads, but I'll figure something out with a towel. I'm in Irving, Texas a suburb of Dallas. I have never have a pet, so, no idea on avian vets around, but I'll find one if necesary. He looks much better than yesterday, I just saw him sipping his water yeah!! 
almost forgot!! the breast just looks huge, I dont know if that's normal ..maybe he's just a chubby bird? 
I dont see more bugs on his feathers.... there were a LOT of them last night, the spay seemed to work.


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

Thanks Mr Squeaks, I'll go to sleep, I'll update tomorrow.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Thank you for rescuing this sweet pigeon.
His wing is obviously injured, hard to tell if it is fractured or just bruised. He would need an xray to determine exactly what is wrong with it.
It is good he is eating and drinking. You've doing a great job with him. It might take a while for the wing to heal, you will have to keep him until then and hopefully his wing will heal completely.
Pigeons are smart, they know we want to help them. He also might be in great pain and that is why he seems so tame.
He seems like a young adult.
If you could locate an avian vet and have him examined, he could rule out other diseases this bird might have.

Please keep us updated. Hopefully he is feeling better today.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for helping this bird.

If you can compare the wing to the other wing, by gently feeling around it, especially the shoulder joint, it might give you an indication if it is broke or just swollen.

If it is actually swollen and hanging it might be a wing boil, and might be Paratyphoid. This can be treated with Baytril. This disease is not contagious to humans and can be treated very effectively.

I would get the bird started on heavy duty doses of Now brand garlic caps, and probiotics. You can go to your local health food store and purchase both. These things will really help build up immunities, and purify the blood as well as take care of any problematic bad bacteria in the gut. The poops need to be solid.

Make sure to keep the bird contained, warm, and out of any air drafts.

Please check this list for rehabbers in your area:

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contactN.htm

http://aav.org/vet-lookup/

Please be sure to inquire whether they actually treat pigeons and if they do, that they don't put them down should they think it is too much trouble, or time.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Okay, let's do a little research so that you can do an examination of the wing while we're at it. Go here and study the skeleton:

http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/skeleton.html

It looks like you've got one good wing so you can feel both sides of the bird and compare what you're feeling. You said something about the bad wing being swollen or larger so let's figure out exactly where that is and what it feels like. They occasionally break wings and sometimes that makes for hard knots by way of bones becoming overlapped and other times it's blood that has leaked into the feathers that causes the lump. When blood goes into the feathers and sets up, it's almost like concrete--it's very difficult to get out and you might not want to, anyhow, because it sometimes makes a good cast for the area. There's also the possibility that this is a Paratyphoid boil and a joint has gone arthritic. The exact location and nature of the lump will tell us a lot.

As to the use of a vet, they will often require that you "sign the bird over" if it's a feral and then they'll most often put the bird down if it can't easily be treated and rehabbed. They're not all like that but it seems like the majority are. That means that you have to be careful what you say. It works best if you say that he's now your pet. Here is a story of Bernie, a feral who got hurt and had to live with humans:

http://www.urbanwildlifesociety.org/pigeons/BerniePijStory.html

As to treatments, if it's a broken wing, well the possibilities run the gamut from "will never fly again" to "complete recovery" so that remains to be seen. For now, you can study the stuff on this page for utilizing a "Figure-of-Eight" bandage to hold the wing in place it becomes apparent that it's a broken wing:

http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2714172490073664377klNxpi

If it's Paratyphoid instead, then we're going to need to get you some medicine to give the bird for a month or more. So, make a good examination and give us the details in very descriptive language. Also, you might go back to Petsmart and get some Wild Dove Mix-type bag of seeds (peas, corn, wheat, barley, safflower seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.) and start feeding him that--it'd be the best. You don't need to worry much about getting diseases from him, it's pretty rare that they have something that you can get and he doesn't look like he's suffering from anything like that. As to the easy-going nature, he's probably in a bit of shock and they seem pretty tame during that time almost without fail. However, it's entirely possible that he could end up extremely tame (like Bernie of the story above) anyhow--just have to wait and see. Let us know!

Pidgey


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

marcelita03 said:


> ...the breast just looks huge, I dont know if that's normal ..maybe he's just a chubby bird?


Well fed adult pigeons do have a roundish front profile, looks normal. The males tend to be larger in that area, due to puffing up their throad airsacs to call the female and announce their territory. Glad he is eating and drinking on his own. Hope you get the wing sorted out!


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

*I think it is a Paratyphoid*

Hi guys, MUCHAS GRACIAS for the comments. I inspected the wings looking at the eskeleton picture (thanks pigey) and I dont really feel anything broken, but I dont know much about broken bones , I might be wrong. What I do feel is the bump where the humerus meet the coracoid. When I touch there I can tell it hurts, because it start moving his legs, like trying to escape 

After we sprayed him tonigh (the mites are almost all gone), we saw what the bump is, a redish thing that looks pretty much alike to the paratyphoid pictures I've seen on other forums.

He sleept on a warmed towel that I ironed. He eats, drinks now more comfortably, even when we are around. That's good. He jumped out of his box today and walked around, and went back to the box 2 minutes later, on his own, we laughed so much, Osman is so cute, I hope he gets better.

I'm not taking him anywhere close to a feral, nor signing anything, nunca en la vida!!!. I'll keep it until he get's well.

Please see the pictures attached and tell me what you think, what kind of medicine should I get him? Should I get a prescription from a vet? Am I going to have to paid a little fortune for a vet consultation? The poop is not solid at all, it's still part white, part dark brown and very watery... Pigey I got the food that you recommended, that what he is eating now.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Marcelita,

Those are good pictures that you sent. It's looks to me like you MIGHT have both a break and paratyphoid .. the one joint appears really swollen (paratyphoid) and the other very nasty red and infected (broken). No way for me to be sure without actually seeing the bird. I think it would be a good bet for you to start trying to find some meds like Baytril or Cipro. Where are you located? Before you consider expensive vet treatment, please talk to us a bit more here.

Terry


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

*Irving TX*

Mr Tawhatley, the left wing is OK, not swolen or anything. It's the right wing the one that looks bigger and where the red thing on the joint is. 

I live by Dallas, TX. It wont be difficult to find an avian vet around here, but I hope it's not gonna cost me to much $$.

What do you think about the watery droppings?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

marcelita03 said:


> I live by Dallas, TX.
> 
> What do you think about the watery droppings?


You should try the probiotics to stabilize the gut bacteria, in case there may be some coccidiosis present, or something else. Coccidiosis can be a secondary infection, which mulitplies in the gut when a bird is stressed and his immunities are down, due to the bird seeming to have Paratyphoid.

I highly recommend you also get some Now brand garlic, to help purify the blood and build up the immune system.

Were you able to locate help on the links I provided?


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, let me ask you another question about the difference between the second and third pictures. The third one is "as seen from above" and shows a protruding bubble back at the true elbow. Is the second picture just a closeup of that selfsame bubble? If that's the case, then I have to question you a little more about where you said that you thought the problem was where the humerus and the coracoid meet.

The exact location on the bird for that juncture (humerus with coracoid) is about an inch and a half forward of where that bubble is showing through on the third picture. To find it, you'd find that bubble with your fingers and then follow inward and forward on the bird to where the bone closest to the bird disappears into the muscle mass closer to the front. In fact, you can't even feel the upper end of that bone on a well-fed bird (Osman rates that description, by the way) because there's so much muscle surrounding it.

Where that bubble is in the third picture really is the equivalent of our elbows. And where I'm talking about (the junction of the humerus and coracoid) is the same as our true shoulder, where the upper arm fits to the trunk of the body.

You can go here and look at this picture to study the actual form of a pigeon's body a little better. This is a bird with some kind of condition that made it either lose or not grow the bulk of its feathers but it may help here:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=17927

In the first picture, there is one feather in front of the actual juncture of the humerus with the coracoid so you can't see that particular part but you can see the elbow jutting back and a bit upward. That's where the boil appears on Osman in the third picture that you posted in post #10. So, it remains for you to confirm where the actual shoulder is involved or only where that bubble actually appears.

As to treatment for that, what you need is a medication called "Baytril" (the trade name) for which the drug name is called "Enrofloxacin". Vets always have that one--it is the veterinary equivalent of Ciprofloxacin which is used for us and is often called simply "Cipro". Either one will work, for that matter, but we need to get it in a form that you can successfully meter out to the bird on regular basis per the required dosage. Baytril comes in a bunch of different formulations (liquid and pills) and one of the easiest for you to administer correctly would actually be the pill form of a fluoroquinolone-family version of the drug known as "Orbax". I don't have anything on that particular drug's dosing in any of my formularies but my vet has used it on my birds from time to time. That is one that you would have to get from a vet, by the way. 

It is possible through mail-order for you to get some of the liquid varieties of Baytril, probably the cheapest being "Enroxil" from Foy's as shown here (the one you'd want is the 10% liquid):

http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/catalog/para_sal/index.html

One of us can probably get the stuff out to you more quickly though, so if you'll PM (Private Message) me your mailing address, I'll get it out to you today. You don't need anywhere near the 100 cc's of the stuff that's shown in that ad, but you will need enough for over a month's dosing--I'm guessing about six (6) actual milliliters of the stuff to be on the safe side--and a few special small syringes to dose it out with.

Pidgey


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

Hello,
Thanks TreesGray for the links, I checked for avian vets and actually found one. I asked for the antibiotic but I have to check in Osman for a consultation first. I told them I knew what he has gotten, and I knew how to treat it, but no way. It seems like as with humans, there's no possibility to obtain medications without prescription for pets. i agree with you I have to stsrt him in Probiotics, but I dont know where to get them. ??

Osman is doing all right, eats well, drinks a lot, We are giving him water with a drop of vinager and a tiny pinch of garlic, I read that was good on another question on this forums. His droppings are not solid at all. He has periods when he is so lethargic, and then suddenly wakes up, move his head, eats, drinks, and then came back to calm. 

I noticed yesterday for the first time he tried to defend himself, I tried to grab him to put him out of the box, he hit my hand with his good wing really hard!! and tried to "beak me" (that's how you said when a bird bites you?)

Pidgey you are so good, thanks for taking the time to type up all this advice! The picture of the pink buble is a close up of the last picture, everything is the same on the same right wing, which is swollen, (I said swalowed my first post? sorry, my english is not very polished).

You might be right maybe is not the shoulder but the elbow (they are so close!!!) , looking at the picture of the featherless bird I would say that is the elbow.

The vet I contacted will charge me $100 just for looking at Osman, sooooo, I think I'll pass. Pidgey, I'll send you my address and any help you can get me getting the medicine would be greatly appreciated.

Marcela


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## christina11 (Jan 20, 2006)

I don't know if this was said or not already but I would give that pigeon some seeds and cooked pea's instead of cereal, as it's better for them lol actualy I never give my pigeons cereal & I don't know if it's a best diet option but seeds is the speacail on the pigeons diet. 

Seeds can be purchased at local pet stores of course or a bulk.

Good luck with your most handsome little pigeon, Im so happy you helped him!


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Christina, I think you missed that Marcelita said she'd gotten the wild dove mix in post #10.

Anyhow, Marcelita, your stuff is in the mail--should get there Monday (Priority). I sent 6 mls of Baytril and ?4? 3/10ths cc syringes so that you can dose it out easily along with some Flagyl tablets just in case (don't use those unless we tell you to) and a couple of wormer pills (same deal).

The deal that we're going to have to consider is that the elbow joint may be enlarged. That's a determination that you're going to have to make. What can happen is that the bone material of the joint literally goes through an arthritic process and gets bigger. At the same time, it's getting of poorer quality and the circulation in it is getting worse. They also get a buildup of synovial fluid (think of it as joint oil) and that gets painful so they don't want to move the joint. That's eventually going to fix itself after the course of the medication but it may very well limit his flying ability for the rest of his days, we just won't know for awhile. It's a good thing y'all are becoming a family!

Pidgey


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

*Thanks!!!*

Thanks Pigey really, that's great, you just save the life of our little fella!! only one question, Is there anything that I can give him for the pain? I cant tell he looks in total distress, his whole wing looks so enlarged now. He barely moves. Anything like Tylenol, Ibuprofen? or better just leave him alone and wait for the antibiotic?


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

You can give children's Motrin for the pain.But I can't remember the dose.
Maybe Pidgey knows how much.

Reti


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Motrin? Really? I'll have to look that one up. Anyhow, we've got to make it through the weekend. I'd really wonder if it was the guts that were hurting more than the wing, though. As such, it becomes more important to give the probiotics than ever. Probiotics are organisms like Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Bifidobacteria bifidus which will eat bad bacteria in the guts. Paratyphoid starts in the guts and can cause a simple enteritis. There are multiple strains and the worst ones penetrate the mucosa, travel through the bloodstream and settle in places like joints, the brain, organs, eyes--places you REALLY don't want them to. Probiotics can't chase 'em down in the body but they can cut their lives short in the gut (first line of defense).

As to pain, you can take an aspirin (it must be the real stuff--it can't have acetaminophen or caffeine in it) and cut a flake out of it the size of the head of a regular sewing pin and give that up to three times per day.

Pidgey


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Yes, Motrin, my vet recommends it, I just can't remember the dose and he is out of town. 
I gave it to several of my birds. He prefers the Metacam, but if you don't have it on hand, Motrin is good too.

Reti


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, that's Ibuprofen (unless the children's version is a completely different medicine) and I don't see that drug listed in any of the formularies that I have.

Pidgey


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

I have both Ibuprofen (in the advil form) and aspirin, but I gave him aspirin, a tiny little bit. Osman is doing fine. His wing shakes a little sometimes, and he rathers not to move a lot. Everytime I put him out of his box and he walks around, comes back and jump right back into the box. Either he likes his box a lot, or he just dont want to move the wing because it hurts.

I read about how paratyphoids spread through the body, but how can I get Probiotics? is that sold over the counter? Should I administer them along with the antibiotic?


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I don't think antibiotics and probiotics interfere so you're safe. Probiotics are sold in health food stores and the stuff that's best is kept in a cooler. It's a powder and you can give a fraction of a spoonful at the easiest or sprinkle some on his feed. You can use olive oil to get it to stick to the seeds, things like that. If you've got capsules, you can put in those and make him swallow it. You could also mix some in some water and make him drink it, too.

Another such way is to feed them plain yoghurt that's got live, active culture. However, that's got to be a fun ride--others who have actually done that might have suggestions of how to keep it from turning into an episode like feeding a 2-year-old his most hated food.

Pidgey


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Hola Marcela,

You have been doing a great job with your pigeon rehab. I just read your post and you have great members who have given some great support. Thank you too for your interest in getting the pigeon back on its road to recovery.

He is seeing his box as "his" domain, and feels secure there. If it was a cage, he would probably hop in it. Maybe you can find a used cage for him. One that is large enough for it to spread its wings without touching the sides.

I get my probiotics and ACV at a health food store. Our pigeons get probiotics sprinkled over their seeds once a week, and twice a week ACV as a preventative measure. The one I recommend is Bragg's ACV with mother...it is concentrate and the cost is less than 3 dollars and goes a long way. I add a teaspoon and a half to a half gal


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

marcelita03 said:


> ...Probiotics...Should I administer them along with the antibiotic?


When giving antibiotics morning and night, give the probiotics at noon, or at least have a few hours separation. You need to give the antibiotics time to kill the bad bacteria, then the probiotics repopulate the gut with good bacteria to help block the bad bacteria and to support digestion.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

You should get the Baytril today so when you do, take one of the really small syringes and fill it (be careful not to spill that bottle!) up to the first 5 mark. That's a tad over a quarter inch's worth, I think. Put that down his gullet (just hold his beak open and shoot it in--further back is better) and do it twice a day.

By the way, do we have any idea what this bird weighs?

Pidgey


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

Thank for you comments Terri and Victor. I am so thrilled to have discovered this website and forum.

Dear Pidgey I got the meds today...The managment office of my complex got them yesterday and just give them to me today. I am opening the package right now, I'm sooo excited. I see the small syringes an one medium.
I am administering the antibiotic right now.

A question: what are the tablets for?

I think I'll pass the yogurth task . I'll go to get the probiotics tomorrow.

Osman is OK he moves more around and eats well. We have almost never see him drinking water. Dropings are green and white and not too solid. How much he weights?? that's a tough one, I would say about 7 oz, he measures 11" long 5" tall. 

OK I'll go to give him the antibiotic now... I'll be reporting


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

marcelita03 said:


> ...We...almost never see him drinking water. ...


Generally, pigeons will take a good drink a few minutes after their main meals in the morning and late afternoon. Males tend to stick their head deeper into the water and will usually sneeze afterward to clear their nostrils, so watch out!


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

The tablets are Flagyl and the capsules are a wormer. We're hoping that we don't need those (although we might do the wormer later when we're sure he's feeling better, just in case).

7 ounces actually sounds quite a bit towards the light side. Can you feel underneath his chest and see if the keelbone protrudes such that you can pinch it and actually hold the bird that way. Hopefully, the muscle tissue begins an outwardly expanding "V" like the prow of a ship but in serious emaciation cases it often doesn't.

Measure exactly how much feed you put in his box with him and then re-measure it at the end of the day to figure out how much he's consumed. Do the same with the water and that might tell us something.

Pidgey


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## Aias (Nov 9, 2006)

*como esta osman?*

marcelita como anda señor osman? mas fotos por favor!


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

*El señor Osman esta bien!!*

Hi, I'm back sorry for disapering but it's been a crazy week. 
Osman has been taking his antibiotic at 9:00am and 9:00pm every day. He doesn't like the box anymore, he now found his place in a corner of my living room, under a plant. We now cover that corner with newspaper and let him stay there. The food is still in the box, he goes there, eat and goes back to the corner. 

He nows streches BOTH of his wings time to time, (kind of like people do in the morning after waking up) and when he does that he raises all his feathers, then come back to normal, eats, and sits down. Sometimes he sort of throws his head ahead and up, and quickly retracts it back and repeats the movement several times. Is that normal?

Pidgey, I touched underneath his chest (he didn't like it) I can feel the bone but not really pinch it, definitively not hold him from it. Maybe he weights more than 7 oz, I can't really tell without an scale. I fill his little plate with the amount of seeds that I can grab with one hand, and that lasts two days. 

The water is in a little dressing cup 3" deep 3" diameter. I change the water every morning. He jumps over that cup a lot, sometimes spilling the water, so it's hard to tell if he is drinking or spilling it. I'll try to mesure better an will let you know. 

He's getting an attitude, he tries to escape everytime I need to hold him, and he has pecked me HARD too many times. I guess that's a good sign, though, because when we found him 12 days ago he was sooooo weak.

His wing looks exactly the same, swollen and 1 inch lower than the other.

A question., I have been using warm towels around his box, now around the corner where he sits. But I noticed those cool down really quick, and I was wondering if he feels cold during the night. We were talking about that with a friend and he pointed out that pigeons live outside anyways, they should not feel cold since they sleep in trees even during cold winter. Is that right? Some pics attached in my next message. 

Marcela


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

*Fotos*

Two Pics of Osman and his box


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

That Paratyphoid boil is likely to stay for longer than a month. That can happen. You just don't stop giving the Baytril until it's long gone (weeks).

Pidgey


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

He is such a cute and hansome pijie. He seems to love his box.

Reti


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## Aias (Nov 9, 2006)

gracias por las noticias!


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## xxmoxiexx (Oct 2, 2006)

it seems the wing droops a good amount... also, thats what i thought, that they lived outside so they didnt need warmth, but just like you need warmth when you are sick to help fight any bug off, so does he. if they are cold they will spend much energy on keeping warm, energy needed to fight off whatever's wrong with him. do you have a heating pad?? or a little space heater?? i'm no pro with pigeons, but everyone on here will give you the best advice you could hope to get!!!
good luck, and let him get better first then we'll figure out if he's releasable, if not, people adopt pigeons on here all the time!!!


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

Thanks Moxie, that totally makes sense. I'll get him a heating pad.


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

Hi, quick update, the red ugly buble on his wing is getting smaller, or so we think, it is definitively less red and less swollen. The whole wing however, is still out of place, but in general he is doing fine!  

The other day at my office a bird flew straight to the window and fell to the first floor, it died almost instantanly. I was so sad all day because of that. I guess I have developed a great appreciation for birds since I got Osman. ( I wonder how many birds die/get injured crashing clear windows, that's terrible)
Marce


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

marcelita03 said:


> Hi, quick update, the red ugly buble on his wing is getting smaller, or so we think, it is definitively less red and less swollen. The whole wing however, is still out of place, but in general he is doing fine!
> 
> The other day at my office a bird flew straight to the window and fell to the first floor, it died almost instantanly. I was so sad all day because of that. I guess I have developed a great appreciation for birds since I got Osman. ( I wonder how many birds die/get injured crashing clear windows, that's terrible)
> Marce



Thanks for the update, Marce! Sounds like things are coming along well for your bird.

There are many, many birds killed by flying into buildings .. here's an interesting site: http://www.birdmonitors.net/

and another http://www.audubonmagazine.org/features0403/alert.html

Terry


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

The one that I got as a squeaker with a pretty bad boil has never gotten his wing back up. Originally, the joint was enlarged but it feels to me like it's gotten smaller so I don't know if he could or couldn't pull it back up if he tried---only that he never has.

Pidgey


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Thanks for the links, Terry. The second link was especially interesting, showing the conflicts between aesthetics and bird friendly architecture.


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

Pidgey do you have a picture of the bird that you mentioned? the one with the bad boil? I'd like to compare joints. Osman joint is better, we think. The bump is still there but when we got it was very red (as you all saw in the picture) and now is more like light pink, more like normal skin color. However he only tried to fly once and it was more like a small jump, 6 inches off the floor. I guess it hurt really bad because he never tried again.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, I can take a picture of that bird and post it for you. There is nothing to be seen on that joint anymore--the entire wing merely hangs down a little low somewhat like Osman's. It never pulled back up like it should although I believe that the joint enlargement has actually abated. Even with that, though, it still took him another six months to start flying.

One of the things that happens when a bird has a localized infection or inflammation process going is that they lose feathers over such an area. A fairly reliable indication that the infection is truly gone is that the feathers fill in over such an area again. With Paratyphoid boils, we really like to see them gone and still keep giving the bird supportive therapy for another week or two.


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## marcelita03 (Nov 1, 2006)

*Osman is gone*

Hey,
This morning he took off. It is a good thing I hope. He had been doing some short flights from the couch to the tables around my apartment. We were not liking the mess, but we were kind of happy he was progressing so well. This morning we decided to open the balcony door and sure enough he flew outside, stayed in teh balcony for 1o seconds, turned his head to us and flew away. We saw him going towards the roof of the next building.

We just walked around the complex looking for him (just in case) but we sisn't see him. We saw the usual flock of pigeons flying over the buildings and hope that he is with them.

I'm not 100% sure his wing was cured. The little balloon never quite went away and the whole wing was lower than the other. I really had gotten used to him and I miss him so much. 

We'll leave the balcony's door open. Do you guys think he'll ever come back? I mean to look for food? After all he spent almost four months without having to look for food.. I dont know, I hope he comes back to visit... 

Tanks for everything everyone, speacially to you Pidgey



Marcela & Sinan


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I had one like that who I finally let go. He was from my local flock and so I got to watch him courting the ladies for the next couple of weeks before I finally lost track of him. He was a blue bar so he tended to blend in real well. The more they fly, the more kinks they work out and the better they get at it. He should figure out what his old life was like pretty quick but he could still come back in a few days, you just never know.

Pidgey


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