# webbed feet?



## honobird (Mar 6, 2004)

i found a young white pigeon. its 2 out toes on both feet are connected by a web of skin. there also seems to be some new feathers coming in on the outer lower ankle area. can anyone tell me if this is a particular breed of pigeon, or just a deformity? the bird was very thin and weak, but eyes are bright. i fed it roudybush baby formula and it has perked up quite a bit. thanks!


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hello and Welcome to pigeons.com

Thank you for your kindness and caring for this noble creature.

This does sound like it might be a special breed, having foot feathering, and web feet.
Could you post a picture of the bird? I'm sure someone here can help?

How is the bird acting otherwise? ..and how does the birds' poop look?

Thank you again, for your kindness and please update us.
Treesa


----------



## honobird (Mar 6, 2004)

thanks for responding. today the bird has lost a little of its energy. he drank on his own, but i'm still giving it liquid food by eye dropper. a friend is coming over later today and i will take a picture and post later tonight. the bird's poops look decent; making formed droppings, but some are watery, perhaps because of the liquid diet. am keeping it on warmth, and it's resting well.


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thanks for the update.

You need to click on to Sara's story on the first page of this website and determine how old the bird is.

If this bird is drinking on its own, its probably old enough to eat a normal diet of pigeon seed. If this pigeon is older than 21/2 to 3 weeks, it may not need any formula at all. Why don't you offer it some pigeon seed, in a nice small deep dish and see how it does?

The only time you would give an older baby pigeon formula is when it is too weak to eat on its own and needs extra nutrition.

Please continue to update us. Thank you.

Treesa


----------



## honobird (Mar 6, 2004)

sad news. the bird died during the night. it looked like he was unable to pass his food out of his crop. his droppings had really slowed down, and he had thrown up some of his food. in certain pockets of honolulu, there is a parasite that gets passed from bird to bird via the drinking water. it seems to affect doves and pigeons the most. it is a very bad parasite that burrows into the mucosa of the mouth, throat and crop, creating hard lesions that cause blockages in the upper digestive track. the bird ends up starving. i think my bird may have had this. my vet has told me that it is really hard to treat because you have to catch it really early, however the treatment is so strong that it often kills the patient. 
also this morning, one of the young of a java rice bird pair who are nesting in my bedroom ceiling fell out, and landed on the roof of my outdoor aviary. so i'm feeding it now. it should be eating on its own in about a week.
thank you for your input. it has been appreciated. will be checking the topics in the future. there's a lot of good things to be learned here!


----------



## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

Hello Honobird & Welcome to pigeons.com

Thank you for the update. I'm so sorry to hear that your little patient has passed away.

From your description it sounds like you are referring to 'Canker' or 'Trichomoniasis', which is a 'yellowish, cottage cheese appearing' matter generally developing in a pigeons mouth, throat, etc. You are correct in that it will cause a blockage & left untreated the pigeon will die of starvation.

I also agree with your vet, if caught early on, canker is quite treatable. However, I have not heard that the treatment itself is so strong it often kills the patient, rather the extensive invasion of the canker would most likely cause it's demise. 

Other members will be on to share their view & experiences on this.
Cindy


----------



## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Hello,

I'm sorry to hear about your baby









If you do a search here in the pigeons.com forums you will find some posts about webbed feet, they are rare but I believe some other memebers have pigeons like this, it might be genetic.

Mary


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for the update. I'm so sorry the bird passed on. 

Treesa


----------

