I've got a dove with Pigeon Pox(picture below) and another dove that I suspect had Pigeon Pox, but only had a very small legion on the eyelid that cleared up quickly. I found the first dove last week with a suspicious small legion on its eyelid, and the other dove with a small scar/yellow scab on it's eyelid. I quickly removed both and have been isolating them on my balcony. The first dove's legions have gotten worse, the eyelid legion has grown to partially affect his eyesight and a second legion has appeared on his lower beak, but the other dove has shown no signs of legions and the area on his eyelid has cleared up completely. I believe he was the one to first have the virus and has recovered and no longer poses a threat for spreading the disease, but just in case I am going to keep him isolated with the other dove until the other one has healed. I haven't yet notified the other poultry/avian keepers in my region(as my birds are on a property that is literally two blocks from the center of town and this is still a fairly rural town with many bird keepers), mostly because I would like confirmation that this is indeed Avian pox(though I'm 99% certain) and I don't want to raise any red flags if it turns out that the pox that affects doves/pigeons is isolated to them and isn't of much concern.
These doves are my babies. I currently have ~15 doves I have been keeping them since I was eleven years old, going on ten years ago. The dove above is one of my older fellows, probably about 7-8 years old. He's still very robust, healthy, energetic and eating/drinking well. In these past (almost) ten years, I feel as though I remember at least one time when I found one of my doves had a legion on it's eye 7 or 8 years ago, but being ignorant I did nothing about it and everything always turned out fine. The "bumps" or potential legions had never spread before though, which is why I did nothing before. I have chickens as well, but they seem to be just fine.
So, my question is, can somebody please confirm this is Pigeon pox and tell me whether or not I should notify my fellow bird keepers here, and how to prevent further infections on my doves without vaccinating them?
My theory is they came in contact with the virus via mosquito's. The area here has been COATED in mosquito's these past couple years, and with the effects of Hurricane Harvey they have gotten worse with no sign of slowing down. No, there isn't standing water anywhere near the area or even the property. Animal water is regularly changed. The damn things just appear out of nowhere and we've done countless things trying to keep them out of the yard. With that in mind, can I just cover the dove's aviary in the material on screen doors to keep out the mosquito's and prevent future infections?
These doves are my babies. I currently have ~15 doves I have been keeping them since I was eleven years old, going on ten years ago. The dove above is one of my older fellows, probably about 7-8 years old. He's still very robust, healthy, energetic and eating/drinking well. In these past (almost) ten years, I feel as though I remember at least one time when I found one of my doves had a legion on it's eye 7 or 8 years ago, but being ignorant I did nothing about it and everything always turned out fine. The "bumps" or potential legions had never spread before though, which is why I did nothing before. I have chickens as well, but they seem to be just fine.
So, my question is, can somebody please confirm this is Pigeon pox and tell me whether or not I should notify my fellow bird keepers here, and how to prevent further infections on my doves without vaccinating them?
My theory is they came in contact with the virus via mosquito's. The area here has been COATED in mosquito's these past couple years, and with the effects of Hurricane Harvey they have gotten worse with no sign of slowing down. No, there isn't standing water anywhere near the area or even the property. Animal water is regularly changed. The damn things just appear out of nowhere and we've done countless things trying to keep them out of the yard. With that in mind, can I just cover the dove's aviary in the material on screen doors to keep out the mosquito's and prevent future infections?
