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SubourbonChicken
Songster
- Aug 18, 2020
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I cannot thank you enough for this generous and thorough reply.Sorry, just now saw this post. I'm sorry to hear one passed.
I've had Pigeons for decades and have never even seen pox before, but it is a virus, and in addition to visual aspects, it will also be very draining to a bird's immune system, especially a little squab just starting out in life. It seems you are doing the very best you can under these circumstances.
I've had occasional squabs with some issues & had to intervene, set up a warm brooder & handfeed, etc. I use typical handfeeding formula for birds, either Embrace by Zupreem or Exact by Kaytee. Petco & most pet stores carry Kaytee. The oral syringes they carry aren't always great though, so I usually get them either online or at Walgreens. Baby pigeons are as easy to handfeed as baby Cockatiels, they learn & adapt fast when it comes to eating. If a crop was slow to empty or digest, I'd add a pinch of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda to the formula. If a crop smelled sour & nasty, I'd give a few syringes of just warm water with a pinch of baking soda, to get the crop moving, because if you add more feed at that point, to an already full sour crop, it only gets worse. I've had to give a few the warm water & baking soda, mush it through the crop area then empty the crop, but it is very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing, it has to be fast as a bird can aspirate. I don't suggest it, if the bird is digesting, and since you showed a pic of poo, then the bird is indeed digesting. You can add a pinch of baking soda along with meds, it does help sweeten the crop & aid digestion. I've also used unflavored Pedialyte instead of water at times, in the baby bird food mix, but not combined with baking soda.
Handfeeding formula must also be the correct warm temperature, I mix with hot water & place the bowl of mix inside another bowl of hot water, to keep it warm & I mix it up til creamy then let it sit a min. as it thickens, sort of like if you mix up yourself some porridge, but you can make it a bit more runny when a bird isn't digesting well. You can even add a pinch of probiotics (I've used ProBios). Use your finger to feel temperature, it should feel warm but not too hot. If it's too hot on your finger, let it cool a bit. If you feed a bird too hot, it can burn the crop, if it's too cool it will cause sour crop, so feed temperature is important for babies.
A bird under the weather also needs warmth in general, even if fully feathered. If you don't have a brooder, you can set up a basket with a lid, cushioned with a small towel then paper towels, and set half of the basket on a heating pad on low. Half, because if the bird feels too hot, it will scoot over to the cooler end. I have a little temperature humidity battery operated gadget, I set it in there with the bird, the warm side can get about 93 degrees and the cooler side is 78 degrees, when my house is 72 degrees. It works out. Baby birds scoot over to where they are most comfortable. I can monitor their droppings easy on paper towels, too.
Droppings...should not smell bad or be runny, a dark green is best. Gradually as bird improves, the Droppings should improve.
If a bird has respiratory, I do keep penicillin in my refrigerator & have mixed in the handfeed formula, or for older birds in the drinking water. Penicillin is good for lower respiratory (chest rattle) or staph & is a good basic medicine we can still buy reasonably at Tractor Supply. For upper respiratory (mucus from nares or puffed up eyes) I've used Tylan, .25 ml for adult pigeon (estimate .1 or so for squab) injection intramuscular (I find breast muscle is best, find the breast bone & just to either side of it are breast muscles with bone behind them so you can't accidentally stick needle in too deep), or it can also be given orally, but as it tastes nasty you should use oral syringe or mix with baby food to ensure bird gets correct dose. Birds will avoid drinking something that tastes bad, then end up dehydrated.
For canker, usually you'll see stuff that looks like cheese clumps in the mouth and/or throat. I keep powdered Ronidazole or Metronidazole on hand.
You say you just got the 4in1 med. It's a good product, especially when you aren't sure if a bird has canker, or paratyphoid. I have used it for adult Pigeons before, the mix instructions were probably 1 teasp per gal of water...usually folks are dosing several Pigeons in a section, mixing a gallon each day, so that's why dosing instructions are mentioned per gallon. Well, you mix up fresh batches daily...you can mix in a gallon just of distilled water then keep it in the refrigerator & use that for only drinking water as well as mix it with the baby food. It is hard to correctly dose this way, but I've also used a tiny pinch in the handfeed formula. I think you can do whatever way it best for you. Just know that once you mix up something in a gallon jug, the effectiveness of the medication does gradually deteriorate, so maybe you can mix up half or quarter gallon per time? I open the packets & use measuring spoon, then put packets in a zip lock bag to try & preserve freshness.
I don't know what else to suggest, but I know it is darn hard to find a vet that treats birds. And not all birds are the same, as far as giving medicines, how easy or difficult it can be, etc. Fortunately, Pigeons are much more congenial patients than parrots!
I hope this helps.
PS) I've never fed a baby pigeon apple sauce...can you get Kaytee Baby bird hand feeding formula where you are? If not, I know one suggestion that someone did use, they hard boiled some eggs & mushed up the yolks only, mixed with some apple sauce & some Pedialyte. I've never done that but if you can't get baby bird formula, it is worth a try.View attachment 3257345View attachment 3257399
I do use kaytee baby bird formula, and mix apple sauce in occasionally to speed digestion if crop drainage is slow, as well as unflavored Pedialyte.
Crop slowdown seems to have ceased and he is digesting as normal. He is under a heat lamp as well as has a small heat pad below his nesting bowl beneath a towel, substrate is paper towels and Timothy hay. Recently added a perch branch of he would like to be closer to the light, he is surprisingly agile.
Despite having raised song birds in the far past I had forgotten how kaytee takes a minute to thicken, and I think that's what caused the initial crop slow down. I have since rectified this.
There is a sort of cheese like Mass in the mouth but they do have avian pox directly in the area of concern. unfortunately both the wet and dry kind.
I am under the impression that this may just be pox, and I am hoping it lessens sooner than later because it is rather unsightly and blocks a bit of his mouth to the point where he cannot shut his beak and the infected tissue is making it's way into his mouth.
He has a voracious appetite, and despite not having an avian vet, I live in an area where there are a surprising amount of shops that sell pigeons and pigeon products, I discovered this today on an outing.
And those of who I had spoken to told me it was best to hold off of heavy medications because of the trouble with safely dosing young squabs, and I am not pharmaceutically skilled by any means and do not trust myself in properly dosing him.
The single pox on/in his face has begun to get a dark scabbish appearance on one side and I'm hoping this is a good sign (healing to fall off maybe?) I fear that once it is gone though a hole will be left in his face. It really is taking up a lot of the left side, and I know it can't be comfortable. I have attempted to clear some plaque away but he is just so squirmy I don't want to miscalculate and possibly injure him and make things worse.
I will add some pictures of him below, right below his eye has become red and inflamed.
