Momma pigeon with diarrhea

[knowvagale]

I've had a mated pair of pigeons since February that just hatched out their first brood about two weeks ago. The babies look great, parents are a little worn down but seem to be holding up, but my female, Irene, has a little bit of diarrhea. She had this once before, right around the time she laid the eggs, but it cleared up completely on its own. Now it's been going on for about a week, and seems to have gotten a bit better but her stool is definitely not quite back to normal. Other than that she's eating, drinking, feeding the babies, acting just fine, but it's starting to worry me. Something to take into consideration is that she was eating a lot of grit, all the time, for a little while, just going at it like it was her normal feed. I took the grit out after that because I had heard that eating too much grit can cause digestive issues in pigeons. Another thing is, I left town for a couple of days about a week ago, and I gave them enough food and water to hold them over until I got back, but they ended up running out of water by the time I got back because I failed to take into account how much more they drink when they're raising kids. So, yeah, wondering I should get her some medication and what kind to look for, I guess. Also, unrelated, but how much should I be feeding them? Before the babies came along, when it was just mom and dad, I was giving 4 tablespoons a day, (2 per bird) but now they'll eat an absolute ton, I'm giving about 8 or 9 tablespoons. Are the squabs really eating as much per day as full grown birds? Wild. Anyway, thanks for answering my newbie questions!

 

[sourland]

When birds are feeding squabs, I provide feed ad lib - removing in the evening. I would give her grit daily but in controlled amounts. 2 tablespoons /day is a maintenance diet. That's what I fed my flying/performing birds.

 

[knowvagale]

When birds are feeding squabs, I provide feed ad lib - removing in the evening. I would give her grit daily but in controlled amounts. 2 tablespoons /day is a maintenance diet. That's what I fed my flying/performing birds.

Thanks! About how much grit per day would you recommend?

 

[sourland]

Thanks! About how much grit per day would you recommend?

Try as much as she would eat in 10 minutes or so. If she appears to be overly gorging provide grit for shorter periods of time.

 

[knowvagale]

Momma's still having tummy trouble--any suggestions?

 

[Pigeon28]

I have 5 hens on eggs and they are all having diarrhea and soft poops but I was told that hens on eggs/nests will have nasty poops just due to them being on the nest overnight. Not sure if this is actually the case but besides the diarrhea are you having any other issues? My birds all look fine besides the droppings , so may be nothing to worry about unless you are having other issues along with poop issue.

 

[knowvagale]

No, everything's perfectly normal other than the droppings. The eggs did hatch a few weeks ago though, so she isn't really sitting on the nest anymore. I'm just going to continue monitoring her, I'll take her to the vet if she starts showing other signs of illness.

 

[pheyman333]

I have the same issue, my pigeons are both feeding their babies and both parents have diarrhea all the time. Otherwise normal behavior. Any thoughts, please?

 

[Qwerty3159]

I have the same issue, my pigeons are both feeding their babies and both parents have diarrhea all the time. Otherwise normal behavior. Any thoughts, please?

I’ve seen this happen before but it should clear up. When it’s hot, I notice my breeding birds pump themselves and the squabs full of water and have occasional bouts of diarrhea. The poop looks normal but very watery, and the pigeons that aren’t on nests don’t do this.

If the diarrhea is very discolored such as very dark or very green I would be concerned. Feel free to post a photo, its hard to diagnose a specific ailment from a photo but it should be easier to diagnose normalish droppings