Pigeon Talk

[Qwerty3159]

Sorry for the poop pictures but can anyone tell me what’s wrong with this pigeon?

He was isolated from the flock at the beginning of the week for sudden onset weakness and green bile-stained feces. I gave him a course of 4 in 1 which returned the droppings to a more normal consistency and color. He was having serious issues picking up seeds and eating them, although he was trying his hardest. Fast forward to the weekend he is a LOT better and more coordinated but definitely still off, I’d say he has 90% of his coordination back. He willingly flew out of the isolation coop yesterday and spent a good while visiting with his mate and doing brief flights around the yard. I’m noticing as his feces returns to normal-ish that it’s quite pale in color. Yesterday he ate a ton of sunflower seeds so by all accounts the poop should be quite dark.

 

[cavemanrich]

Fast forward to the weekend he is a LOT better and more coordinated but definitely still off,

Improvement is always encouraging.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Improvement is always encouraging.

Agreed. He’s still having a bit of trouble picking up seeds in comparison to the others. Still a bit wobbly as well. But definitely still continuing to improves so I can’t complain.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Nothing new to report with my sick guy. He’s still a little off but seems like he’s getting better. I’m almost wondering if I should bring him to a vet, like maybe he was poisoned somehow? He’s eating, drinking, pooping, etc all perfectly normal now but he’s stumbling a bit while walking, and flying but not far. I’ve been putting his hen in with him in the afternoon into the next morning so he doesn’t get too lonely.

Due to him falling ill I had to assume part of the care and feeding of his squabs. These two seemed quite slow to develop (no doubt related to the father’s condition, in my opinion) but they’re finally almost ready to start flying around. At least I got them trap trained before they could fly away!

 

[cavemanrich]

I’m almost wondering if I should bring him to a vet, like maybe he was poisoned somehow?

You do what is your BEST option/choice.
Since you did ask,,, I will offer my opinion.
If your sick pigeon was suffering, and carrying something, contagious,, and it was treatable/curable, YES have him treated so not to infect rest of flock.
From reading your posts,,, seems whatever condition it is,,,,, only affected him.. There is also considerable improvement from before.
Taking him to an Avian Vet,,, may give you a good feeling,,, and a much lighter wallet,, But I don't think they have all the resources, and knowledge to treat every kind of condition. Meaning,,, to cure his sickness,, and bring back to like before.
Just like with people,, not all of us get to live to retirement age, and beyond. We have more access to doctors,, and can communicate what hurts us.
A non speaking bird, is somewhat harder to cure. Just like all the rest of living things on earth, pigeons can come down with sicknesses that are not curable at present time.
I think that by you giving him your best care. he may recover on his own.
As always,,,,,,,, wishing you best

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I’ve taken pigeons to an exotic vet (no avian vets around here) twice now. They’re good for diagnosing things that I can’t figure out, and, fortunately, I can usually treat the issue on my own once I know what it is.

 

[avjudge]

I posted a while ago (last fall/early winter?) about losing 2 of my 8 pigeons, one found dead and one to a hawk. A month or so ago I lost another, my favorite female. (Poor Miraboo has now been widowed twice in 6 months, with no one left to pair up with.) So I’m hatching some babies from my two remaining pairs, starting with one each. Fingers crossed at least one is female!

I checked today and I have the first baby!

 

[Amer]

Meanwhile my male pigeon Biff just attacks everyone indiscriminately…
If he is single he will bully her relentlessly before realizing “ooh you’re a lady?” and will eventually pair with her. After like a week.
If he already has a wife though the abuse to the strange pigeon does not stop.


I have to say that the fact that they managed to train pigeons to recognize male vs. female based on photos is pretty impressive. I think they came to the wrong conclusion. Maybe pigeons know more from visual clues than they think, it’s pretty hard to sex a pigeon based on a photo.

That experiment gives me a very funny mental image.

 

[avjudge]

Who doesn’t love baby pictures? I tossed my pigeons some peanuts and Dad left the nest to indulge, giving me the perfect opportunity. Probably three days old (but I didn’t check until two days ago)…

 

[calicocows]

Who doesn’t love baby pictures? I tossed my pigeons some peanuts and Dad left the nest to indulge, giving me the perfect opportunity. Probably three days old (but I didn’t check until two days ago)…
View attachment 3807662

little squeaker!