Sick Pigeons Please help

Hiya,
I joined this forum a while ago when I rescued an unfledged pigeon which had landed in my garden, some of you may remember...
I am now very concerned about the pigeons in my area, I have found 2 dead ones very recently and yesterday caught a sick one, put it in a box kept it warm but within the hour it had passed away....today I can see one having difficulty flying on to my bird table....I think poison can be ruled out as all others birds seem fit and healthly...can I also add that all the birds I have found look perfectly healthy, no sign of injury at all....I have spoken to my neighbour who is also finding dead ones in and around the area (he is the local farmer)
I have had a look around the forum but cant see any post relating to this being a problem for anyone else...
Any help would be very much appreciated, I am very concerned...

While I don't know about Pigeons turning up dead in the UK, I hope others will respond that live near you. Are these Wood Pigeons or ferals?

Thanks Matilda....ohhh have i posted in the wrong section...i am sorry
They are all wood pigeons...

I've emailed Cynthia and asked her to comment. She shoule be along shortly.
I'm so sorry this is happening.

Squid wrote:

Thanks Matilda....ohhh have i posted in the wrong section...i am sorry
They are all wood pigeons...

Hi Squid,
You're fine where you posted. We might have added the Wood pigeon forum since you last visited.
I can get your thread moved, no worries.

The main thing is, the situation at hand. I'm so sorry to hear about the pigeons.

Could you give us your general UK location? It's possible one of our other UK members is nearby you and may be able to assist you in sorting out this sad situation.

Hiya and thank you, i have since phoned defra who say they are vermin and they are not interested unless i have found 10 or more dead in my garden in one day....i am disgusted...my neighbour is out all day so i cant ask him how many he has found exactly, but i will do tonight...
defra have made me feel stupid, he said he could walk down the street and see 3 dead ones in one day? is my concern really that pathetic? I mean what is it with us humans ? are we so self centred we no longer care for our lovely wildlife? God, i am so angry....
matilda & fancy feathers, thanks I am in between reigate and dorking in the southeast uk

Squid wrote:

Hiya and thank you, i have since phoned defra who say they are vermin and they are not interested unless i have found 10 or more dead in my garden in one day....i am disgusted...my neighbour is out all day so i cant ask him how many he has found exactly, but i will do tonight...
defra have made me feel stupid, he said he could walk down the street and see 3 dead ones in one day? is my concern really that pathetic? I mean what is it with us humans ? are we so self centred we no longer care for our lovely wildlife? God, i am so angry....matilda & fancy feathers, thanks I am in between reigate and dorking in th
ide southeast uk

You are not stupid, rather the ignorant person that trioed to make you feel that way. Don't buy into that control for one second. Being angry is very healthy. It's a horrible situation.
Those poor birds.

Squid wrote:

Hiya and thank you, i have since phoned defra who say they are vermin and they are not interested unless i have found 10 or more dead in my garden in one day....i am disgusted...my neighbour is out all day so i cant ask him how many he has found exactly, but i will do tonight...
defra have made me feel stupid, he said he could walk down the street and see 3 dead ones in one day?

* is my concern really that pathetic?

** I mean what is it with us humans ? are we so self centred we no longer care for our lovely wildlife?

*** God, i am so angry....
matilda & fancy feathers, thanks

**** I am in between reigate and dorking in the southeast uk

Appreciate the update, Squid.
I'm sorry you were met with such a negative attitude with defra.

* Absolutely not.

** That's an excellent point.

*** And rightfully so. It's so incredibly exasperating sometimes.

**** This is good to know. If you're comfortable doing so, you might want to update your profile in the event something comes up so we can expedite with helping you.

Please do keep us posted on how things are going.

I would not rule the poison out, poisoned corn is too big for other birds to swallow but not for pigeons.
If you find another bird unable to fly, give liquid calcium, lot of fluids and/or egg white with syringe.

Thank you, would the calcivet i use for my parrots be ok? and probably the same dosage as they are pretty much the same size in general?
Sorry, i meant to say, i also keep special charcoal which is give to to parrots who may have been poisoned by zinc or other toxins....would this be safe aswell?

Activated charcoal from health store will work well if it is poison.
I know that it can be bit much to ask, but opening crop of dead bird may be good way to determine what is the cause of death (corn, pellets etc.). Some strains of canker are deadly too without visual throat build up.

Thank you plamenh for your responce.

Sorry Squid...I emailed Cynthia ages ago and I don't know why she hasn't responded but I'm sure she will.

Your input is much appreciated, plamenh.

Well thank you, Cynthia for responding. I feel quite foolish now that the topic had beed responded to.

That's very frightening, Cynthia.

Anticoagulant rodenticides are poisons used to kill rats. Rodenticide means rodent killer. An anticoagulant is a blood thinner.

Symptoms

• Blood in the poop
  Bruising and bleeding under the skin
  Confusion, lethargy, or altered mental status from bleeding in the brain
  Low blood pressure
  Nosebleed
  Shock
  Vomiting blood

Actions to be taken:

• Emptying crop - milking crop
  Activated charcoal - with water in the crop or in tablet form
  Vitamin K – Vitamin K is absolutely necessary after rodent bait ingestion. Vitamin K will restore the bloods ability to clot. Many times an injection is given first then followed up with capsules to give at home, this is usually needed for several weeks.

Great post, plamenh.

First and foremost: I am not condoning the killing of any being, rather find it interesting a product used to kill rodents is also used to save many human lives.

Coumadin (Warafrin) is a popular anticoagulant used by many people. It is also used as rat poison.
This is an interesting piece on how it came to be.
The story of Coumadin

Fascinating article, Cindy. Thanks for finding it and posting it.