Another baby bird found today

Found another baby (youngster) today Saw him sometime in the afternoon sitting on a wall and instantly knew something was wrong. Couple of hours went and he just sat there. He didn't have the slightest will to fly as the kids in my apartment saw him and were trying to lift him and scare him :For Shame:

Went down and got him. Have handed him over to Dev again Feel terrible for not being able to keep the bird with me (parents again) and overburdening Dev. He now has 3 pijjies and a kitten in a small house God, i hope he can somehow manage

Here are Dev's observations:

1. No visible signs of any injury. But baby was not willing to fly...so no idea what exactly could be wrong.
2. Checked beak...no mucous or any foul smell.
3. Watery poop (whitish)
4. Crop seems hard (looks like the bird has eaten something which hasn't got digested)
5. Lots and lots of pigeon fleas

Dev is keeping him warm on a hot water bag. He will start feeding him after an hour.
Should we start feeding any meds today like metrodinazole like what we did for Sia?



Thanks all

Hi Priya,
What a sweet little soul.

Given your description of watery, white droppings with no real consistency and hard crop, my thought would be the little one has canker down in his throat (possible far enough down that you are unable to detect it) and therefore only water is getting through.

Could you check with Dev and ask him to give you a description of his keel bone?

Fancyfeathers wrote:

Hi Priya,
What a sweet little soul.

Given your description of watery, white droppings with no real consistency and hard crop, my thought would be the little one has canker down in his throat (possible far enough down that you are unable to detect it) and therefore only water is getting through.

Could you check with Dev and ask him to give you a description of his keel bone?

Oh God, could it be Canker then Will right away check with Dev about this
Thanks Cindy

Cindy could you tell us how to locate the keel bone exactly and what to check in it? Here's a link to the skeletal system of pigeons but we could only locate the Sternum.

http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~jcondit/current/skeletal_system/Skeleton.swf

Also Dev tells me, it's been 2 hours now and it has pooped only once with the same whitish watery discharge.
Here's a pic of the poop

priya wrote:

Fancyfeathers wrote:

Hi Priya,
What a sweet little soul.

Given your description of watery, white droppings with no real consistency and hard crop, my thought would be the little one has canker down in his throat (possible far enough down that you are unable to detect it) and therefore only water is getting through.

Could you check with Dev and ask him to give you a description of his keel bone?

Oh God, could it be Canker then Will right away check with Dev about this
Thanks Cindy

It could be, but that's just a thought, going by the description.

If Dev hasn't already done so, I would suggest isolating this little guy while we try to figure out what's going on.

priya wrote:

* Cindy could you tell us how to locate the keel bone exactly and what to check in it? Here's a link to the skeletal system of pigeons but we could only locate the Sternum.

The keel bone is the breast bone. It runs the length of the underside of the body.
A healthy pigeon should have some 'muscle' on each side of the keel bone. One that hasn't eaten, for whatever reason, will generally have a 'sharp' keel bone.

Two things I check first are the eyes (they should be clear and alert looking) and the keel bone (it should have some muscle on each side).
Your little rescue seems to have very alert eyes.

I'm not a 'poop' expert, but it doesn't appear that your little guy is digesting many, if any, seeds.

Fancyfeathers wrote:

The keel bone is the breast bone. It runs the length of the underside of the body.
A healthy pigeon should have some 'muscle' on each side of the keel bone. One that hasn't eaten, for whatever reason, will generally have a 'sharp' keel bone.

Two things I check first are the eyes (they should be clear and alert looking) and the keel bone (it should have some muscle on each side).
Your little rescue seems to have very alert eyes.

I'm not a 'poop' expert, but it doesn't appear that your little guy is digesting many, if any, seeds.

Thanks Cindy. I just checked the bird now and could feel the breast bone and it had very less muscle on sides The bird has clear and active eyes. But the crop feels more harder than usual

I am just keeping it warm. I will start hydrating quickly.

I think Cindy is right on with her advice.

I would start the metronidazole now. The medicine works fairly quickly and there may be improvement soon.
This bird looks older than the squeaker age to me, at least in the picture.

Gorgeous pidge... with your help he'll be right as rain in now time.

spdevanand wrote:

Fancyfeathers wrote:

The keel bone is the breast bone. It runs the length of the underside of the body.
A healthy pigeon should have some 'muscle' on each side of the keel bone. One that hasn't eaten, for whatever reason, will generally have a 'sharp' keel bone.

Two things I check first are the eyes (they should be clear and alert looking) and the keel bone (it should have some muscle on each side).
Your little rescue seems to have very alert eyes.

I'm not a 'poop' expert, but it doesn't appear that your little guy is digesting many, if any, seeds.

Thanks Cindy. I just checked the bird now and could feel the breast bone and it had very less muscle on sides The bird has clear and active eyes. But the crop feels more harder than usual

* I am just keeping it warm. I will start hydrating quickly.

You are most welcome, Dev.

*

Charis: Thanks for the details. I have metronidazole handy. Will start with it right now. Yeah even we are guessing this bird's age to similar.

AviatorRodent: :) yeah, real sweet bird. Just hoping everything goes well with it.

I just hydrated (water mixed with glucose and little salt) the bird, he / she was interested in accepting it. Continuing to keep it warm and will hydrate it after 3 hours.

We lost the baby Terribly heart broken Don't know what was wrong Dev had just taken it out to feed it metronidazole when he noticed the legs getting stiffer...he held it and it just closed its eyes

I am not able to take it...this hurts so much I feel so terrible..the baby seemed so active....i don't know if it would have helped if i had taken it earlier. Surrounded by cruel and heartless people around makes me sick

Oh, Priya, I'm soo sorry... It is so very hard to take when they don't make it...
Sometimes things are just not in our control.
You and Dev are so caring and did right by the little one.
Please take comfort in that because of you, s/he had
a place of safety and love from which to fly
over the rainbow bridge.
Best wishes,
Carol

As Carol said, sometime is too late to help Priya. Trichomonas excrete poisonous substances and when their number becomes to great, internal bird's organs stop working. This and starvetion reduces chances for recovery from one point onwards.
You and Dev did best what you could.
We can't change the past, but we can change the future.

I'm very sorry.

I am so very sorry, Priya and Dev.

"Bless you sweet little one. May you spread your wings and forever fly free"

I'm so sorry your little rescue didn't make it!
I can understand your sadness and feeling of impotence when you've done everything you knew and could, and it still isn't enough. Sadly that happens sometimes, and all we can do is keep trying to help those that need us.
Your help made a big difference for that little pigeon, provided him with gentle care, warmth and comfort, and allowed him to depart in peace. He will be smiling down upon you.

Thank you all for your kind words. Since the time me and Dev started we have lost 5 pigeons. We felt the same pain and suffering each time watching helplessly but we could somehow console ourselves after sometime, telling ourselves that they were very sick and probably death was a better option for them than to be alive with the pain. Also the poor birds looked so terrible that you could actually see the sickness and pain.

But i am unable to come to terms with the loss of this poor bird I don't know...we somehow were so sure this would live It didn't look that bad but we knew it was in deep pain and was suffering from some serious problem because it was totally reluctant to fly The other birds, even tough they looked so ill, would at least try to flap their wings and escape, but this one just sat

Also i am feeling very terrible because i was unable to take it in earlier I just watched helplessly the poor thing just sitting there...i so badly wanted to get it home and keep it safe and calm till Dev arrived, but couldn't do so because of my personal problems. The kids in my apartment crowded around it and some were lifting it. At one point when i saw one 'monster' throw it off the fall, that's when i decided to rush down and keep it with me, even if it meant me having to wait for Dev on the street.

I can imagine how much the poor bird would have suffered...more than its illness, i feel it underwent a lot of stress and pain because of we humans Imagine what it would have gone through to see a crowd of people gather around it, trying to touch it, throw it around and it couldn't even escape

My heart is in a lot of pain I am sorry

Priya I had no idea that the poor pij was being tormented by people

I am continually reminded and saddened that so many of our fellow humans act so heartlessly toward the creatures that share our lives.

I believe this is a lack of understanding that all creatures want & feel the same way we do... just differently and that they have to learn or be shown this. The best way is with the children, have you & Dev ever thought about possiblyvisiting a school with a healthy pigeon and show children how wonderful these birds are?

I know this takes alot of work and it's only a suggestion.

priya wrote:

I can imagine how much the poor bird would have suffered...more than its illness, i feel it underwent a lot of stress and pain because of we humans Imagine what it would have gone through to see a crowd of people gather around it, trying to touch it, throw it around and it couldn't even escape

Hi Priya,
Interestingly, I ususally start my replies from the top of the page, but for some reason this morning I started at the bottom, posting in your Rainbow Bridge thread first, mentioning a little about us humans.

Sadly your little rescue did experience some attention from mean spirited humans , but his last interaction with a human was that of kindness and love. And that is what I always try to remember.
It certainly doesn't remove the pain of the loss, but for me, it helps me to accept it.

I feel these little guys know when it's time to move on, and each one hopes to find that gentle touch of a human before they do.
We are abel to provide that.

I am deeply saddened over what the poor little bird went through and I'm deeply saddened over the crushing pain you and Dev feel now. The pain is the burden of having a kind a gentle heart and the understanding the suffering of other creatures.
You and Dev are so fortunate to be blessed with a kind heart rather than a heart that is hard. Without kind hearts, the world has no future.
For me, realization that I am responsible for innocents, that are unable to be responsible for themselves, is one of my burdens. It's a burden well shared here.
Robin's signature couldn't say it better.

Very true Charis and Cindy The responsibility of having to care for these poor beings is huge and when something happens, it is a huge personal loss and the grief and guilt is tremendous Having to share it with you all gives us comfort and knowing that angel is in safe hands now makes us feel a lot better. She was in a lot of pain, but all is over now and she is free and safe

Robin, that's a great suggestion...will try and see if any schools here would allow us to talk to the kids. I have tried educating the kids in my apartment every time but i feel it's no use
Even when Ginger was around with Lucky , they used to torment the poor mother and kitten, at first i tried explaining, when it didn't work, shouted...but no use. Finally had to get Lucky home and what happened to Ginger well that's another sad story...

I have told the kids to inform me at once whenever they spot any wounded or sick pigeon. They tell me they will but the moment they see one, they start harassing the poor things I don't know but at the rate things are heading, if i ever see this happen again, i am afraid, i might knock a few heads down