Strangely injured feral

Last night, I found an injured squeaker sitting near the side of the freeway under an underpass. It looked like maybe his nest was somewhere on the underside of the underpass.

I wasn't really sure what was wrong with him, but since he was sitting on the ground I knew there had to be some kind of problem. I managed to throw a T-shirt over him and get him indoors.

I let him sit overnight in a box on a heating pad and got a bunch of corn and peas in him this morning. He was pretty weak, and hence cooperative, for this first feeding. There was a significant layer of white flakey material on the bottom of the box, sort of like you see when baby birds start preening the coverings off their feather shafts. I'm hoping that means he's healthy enough to have spent the night preening.

He has a strange sore-like growth on his head and, strangely, it looks like his beak is slightly crooked. His beak also doesn't close completely on one side. Here are a couple of pictures:




Anyway, during his second and third feedings he was pretty fiesty and uncooperative. I have been afraid to hurt his beak by forcing it open, for corn and peas, especially since he was struggling quite a bit. The good news is that we finally became friends tonight when he realized that we had a common goal (getting food into him.) He started sitting on my lap without needing to be wrapped in a T-shirt anymore, and he kept trying to get food from me the way he would from a parent pigeon. I tried to trick him into sucking up some formula, but I couldn't do a good enough mother-pigeon impersonation to make that work. Eventually, we worked out a system where he burrows his beak into my shirt and I start working a piece of corn into the side of his beak that doesn't close all the way. As he opens and closes his beak to squeak, I can work the piece of corn in a little more each time, until he realizes there's food there, then he gobbles it down. This is pretty tedious (for both of us) and he got pretty frustrated several times. I'm just hoping that I'm not causing him pain by rubbing on that side of his beak -- at least it has to hurt less than the original plan, where I tried to pry his beak open and he struggled and twisted his beak free. Anyway, eventualy I got his crop full and put him to bed. Hopefully we'll make more progress on learning how to eat in the morning.

Meanwhile, what do folks think about the strange sore and the croked beak, and what should I be doing to help the little guy?

Jim...do keep him separate from the other baby and wash your hands well after handling this one.
I'll catch up with you later this morning. I have more questions.

Hi Jim,

Many thanks for taking in this sweet baby.
From your description, my first thought is that the little guy might have canker, to some extent. Have you been able to examine the inside of his mouth?
The droppings in the box look good actually.

The sore on top of his head could be the result of being pecked. Does it look like a fresh wound or one that has been established for a while?

Matilda wrote:

Jim...do keep him separate from the other baby and wash your hands well after handling this one..

Yes, I'm being fairly fanatical about making sure the other baby doesn't catch anything.

I can't tell from the picture just what the thing on the head might be. Do you think the babay could have been pecked by an adult? That would be my guess at least...that or forbid...pox.

When Pigeons are this age, their beaks are very soft and harden up when they get older and begin to feed themself.This baby should be self feeding soon. Can he drink on his own?
Do treat for canker, as Cindy suggested.

This poop looks pretty well and beak is not crooked, it is baby beak designed to gobble crop milk. :Yes:
I would guess that weird injury on the head is from pecking as Charis suggested. Good food and rest and s/he will be like new. Spartrix and vitamins and probiotics won’t hurt too.

Thanks Fancyfeathers, plamenh and Charis

The bump on his head might be a pecking injury. It looks like it might have healed a bit since yesterday.

He's trying to eat corn and peas on his own, but he forgets sometimes how to pick up the pieces. He does better with the corn because its flatter and wider and he doesn't have to open his mouth as far to pick up a piece.

He's not drinking water on his own though, which has me a bit worried. He's gotten some water from the peas and corn, and I've been trying to dribble some in his mouth, at the forward tip of his beak. He just shakes his head and throws out the water when I try that, though. He just jerks his head away when I dip the tip of his beak in water . The best I've been able to do is a drop at a time on the side of his beak. Any suggestions would be welcome...

Try splashing your fingers in the water to get his curiosity and then push his head forward until the tip of the beak touches the water.

Poor baby. Yes, I'd say this poor little guy got pecked at some point. The easiest way is to dip his beak into the water. Sometimes, if you come from behind his head with your hand, and place your index finger on one side of his beak, and your thumb on the other side, not tightly, but just so that he can feel you there. Then dip his beak. Sometimes this helps. He will catch on eventually, and at least the peas and corn do give him some moisture. Not enough, but some.

Thanks for the suggestions NiteOwl and Charis. Both ideas got him more interested in the water, but he still didn't drink any. I'll keep working on it. I'm going to see if different temperatures of water make any difference. I'll also try a large "bath bowl" of water and see if that helps.

The good news is that he pretty much knows how to eat corn and peas on his own now. I put them in a shallow bowl of water, so he's at least getting some extra moisture in his mouth each time he picks of a piece of corn or peas.

I'll bet he's never seen water before. It's amazing that he's eating.

jimc2000 wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions NiteOwl and Charis. Both ideas got him more interested in the water, but he still didn't drink any. I'll keep working on it. I'm going to see if different temperatures of water make any difference. I'll also try a large "bath bowl" of water and see if that helps.

The good news is that he pretty much knows how to eat corn and peas on his own now.
I put them in a shallow bowl of water, so he's at least getting some extra moisture in his mouth each time he picks of a piece of corn or peas.

Jim...just checking in...how is the bird doing today?

It sounds like you've got everything well in hand, Jim.
I had the same problems trying to get my squeaker Pippin to drink. NiteOwl and Charis' suggestions are excellent, as well as your idea of keeping the peas and corn very wet, and offering warm water will make it much more appetising for the youngster.
When mine wouldn't drink I got worried and insisted on giving her water with a syringe, but it turned out to be too much water, as her watery poops confirmed. Watch out for any signs of dehydration, but it's possible he may be getting most of the water he needs.

All the best!

The strange bald spot that was originally present on this pigeon never healed, and has actually gotten worse (see the photos below). His right eye also squints most of the time.

He had a very small canker lesion on the roof of his mouth on May 29, 2010 and was treated with 1/2 of a 100 mg Meditrich tablet once a day for three days. He appears to have recovered fully.

Have you wormed him, Jim?

So this is the feral that you had cultured and the result was strep...right?

Matilda wrote:

So this is the feral that you had cultured and the result was strep...right?

Yes -- but the Zosyn injections cured him.

I never would have suspected strep and would have recommend to contiune treat with a medication that never could have cured him. This is a good example has to why having a throat culture done is a good idea, especially with a bird that just doesn't improve.

For the benifit of other members and future readers of this thread, here's an article from the pigeon doctor, Colin Walker.

http://www.auspigeonco.com.au/Articles/stretopigeon.html

Jm, do I remember correctly that this particular strain is one most common to humans? Gives the illness an even odder twist.

I'm glad to hear a diagnosis was made and the treatment plan worked.