Pigeon illness

My beautiful wood pigeon Woody died this morning and i am worried what he had might pass to my others. He seemed fine till last night when i got him in from the aviary she just kept wanting to roost down on the floor when i got him inside i let him out and he just roosted down on my hand for a bit then flew off and roosted on his favorate perch in my house when i went to put him to bed he still kept roosting and was trying to roost on the floor in his cage, i got him to drink then encoraged him to perch on the branch in his cage, he roosted down straight away and was all fluffed up and he kept sneezing. I was extreamly worried and was going to take him to my vets when it opens on monday.

Early this mornig at 6.30 am when i went to check on him he was lying flat on the floor with his head tucked under his body and he was flapping his wings i knew he was dying so i quickly picked him up as he looked very uncomfortable sat him on a soft pillow and clear liquid was coming out of his mouth he couldnt hold up his head, i silightly tilted him to get the rest of the fluid out and layed him down and supported his head then, a few minutes after he was dead.

He was only 6months old i have had him since he was 5 weeks old he had fallen out of his nest and there was no sign of the nest or his parents, he was covered in parasites when i found him and was treated for that. He has allways seemed an odd pigeon thats why i never realesed him he used to fly some times and crash in to the celing like he had no control and over all he acted odd, strange pigeon behaviour, when he was a baby he some how injured his leg ( it was never broken or any thing) and couldnt walk for many weeks but eventually it was fine. He has allways lived with a common female pigeon. He has allways eaten well and was a really good weight when he died.

Does any have any idea what was wrong with him and if it could pass to my others i am going to talk to a vet on monday about it to see what they think.

woody as a baby i hadnt had him long before i took this pic

This is woody with his friend princess out in the snow 2010

I'm so sorry. It's was heartbreaking account to read.

I suspect your sweetheart died from canker. I don't know if you know what that is...

Canker is caused by a single cell parasite that nearly 100%of pigeons and doves carry in their bodies. It is passed from mother to baby via the egg. Often the bird vcan mamage the parasite alright but if there is stress of any kind, the parasite can grow in number causing an out break which we call canker. Stress to a bird may not be stressful at all to us and so we wouldn't notice. Example of stress to a bird...weather change or extreme, mating, courtship, feeding young, etc.
Canker can manifest in different ways. ...one way is yellow crustaions inside the throat and mouth. Another way is internal and so it can't be seen.
Canker is easily treated with metronidazole.
All you birds should be treated as it is easily passed. In the illness section here you can find a lot of information on canker and other illness too.

This is my other pigeon cammy i found him at camden town station as a very young baby he was almost ready to fledge but a few weeks off. He was getting cicked about i couldnt find a nest or parents so i took him home with me on the train. I had to help feed him at first then he got the idea and i gave him the hands off approach. Once old enought and able to fly i realesed him but he wouldnt he steped back on my hand and since then he has lived with me and i love him soooooo much he means the world to me he is like my baby my child he is sooo loved and i couldnt bare to live with out him he is the best thing that has ever happened to me. he is well trained and will fly to you when called, he will come to where you point he knows his name and is box trained etc he is such a smart pigeon and i love him he is called camden as thats where i found him but i often call him cam or cammy. I cant explaine how much i love him but i adore every piece of his body.

Cammy is beautiful., beautiful. I understand that you can't explain how much you love him. Everyone here understands too and so you are without any doubt in the right place.

Here's some information about canker form our illness forum.


Canker is an infectious protozoal disease that affects pigeons, doves and other birds. Most pigeons carry the organism in their crop and gullet; because of this adult birds have some immunity but its effectiveness is stress related.

The organism that causes canker is fragile and cannot survive for long outside the digestive tract and associated areas, but it can survive a day in water at 25 degrees C.

It is spread via water, via seed that has been taken up and dropped by an infected bird and by courtship food exchanges between adults. Parent birds will normally pass on small quantities of trichomonads to their young, giving them gradual exposure to the organism which helps them develop some immunity , but if the parent is stressed or has low immunity it can have an overload of trichomonads which - when passed to the youngster - will cause disease.

Canker can block the oesophagus and the exit from the crop, causing death by starvation and dehydration. Prompt treatment is essential.


SYMPTOMS IN SQUABS

Not all these symptoms will be present in each case. The symptoms appear 6 days after infection.

Visible lump in the neck or navel area.
Stretched skin over site of lesion.
Cheesy growth in mouth or throat.
Patches of baldness around neck and mouth .
Slow blinking
Ruffled feathers
Loose watery droppings
Excessive thirst
Loss of appetite
Loss of weight


SYMPTOMS IN ADULTS

Not all these symptoms will be visible in each patient:

Visible lump in neck or vent
Firm yellow or brown cheesy mass in back of mouth
Soft flat creamy white growths in throat
Inability to swallow seed
Mouth may be partially open
Birds stand upright with head high and neck straight (penguin posture)
Crop full of water
Distortion or swelling of forehead (if sinuses have been invaded)
Vomiting
Increased mucous in the throat

TREATMENT

Do not try to remove the canker lesions, this can cause a fatal bleed.

Adults can be treated with one tablet 10 mg tablet of Spartrix (Carnidazole) daily. A youngster can be treated with half a tablet daily.

Flagyl syrup (metronidazole) can be given either instead of or together with Spartrix. 0.3ml per 100 gms of pigeon bodyweight.

While being treated the pigeon will need supportive care as often they are unable to eat. Provide warmth by using a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel, or an angled lamp with a 40 watt bulb so that they don't have to use what energy they have keeping warm.

Provide rehydrating solution as drinking water. Pedyalite is suitable or you can make your own by mixing 1/2 pint warm water with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 tablespoon of glucose, honey or sugar.

There are products like Poly Aid that can be fed in liquid form and will stop the pigeon from starving while the nodules clear up.

Canker usually clears up quickly, but can take up to 10 days and on rare occasions will damage the beak permanently.

Thank you ever so much i feel so gutted i wish i had done more if only i could turn back time and if i had known more i might have been able to help him.

thank you for you help Matilda its very helpfull

I have heard the name before but never know what it was or any thing about it also i have heard about the yellow in the throat which it doent look like woody had that but as you say it could have been inside.

Now i know i will get my other pigeons treated tomorrow so fingers crossed. Also is there any thing else i should get them treated for? Or get them checked out as i dont want to loose my other babys i couldnt bare it its been hard enough loosin my special little boy woody.

thank you again
rachel

Thank you for that but i hasnt had any of those symptoms he has been eating well and drinking well he has really good body weight all i noticed is that he was roosting alot last night and this morning he was flat at the bottom of the cage dying and leaking lots of clear fluid from his mouth. I will still get my others treated for canker but do you think it could be any thing else?

thanks for all the info

Hi Rachel,
First and foremost, I am so very sorry to hear about your loss.
Secondly,

Your description of the fluid coming from the mouth would indicate to me that the pij might have developed sour crop or was at the beginning stage of it, which would possibly be secondary to canker.

I agree with Charis (Matilda), in that your other birds should be treated for canker.

Thank you cindy i am going to get them treated tomorrow for that, is there any thing else i should get them treated for?

Rachel...I know you feel gutted but you did your best...you didn't know.

I would have the vet check for worms, coccidia [another single cell parasite] and canker.

If the vet should give you Panacure [Fenbendazole] for worms, tell the vet you want something else because it has been toxic to pigeons infact I nearly lost a bird because a vet gave it to one of my rescue pigeons.

Also, many vets and keepers think that a 1 pill spartrix will cure canker...it will not, it takes longer than that.

Cammypigeon wrote:

Thank you for that but i hasnt had any of those symptoms he has been eating well and drinking well he has really good body weight all i noticed is that he was roosting alot last night and this morning he was flat at the bottom of the cage dying and leaking lots of clear fluid from his mouth.

I will still get my others treated for canker but do you think it could be any thing else?

thanks for all the info

There is always the possibility that something else could have been the culprit.
A necropsy would be the only way to truly identify what happened.

Matilda wrote:

Rachel,

I would have the vet check for worms, coccidia [another single cell parasite] and canker.

Rachel...let us know how it goes a the vet's. Try not to worry. It's going to be ok for the others.

I'm so sorry you lost your woody after looking after bringing him up lovingly.
Most of the cases where I rescued a pigeon with those symptoms but they died within hours or even minutes, the culprits were a combination of canker and worms, and secondary sour crop. The effect was fulminating, and in most cases the meds didn't have time to take any effect. So there was nothing you could have done.
Good on you, going to the vets to get advice for your other pigeons, so you can be forewarned and take early action!
Cammy is BEAUTIFUL and I bet he's very happy and really proud of you!

P.S. Great aviary!

Thank you every one for being so helpful and extreamly kind i will keep you informed

I so hope things go well, Rachel. :Yes:

I must extend my sincere apology. I was rereading your thread and discovered I had referenced Cammy as the pigeon who passed away.

I have edited my previous post but I still wanted to apologize for my blunder.

Cammy is absolutely gorgeous. The close up photo is stunning.

Fancyfeathers wrote:

I so hope things go well, Rachel. :Yes:

Cammy is absolutely gorgeous. The close up photo is stunning.

Cammy is such a pretty pigeon! Thank you for sharing pictures.
I hope everything goes well, too.

Thats ok cindy i understood who you ment really : )

Thank you

i went to the vets and have treatment for them it was great fun giving it to them. I have been busy disinfecting everywhere they have been. They both seem ok at the moment so fingerscrossed they will both be fine if they do get ill my vet suggests taking them to a bird specialist so thats what i will do they are just being treated for canker at the moment but once that treatment has finished i am going to worm them and treat the for coccidia.

I just wanted to ask a question about feeding what does everyone feed their pigeons on iv allways feed mine on pigeon 4 seasons mix alittle young bird (especially when they were babys) pigeon conditioning seed, corn, and small amout of wild bird seed, grit and some mineral block broken up in there food also they have a picking pot each.

Am i feeding them right? Also they have access to some grass.

Rachel...to the mix you are feeding you birds, you can add chopped raw peanuts, dried lentils, dried peas, safflower seeds, buckwheat and small amounts od organic brown rice.
Try checking around to see if you can find a pigeon mix that has a protein content, 14% or higher.
I feed my birds a small amount of salad green, minced carrots, sprouts. If you can do that a couple of times a weeks, it would be great. Never avacado as it is toxic to birds.
Your birds also need oyster shell offered separately in small amounts and available all the time.
I'm glad you were pro-active and took your birds to the vet and it sounds like you are on the right track.
I'll be looking for updates.

Cammypigeon wrote:

Thats ok cindy i understood who you ment really : )

Many thanks for the update, Rachel.
Will be thinking positive thoughts that all goes well.

You can also add a little barley to their seed mix.

Please do keep us posted.

I think you will enjoy this thread, Rachel.

https://pij-n-angels.forumotion.net/pigeon-and-dove-chit-chat-f12/what-treats-do-you-give-your-pigeons-t415.htm