ANOTHER NEW RESCUE

Went outside at dusk to check on my ferals, making sure everyone is home at roost.

When I looked to the watering pans there was a bird lying down in one of the pans. :eek:

I was able to pick the bird right up....no resistance. When I picked up the bird I got a gush of fluid coming out of the mouth. When I pressed on the crop, more and more liquid came out of this bird. Opened his beak........he is loaded with canker His breath is foul

I brought him in and gave him 50mg Flagyl. His throat is not blocked and he was able to swallow which is a good sign I have him secured for the night, on the heating pad. I did not attempt to give him any hydration or food. His crop was overloaded with fluid and I think it best to let him rest for the rest of the night.

In the morning, I will give him a Spartrix tablet and attempt to give a small amount of Kaytee. I haven't seen any poops yet, but I might start him on Cipro as well in the morning.

I've lost so many this summer to canker. This is an adult bird, seems to be in better shape than most I have rescued. I really hope and pray this bird has a chance to survive.


Louise

I would have done exactly the same Louise. Poor bird.
I really hope this one turns out to be a survivor. You have had so many casualties to canker this summer. I hate canker almost more than any of the other pigeon diseases.

Poor bird glad you found him.
Will have him in my prayers.

I'm sorry to hear about your most recent rescue, Louise.
How's he doing this morning?

Were you going to see about getting him in to see Dr. Hauck this morning?

Matilda wrote:

I would have done exactly the same Louise. Poor bird.
I really hope this one turns out to be a survivor. You have had so many casualties to canker this summer. I hate canker almost more than any of the other pigeon diseases.

Seems as though canker is the leading problem with feral pigeons If the canker doesn't get them than it brings them so down that another problem sets in.

Louise I so hope that you got this poor pij in time, sending healing vibes & prayers.

Robin...how's the bird this morning?

Charis..........Why are you calling me Robin??? You did so last night as well. It's me Charis, LOUISE!!!

The new rescue seems stronger and more alert this morning. The canker in the mouth looks unchanged from last night.

I managed to get 10cc of watery Kaytee into the bird........no problem swallowing. Administered Spartrix and 0.3ml Cipro.

This bird only did 2 tiny little poops overnight. I am a bit concerned as after feeding this morning I observed the bird back up, squat and attempt to poop but nothing was expelled.
I've checked the vent area, there is no blockage and I don't feel any presence of an egg. I want to see if the Kaytee given this morning passes through the system.

In any case.........I have an appointment with Dr. Hauck at 3:30PM this afternoon. Will address my concerns with him and get his expert opinion.

I will also be taking Little Feathered Feet in for her final check-up.

I'll update later.

Louise

Jackie's Mom wrote:

Charis..........Why are you calling me Robin??? You did so last night as well. It's me Charis, LOUISE!!!

The new rescue seems stronger and more alert this morning. The canker in the mouth looks unchanged from last night.

I managed to get 10cc of watery Kaytee into the bird........no problem swallowing. Administered Spartrix and 0.3ml Cipro.

This bird only did 2 tiny little poops overnight. I am a bit concerned as after feeding this morning I observed the bird back up, squat and attempt to poop but nothing was expelled.
I've checked the vent area, there is no blockage and I don't feel any presence of an egg. I want to see if the Kaytee given this morning passes through the system.

In any case.........I have an appointment with Dr. Hauck at 3:30PM this afternoon. Will address my concerns with him and get his expert opinion.

I will also be taking Little Feathered Feet in for her final check-up.

I'll update later.

Louise

I know that...senior moment, I guess! ...sorry


Back to the bird...try the applesauce. Nystatin wouldn't hurt either.

With both of us having pigeons with canker at the same time I'm not surprised Charis has us mixed up Louise!

Good to hear that the pij is looking better & you are able to get some kaytee into it. Maybe it hasn't pooped much because like you said when you first picked it up all the water the pij drank came gushing out and it didn't have anything until this morning to expel.

Please let us know what Dr.Hauck has to say about this pijjie & little Feather Feet.

Bird is pooping Very large sploches of white urates mixed with green slime.

The bird is acting so much better, she actually flew from the ktchen counter up to the top of the fridgerator. I really think I caught this one in time

I will give her some more Kaytee mixed with baby applesauce and yogurt around noon.

Charis...........no problem.........I understand.........I'm confused all the time about what day of the week it is.


Louise

I'm worried

This bird has not pooped since the one sploch this morning. I don't think anything is moving through her system.

When I went to feed her again at noon, when I felt the crop, liquid came gushing out of the mouth again. The crop feels swollen with air. She is gasping somewhat. I gave her a dose of Nystatin.

I can't get over to Dr. Hauck soon enough. They are squeasing me in today, but I think I am going to go a little earlier.

Louise

Poor thing!
I'm keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers.

I just returned from Dr. Hauck.

There are not enough words to describe how much I hate this disease called canker.

This post will be long, but I feel it is important for future reference and learning by all.

The birds condition is critical ............Dr. Hauck feels there is a canker obstruction in the lower crop where it empties into the digestive tract. This is the reason for the lack of poops. There is residual fluid from the last feeding gushing from the mouth when the crop is massaged

The prognosis for this type of canker is almost always fatal However, Dr. Hacuk wants to give this bird a chance. He feels the bird has sufficient remaining strength and body resources to survive if the medication will work as intended.

Dr. Hauck said that the Spartrix I gave this morning takes 2 to 3 days to show any sufficant signs of improvement. If the bird survives the next three days, but has continued to go downhill, I am instructed to bring the bird back to be euthanized.

The following is Dr. Hauck's treatment plan to give this bird the best chance of survival.

I am to administer Flagyl aggressively.........30mg BID

I am to administer 0.3 cc Nystatin TID

I am to feed max 10cc per feeding...... very liquid Kaytee prepared with papaya juice (not water). Papaya juice has a greater acidic value than applesauce. Prior to each feeding I am to extract any fluid by massaging the crop. The objective here is to prevent sour crop from forming while waiting for the obstruction to clear allowing foods to pass.

I need all the positve, thoughts, prayers and energy all my fellow can muster. I can not bear the thought of loosing another bird to this dreadful disease.

Louise

I didn't know that about papaya juice and that's some good information.

My experience is that the metronidazole does work much quicker than spartrix.

Prayers and

I wish the best for you and your little rescue, Louise.
You can better believe I will think, and send your way, all the positive thoughts I can muster.

Bless you both.

Louise... I can understand your pain and frustration, even as I'm watching Arislan sliding downhill in just the same way. He's not critical yet, but the signs are there.
I cannot thank you enough for all the advice from Dr. Hauck that you posted to help the rest of us help our rescues. So much there I didn't know, like the aggressive dosage for birds in grave risk. I'm going to follow his advice for Arislan, halving the amounts because of his age and weight. If he makes it, it will be mostly thanks to you.

I wish with all my heart that your little one will see this through and win the battle for life. My thoughts and prayers are with you both.

Louise thank you for all the important information that the good Dr. Hauck gave you, I for one can never learn too much.

I also will sending healing prayers to this poor pigeon, may the angel of light help this pij fight this terrible disease!

Sending healing wishes and a speedy recover to the poor baby she is undergoing a lot. Thanks Louise for posting the treatment details.
Teresa, will have your baby too in my prayers. Hope both the birds see it through this dreaded disease

I extracted more fluid from her crop last night before going to bed.

Upon waking this morning I noticed that she have vomited 2 times during the night. She did pass 2 very small poops (the size of peas) during the night. There was no residual fluid in the crop this morning...........I assume because she vomited everything.

She does not seem any weaker, about the same.

I am very worried. Between extracting fluid and now her vomiting I don't know if her system is even absorbing any of the meds.

I am going to just give her the papaya juice without any Kaytee this moring. I want to see if she can keep her meds down.

Will update later.

Louise

Poor pijjie Still sending healing vibes & prayers your way

praying for her speedy recovery

Louise...I really think she has a good chance. It's good that she's strong because she can go a few days without food as long as she can keep the juice down.
If need be, you can give her smaller amounts of juice, gradually increasing the amount with each feeding.

She is soooooooo thirsty.

I gave her the morning meds and she couldn't wait to get to the papaya juice. She drank her juice on her own from a little cup. I actually had to take it away from her, I didn't want her to overload her crop with fluid.

Will wait till lunch time to give 2nd dose of Nystatin and see if she has absorbed any of the juice.

I really hope she is getting the medications into her system.

Louise

I hope she is absorbing the meds too. The next 24 hours will be tellng, I suspect.