Help! My little pigeon is seriously ill!

I gave Sulfac to Comis as you told me! It was written on the medicine that I should put 4,5ml of Sulfac in a litre of water, so I put 0,9ml of Sulfac in the water container of Comis (which contains 200ml of water). The problem is that she was not thirsty and she didn't want to drink... So, I gave her to drink from her water container with a syringe... I gave her about 1 third of the syringe, did I do well? When my other dove Nefeli (which died) suffered from Coccidiosi, the vet had asked me to put a drop of the pure medicine (not disolved in the water) into her mouth. But would that be safe for Comis? Wouldn't it be like an overdose? Because in the instructions of the medicine it is written that it should be mixed with water... What do you think?

Today I weighed both Comis and the baby. Comis is 224gr and the baby 211gr. How much Metronidazole should I give to the baby? I'll start giving Baytril to the parents tonight. The mother Anemoni always makes poops with a VERY bad smell that look like mud, what does that mean? The father sometimes has diarroia and sometimes he makes normal poops... Apart from that they both look fine, they are lively and they are eating well...

As for the baby, it is always with its parents but its parents lost their interest in it and they started mating again! They don't care to feed it anymore... Only its dad remembers it in the evenings... but yesterday he ignored it too... That's why I tried to handfeed it myself... This morning its crop was also empty... It had walked out of its nest and it was lying in a corner... It's parents walked over it as if it was a 'carpet' and they ignored it completely! The poor baby is too quiet and so they don't even turn to look at it... Since you told me that it should be kept warm, I took it out of the cage and I put it on the heating pad... it is still there. Its parents are mating and eating in the other room and they are not even worried for their baby...

As for Comis, she is much more lively today and she doesn't want to stay still, she doesn't sit on the heating pad anymore... She wants to walk around and explore the place...

Here are two photos of Comis exploring the place and the baby lying on the heating pad (which I have covered with kitchen paper) this morning:

If the parents stopped feeding the baby, then it was good for you to intervene.

Irene wrote:

I gave Sulfac to Comis as you told me! It was written on the medicine that I should put 4,5ml of Sulfac in a litre of water, so I put 0,9ml of Sulfac in the water container of Comis (which contains 200ml of water). The problem is that she was not thirsty and she didn't want to drink... So, I gave her to drink from her water container with a syringe... I gave her about 1 third of the syringe, did I do well? When my other dove Nefeli (which died) suffered from Coccidiosi, the vet had asked me to put a drop of the pure medicine (not disolved in the water) into her mouth. But would that be safe for Comis? Wouldn't it be like an overdose? Because in the instructions of the medicine it is written that it should be mixed with water... What do you think?
Yes...that's what you need to do at least for a couple of days until she is drinking on her own. Do not also put it in the water.

Today I weighed both Comis and the baby. Comis is 224gr and the baby 211gr. How much Metronidazole should I give to the baby? I'll start giving Baytril to the parents tonight. The mother Anemoni always makes poops with a VERY bad smell that look like mud, what does that mean? The father sometimes has diarroia and sometimes he makes normal poops... Apart from that they both look fine, they are lively and they are eating well...

Put the baby on 15mg of metronidazole. Give it to her at least 6 hours apart from the baytril. She also needs to be on the nystatin.

As for the baby, it is always with its parents but its parents lost their interest in it and they started mating again! They don't care to feed it anymore... Only its dad remembers it in the evenings... but yesterday he ignored it too... That's why I tried to handfeed it myself... This morning its crop was also empty... It had walked out of its nest and it was lying in a corner... It's parents walked over it as if it was a 'carpet' and they ignored it completely! The poor baby is too quiet and so they don't even turn to look at it... Since you told me that it should be kept warm, I took it out of the cage and I put it on the heating pad... it is still there. Its parents are mating and eating in the other room and they are not even worried for their baby...

At this age parents do separate form the baby to make another nest. They still return to feed the baby let in the nest.As for Comis, she is much more lively today and she doesn't want to stay still, she doesn't sit on the heating pad anymore... She wants to walk around and explore the place...

That's good. I think the extra food may have helped too.
Here are two photos of Comis exploring the place and the baby lying on the heating pad (which I have covered with kitchen paper) this morning:

All of your birds need to be treated with baytril, metronidazole and nystatin. ...the coccidia medicine too.
More later...I don't mean to be short but I I'm getting ready for an appointment.

Matilda wrote:

Irene wrote:

As for the baby, it is always with its parents but its parents lost their interest in it and they started mating again! They don't care to feed it anymore... Only its dad remembers it in the evenings... but yesterday he ignored it too... That's why I tried to handfeed it myself... This morning its crop was also empty... It had walked out of its nest and it was lying in a corner... It's parents walked over it as if it was a 'carpet' and they ignored it completely! The poor baby is too quiet and so they don't even turn to look at it...

Since you told me that it should be kept warm, I took it out of the cage and I put it on the heating pad... it is still there. Its parents are mating and eating in the other room and they are not even worried for their baby...

At this age parents do separate form the baby to make another nest. They still return to feed the baby let in the nest.

I think you did right, Irene.

While it is true that it isn't unusual for the parents to leave on occasion and return to feed their babies at this age, it isn't normal for the parents to walk all over the baby as if it weren't there and completely ignore it.

If you found the baby huddled in a corner, cold and hungry then intervention was justified, IMO.

How is the baby doing now?

Hi to everyone!

The poor baby had an accident...! It fell from the heating pad (which I had put on top of the big cage of its parents) down to the floor! I thank God that there was a dirty towel left on the floor, so the baby fell on the towel and it didn't hurt itself...! It seemed alright, but I was so scared!! After that, I put it back in its nest. Fortunately its parents, who missed it for a while, were happy to see it again and they remembered to feed it! Some hours later, I also fed it some formula with the syringe to strengthen it and then I gave it its Baytril dose. I give it about 2mg (1/16 of the 50mg pill), is that right or should I give it more? (It weighs 211gr). In the morning I will start giving it Metronidazole (15mg) as well. Shall I give it Nystatin and Sulfac as well, and if yes, how much? Shall I give all these medicines also to its parents?

Comis is getting better! She is stanging straight, she is more active, she is eating seeds by herself (but I continue to handfeed her peas as well) and she seems cheerful! Shall I continue giving her Nystatin? Today it was the 6th day since she started taking that medicine... As for Sulfac for Coccidia, from now on I'll give her a drop straight in the mouth, as Charis suggested me. For how many days should I treat her with Sulfac?

It seems like a miracle that both Comis and the baby are still alive considering how many illnesses they have, how dangerous they are and how little and weak both birds are... It seems that real angels are protecting them together with you...

[quote="Irene"]Hi to everyone!

The poor baby had an accident...! It fell from the heating pad (which I had put on top of the big cage of its parents) down to the floor! I thank God that there was a dirty towel left on the floor, so the baby fell on the towel and it didn't hurt itself...! It seemed alright, but I was so scared!! After that, I put it back in its nest. Fortunately its parents, who missed it for a while, were happy to see it again and they remembered to feed it! Some hours later, I also fed it some formula with the syringe to strengthen it and then I gave it its Baytril dose. I give it about 2mg (1/16 of the 50mg pill), is that right or should I give it more? (It weighs 211gr). In the morning I will start giving it Metronidazole (15mg) as well. Shall I give it Nystatin and Sulfac as well, and if yes, how much? Shall I give all these medicines also to its parents?

Yes you can give the baby more baytril than that. I was thinking the baby was much younger and smaller than it is. You can give the baby 8mg of baytril, one time a day.
Yes...do give nystatin. It's a good idea to give nystatin every time you put a bird on antibiotics.
Hold off on the sulfac for right now.
You need to treat the parents and all your birds but you don't want to treat the parents and then have them feed the baby. It's best to give the baytril and metronidazole at least 6 hours apart. This is very important... Is it possible to give mom and dad baytril when it gets dark and then the metronidazole 6 hours later, so they can process the medicine before they feed the baby next time?

Comis is getting better! She is stanging straight, she is more active, she is eating seeds by herself (but I continue to handfeed her peas as well) and she seems cheerful! Shall I continue giving her Nystatin? Today it was the 6th day since she started taking that medicine... As for Sulfac for Coccidia, from now on I'll give her a drop straight in the mouth, as Charis suggested me. For how many days should I treat her with Sulfac?

Give her nystatin for 1 more day.
What do you instructions say about number of days to treat with sulfac? Once she starts to drink on her own, you can put the sulfac in the water without putting a drop down her throat.I
t seems like a miracle that both Comis and the baby are still alive considering how many illnesses they have, how dangerous they are and how little and weak both birds are... It seems that real angels are protecting them together with you...

Time to start looking for wooden eggs.

I'm glad the baby didn't seem to be injured after his tumble, Irene.

It's great that Comis is doing better.

Hi, I 'disappeared' for a while because I've been very busy these days... I wanted to let you know that little Comis is getting better and better! She is now eating and drinking by herself, she is having walks on the floor and she seems fine! The only problem is that she is still lame and she can't fly, but she exercises her wings often and sometimes it seems as if she is about to fly but then she hesitates and she gives up before she even tries... I have stopped giving her Nystatin and now I'm giving her only Sulfac for Coccidia. I put one drop directly into her mouth every day. It is written on the medicine that I should give her the medicine for 5-6 days, should I do that or should I treat her for more days, what do you think?

As for the baby, it is also fine! I give it Baytril every day, but it is really hard because it is very scared of me and it resists too much! For that reason I haven't managed to give it Metronidazole yet... Today is the fifth day that I gave Baytril to the baby, for how many days should I give it this antibiotic? I'm thinking to start giving it Metronidazole as soon as I stop giving it Baytril, in this way I won't disturb it too much...

Meli and Anemoni, the parents of the baby, started caring for it again (after having neglected it for a while...) and now they feed it even at night or early in the morning, so I'm afraid that if I give them medicines they will pass them to the little one and it will be like an overdose for it... Since the parents seem to be fine (eating like pigs, drinking, and mating all the time!), I thought to wait for a few days until the baby grows a little and doesn't need them anymore... Then I can give them the medicines without worrying about the little one...

I must also order some wooden eggs soon, as Charis suggested! Meli and Anemoni are preparing a new nest and their children Orfeas and Kirki laid eggs again! This time they are incubating them, but when I checked the eggs against the light 2 days ago, there was nothing in them, just like the previous times... The other coulple, Arapis and Stachtoboota, are also preparing a nest... In fact, Arapis and Stachtoboota broke one of the eggs of Orfeas and Kirki, and I'm glad that they did it as I always feel too sad to ruin the eggs myself...

A big hug to all of you!

I hope Comis and the baby are doing well!
Wooden eggs are a great idea, at least until the parents have been medicated. In an emergency, you can try something else -- if you have the stomach for it -- which is to remove the eggs as soon as the second one is laid, boil them, then return them to the nest when they're at the right temperature.
Good luck!

...I just did the math and if Irene allows each of her pigeon couples to hatch eggs and their babies to hatch eggs...by the end of 12 months...she will have 108 pigeons in her little apartment.
Oh my...isn't that astounding?! Gives one pause, for sure.

Irene...how is baby and Comis doing? How is the medication schedule going?

Matilda wrote:

...I just did the math and if Irene allows each of her pigeon couples to hatch eggs and their babies to hatch eggs...by the end of 12 months...she will have 108 pigeons in her little apartment.

Oh my...isn't that astounding?! Gives one pause, for sure.

Irene...how is baby and Comis doing? How is the medication schedule going?

That's a lot of pigeons.
Definitely a good reason for everyone to have enough artificial egg to go around.
And even having a few extra wouldn't hurt.

Good Lord! Just thinking about how quickly they add up is astounding!
Wonder how the birds are doing? Wish she would update.

I know Irene is very busy with teaching.... I'm hoping becuae we haven't heard, all is going well.

Well, let's hope so.

My dear wonderful friends!

Here I am again! I've been very busy these days and it's amazing how time flies! You made me laugh with your calculations on how many birds I will have if I let all the eggs hatch... You are right, I have to remove all the eggs otherwise my room will be so full of pigeons that there won't be any space for me! However, I could never boil their eggs, I would have nightmares of the babies being tortured in their eggs because of me... I'll just try to break them... Well... the previous time that I broke a fertile egg, I first made a prayer for it and then I poured its contents in one of the pots of flowers that I have at my window and I covered it with soil. Still, I felt awful...! Aaah... I'm too sensitive and crazy, what can I do?! As for the wooden eggs, I could order them from the internet but I'm afraid that they will get lost and I will never receive them, just like all the other things that people have tried to send me... But I have an idea! Since I'm also an artist, I could make eggs of white clay to replace the real eggs...! What do you think? Would it work?

Now about Comis, she is doing great! She is eating and drinking by herself, she is standing straight and she is in good mood! She has also become very territorial and defensive and when I put my hand in her basket she growls and attacks me! However, she is still lame and she doesn't fly... Perhaps her illness has left her a permanent disability, but could that be? Sometimes she jumps from one place to another, but she can't really fly... She is not even interested in trying! Sometimes she is looking up as if she was thinking to make a move, but then she gives up before she actually does anything...

The baby is also fine! It has grown a lot, it's walking around and it has even started eating seeds by itself! Now I can also see its colour! It's completely black with white patches on its head and at the edges of its wings! It looks exactly like Laithi, it's as if Laithi had come back from the dead!

As for the parents and the other birds, I still haven't given them any medicines for two reasons... First, they resist so much that it is almost impossible to hold them and open their becks... Then they seem so healthy and lively that I'm worried in case I make them ill with the medicines...! My boyfriend scared me by saying to me that antibiotics can cause other infections and that they are very dangerous, etc... He doesn't know anything about pigeons but still he managed to worry me... Are you sure that I should give them medicines even if they seem healthy? Is my boyfriend wrong? (I hope he is!) I'm trembling with fear in case I harm them instead of doing them good...!

Before I finish my message, I also wanted to tell you that I checked the egg of Orfeas and Kirki yesterday as well (which was about one week after they laid it) and it was still empty!! I'm really glad that I won't need to break it...

A very big hug to all of you!

P.S. Here are two photos of Comis in her basket last evening:

What a wonderful update on Comis and the baby, Irene.
I am so glad they are both doing well.

Regarding the medication. Given one baby died and two were very ill at birth or shortly thereafter, it is very likely the parents are carriers of something. What exactly? We have no idea.
Believe me, Irene, I am not one to medicate at will, but in this case if they were my birds I would medicate them.

Bless you for all you are having to go through.

Forgot to add.
Thank you for sharing the pictures of Comis. He's a beauty.
Love him in his basket.

Irene..great news about the improvement of both birds. I was very worried about them both and so I am delighted with your update.

I do think you need to call veterinarians around you and ask for a referral to an avian vet. When you find one, ask if he or she has experience with pigeons. I do think Comis needs to be evaluated. I think we have gotten her through the crisis but my instinct tells me she isn't quite well yet.

I'm happy you enjoyed my calculations about how your flock can grow over the course of a year. I enjoyed making them, although I may have under calculated by a dozen birds or so. I didn't want to frighten you too much.
I can't stress enough how important it is that you replace the eggs with fake ones rather than cracking the eggs and throwing them away. The reason this is important, is because the process of laying eggs, is very hard on a hen's body. She needs the down time of incubation to rest and replenish the calcium in her body. If she doesn't have this rest, lays over and over, she may die. Your idea of making plaster eggs is wonderful and besides...you don't have time to wait for eggs to arrive via the mail.


You say your birds are acting okay. Most people don't understand that sick birds do act okay until they are so sick they can no longer pretend. It 's a natural survival defence ...a sick acting bird in the wild is an easy target for a predator.
Certainly, another possibility is that the mom and dad feel okay but are carriers of canker and bacteria...until you treat them and all the other birds they will continue to re- infect and make the others sick.

Irene...Cindy has just told you it is important to medicate all your birds. Others of us have told you the same ... together we have the collective of over 50 years experience. You need to listen to us. My hope is that you will take our advise so your birds can be healthy and you won't experience the heartache of reliving this experience again and again ... even watching beloved birds die, when it's so avoidable. Since Comis and baby are improving and everyone else acting okay, it may be easy to be lax put off treatment and hope everything will be alright. Please don't fall into this way of thinking.

My love to you and your feathered family.

Irene wrote:

My dear wonderful friends!

Here I am again! I've been very busy these days and it's amazing how time flies! You made me laugh with your calculations on how many birds I will have if I let all the eggs hatch... You are right, I have to remove all the eggs otherwise my room will be so full of pigeons that there won't be any space for me! However, I could never boil their eggs, I would have nightmares of the babies being tortured in their eggs because of me... I'll just try to break them... Well... the previous time that I broke a fertile egg, I first made a prayer for it and then I poured its contents in one of the pots of flowers that I have at my window and I covered it with soil. Still, I felt awful...! Aaah... I'm too sensitive and crazy, what can I do?! As for the wooden eggs, I could order them from the internet but I'm afraid that they will get lost and I will never receive them, just like all the other things that people have tried to send me... But I have an idea! Since I'm also an artist, I could make eggs of white clay to replace the real eggs...! What do you think? Would it work?

Now about Comis, she is doing great! She is eating and drinking by herself, she is standing straight and she is in good mood! She has also become very territorial and defensive and when I put my hand in her basket she growls and attacks me! However, she is still lame and she doesn't fly... Perhaps her illness has left her a permanent disability, but could that be? Sometimes she jumps from one place to another, but she can't really fly... She is not even interested in trying! Sometimes she is looking up as if she was thinking to make a move, but then she gives up before she actually does anything...

The baby is also fine! It has grown a lot, it's walking around and it has even started eating seeds by itself! Now I can also see its colour! It's completely black with white patches on its head and at the edges of its wings! It looks exactly like Laithi, it's as if Laithi had come back from the dead!

As for the parents and the other birds, I still haven't given them any medicines for two reasons... First, they resist so much that it is almost impossible to hold them and open their becks... Then they seem so healthy and lively that I'm worried in case I make them ill with the medicines...! My boyfriend scared me by saying to me that antibiotics can cause other infections and that they are very dangerous, etc... He doesn't know anything about pigeons but still he managed to worry me... Are you sure that I should give them medicines even if they seem healthy? Is my boyfriend wrong? (I hope he is!) I'm trembling with fear in case I harm them instead of doing them good...!

Before I finish my message, I also wanted to tell you that I checked the egg of Orfeas and Kirki yesterday as well (which was about one week after they laid it) and it was still empty!! I'm really glad that I won't need to break it...

A very big hug to all of you!

P.S. Here are two photos of Comis in her basket last evening:

In not medicating the parents and other birds, you are being unfair to any babies that may be born, as they will very likely be sick also. Do you want to put more young ones through this? The medicines are not going to harm them, and are easy to give.
If they are carriers, they wouldn't act sick, or probably even feel sick. They just carry the bacteria that is making the babies sick, and pass it on to them, and to the others. No matter how much they resist, if you hold them on your lap, and against your body, you now have control, and can open their beaks to medicate. I have medicated the most feisty and wildest birds this way with no problem. They need to be medicated, for their sake. The longer you put it off, the worse off things will be. We have all medicated our birds at some time or other, and have not harmed them.

Irene...here's an excerpt form an article on avian illness. It's geared toward parrots but much of the content is applicable to pigeons This is about bacteria.

http://www.santaclarapethospital.com/site/view/171508_AvianInfectiousDiseases.pml;jsessionid=1q8n6qo4iggt0

BACTERIAL INFECTIONS

There are a number of different bacterial infections that birds commonly get. In most cases the birds are probably susceptible to these infections due to underlying problems that have allowed for a large bacterial population to overwhelm their normal immunity, or the birds themselves are already weakened due to stress, poor nutrition, or poor husbandry. A healthy bird on a good diet will only rarely get a bacterial infection. The normal bacterial population on a bird is different from humans, so some of the bacteria that humans normally carry, such as E. Coli, can cause infections in birds. (This is the reason behind the recommendation to not allow a bird to take food from the owner's mouth.) If one considers what an excellent medium for bacterial growth decaying food and fecal matter at room temperature are, it is also easy to appreciate the importance of frequent and thorough cage cleaning and disinfection. Bacterial infections can affect any of the organ systems, yet the most common infections affect the upper respiratory tract or sinuses, the intestinal tract and liver, the urinary tract, the reproductive tract, and the skin and feather follicles.

Upper respiratory tract infections will present with sneezing, nasal discharge, inflamed eyes, and if it also involves the sinuses, there will be swelling of the head around the eyes. These infections can vary from relatively mild conditions that owners will frequently characterize as "colds" to very severe problems where the bird has difficulty eating and breathing and requires hospitalization. Once the bacterial infection is diagnosed and the antibiotic selected by a culture and sensitivity, treatment may vary according to the severity of the infection and which parts of the upper respiratory tract are affected. Simple infections may be treated with oral antibiotics and drops for the nares and eyes. More severe infections involving the sinus will require more aggressive treatment which may include sinus flushes, nebulization, and sometimes surgery. Recurrent sinus infections are particularly difficult to treat and eliminate, much to the frustration of both the owner and the veterinarian.

Infections involving the intestinal tract and/or the liver frequently present as a bird that has lost its appetite, may be vomiting or regurgitating, most commonly has a change in the droppings with diarrhea seen frequently, and may also be quite depressed. These infections can come on quite quickly and be fairly severe in many cases. Contaminated or spoiled food is a likely source of infection for these patients. Bacterial culture and sensitivity of the feces allows for the selection of the right antibiotic, and blood panels will determine the extent and severity of the liver involvement. If caught early and treated aggressively, most patients will respond as long as they are not too debilitated due to other problems. Seriously ill birds will require supportive therapy such as fluids for dehydration, incubation to maintain body temperature, and tube feeding if not eating on their own.

Urinary tract infections can present as a bird that is drinking large amounts of water and who has runny droppings due to all the liquid in the droppings. These birds may also be loosing weight in spite of eating normally. If a urinary tract infection is allowed to persist it may cause permanent kidney damage. Severe kidney damage can be detected with a blood panel and the associated increase in the uric acid level. High uric acid levels can cause problems such as gout which is a severe condition and very difficult to treat. Urinalysis can be done on birds to detect early urinary tract problems, yet is difficult in many cases due to the problem of collecting a sample that is not contaminated extensively with feces. Treatment of mild urinary tract infections is normally straight forward.

Reproductive tract infections are of greatest concern to bird breeders. Most pet birds that are not sexually active or laying eggs will only rarely have a problem. This problem is seen in breeding birds as problems associated with egg laying, the fertility of the eggs, or with neonatal infections. If the infection is detected in the egg or young chick, it can frequently be traced back to the hen. Examination of the eggs, examination of the reproductive tract with endoscopy, and bacterial cultures will allow for a definitive diagnosis. Diagnosis and treatment will frequently correct the problem, yet in some cases the infection has resulted in permanent damage and a loss of fertility where the bird, or breeding pair should be removed from a breeding program.

.

It should be pointed out that the various over-the-counter antibiotics sold by pet stores are almost invariably useless since most bacteria are resistant to them. Since these are most commonly mixed in the drinking water, accurate dosing of the birds is very difficult, and in many cases the medication has a flavor which the bird dislikes, so they drink less water than they should, adding another stress factor to the already sick patient. Antibiotics should be directly administered to the bird either as a oral medication directly into the mouth or crop, or as injections. For most owners it is not that difficult to learn how to give injections, and many times this is the simplest and least stressful way to medicate a bird.

Birds, like all animals, are susceptible to a variety of bacterial, viral, fungal, metabolic and neoplastic diseases. Unlike traditional domestic animals (dogs, cats, cows, horses and so on) that usually act sick when they are, birds try very hard to hide their illness. Although they live in our homes, birds are still essentially wild animals, and an ill or injured bird in the wild would attract the attention of predators. This programming cannot be overridden despite a lack of predator and an intrinsic fear of “becoming lunch”. They often maintain this “I’m okay” attitude until they are critically ill, weak to the point that they do not have the strength to hide disease any longer. As a result, many bird owners need to be aware of small, subtle changes that may signal illness.

http://www.avianexoticanimalhospital.com/documents/IsMyBirdSick.pdf

Aaah... it is so terrible that birds can get so many illnesses so easily and they even pretend to be fine...!! I'm so worried about my birds and I feel so weak and silly... I don't even know how to help them! I'm really lucky and glad that I have your expert advice and help! Ok, I will try to give medicines to all my birds! It's going to be a struggle because they won't like it at all and they will resist very much, but I'll try to do it for their own benefit... I feel very sorry for them for having to go through all that...

Can you remind me again what are the right doses of the medicines for the adult pigeons? Is it 25gr Metronidazole, 10gr Baytril and 0.3ml Nystatin, do I remember well? I must give them Metronidazole in the morning, Baytril in the evening and Nystatin between the two other medicines, right?

This evening I was observing my pigeons to see if I could find any signs of illnesses... I noticed that Anemoni (the mother of Comis and the baby) was lying on the floor of the cage, too quiet... Then I saw some white 'pieces of paper' around her...! I was puzzled because I had not put any paper in her cage... I looked at them better and I realized that they were actually the pieces of a broken egg! The pieces of the shell were so thin and flexible like pieces of paper!! I could bend them and they didn't crack...! I think that Anemoni laid a broken egg or perhaps its shell was so thin that it broke as soon as she touched it with her beak! I really don't know what happened but it's the first time that Anemoni laid such an egg! The same thing (finding very thin pieces of a broken egg) happened also some days ago when I saw a broken egg in the nest of Orfeas and Kirki. I thought that it had been broken by the other couple, Arapis and Cinderella who are in the same cage, but now I'm not sure anymore... So this is the actual situation: Two couples laid eggs which were so fragile that broke immediately! The strange thing is that I didn't find the contents of Anemoni's egg in her cage, so perhaps the egg contained only air... who knows...! What could this mean? Could it be that the birds suffer from a lack of Calcium or is it a clear sign of illness? I had put them a container with gritt but they never ate it... What could I do for them?

I also noticed that some of the birds (Orfeas and Kirki that are incubating their only egg, as well as Meli and Anemoni -the parents of Comis) have diarroia... However, they all eat very well and they have a lot of appetite! In fact, when I took Meli to the vet some weeks ago, she told me that he was fat! But they probably carry diseases as you told me... poor birds...

As for Comis, today I noticed that she has a little hairless patch and thin feathers on her neck under her beak... what is that...??

You need to add calcium to the hens diet, the egg shells are so thin that they break from her wieght. You can purchase a liquid calcuim to add to their water or buy an oyster shell grit, calcium, in a seperate container so the pijjies can eat it when they need to.

We offer the calcuim grit & a red mineral girt, in seperate containers, 24/7.