Injured pigeon not eating

Dear All,

I called the vet and asked him about antibiotics. I told him that since the poop has some yellowish part, there could be infection.

This time he was more attentive. He told me the bring the bird and injected her a shot of antibiotics. He said a shot would be more effective than oral treatment.

In the mean time our local apothecary contacted the mainland and have them include Metronidazol in his week's shipment. It is going to arrive this afternoon. However, since she is already injected with antibiotics, I am not sure Metronizadole will still be necessary.

A quick question: Do you think I should feed her with meat? I suppose they eat worms in the nature so perhaps she likes it.

Best Wishes.

Great news!

I'm very glad the vet gave her an injectable antibiotic -- it will start acting very fast that way.

The Metronidazole will still be necessary, because whereas the antibiotic is for bacterial infection, it will not fight protozoal infections, which can be even more lethal and often difficult to diagnose for sure until it's too late. The year that just finished is the worst I remember for canker, and many of us here lost several rescues to it, even with very good vet support.

No, no worms! Pigeons don't eat them in the wild, though they occasionally have the odd snail to supplement their protein intake -- but don't give her those either, they can carry dangerous diseases to pigeons. Peas are very rich in protein, and if you are giving her those, she'll be fine. I have a rescue who was handfed mostly thawed peas and sweetcorn for 7 months, and she grew quite big and strong!

Best wishes to you both!

PS. Have you given her a name?

Teresa wrote:

The Metronidazole will still be necessary, because whereas the antibiotic is for bacterial infection, it will not fight protozoal infections, which can be even more lethal and often difficult to diagnose for sure until it's too late. The year that just finished is the worst I remember for canker, and many of us here lost several rescues to it, even with very good vet support.

I understand. The Metronidazole which is coming now is sold under the name of Flagyl. It is in tablet form and each tablet has 500mg metronidazole according to the information on the internet. Can you please tell me how should I give it to the bird?

I weighted the bird today. It weights a mere 80g! What do you think? Is it within normal limits?

Teresa wrote:

No, no worms! Pigeons don't eat them in the wild, though they occasionally have the odd snail to supplement their protein intake -- but don't give her those either, they can carry dangerous diseases to pigeons. Peas are very rich in protein, and if you are giving her those, she'll be fine. I have a rescue who was handfed mostly thawed peas and sweetcorn for 7 months, and she grew quite big and strong!

OK, no worms. I thought birds love to eat worms but apparently it is not true for all birds.

Teresa wrote:

PS. Have you given her a name?

We call her "kader" which means fate in Turkish.

All the Best.

I have made a search on the internet about metronidazole dosage. I come to understand that 80g is just too light for a pigeon. I must have made a mistake in weighting her. We have a local nurse and I used the scale that she uses to weight babies. She was reluctant to put the bird directly on the scale because she was worried that a baby can be infected later. So we put her in a box and weighted (440-460g, she kept moving). We then weighted the empty box (360g). So she is somewhere between 80g and 100g.

Is the metronidazole dosage very sensitive to her weight?

That's right...you will need to weigh her again. You might try putting her in a paper bag to weigh her. Often they don't thrash around as much in a paper bag.

I'm glad she got an antibiotic shot.

I'm suspecting she will need somewhere between 25-40mg of flagyl 1 time a day for 5 days.

Yes, the bag did the trick! It is a very clever idea.

She is 262g.

Now my final question is, is there a practical way of dividing a 500mg tablet down to 25-40mg pieces? Or should I just painstakingly do it?

It's going to be difficult but I would start by breaking the pill into 1/4 pieces and then break that down.
The 25mg would be most appopriate.
The other thing you can do is put it in a liquid and making a suspension. I have instructions for that. I'll go get them.

I'm sorry...I can't find those instructions right now. I have posted them here, somewheere. I can figure it out for you later in the day though.

Found it!


This is a formula for metronidazole:

250 mg. tablet + 10 ml (cc) water (or, syrpalta, grape flavored)

This will be at 25 mg/ml concentration

Example: 250 gram bird - Dose 20 mg/kg (the 20 mg/kg is a set standard for this medicine): Weight is converted to kilograms .25 kg x 20 mg/kg divided by 25 mg/ml equals a dose of 0.2 ml (cc).

I use bottled water, room temp, and refrigerate.. It is extremely important that the pill be pounded into a powder and then put in the water. ALWAYS shake the bottle strongly to get it mixed well, and draw the medicine immediately after shaking.

This is from my vet. Some weights/dosage: 175 grams - .14 cc; 275 grams - .22 cc; 400 grams - .32 cc.

Dear Mathilda,

Thank you very much for the instructions. Actually I have found that dividing the pill is not as difficult as I expected. I made a few small pieces which are about 25-30mg each.

The suspension solution also looks good but I think I will use these small pieces for the time being.

I thank you and Teresa and others who bore with me so far. Your help gave the little girl her second chance!

I have a very important oral exam coming up this monday for my promotion as a tenure faculty member at the university. So I have to work hard nowadays. I would have never made it without your help.

I will inform you about the condition of the bird in the coming days.

I wish a happy new year to all.

Thank you! Happy New year!
Good luck on your exam. I will be hoping for the very best for you little Fate.
We are here if you need us.

Many thanks!

You seem to have it all under control!

Best wishes to Kader (what a lovely name!) and good luck with your exam. We look forward to hearing the good news on both counts!

Welcome to Pigeon Angels, Ghanima.
It's great to have you here.

Many thanks for helping Kader. I hope all goes well with with his recovery.
And wishing you the best of luck with your exams.

Please keep us posted.

How's she doing? Eating on her own yet?

Deal All,

I am sorry to delay in writing back. I have to spend my thursdays teaching all day!

Kader now definitely looks stronger. She moves more in her box. Her poop doesn't have the yellowish part any more but is now a brighter green. Unfortunately I cannot take a picture of the poop until tomorrow because I don't have my phone with me.

As for the eating, she still doesn't eat on her own. I feed her myself two times a day. I hold her close to my chest wrapped in a towel. I open her beak and put the food in her mouth. I found out that if I put the food closer to her throat she eats otherwise she either keeps it in her month or spits it back!

My theory as to why she is not eating on her own is that since she is injured from her neck, maybe she finds it difficult to thrust her head out for food.

As for drinking water, I am not quite sure if she is drinking on her own or not. But when I bring the water to hear beak she sometimes drinks.

Do you have any suggestions or theories about the eating problem?

You are feeding her correctly. If the corn/peas are not put at the back of the mouth, over the throat, the pigeon does tend to spit it out.
Are you able to get 30- 50 pieces down her each time? There is a range in the amount fed, depending upon the size of the bird. If possible, feed 3 times a day if her crop has emptied from the last feeding.
If she is in a closed box or dark environment, she won't eat because she won't be able to see the food. Also, antibiotics can reduce appetite.
My pigeons tend to drink a three of times a day ...in the morning when the wake, early afternoon and just before they roost for the night. If she is drinking, you just may not see her but then if she is in a dark environment, she won't drink.

Dear Mathilda,

Matilda wrote:

Are you able to get 30- 50 pieces down her each time? There is a range in the amount fed, depending upon the size of the bird. If possible, feed 3 times a day if her crop has emptied from the last feeding.

I am able to feed about 25-30 pieces each time. After that she resists and tries to free herself. At that point I put her back because I fear that she will hurt herself. Next time I will try to feel her crop.

Matilda wrote:

If she is in a closed box or dark environment, she won't eat because she won't be able to see the food. Also, antibiotics can reduce appetite.

She is in box but the top of the box is open. She receives daylight from the top of the box because the box is located next to a large window in our living room. Is it still possible that she doesn't see the food? Like perhaps the light coming from above not being good enough?

I also think that maybe she doesn't eat because of stress. Since she is in our living room we are constantly near her. We don't have kids, not even TV, and our living room is usually very quite. But perhaps our occasional talk or our movements still make her nervous. Unfortunately we have a small house and there aren't many places where we can put her. Our kitchen is cold and our bedroom receives very little light.

I doubt it's because she is in your living room.
Pigeons need a deep dish to drink from.
Have you thought of attaching a hand mirror at one of the box so she can see herself? That may keep her form getting depressed and help her improve more quickly.
She does have a serious injury and while birds tend to heal quickly, I think that because of the nature of this one, she just needs some time.
Try the mirror though...could be it will make a difference.

Dear Mathilda,

Matilda wrote:

Pigeons need a deep dish to drink from.

Yes she has a deep dish (about two inches).

Matilda wrote:

Have you thought of attaching a hand mirror at one of the box so she can see herself? That may keep her form getting depressed and help her improve more quickly.

No, I haven't though about that. It is a very interesting idea. I will definitely do it.

One more question: At nights I put a cloth on her box (there are small openings on the box for air circulation). I am hoping she sleeps inside but I doubt it. We usually stay up until late at night in the living room. So, we may be keeping her awake. I fear that not having enough sleep may slow down her healing process. But I don't know what to do. Do you have a suggestion?

Do you have a closet you can put her box into for the night? Or the bathroom?
Do remove the water during the night hours.

Matilda wrote:

Do you have a closet you can put her box into for the night? Or the bathroom?
Do remove the water during the night hours.

We decided that it is best to move her to the bedroom for the time being. The problem with the bedroom was that one of the windows was blocked by furniture and so the room was dark. Now we moved the furniture and opened the window. So, she will have enough light there. And it will be quite.

We have a small bathroom which we use as storage. It is warm and receives plenty of light. In the coming days, we are planning to move the stored goods from this bathroom and give the whole bathroom to the little lady. This way, she won't be confined to a small box and hopefully she will be happier.

But, there is a point which troubles me a great deal. During her first few days with us, she was drinking water when we brought the water to her beak. Each time she drank plentiful like she was very thirsty. But yesterday and today she refused to drink water. Even right after I feed her, she didn't drink. Maybe she drinks when we are not looking but I can't be sure. In any case, isn't she supposed to drink right after eating? What do you think about that? Do the peas and corn that I am feeding her contain enough water for her?

The good news is that she is definitely getting stronger. It is becoming more difficult for me to hold her still when I am feeding. This makes me happy. But the water issue troubles me.

Tomorrow (Sunday) I will be flying for my interview. I will be away for two days. So, I would really appreciate if you can advise me today about the water.

Many thanks for your help.

Hi Ghanima,
As far as telling if Kader is drinking, there should be some 'white' (urates) in her droppings.
The droppings usually have a little 'white cap' on them, which constitutes the urine.

I'm glad to hear she is getting stronger.
You are doing a wonderful job of caring for her.

I agree with what Cindy told you.
There is liquid in the peas and corn and she may very well be drinking when you are watching.
I glad she is stronger.

Dear AZWhitefeather and Matilda,

Thank you for your answers. Her dropping has the white part on top of it. I am attaching a picture of her dropping. I am sorry for the bad quality.

So she gets the water she needs one way or another, either by herself or from what I feed her.

Many Thanks.