Hi dear Pigeon Angels,
haven't been around for some time due to several cases of sickness. First our Emma got sick but has fully recovered again, then while Emma was still on recovery inside the Noro virus knocked me down totally, we had to fight off a whole pigeon mob outside on our balcony (that's another story) and finally Lucky, Emma's mate got very sick with canker from all the stress he had with Emma being sick, the chaos on our balcony and additionally a dramatic drop of temperatures outside with heavy rain etc.
Here is an update on what happened:
8.10. It is cold outside and there are still some hardcores like Charly and QuakQuak who try to sneak inside but I cannot allow this any more as we would probably have the same situation as before. For the sake of Emma's and Lucky's peace I cannot do this. It is hard but I do not want Emma to become sick again.
9.10. Weather is cold and unfriendly. Pina went out nevertheless - brave little girl.
Lucky is not feeling well. I think as a result of the stress with our pigeon mob and the cold and wet weather he has a light respiratory infection - so it looks. I watched him "caughing" several times today and breathing through a slightly open beak - but not constantly. He still seems to be in a quite good mood, was flying around with Emily several times, was eating but not very much. I put him on Spartrix to prevent any outbreak of canker - whether he needs antibiotics we will see tomorrow. I don't want to medicate him yet with antibiotics other than Spartrix. His voice was very subdued today. Poor Lucky - I hope he is better tomorrow. I will watch him closely. His weight was a bit low - 330 gr - I have to watch this also.
Pina started to get off her nest now and then. Gave her a portion of Calcivet today and a small portion of Bene Bac - the remnants from Emily's treatment. Could not hurt....
10.10. The weather is simply awful - cold, rainy and Lucky is still caughing. I have to take him in tonight so that he gets some warmth. Gave him another Spartrix and decided to put him on Baytril course in the morning.
11.10. Lucky still has big problems to breathe and has some mucous (clear) in his mouth - he is really sick. I left him out because Emily was crying for him all the time and I was so worried that she might become sick again. The weather was quite mild so I thought it would be better for him - psychologically. But this was a mistake, a big mistake. I should have known better!!!
When I tried to catch him in the evening he flew away and spend the night outside. This was really not good. I should have known that these birds are not clever enough to know when something is really bad for them. At least he had his medication.
Oh my - this was really getting complicated. I really didn't want Emma to become sick again. And I could not leave both inside because of Pina and Rudi - they are getting nuts when other pigeons are inside - they are afraid of losing their home. You should have seen Pina and the fits she got during the time Emma was inside. She bit me all the time and attacked my feet whenever I walked near her. She absolutely felt betrayed. Poor girl. It's not her fault.
12.10. Lucky is really sick now and I am very worried. There is a large canker nodule in the middle of his trachea which makes it very difficult for him to breathe. I deeply hope that the Spartrix is working soon and kills this abominable parasite. I feel very sorry for him. When he came in in the morning that was it - I put him immediately in a hospital box and put a warm water bottle beneath the box.
He is on Spartrix #4 and Baytril #3. In the evening his condition became worse and I started to really fear for his life. He was caughing all the time, trying to get rid of that lump in his trachea. I decided to try to get hold of the darn thing with a disinfected tweezers but did not succeed besides putting the poor bird even more under stress. What a poop birthday this was for me.
13.10. This morning I weighed Lucky - he has lost some more weight: now on 310 gr. Not too worrying yet but not good either. No change in his condition - he was caughing terribly.
14.10. I am very worried about Lucky as he is still fighting very much to get rid of that nodule in his trachea which blocks his breathing. I am so sad that he is suffering so much. Teresa recommended to give him Flagyl instead of the Spartrix. So I gave him the first portion of Flagyl today because the Spartrix apparently wasn't enough to solve the problem. I don't know what to do any more. He is caughing and wheezing all the time and breathing still with an open beak. Yesterday it looked like as if it was going better but today the poor bird was fighting terribly again. Even feeding him peas did not work. He hardly got any air - so I stopped and tubefed him again. It is awful.
This evening he was so miserable that I decided to try to remove at least part of that lump in his trachea with a disinfected tweezers and a large needle. I managed to remove at least part of the lump without any bleeding. He is still breathing heavily but has stopped caughing all the time. What a stress for the poor bird. He breathes a bit more calm now but still with an open beak. I hope he will find some sleep tonight. The bird really needs some relaxing. Will be a disturbing night again. I really don't know what to do any more besides praying and hoping.
15.10. Early in the morning I decided to undertake a second little "operation" after the poor bird had a terrible night again where I had the feeling he would not make it much longer. Either he would suffocate or his little heart would not be able to bear this stress any more. I had to do something even with the risk of some bleeding. Every hour when I checked on him it was the same picture: his back was bent like that of a cat to make it a bit easier for himself to breathe and cramps from the caughing going through the whole body. How can a bird hang on through this?
We did the same thing as yesterday - with a desinfected needle I was able to remove the largest lump in his trachea - it came off and Lucky stopped caughing - HE COULD BREATHE AGAIN AND HIS TRACHEA SEEMED TO BE FREE - at least free from larger lumps. You should have seen the change of his look after a few minutes: from total panicking he suddenly looked relaxed and nearly happy.
The rest was clear. We tubefed him, he got his Baytril and finally he could perch and get some rest. This afternoon I gave him his second portion of Flagyl. He even grumbled a bit when I took him out of his box. What a bird and fighter!!! Imagine - he hasn't really slept since last Sunday, all his energy went into trying to get some air. Thank heaven we managed that he did not lose much more weight because this would have been even worse.
This was truly the worst case of canker I have faced with a bird. And the most resistant. Tomorrow I will give him the last Baytril and then start with the probiotics and calcium.
Poor Emma has to hold on still - alone on the balcony. If things go well now, she might have her Lucky back by the end of next week if it is dry outside.
I think tonight we both, Lucky and me can sleep happily again, knowing that the worst is over. Oh my - what a terrible week.
Here are some pics: one is one of the canker nodules that I pulled out of his trachea and the other one is Lucky after the final "operation":
16.10. I weighed Lucky today: he is on 303 gr - so he lost a little bit more but not too much - a good start for a recovery. Today he received his last Baytril #7 and Flagyl #3. From now on I will give him the Flagyl in the morning so that I can treat him with the probiotic and Calcium in the evening.
17.10. Today is another day: Lucky looks so much better. The expression in his face has changed - he has started to preen himself and from time to time he is really relaxing on his little saucer. He also started to pick some seeds from the bowl which contains some hulled millet, small enough to be digested. His poops are still all wet of course but are plenty and do not smell at all.
And he's got his voice back - a bit subdued still but he cooed a bit when Emma came in. So he is definitely on the mend. It is always so sad and frightening when a bird loses his voice - then you know that something is really wrong!!
I am not too over-optimistic though regarding the time he can be out again as there is still some canker stuff lurking in his trachea while his mouth is clear now. So the full cycle of Flagyl (7 days) will probably be necessary.
He is also still very weak and it is sad to see a bird like him in this condition. When Emma came in I opened the lid of the box and poor Lucky hardly made it to the corner of the box. When he did a bit of helicoptering he started to caugh a bit again so there is definitely still some stuff in his trachea which possibly comes up now.
I also started to feed him some homemade pellets for lunch: grinded peanuts and sunflower hearts, bread crumbs and corn flower so that he will gain some energy back. In the evening he ate 30 de-frostet peas, got his Bene Bac and Calcivet. In the morning I still tubefeed him with baby riceflakes with applesauce and vitamins and some grinded peanuts to add some fat and then he gets his Flagyl with some applesauce afterwards to neutralize the bitter taste of the metronidazole.
Lucky is such a brave little patient. He even likes to be groomed by me now and then. I hope that his poops will improve soon. He is drinking a lot which is good I think because this will help to clean his digestive tract from all that bad stuff and the heavy medicines.
Although this all won't probably happen again - as usual - I am thinking of getting some extra dentist instruments for emergency cases like this. The tweezers I was using did not work at all - you need much finer tools and I think it cannot hurt to have some on hand. Could be useful for string injuries as well.
18.10. Lucky is much more lively today. After giving him his riceflakes with applesauce and medication - Flagyl #5 - and cleaning his box I opened the balcony door and put his box into the sunlight. Emma came also - she is molting heavily and looks like a little vulture - and Lucky cooed a bit. He is also stretching himself and does a bit of helicoptering. I think in the afternoon I will hang up the mosquito net and let him a bit out of his box so that he can move more freely.
His trachea looked good this morning but I am not sure whether the canker stuff is entirely gone. We will see tomorrow whether he still needs medication. For the first time this morning he was doing something that looked a bit like a formed poop. But we have to be patient. It is getting along well....
Let's keep
that this is all over soon and that our lovely couple Emma and Lucky is re-united again...
Tue Oct 18, 2011 11:45 am
