An incident that opened my eyes to the plight of pigeons...

Hi guys,

I am from Bangalore (India) and a relatively new member on this forum. Wanted to share with all of you an incident which took place around 3 months back and which really opened my eyes to the plight of these delicate and beautiful birds. I had never imagined before this incident that birds could be subjected to such horrific diseases. I probably saw them through rosy glasses and thought that they lived happy lives :(

I found a pigeon in my apartment complex which was listless and lying down in the car parking area. It couldn't fly and looked extremely sick and tired. Watery liquid was coming out of its eyes and it could barely open its eyes. The beak also had some kind of whitish mucous like substance stuck to it and it looked really really frail. I didn't have the heart to leave it dying there in the open, so got it home and kept it overnight. I kept some water in a bowl and some grains, thinking it would eat. I feel like kicking myself now...the poor thing possibly couldn't even open it's beak :( It didn't drink a drop of water nor did it eat anything. It just sat where ever I placed it with its eyes closed and the water secreting out of it.

The following morning I took him to a vet which was the biggest mistake I did (I am calling it a mistake because vets here don't know a thing about birds and after this incident I heard a lot of similar cases where people have taken birds to vets only to lose them :( ). The vet looked at it and told me that it's a viral infection and that there's nothing to worry about. He gave an injection on its leg . When I asked the vet if it's ok in giving such a delicate bird an injection, he said thr's nothing to worry about and asked me to wait for 24 hrs.

I got it home from the vet and within 5 minutes of getting it home, it started showing signs of collapsing. I panicked and called up the vet only to be told that "Why are you worrying so much? It will be ok." I felt so helpless, i knew something was seriously wrong but I didn't know what to do :( (If only I had known about this forum then...) As I was holding the pigeon, it slowly died in my hands :( I was shocked as to what was happening and didn't want to believe that it was dead. It was not moving, it's eyes were open and it was totally still. I burst out crying and waited to see if miraculously there would be any hint of a small movement in it to show that it was alive. Finally after 4 hours, I knew I had lost it and went out and buried it Even today when I think about that incident it brings tears to my eyes...

I recently found another baby in my apartment and was very scared that he too might meet a similar fate; but thanks to this wonderful forum (also pigeons.biz), he is still with me and he is doing good

After the earlier incident, I wanted to know what exactly was wrong with the poor thing and a search on net narrowed it down to possibly a case of Ornithosis or one-eyed cold or Mycoplasmosis. I am not sure.
Does anyone here know what the pigeon was suffering from, given its symptoms? Anybody who had to deal with a similar case? Also I would want to know what kind of emergency treatment should be given in such cases and the medicines for the same.

Thanks
--Dev

so much for sharing your story, Dev.
I realize it hurts to re-live situations such as your's. I truly believe though, it does help to share them.
1) We find that we are not alone.
2) By sharing our experiences we can learn from one another.

And that's what makes . . .

It's really hard to say what killed this bird. Probably though, it was pretty far gone by the time you found it. Probably it was suffering from more than just one thing. I know the bird touched your heart.

The part that touches my heart is your kindness. You did your best. You cared. While many would have walked on by, without giving the bird a second thought, you noticed. You stopped and did what you could. Here you are doing it again, learning all you can along the way and giving it your best.
Thank you for being such a kind soul.

Thank you Fancyfeathers and Charis for your kind words :)