No rest for the wicked

's Galore. And what good looking 's they are!!

What's your assessment of the little one, Teresa?

So glad to hear Charlie is doing well. Great looking

I do think there is a canker issue going on with the sparce feathering around the face and neck. With treatment I think he will be fine.

Charlie left the nest a little too soon, but fortunately you found him and he will have a great new lease on life.


Louise

Charlie looks like a really cute little character, Teresa. I just love that age....they are so charming.
Liike Louise, I suspect canker, and for the same reason.

Charlie is such a cutie! I'm so glad you were able to grab her Teresa, even though I bet it would have made me giggle to see you crawling around in the bush!


I don't mean to side track this thread but why does canker seem to only affect the feather growth around/on the head? Or does it affect the feather growth through out the body?

Robin...it's mostly around the face/neck in young birds.

Charlie had a good day. She's very feisty, and very good at playing hide-and-seek! :That\\\'s so f
I don't think there's anything wrong with her except for the possibility of canker. Having said that, she has other bald patches under the wings and on her sides -- she had a bad case of mites and lice, but no more now!

This is her this morning, just after being sprayed for mites:



The string injuries are still at large... They are aware that they cannot compete with the dominant members of the flock, so they only come when the others have eaten quite a bit -- so the usual trick to catch them by hand can't be used.
Mac, the red one, only stayed for a couple of minutes, ate quickly and as far as possible from me and the trap, then went.
Ceylon, the dark one (the colour of black tea, lol) stayed longer. But every time he got close to me or to the trap, something blew in the wind (it was awfully windy) and spooked the birds. Later, the pigeons started to eat around the trap, and several went in and out. When it finally looked like he was going in, my mother dropped a flower pot down below and the whole flock took flight!
So I spent over 2 hours on the roof and came back empty-handed... :Rolling eyes:
But there was a bonus: one of the dinner guests was Cara, whom I raised and later released!

Before and after my roof adventure, I spent the day moving furniture for my mother. Some Sunday! Can't wait to go to work tomorrow for a (relative) rest... :That\\\'s so f

Charlie is doing great!
Her appetite is excellent, she's very active and a bit of a wingslapper!
Her downy feathers are growing back, and she's improving her flying skills daily!

One question: Shall I worm her as soon as she's finished the canker meds or earlier?

Pippin is definitely a girl -- yes, eggs! Very small eggs, but hey, she's petite!

Sammy is looking good -- big, glossy and very strong. In fact, she can peck for Portugal if my hand strays near her eggs when I change her water! Her eggs are really big, and no wonder -- she consumes as much grit as a country road in winter!

Matilda wrote:

Teresa wrote:

Pippin is definitely a girl -- yes, eggs! Very small eggs, but hey, she's petite!

Will you save them and mark, Pippin's first eggs?

Yes, I've saved them, but I meant to remove the contents and fill them up with plaster, for future use as replacements. What's your suggestion, did you mean keep them as a memento?


I did.

Charlie has now been wormed, 24hrs after finishing the canker treatment. I looked at the procedings with a magnifying glass, but didn't see anything remotely worm-like.
It was the same whenever I wormed the adults, but I can't for a moment imagine that ferals here in Portugal are worm-free... perhaps there's less visible worms and more microscopic ones...

The two string injuries I spotted on May 29th are still giving me the run-around. Mac is extremely suspicious, and he never comes anywhere near me. It doesn't help that he's never really hungry -- he seems to forage very successfully in front of some cafes and restaurants nearby. I saw him there two days ago, rushed in the nearst shop to buy something to tempt him with, but when I came out he'd gone! I should have called him Speedy Gonzales!
Ceylon doesn't come over every day. This evening he came, after a 3-day absence, but he only stayed less than a minute, kept well away and he looked scared of the other pigeons. He must be getting bullied because of his injury but I'm doing my best... I've been trying every day, and I will keep trying and hoping.

PS. Catching them at night is out of the question: even if I knew where they roost, and could get up there, they'd just fly off because there are so many lights on here in the town centre, it's never really dark.

I'm sorry to hear the capture isn't going well, Teresa.
If they would just let you catch them and treat them, they would be feeling so much better.

Will be thinking positive thoughts.
Please keep us posted.

New patient: YBS?

I only got off pigeon duty tonight at 2 am. That's because I've got a new patient whom I've been feeding every 4 hours. Her name is Midnight, and these photos were taken when I got her home:





I found her in the park, listless and puffed up. She put up no resistance when I picked her up, and although she didn't look badly dehydrated, her crop was empty and she was VERY light -- she weighed only 205 g! :eek:
I checked for signs of canker and found none, but the tucked-in tail suggested abdominal pain.
I decided to start her on a new wonderpill (Zooserine) which has broad-spectrum antibiotics and antiprotozoans. It will take care of salmonella, coccidia, E-coli, pseudomonas and streptoccocus. She has already perked up a bit, so fingers crossed!
Her first meal was just electrolytes and 8 peas, halved. She didn't vomit, but neither did she digest them properly. So she's been on warmed baby apple sauce since then, gradually increasing the amount. On her last feed she got 15 cc and she's now fast asleep in her warm nest. Sweet dreams, Midnight!

Sweet dreams Midnight. I'm praying for a quick recovery.

Teresa...that new drup sounds interesting. Is it a combo drug? I Googled it and it can only be purchased in Portugal. That's not fair.

Matilda wrote:

Sweet dreams Midnight. I'm praying for a quick recovery.

Teresa...that new drup sounds interesting. Is it a combo drug? I Googled it and it can only be purchased in Portugal. That's not fair.

Yes, it's made here. The owner of the place where I've been getting my pigeon supplies recommended it for 'the Knife Disease' -- literal translation, 'knife' referring to a sharply protruding keel, aka extreme emaciation/YBS. It's meant for song birds, but he said it works wonders for pigeons too. He NEVER culls any of his pigeons, no matter how sick they are, and he said he managed to save quite a few with YBS using these pills.

Main ingredients: Tetracycline chlorhydrate, Chloramphenicol and Furazolidone. The write-up claims it's effective against (even the most resistant) bacterial and protozoal infections of the respiratory and digestive tracts.
Let's see if it lives up to the claims, and then if anybody wants some I can get them and send them on!

PS. They even come with a minute syringe-type dispenser so you can put the pill at the back of the bird's throat!

Will you look and tell us how much of each drug is in the mix?

Your wings aren't getting much rest these days, Teresa.
Poor baby really is fluffed.

Sending positive thoughts and best wishes that Midnight is feeling much better in the morning.

Bless you both.

Midnight has passed away peacefully.

Early this morning she was weaker again, and she hadn't emptied her crop. I gave her 6 ml warmed apple sauce and massaged her crop, but still nothing happened, so I put her back in the warm hoping that in a couple of hours she might have done it. It didn't happen, and the next time I checked on her she was barely moving her legs, so I just gave her a little warm water with electrolytes.
By lunchtime she still hadn't emptied her crop, but neither had she vomited. So I tried another 6 ml of warmed apple sauce, more watered this time, with a little honey and a drop of ACV. She took it and promptly dozed off in my hand. The massage had no effect, and she was losing muscle control fast. I knew then there would be no miracle recovery for her.

I wrapped her up warmly and took her to the window, to hear the other pigeons and feel the warmth of the sun one last time. While she breathed softly with her eyes closed, I stroked her head and told her that if her little body had no more strength left, it was okay to go, to close her eyes and let her little soul fly free.
And she did. Farewell, my sweet, be happy!


PS. Another patient, same symptoms, about 10 weeks old -- found him at lunchtime. He weighs 163 g , but he's been eating and pooping alright. I'm going to give him some formula now. Gotta keep hoping.

Oh Teresa...this has really caught me off guard.

So very sorry to hear about Midnight Teresa

It was wonderful that you were able to hold her in the sun by the other pigeons and be with her.
I'm sure her little soul is flying high

Thank you for your kind words -- and the lovely angel and message, Cindy, they really made me smile.

I was saddened by Midnight's passing, but relieved that she passed so peacefully, so gently, just like falling asleep. She was so very light and weak when I brought her home, her system must have started to shut down even before she was medicated.
I found another one in the park today, but he was beyond help and I heard that two more had been found earlier. Whatever this is, YBS or otherwise, it's implacable! It doesn't help that there is no water at the park -- again! -- and though I carry 10 litres of water there every day, and at least one more person does the same, it's harder to scub their water containers properly and keep them clean and filled.

My feral flock are a bit off-colour too (nasty-looking poops on my roof and windowsill), so as a precaution I've been medicating them, and the indoor pigeons, against coccidiosis. Tomorrow will be day 5, the last day (I'm using Cocci Plus), and today I noticed a marked improvement in their droppings.
Two of the feral squeakers, Sweets and Boss, have figured out that the food comes from the big pocket in my 'feral' apron, so they jump on my lap and try to get right inside the pocket! They're so funny and so clever, I couldn't help laughing. When Sweets has finished a handful of seeds and wants more, he pecks at my hand twice and then looks insistently at me, like, 'WELL!!!' They are such a blessing!

The string injuries still elude me. Ceylon hasn't been around for 4 days, but his injuries are not serious, so I hope he's alright. Mac is a weasel of a pigeon, he NEVER comes within reach. The main reason is that he is never hungry enough: twice now I've seen him foraging round the cafes nearby, but the minute a human approaches, he's away! Merlin was at the same spot last week, being fed by an old gent on crumbs of Madeira cake, if you please! Luxury ferals!

Last, but not least, yesterday's rescue, Tigga, is fighting back!
Here is a picture taken when I got him home:



He's still doing what I think are starvation poops (vivid dark green, greasy-looking, like oil paint):



But today he had 3 meals of 15 ml of formula and he's alert and walking!
With this one, I strongly suspect that canker is present, though there are no visible lesions. But he makes a couple of swallowing movements after being fed (though he's tube fed), and there are some missing feathers on the front of his neck that may not be due to pecking. So I've put him on Flagyl in between taking the other medication.

Matilda wrote:

Will you look and tell us how much of each drug is in the mix?

Tetracyclin chlohydrate -- 90.0 mg/g
Chloramphenicol ---------- 66.5 mg/g
Furazolidone --------------- 15.0 mg/g

Excipients make up the remainder, but these are not listed.

Special precautions: Not advisable for birds with liver or renal failure. Keep patient out of direct sunlight, as med causes a degree of photosensitivity. Treatment should last no less than 3 days and no more than 6, and should be followed by a course of vitamin B complex.

Among the respiratory problems it treats are ornithosis, mycoplasmosis, pneumonia, tuberculosis and chronic bronchitis.

There's no mention of canker, and it definitely does not include an anti-fungal.

Teresa, you sure have been busy the last few days. It must be "very sick pigeon season "as I have had 6 new rescues in the last two weeks as well. Sadly, 2 did not survive, but fortunately 4 have and one has already been released back into my feral flock.

I'm so sorry about Midnight Fly free and high little one.

Little Tigga looks so weak. Those are definately starvation poops. I'm so glad he is handling the formula feedings well. The poops will take a few days to start looking better. The fact that he is already alert and walking is a very positive sign.

The two little babies Sweets & Boss sound adorable. Let us see a picture of them when you have a chance.

Try and get some rest.

Louise