Facial Swelling

I was over my friend's house today and she has a young pigeon with a swelling on the face. It is about the size of a small pea and is just above the cere on the right side. The upper beak is slightly distorted by the swelling and a little discolored, like a bruise. The inside of the upper beak looks clear and pink, although it looks just a little puffy like it's being pushed down by the swelling above it on the outside. The outside of the swelling is whiteish at the center like an abscess or pimple that's full of pus. The right eye looks normal except for a slight crusty discharge.

This lump doesn't look like a pox type lesion to me. I wish I had my camera so I could have taken a picture of it. I remember seeing a picture of a similar looking lump on a thread on Pigeon Talk but I can't remember the details. Anyone have any ideas and can suggest a course of treatment? The bird is eating and drinking fine.

She also has a feral pigeon who had 2 broken legs! The bird was splinted by a vet at the hospital she got it from several weeks ago. We took the splints off and so far the legs look nicely healed. The bird is walking quite well.

The little Pigeon may have canker. I would treat with metronidazole and baytril.

My first thought would be canker as well, if you don't suspect pox.

Please keep us posted on how things are coming along.

Two broken legs. Sounds kind of suspicious to me.
Does your friend think someone might have done it or just a really bad crash or fall?
Sure glad to hear he's walking. Good job on the vet's part.

Treat with both Baytril and metronidazole?

No one knows how the bird wound up with 2 broken legs. He was brought into an emergency hospital that way. Lucky for him the vet on duty was familiar with treating birds and willing to xray and splint him.

Yes...both.

If it is canker which I strongly suspect, treatment will cure it, but it may take long time for nodule to clear from the sinus opening. Also I will suggest treatment with more than one medicine for longer period.

This bird has been on those medications for about 8 days. The swelling is slightly better but the bird is now dropping weight. He's eating and normal poop. Would the medicine cause weight loss?

Jenaka wrote:

This bird has been on those medications for about 8 days. The swelling is slightly better but the bird is now dropping weight. He's eating and normal poop. Would the medicine cause weight loss?

Possibly indirectly by taking away his appetite so he doesn't eat as much.

What about cocci? Is his poop fine?
Sorry you said normal, and frequency?

Worms? :eek:

I don't know, but I'm thinking worms.

The bird has been wormed, I'll have to check about coccidia. The weight loss started just a couple days after starting the meds. He was on Spartrix and Baytril. Poops frequency is much less now and I've told her to start tube feeding, he's very light now.

Can you run another fecal? He may have another kind of worm that the medication didn't kill.
Are you treating for yeast too? I agree that coccidia may be a factor as well.

Baytril does take the appetite away.

I'm sorry to say that the bird died this morning.