The PMV Thread with Pina, Willy, Jimi and Winnie

I think Pina and my Sammy are in very similar situations. He is feeding himself now and has gained a great deal of independence, but as soon as he gets nervous, down goes the head!

Hi dear friends - I apolpgize for being quiet for some time again - I had a few "emergencies" to care for - partially only indirectly pigeon related though. My rotten neighbour arsehole made trouble again and I had to fight back again. Slowly I am feeling like a criminal but I will not allow him to get his way.
Why can't people just let it go and let others live how they want to live? I don't do anything evil and would never try to demand from others the way I want to live....

Now back to our sweet feathered friends.

Jimi and Alice, the two formerly sick pijjies (Jimi a PMV survivor and Alice probably as well - a light case though), who fell in love during their "hospital" time and who are free now since the end of March are still coming in to get their meals here. At the moment both are coming separately - I assume that they have a nest somewhere. But both are often hanging around on the balcony and when they are hungry they indicate they want to come in, walk through the door as if this were the most natural thing to do while I close the door behind them, walk to the foodie pots and are eating like little piggies!

They are both doing very well, looking healthy and strong. Even the bad weather we have since 2 weeks and the cold seems to have no influence on their well being. I am soooo relieved. :Yes:

Just at this moment while I am typing this Alice came in to feed. Isn't that sweet? And she is not in panic although I have closed the door because it is simply too cold. Imagine that - she has to walk around a corner and cannot even see how she could escape when she wanted to. Isn't that amazing?

Btw - Mr. Proper (you know the cleaner) - who is a big, very colourful and beautiful pigeon has learned to walk around the corner of my big window as well in order to feed from the bowl. He often sat in front of the window on my balcony and apparently learned that he can get some food when he was brave enough to walk in although I am closing the door behind him! These pijjies are very clever. I re-named him Mr. Proper because he is very tidy - he always picks up the seeds from the floor first and those which have been spilled around the bowl before he walks to the food bowl to eat there. He never spills any seed but eats like good, well trained kid! :Yes: Amazing. It's a joy to see him eating!

In the meanwhile Jimi has also come in to get his supper. He greeted Winnie, his sister, munched his seeds and afterwards he left as usual: walking slowly, in order to demonstrate that he was not afraid of anything and off he was. What an attitude!

Now to Willy:
You remember that I released him on the 6th of April. As he has become the mate of Pina as well and their nest is inside beneath my working table - he comes back inside again regularly.
The day looks like this:
in the early morning (7° clock) my hubby lets him out of his box (currently he is sleeping inside again due to the cold and wet weather) so that he can fly around, meet his pals and go grazing. While Pina is sitting on the nest he usually comes back 10 °clock or so, takes his 2nd breakfast inside and then eventually switches his nest duty with Pina. He then sits on the nest till late afternoon and usually wants to fly out again and I let him. He normally sleeps outside and comes back in the morning. But since the last week and at the moment I don't let him out because I am afraid that he might catch a cold in that awful wet weather. As soon as the temperatures are well above the 10°C again I will let him out again.

Apparently he has not found a real good roosting place yet because he sometimes slept on the balcony, sometimes he was sleeping somewhere else. So it is better right now to have him inside during the night.

He is getting very fidgety of course when I don't let him out in the evening and tries to force me to let him free by flying manoeuvers in the appartment which let me cringe but in the end when I direct him to his box he is behaving like a sweet obedient kid and flies into his box deliberately. I think he is quite happy to have a calm, warm and dry place to sleep. And he sleeps like a baby during the whole night! What a character! :Yes:
I am checking his body from time to time when he gets extra vitamins and I can feel that he has a strong, beefy body. What a bird!

I would never have thought that he would re-gain his old self, be the wonderful Willy again that he was. He was so sick and near to death and if I had not known you all guys and gotten your help he would have been long dead now. I love him so much and the other family members that it hurts. I am so grateful for this gift, having been able to develop such a relationship with these birds I cannot describe in words. I feel blessed.

I just realize that this post is getting too long. I will continue with the update tomorrow or in the next days. Just on a short note: Pina and Winnie are doing well also, although Winnie had a little relapse again. But details later....

pigeonwriter wrote:

I would never have thought that he would re-gain his old self, be the wonderful Willy again that he was. He was so sick and near to death and if I had not known you all guys and gotten your help he would have been long dead now. I love him so much and the other family members that it hurts. I am so grateful for this gift, having been able to develop such a relationship with these birds I cannot describe in words. I feel blessed.

I just realize that this post is getting too long. I will continue with the update tomorrow or in the next days. Just on a short note: Pina and Winnie are doing well also, although Winnie had a little relapse again. But details later....

I understand, with all my heart, how much you love your flock.

This was a wonderful update Petra. It could never be too long...to me, it was like reading the next chapter in a much beloved book.

Petra............Amazing and incredible updates

You have done such a great job will all your little rescues. You are certainly an

Love all there little escapades

They are all such amazing little creatures.

Petra

Louise



P>S>.....don't let the BS with the neighbors get you down.

Appreciate the update, Petra. :Yes: Thank you for doing so in between your busy schedule.

As I stated in another post, it's always great to see you.
I'm sorry to hear that you had some emergencies. I hope all is going well now.

Matilda wrote:

This was a wonderful update Petra. It could never be too long...to me, it was like reading the next chapter in a much beloved book.

This is so sweet of you to say, Charis!

Jackie\'s Mom wrote:

Petra............Amazing and incredible updates

You have done such a great job will all your little rescues. You are certainly an

Love all there little escapades

They are all such amazing little creatures.

Petra

Louise



P>S>.....don't let the BS with the neighbors get you down.

A Louise - thank you so much - they ARE amazing - how could I not love them and take care?

Fancyfeathers wrote:

Appreciate the update, Petra. :Yes: Thank you for doing so in between your busy schedule.

As I stated in another post, it's always great to see you.
I'm sorry to hear that you had some emergencies. I hope all is going well now.

Oh Cindy, I try whenever possible because I know how much you all care!

pigeonwriter wrote:

Fancyfeathers wrote:

Appreciate the update, Petra. :Yes: Thank you for doing so in between your busy schedule.

As I stated in another post, it's always great to see you.
I'm sorry to hear that you had some emergencies. I hope all is going well now.

Oh Cindy, I try whenever possible because I know how much you all care!

Yep! We sure do.

I just read Teresa's update on her flock and the very sad stories and feel a bit bad to report that a true miracle happened here.

As you all know the ups and downs with our little angel Pina and how sick she was with terrible seizures during her PMV sickness I can now say that she has fully recovered.

She was sick for 9 months out of 11 months of her total life! Can you imagine that?
She was born end of July last year, then attacked by a foreign pigeon and nearly died, had severe canker and then suffered from the terrible PMV desease.
Last sunday I finally let her out on the balcony, after she was so begging to be able to fly again outside.
It was a very difficult decision for me and my heart was heavy with much fear for her. She has grown into my baby with such a sweet character and I know now how difficult it is to let children go free. Because this is what she is, my child. Pina is a very unusual pigeon and while she is strongly affiliated with me she also is a very social bird, always wants to be together with others. I can play with her as you can with a dog or cat and she can laugh and make sounds I have never heard form a pigeon before.

So I opened the balcony door last sunday and there she flew immediately to the balustrade. It was quite a new world for her and you coul see that she was a bit anxious too. My heart was terribly bumping and therefore I was so relieved when she decided that 5 minutes of freedom were enough for the first day.

The next day I let her out again and after greeting Pete, her grandpa and other she had seen through the windows she flew off for the first time. What a view! But then she did not return in the next half hour and I waited with increasing anxiousness. Another half hour passed, no Pina. After 1 and a half hour she appeared on the balustrade again, jumped on the empty hanging planter that all our pigeons use as a swing, I went out and slowly took the planter with Pina sitting on it inside and closed the door. You must have heard that mountain rock that fell off my heart.

Oh my - you cannot imagine what I felt - it was a true chaos.
And Pina? She was happy and very tired. She was so content to be able to sit in her cardboard box on the closet again and dosed off the whole afternoon.

Today she was the 4rth day out on her adventure and I have observed that she gains confidence. Each day she is out now a little bit longer and she regularly returns to the balcony until she's had enough and comes in.

I have only once observed a short twist of the head - it was on the second day - since then no symptoms. She is eating by herself although I still feed her in the morning with baby cereal in order to give her extra vitamins and minerals. She seems to be very happy now.
I will keep you updated how it continues.

Here are some photos of her first day and you can see how she must have felt:

Such beautiful photos and a wonderful update. Thank you for sharing that, Petra. With so many of the sad stories about PMV, it really cheers me to see Pina looking so content as she views the world around her.

She looks really good, Petra and I appreciate you giving us an update.

Petra..............Fantastic and most uplifting update It's wonderful that after all sweet Pina has been through she is now able to fly outside and have the best of both worlds.

I love the last picture of her. Looks like she is looking back to make sure you are still there.


Louise

Many thanks for the update, Petra.
Pina is looking absolutely wonderful and Your photos are, as usual, incredible.
Thanks for sharing them with us.

Thank you Petra for sharing Pina's wonderful update! Me and Dev have just found what appears to be a pigeon affected with PMV (not very sure), but she has severe head twisting and can hardly stand.
We were thinking yesterday if she would recover or long it would take...we remembered what you underwent, your times of severe agony with so many of your beloved birds suffering from PMV and canker. Then again when we thought about the success stories like those of Pina and the rest, it gave us a big morale boost. I know it is going to take a very long time for the poor bird to recover, but your posts gives us the confidence that eventually she will one day recover completely :Yes:

Infact i feel your thread on PMV should be made into some sort of a sticky for all of us to read and re read. It has so much info on the symptoms, care, treatment and the best of all, success

joyful_pigeon wrote:

Such beautiful photos and a wonderful update. Thank you for sharing that, Petra. With so many of the sad stories about PMV, it really cheers me to see Pina looking so content as she views the world around her.

Thank you so much for saying this!

Matilda wrote:

She looks really good, Petra and I appreciate you giving us an update.

thank you Charis - I know you are often thinking of us!

Jackie's Mom wrote:

Petra..............Fantastic and most uplifting update It's wonderful that after all sweet Pina has been through she is now able to fly outside and have the best of both worlds.

I love the last picture of her. Looks like she is looking back to make sure you are still there.


Louise

Louise - exactly - she was looking at me all the time as if she wanted to have my approval and as if she wanted to make sure I am there to help. It was very sweet....

Fancyfeathers wrote:

Many thanks for the update, Petra.
Pina is looking absolutely wonderful and Your photos are, as usual, incredible.
Thanks for sharing them with us.

Thank you Cindy. Those photos - even if they are not best quality - are very precious for me - so many memories that cannot be lost any more....

priya wrote:

Thank you Petra for sharing Pina's wonderful update! Me and Dev have just found what appears to be a pigeon affected with PMV (not very sure), but she has severe head twisting and can hardly stand.
We were thinking yesterday if she would recover or long it would take...we remembered what you underwent, your times of severe agony with so many of your beloved birds suffering from PMV and canker. Then again when we thought about the success stories like those of Pina and the rest, it gave us a big morale boost. I know it is going to take a very long time for the poor bird to recover, but your posts gives us the confidence that eventually she will one day recover completely :Yes:

Infact i feel your thread on PMV should be made into some sort of a sticky for all of us to read and re read. It has so much info on the symptoms, care, treatment and the best of all, success

Thank you Priya, it makes me very happy if my reports help to give hope to others. So many times I was near to lose hope entirely and especially with Pina I never thought she would ever fly again not to mention outside. And now look at my baby. I am still not 100% sure whether she could survive if she would not come back but the more she is outside with the other pijjies the quicker she will learn to survive. I wonder what will happen when she finds a partner. I so very much hope that she will always come back to say hello and get a little snack.
I think the most important part during all that time was that Pina always had contact with other pijjies. I doubt if she would have made this recovery if she had been alone. I am observing again and again that other pijjies have a very positive influence on a sick pigeon's WILL to recover. I am quite confident if a bird is depressive it will not work no matter what you do. I have literally seen how Pina's ambition to fly again was fueled by the other pijjies.
The same happens with Winnie at the moment who is our last PMV visctim. She is also very ambitious to fly again and be set free. But due to her ongoing seizures it will take some time still. But Winnie has started to fly also again which is a major improvement. And she has started to peck at seeds although eating enough is not a point yet. When Winnie recovers too we will have a 100% success story. And this will be a true miracle!

Despite all this I have to say that you simply cannot rely on 100% recovery of PMV. Even with greatest care there is no guarantee and the path is extremely long. But with love and hope and much optimism and the desire to never give up it may work. The bird finally decides whether it wants to recover or not. That's what I believe.

What a wonderful update and wonderful photos, Petra!
Hearing happy endings like this is so important in showing us what can be achieved, and it fills us with hope.
My Sammy still stargazes and walks backwards occasionally, especially during exercise time, and she only flies in spirals, less than a metre off the ground. But you never know...

pigeonwriter wrote:

Fancyfeathers wrote:

Many thanks for the update, Petra.
Pina is looking absolutely wonderful and Your photos are, as usual, incredible.
Thanks for sharing them with us.

Thank you Cindy. Those photos - even if they are not best quality - are very precious for me - so many memories that cannot be lost any more....

That's exactly right.

Teresa wrote:

What a wonderful update and wonderful photos, Petra!
Hearing happy endings like this is so important in showing us what can be achieved, and it fills us with hope.
My Sammy still stargazes and walks backwards occasionally, especially during exercise time, and she only flies in spirals, less than a metre off the ground. But you never know...

Yes - never give up hope. It takes as long as it takes. Our Winnie is currently going through many ups and downs. One day she makes a huge jump ahead and then the next day she starts vomiting again and flies in uncontrolled circles. Sometimes I think her ambition to fly free again is so big that she overdoes everything, gets totally nervous with the result that I have to put her into her box for one hour or so to give her some peace again. On the bottomline she has made big progress too but it will probably take a lot of time still until she can be released as well. But then she has been with us "only" 4 months. What had seemed to be "only" a bacterial infection turned out to be PMV as well. Poor baby. No wonder with all the stress she had before. This makes me believe btw that my vet was right in saying that all ferals have the PMV virus latently. And I think that extreme stress can cause an outbreak. It is the same with humans when the vegetative nerve system is breaking down and with it the immune system.

Currently I am very glad that Pina is extremely sensible. I let her out after breakfeast in the morning and - since she is flying free - returns around lunchtime. I leave her indoors then till the next morning and she seems quite content with this arrangement. This way she can slowly increase her power and gain self-confidence.

I have not only bad news but good ones as well: as it looks like currently I am going to release Winnie next week as well. Seizures have stopped entirely since a while - she is exercising like crazy her flight skills and I have to be careful that she does not escape. She is very tricky and we called her "Miss Houdini". She has proven to find any potential escape here. Very smart....! And she has become very strong. If she weren't so tame in the meanwhile I could hardly hold her.

The only problem still was that she did not eat enough for herself and that she had still problems with picking up seed. But today she managed to eat sunflower hearts from my hand, at least every second try worked and she managed to turn them around in her mouth and swallow them. She is so very desperate to fly free again so it would be torture to hold her back much longer. I plan the big day on Monday...

Winnie was our last PMV patient and after 5 months of intensive care she is flying free again! What a joy!
After giving her breakfast in order to supply her with "aviation fuel" we opened the balcoy door: she hopped on the sill, stood there for a moment as if she could not believe it and then flew to the balustrade and trembled in excitement, greeted Pete, her daddy and then off she flew with a small group of othere. Short after that she was back again, to drink some water and was of again.

In the meanwhile she was in again and then out again, enjoying her new freedom and health. I cannot tell you how happy I am. Fotos and video will follow.

This was the picture in the last few days, Winnie sitting on the handmade door screen and looking outside with such a longing that it was sad to see:



Btw - this is the doorscreen I made with old curtain lace so that I could leave the balcony door open but the birds could not escape. I build a wooden frame first and then stapled the lace on the frame - this way it could easily be taken out of the door and replaced again:







This is a very cheap solution if you need a window screen...

What a wonderful update to wake up to, Petra.
Although somewhat bittersweet, I am sure you are thrilled to pieces that Winnie is now able to fly with her friends.
You have done an amazing job of caring for her during her recovery.

And to you, sweet Winnie, LOTS!!

Petra...I'm so thrilled for you both. I can hardly wait for the video.

I do a similar screen idea to keep my parrots in my office when they are out of their cage and it works really well.

BAD NEWS:

by accident I cancelled all my pics and videos in the camera - nothing left. I just could slap myself - I am very disappointed and angry on myself....

Oh dear! I am so sorry, Petra.
Is there any way you can retrieve some of them that you have posted online by copying them to a personal file? Just a thought.