Help. I have feral pigeon born on our balcony, I think she has the paramyxovirus; I need advice on how to capture her and take care of her for next few weeks. I am more than distraught. Will she recover on her own?
I noticed a lack of appetite in past 4 days; yesterday, I sat with her as she rested on our balcony and ate nothing. Today, she seems more back to her usual self, but couldn’t grab the food. Do adults survive better than young ones? She is about to turn 2 next month.
tahnk you.
I have contacted someone with knowledge of pigeon disease, hopefully he will post soon, maybe tomorrow now.
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PMV is highly contagious, so she needs to be removed from the balcony to prevent other pidges from getting it. Rehabbing PMV pidges can be a long and stressful process. Some can recover fully and go on to live a normal life. Others die and some never fully recover. I have four post PMV pidges who can never be released back into the wild, but they live happy lives with me. Three of them have paired up with other rescue pidges.
Unless you have experience rehabbing pigeons, I would suggest that you go to www.helpwildlife.co.uk and see if there is a pigeon friendly rescue in your area.
Just as a matter of curiosity, what symptoms is she displaying that caused you to believe that she has PMV?
Good luck
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(One bush does not shelter two Robins)
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Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, I live on the otherside of the pond, and here it's a tad less friendly than in UK. I am gonna test for Samonella as that has similar symptoms.
I am not gonna give up on her..gotta trap her and do the home care. Can't be more harder than taking care of sick parents. I just wanted guidance to do this and not abandon her. She has eaten well for nearly 2 years and plan to add calcium, vitamins d3 and b12 to the water.. do what I can to support her in the wild.
To answer your question re symptoms..I have read a lot on this forum and other respected sites. I have watched her grow up in these almost 2 years. She has problems eating the food, and not able to open her beak and coordinate. As a female she is bullied by males, but I had noticed she would not stay long, until I saw up close she was able to grab the grains. She was tired a few days ago where i just sat with her for 4 hours as she napped showing no interest in food. I had a toy water gun to shoo the aggressive male pigeons that wanted to push her away. I think she looks surprised as she wasn’t able to eat as much. Her poo is not solid and liquid with green white slim. I just ordered a salmonella kit to test later today. I am hoping she has been super healthy unto this point, she can survive this without my direct interventions, but I am clueless here. So much to learn and trying not get emotional as a pigeon ‘mum’ even though she is a wild young lady, who I met her new little one.
If you are able to catch her, check her eyes, cere, mouth and throat. She might have canker, which is a growth in the mouth and throat. This can be treated with tablets. There's a company in San Diego called Mercasystems, they sell a lot of pigeon medication. You can also lightly dab Apple Cider Vinegar on the lesions.
If it is PMV, She will likely be neck twisting and having problems eating seed. She will probably throw her head back while trying to eat. If she's kept warm and hydrated, then that's a start. I'd also suggest getting a mite spray (these are available for cage birds). Spray on the back, nape of the neck, under the wings and around the vent. Remember to put your hand over her head while doing this. You don't want it getting in her eyes. Try to monitor her weight, same time each day. Anything from 240g upwards is healthy. Smaller females can be 230g and be fine. Anything under 200g is definitely a concern. You might need to tube feed at that point. Hopefully it won't come to that.
Place seed in a large dish. If she has visual awareness issues, a small ramekin might be a problem because she will miss the dish much of the time. I can only advise you based on my own experience with PMV pidges. I have one whom I rescued in July 2019 and she's still leading a happy life. At one point she dropped to 159g, but she kept fighting and I didn't give up on her. Her weight is now around the 300g mark.
Hope all goes well. There are UK pigeon rescue groups on Facebook, so I imagine there will also be US based ones. Good luck.
Thank you. Catching her is the tough part. She hasn't shown any neuro symptoms. Not sure what week into infection that they start showing seed eating issues, but looking at my diary, this has probably been the case for under a week. I will reach out if I catch her. I just want her not to be alone.