ill homer

Hi , I have had homers for over 50 yrs,
I have a sick young bird, he has a appetite , will eat out of my hand .
but cannot stand by himself appears dizzy or drunk.
what do I have here ?
I hate to have to destroy him.
please post and help me.
many thanks,

hi rocky , no its never nice to have to destroy them ....couldit be paratypoid / bacterial infection type of illness ?

normally very ill birds dont have much appetite, so hopefully he isnt too serious , maybe one of our more experienced members might have some advise for you .

Without knowing what  it is you cannot give the right treatment, many problems in pigeons have similar symptoms, the only breal thing to do is see a vet.

If not  it may be contageous and affect  your other pigeons.

 
Regards.

have you vaccinated your ybs for paramyxo (newcastles disease) ...could even be magnesium deficency try popping a couple of magnesium tablets down the throat from the chemist ....if its twisting its neck then it will be paramyxo virus or paratyphoid ...anymore sympthoms you can share with us rocky ,what are the droppings like ? has the yb returned from time away ? how old is the yb ? good news is the yb is eating and has a appetite so try some magnesium asap

David wrote:

hi rocky , no its never nice to have to destroy them ....couldit be paratypoid / bacterial infection type of illness ?

normally very ill birds dont have much appetite, so hopefully he isnt too serious , maybe one of our more experienced members might have some advise for you .

Know nothing here about decease in pigeons I'm   So best perhaps to go & see a Vet I suggest there etc Rocky That being said thou wouldn't hurt maybe, to just give something like Virkon S (if available) for 3/5 days there to your whole flock to be on the safe side as such. & a big welcome to our site here .

Treating add lib is not a good idea, could cause more problems than solve, see a vet that is what they are there for.

Regards.

well make sure its a specific avian vet as generally they have not a clue regards our feathered freinds

true darren, any vet ive asked about pigeons dont have much of a clue , they tend to just concentrate on dogs, cats etc .....

Agree, so you find onethat does.

Regards.

David wrote:

true darren, any vet ive asked about pigeons dont have much of a clue , they tend to just concentrate on dogs, cats etc .....

100% Very true and correct David!

I even had a veterian, a big advertiser with letters behind his and his associates names .. C.R.A.P. SPRINGS TO MIND etc. Or such!

I went in- fortunately didn't need him, or any other shyster in that conning field for that matter. But in I went and asked if he could examine two pigeons if I bought two in. One culled and dead, - in case he didn't realise! The other one poorly, and would he be able to say if it was samonella or not. I if not would he be able to tell me what was or would be.

Told by the shrinking of his reddening face that he was stumped and would need some paper to clean his pants if I continued to ask such things. But try to convince he did!

For after a couple of more questions he stated 'Well I could look it up, and would be able to tell you in about a week's time. 'I asked him if he could treat a dead pigeon and have it race in a fort night. Not neccesarily win ... well not to the week after!
Amazingly he said he would have to take advice with another LEARNED associate. I kid you not!

Yep they are still in busiusness ... trating cats and dogs, rabbits and guinnea pigs I guess. and driving Range Rover jeeps!

Just wish I had the money the top and other fanciers spend on vet fees.

I would make a few charities happy.

The no vet age  has  long since gone, no good having paid thousands for pigeons with no vet protection etc;

Would call any top lofts liars along with any stud that say they do not use a vet.

Hundreds of lofts have routine tests for potential never mind actual health problems.

In the old and golden days you did not need a vet, most pigeons were healthy and the odd problems fanciers knew how to deal with.

The best method is to iliminate sick pigeons continually and build up the immune system, takes time, but worth it.

Regards.

theres probably only a small number of illnesses pigeons get , either virus`s or bacterial ......some illness`s will kill, others will not, i reckon a good pigeon man with years of experience could advise better than the common or garden vet .

i bought a good microscope a few years back, to learn how to study pigeons droppings, never did get round to learning, its still in a box on the garage shelf .

rocky, just GOOGLE, Racing Pigeon Health Problems.

Gives you all you need to know and possible treatments, just have a look and see which is the nearest to your pigeons symptoms, and treat accordingly, no guess work.

Best of luck, but some problems need urgent treatment.

Cannot think any vet does not know how to diagnose such with all the free information available today.

Regards.

rocky google chevita gmbh sympthoms it will give you an outline for illnesses but beware as alot of illnesses mimic eachother

MISTY wrote:

Treating add lib is not a good idea, could cause more problems than solve, see a vet that is what they are there for.

Regards.

Every thing starts some where etc I suggest Misty in a pigeon sense Have a old pigeon book here, 1880/90 & some of the magic potions there for pigeons, would absolutely blow your mind away with disbelief type of thing. Now, Robert Stroud & Levi may be a 100 years out of date by todays standards in a Vet type sense but I still in certain ways here still rely on their wisdom compared to the local vets I have down here these days     End of the story, for those that didn't quite know       Stroud was a murderer of the highest order       & learnt his skill/trade, plucking canaries with his finger nails in prison to become a renowned expert in his day & Levi   had 20,000 odd pigeons under his care, with a few basic type potions there to keep decease at bay in his time.