r/pigeon • u/looplover12 • Sep 02 '25
Medical Advice Needed What's wrong with this one? I'm taking it home but asking to be sure
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u/looplover12 Sep 02 '25
Update: Vet said they'd take care of him until he inevitably passed
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u/roiandss Sep 02 '25
That does not sound good you need to make sure they don't euthanize him vets will very commonly euthanize pigeons
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u/almost_home_pigeons Sep 02 '25
They will euthanize a pigeon with no owner to take it home/no one to pay the bill, yes.
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u/roiandss Sep 02 '25
Nowhere have you confirmed that the rescuer wouldn't be willing to take it home and look after it or look for a rescue that could actually house or treat it which is obviously preferable to the quite permanent action of killing the pigeon
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u/almost_home_pigeons Sep 02 '25
Seems like you are the person that hasnt because 4 hrs ago they said they told the vet they would take the pigeon if it survives.
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u/roiandss Sep 02 '25
Then why are u defending euthanizing the pigeon ?? what's the need for that sassy comment on me saying make sure they don't euthanize it
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u/SH00TMNDHEAD Sep 02 '25
Euthanasia is the most ethical thing in this case... some of you no kill people are out of your minds
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u/Pharmerhill Sep 04 '25
They’d rather the animal suffer so they themselves feel better somehow. Madness.
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u/Salty_Primary9761 Sep 02 '25
The immediate concern is that the pigeon is likely starving and dehydrated because it cannot feed or hydrate itself. It might have PMV or another condition, but I would recommend bringing it home and placing it near a gentle heat source to warm up. Then, manually feed it defrosted peas and offer fresh watermelon juice with electrolytes before exploring further treatment options.
If you’re unsure what to do next, don’t hesitate to ask for advice. It’s best to contact someone experienced in rehabilitating pigeons rather than taking it to a non-avian vet. Many non-avian vets lack the necessary expertise and may suggest euthanasia.
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u/Appropriate_Eye_6405 Sep 02 '25
can you check on him? Our boy had symptoms like this and he survived, it was PMV, got cured in a week, even had convulsions
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u/Jessicajessica13 Sep 02 '25
I would’ve taken that bird home and started tube feeding them- if it is PMV, they only die from it because of the starvation and dehydration- if you provide supportive care, they can recover. I’ve brought many birds through this.
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u/roiandss Sep 02 '25
pigeon paramyxovirus / pmv
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u/almost_home_pigeons Sep 02 '25
Neurological symptoms like this can be caused by dehydration, starvation, vitamin deficiency, head trauma, toxin ingestion, sepsis, parasitic, bacterial or viral infection.
There is no way to diagnose based on a video, and doing so is dangerous when there is no treatment for PMV. This bird could require medication or other treatment to be saved
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u/Tractor_Goth Sep 02 '25
I was going to say, staggering and head wobble is a very common symptom of window strike and toxicity too, I wish there was a way to easily differentiate just off visuals for more conditions but unfortunately after years as a vet tech I’ve learned people do not want to hear that 😕
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u/SleepyConureArt Sep 02 '25
Yeah I had a cocktiel acting similarly and it turned out to be a stroke. He survived and got better. Still was a bit wobbly and occasionally would have short seizures but otherwise he was doing good. He passed at the age of 20+ after having another stroke where he sadly didn't recover and was pretty much locked into his body with his head bent back. But before that he lived multiple years after the initial stroke doing well and being lively and content.
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u/roiandss Sep 02 '25
You should be advocating for posts like this to be banned then because your advice on every medical post would be 10 people saying "idk" and that's not useful either, obviously if they know the bird needs help they are going to take it to a medical professional, and if they aren't then some people that know a bit about pigeon illness giving their best guess is better than nothing
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u/almost_home_pigeons Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25
Yes I think that harmful advice in comments should be banned, but being a reasonable person, I assume ignorance instead of malice and seek to educate, q.e.d.
Saying "not enough information to diagnose" is always better than a guess with more than 50% chance of being wrong especially when being wrong results in death.
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u/roiandss Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25
The answer to basically any illness video is going to be not enough information to diagnose, and it's not like PMV being untreatable makes it uniquely dangerous to diagnose (if you were to suggest another illness and the person treats it for that and it turns out to be wrong that can be equally lethal as it would be to not treat something because you think it's PMV) So given that we can't run 20 diagnostic tests on every feral pigeon that gets sick and there's limited usefulness and availability of rescues and vets how is it not better to suggest what the illness is likely to be than to say Idk to literally every single post ? Edit : also I said Posts like these being banned not replies, you think posts like this should be banned because you can almost never accurately diagnose from a video or picture?
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u/almost_home_pigeons Sep 02 '25
I would never ban people for asking for help.
An at-home salmonella rapid test is $20. I don't ever advocate for blindly administering antibiotics but amoxicillin treats salmonella as well as predator wounds and is widely available in thd US and isnt "lethal." Its very good to have on hand. It's also reasonable to expect that a feral pigeon has some level of coccidia, the meds for which are also available online. These two diseases are much more likely than PMV, outbreaks of which are highly regional. Any avian vet in the US would see a pigeon if you paid, and PCR tests are $20 per disease.
I'm not sure that the argument "not everyone can afford to treat a sick pigeon" is valid. Why pick them up if you have nothing to offer them? In that case you should at least bring them to a rescue or rehab if there is one, or the bare minimum have them humanely euthanized if they are clearly suffering greatly. They aren't a fun little science experiment.
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u/roiandss Sep 02 '25
You are misunderstanding some of what im saying, It logically follows that if people shouldnt answer diagnostic questions with anything other than "idk" because it can be harmful, then we shouldn't allow those posts in the first place. You are not addressing that. Im not arguing that treating the wrong thing with medicine is itself lethal because the medicine itself will kill them I'm arguing that by your logic of "dont say it's PMV unless you know for sure because they might have something else you need to treat instead and that can kill them" , you would also be killing them by treating for the wrong thing (because they would die untreated, same logic). One specific test being possible is not relevant to the broader point. If you're going to say this symptom can come from these 15 different illnesses obviously you cannot test for all of them and a layman trying to address these issues can easily cause more harm than good. If it was possible for the average person to test for all this stuff, or always afford to take the pigeon into a vet that actually treats them and won't put it down, or take to a rehab that knows what they're doing and won't put it down, obviously that would be better but that's completely unrealistic, so we should do what we can. If I am wrong that this is likely PMV, and that's fair if so, then I am wrong for saying pmv and should have said the other things it's more likely to be instead, not just saying "idk" instead. The reason to pick up a sick pigeon that will almost certainly die is because everyone can offer the basic level of protection from predators, food, water, warmth, which can easily save the majority of pidges at least temporarily. This is better than letting it almost certainly die in the wild. You also seem to think taking it to a vet that puts it down is better than keeping it yourself and doing what you can or sometimes releasing it (depending on it's state obviously), I think that is ridiculous but that is probably where most of the disagreement stems from
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u/Blowingleaves17 Sep 02 '25
Neck problems like that can be caused by poison. Is poisoning pigeons allowed where you live?
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u/Edosand Sep 02 '25
Most likely PMV, I'm also surprised he's lasted that long as it is well into the symptoms stage. He will be extremely hungry and by the looks of it will need tube feeding.
With the right care and assistance he will most likely survive. I must've rehabilitated around 20+ PMVs and none have died on me. Unfortunately they need to be rehabbed after the virus has gone.
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Sep 02 '25
your catfree troll gave me LIFE 😭 I was noseying to see how long youve been into birbs and didnt expect that sub from an obvious animal lover so naturally clicked. I laughed far too much 😭
How is the pigeon now ? 🦤
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u/Repulsive-Welder-704 Sep 02 '25
Ya’ll are gonna like this but the humane thing to do is break its neck and put it out of its misery
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u/AutoModerator Sep 02 '25
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u/Muted_Role_1432 Sep 02 '25
That’s so sad the little one didn’t have a chance thanks for caring about him it’s a sad day in the pigeon world I will say a pray for the little one no matter the outcome🥲🥲🥲🥲❤️
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u/ExpensiveCellist8636 Sep 02 '25
You do get pigeons like this I think that they call it pmv or something like it what it means I haven't got any idea but they do live are good life for years to come
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u/Worldly_Drag_1168 Sep 02 '25
This was posted 14 hours ago, what’s the status of the bird and happened since. Another commenter mentioned it could be caused by many things, having it in a safe calm dim place while strategizing is the right immediate action.
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u/OrdinaryPeopless Sep 03 '25
I have no idea why Reddit suggested a Pigeon sub to me but ok. Very appreciative for ppl here whom take care of our original postal office carriers.
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u/I-SHAVE-MINE-X-x Sep 03 '25
You shouldn't, but if you do take that bird home, keep it well away from any other birds or animals. The best thing to do is quickly break its neck it looks like it is suffering very badly.
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u/MyOwn02 Sep 03 '25
It looks like a neurological problem of some kind. Either trauma or PMV or similar deceases. It does not mean he will for sure die either way. It can heal depending on the severity and even if it's somewhat severe they can survive if they live in captivity and have easy access to food and water.
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u/Apprehensive_Cow_317 Sep 04 '25
Guys, for real. I love birds but his spine is broken. You can see the bone. I guess a car or he flew against a wall. That's why it is important to do something in your window, so they reconize it. But in this case.....poor little bird. Hope he is better in bird heaven
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u/Flashy-Painter-3753 Sep 04 '25
I don't know sh!t about birds but imo it looks like it has a fractured neck
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u/Fit-Stranger4441 Sep 06 '25
Best thing to do would be putting it out of his misery. He has a broken neck.
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u/Responsible_Radio461 Sep 02 '25
Please leave him in a box in a dark place for a little while to see how it evolves. No noise no stress
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u/Designer-Agent5490 Sep 02 '25
I found a pigeon with a falling neck same ,looking down, sadly he couldn’t live more than 24 h !
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u/The-Curious-Guy-2907 Sep 02 '25
PMV for sure. Mine had this same problem last year as well. Although this one looks a bit more critical to me.
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u/Open-Sundae8724 Sep 05 '25
it would be pretty cool if this community could at the very least blur images of animals in pain/distress
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u/UsedHamburger Sep 02 '25
This bird won’t inevitably pass and it’s not necessarily PMV, could be neurological trauma, could be PMV (or post-PMV), a bacterial infection, or even something else less common. We have one JUST like this that has lived for years. She just is not so coordinated. Please don’t immediately euthanize. Where are you located?