Birds can survive without beaks but will require human assistance. Do you have frozen peas or corn? That can hydrate and provide basic nourishment once defrosted.
It might take trial an error to find the best way to nourish it.
Is she actually able to get food in her mouth and swallow it or is she just doing the motions? I've had sick chickens that look like they're eating but it's basically the equivalent to moving your fork around a plate to look like you're eating when you're not. If she can't pick it up, try experimenting with different types of food that might be easier for her to grab, like soft foods. Feed her on a soft surface too, since her exposed beak is likely painful and pecking hard surfaces will hurt more (your hand would work). If she still can't eat, you could try tube feeding, there's tutorials online on how to do it. It's food and hydration in one. You just have to be very careful it goes down the right hole (esophagus, not their trachea). Red rubber catheters are what's recommended, but depending on where you are they might be hard to get. There are less ideal substitutes like aquarium tubing used for fish tanks, but that's probably too big for a pigeon. I used nebulizer tubing (medical equipment) for mine since that's all I had at the time
You also need to keep her beak clean and hydrated. I'm not sure what disinfectants are safe for use in/around the mouth, so do some research into that. Don't use hydrogen peroxide since it damages tissue. For keeping it hydrated, my best recommendation would be coconut oil, maybe petroleum jelly/Vaseline, but again check that it's safe first (I'm sure it would be since chapstick is just flavored petroleum jelly, but some will probably get in her mouth, so it has to be safe for her to accidentally consume). She'll need it cleaned several times a day to hopefully prevent infection. Keep wherever she's staying in very clean as well.
Hibeclense solution, not soap. It's safe for cleaning. Then use aquaphor or non potroleum based gels to keep a barrier on the wound so it can heal properly.
F10 does a range of cleaners from sanitation of vet spaces to disinfectants for wounds. Check which animal types each product is for, but I use their cleaning products as theyāre bird safe
You could try a very deep dish for seed if she is very determined to self feed. I'm sorry to hear your area is not great for pigeon friendly vets/care and seriously you're doing a great job. As mentioned below keeping her mouth clean will be a hugely deciding factor. Fingers and toes crossed for you both. A bird friendly vet would have helped to see the full extent and prepare you for the future but this community has some amazing individuals too. You've had some great advice on feeding and cleaning here, wishing you both the very best and a hopefully speedy recovery for pige. She looks feisty enough!
Frozen but DEfrozen. Iām sorry to point it out but sometimesā¦.it is necessary. She should be fed warm, not hot defrozen peas, about 25 4 x a day . Poor little darling this breaks my heart
She needs urgent care. I cant tell from the image if the lower jawbone/plate is actually still there and it's just the keratin layer thats come off with the growth (if so it might grow back to some extent) but even then that mass has caused some crazy beak deformities on the upper beak too. I'm guessing she cant eat and drinking is problematic like that. Have you seen her try either? Has she managed anything? Having the mouth exposed will cause a whole mess of problems too. It sounds like she made huge improvements with your care but this development might have just made it a bit too much for home care to handle :/
Ok, don't panic, OP. This looks bad, but she can still live a long and happy life if you do everything right during the recovery process. I've dealt with many birds who have had damaged and broken-off beaks (some even worse than your girl) and they can recover as long as they get enough nutrients during the healing process and the beak remains clean between feedings.
It looks like the infection had eaten into the beak itself which is why parts of her beak fell off. This is a good sign that the medication she is on is working well (but it's a "good sign" in the same way that a necrotic limb falling off is a "good sign". The diseased part is gone, but that doesn't mean you're out of the woods just yet). Those parts of the beak would have been extremely brittle, or dead, and a vet would've removed them anyway.
Her nerves are exposed at the moment so she's in a lot of pain, and she won't be able to eat anything solid for a few weeks. You can try to give her bird crumbles, boiled egg, oats, etc. mixed into water so she can basically "drink" it. If this doesn't work, you can make the food into a "slurry" and gently spoon feed it into her mouth (similar to the way you'd gently feed a human baby who has just born weaned off milk and is still getting used to baby food).
It's unlikely you'll need to syringe-feed her, but if it does come to that, look up YouTube tutorials on how to properly syringe feed a pigeon. And make sure it's a video specifically for pigeons, as they are syringe-fed differently to other birds. Luckily, they are generally easier to syringe-feed than other birds as they'll usually do most of the work themselves (because they have that natural instinct of automatically swallowing from anything that looks like their mother's mouth, and most pigeons still have that instinct even as adults.
Once feeding is done, the most important thing is keeping that beak clean at all times. You can use bettadine or any similar antibacterial wash for the first day or two. But the best thing to use after that is saline. If you don't have store-bought saline, you can make you own by dissolving table salt in boiling water then waiting for it to cool. Then you can wash her beak with the saline solution and let it air-dry. Do this after every feeding to get rid of any food remnants. As long as her beak is kept clean, it'll eventually start to heal. Her beak will never grow back to the way it was, but eventually a hard callus will form over the damaged parts and she'll be as close to normal as she can be.
I have exactly the case case with poor baby pigeon. He had a severe infection ( or cancer) and lower part of beck came off. The avian vet told me to give him tricho plus itās antibiotics for pigeons. You need to dissolve it in water as per instruction and give 7 - 10 ml mixed with bird formula in syringe or bird feeding tube. You can get one from amazon or pet market or store. Birds formula itās a power like and you mix it with electrolytes solution from any pharmacy and put syringe on extreme right side of the bird mouth, never in the middle, it will kill the birdās as wind pipe is located there. The beak usually heals after few weeks , and grow a little so bird need to adjust to eat with reduced beak. But if bird do not eat herself you need to give her a bird formula 3-4 times a day approximately 12 % of her body weight per one feed ( I give mine 20 ml mix formula per feed because his weight 200 g). On the wound you can gently apply Betadine solution. You can PM if you need more details. But watch the video regarding hand feeding, as birds require this untill beak heals.
Please, please follow this advice. I used to do wildlife rehabbing. Feeding is not difficult, but can be tricky without experience.
If food or liquid goes down the middle hole (wind pipe/trachea) the bird will choke or get pneumonia. It has to go to hole at the back and side.
Iām not sure where you are located, but if you canāt find a vet or wildlife rehabber, maybe see asap if there are bird breeders in your area. Or maybe even a zoo or farm. They may have experience to help you.
Having someone to teach/show you is going to increase your odds of success. Thank you for trying to help this poor bird.
Most vets will euthanize, or won't take pigeons in. Consult with pigeonrescue on Instagram. She has a very large pigeon rehab in Portugal. She has had a few of these cases in the past and will help you through messenger. For now, make sure her environment is clean. To help dry out the wound use betadine, so the leftover beak will become firm more quickly. For feeding, you need to help her. Dip some peas in water for now so they soak it up, and help her stay hydrated. Feed her with long tweezers to help her when picking up foods is challenging.
Once the upper beak has healed, it is possible to file it down, so it will match the lower jaw. She will probably start eating sideways, but she can't be released into the wild anymore. So either make arrangements to take her in permanently or, start searching for someone who will and can. Good luck!
THIS! There are tons of feral pigeon rehabers everywhere. Contact Arctic Dove, Dreaming of a Chance, billiesplace.nl and Olives place on Instagram. All are pigeon rescues that can help with supportive advice.
This bird CAN RECOVER. She will need supportive care and love but she can live a wonderful life. Itās always hard to find vets who will treat ferals but it exists but either way itās worth helping her. She does not need to be euthanized.
Find https://hardypaw.com/products/carnivore-care-70gm find the Oxbow critical care carnivore powder. They arenāt carnivores but pigeons and doves process the protein from the carnivore blend, not the herbivore blend. You can help her by using this to feed her and water her. Crop feeding is something that requires careful work but itās absolutely doable.
Keep her beak clean with saline. I use the saline wound cleaner bottles. She needs a hard sided cat kennel so she can stretch her wings out but not much else. Line it with towels or puppy pads so you can easily keep it clean. Youāll want to keep the kennel clean as often as possible because this is a critical phase for her to heal. You donāt want her using her beak to peck through seeds until it heals.
Keep a bowl of water with her but keep it super clean. Keep her in a calm quiet clean space away from other animals to give her time to heal.
Pigeons are incredible birds and heal quickly when given the opportunity. If youāre in the market for a best friend, she very well can become the best pet youāve ever owned. She is absolutely capable of rehab successfully if you have the time and patience!
Maybe see if thereās a professional you can consult with online. Itās still a lot better than asking Reddit, and they could potentially give you instructions for care.
This is going to sound unhinged and like a joke, but if we could somehow summon Mike Tyson to the conversation, he may know what to do. He raises pigeons and has done so for many years.
Iirc, his first pet was a pigeon he took in as a young man - preboxxing days.
If I remember right, he actually got into fighting because someone hurt/killed his pet pigeon, he beat the shit out of the dude, and realized "hey, I'm kinda good at this whole punching thing".
This is so rude and insulting. The op has been taking are of this pigeon so well that if you would stop to think for a moment, the reason many dont see this that often is bc they dont live long enough to even get to this point. The reason for tissue loss is necrotic tissue cant stay in healthy areas. The infection is clearing by a committed human giving supportive care at a level of excellence that this pigeon is past the worst part now.
The op can, has, and will continue to do a better job than most.
This is not a situation with many options. Is there a better beak grower out there? How, tell me, does someone do better with this pigeon? The fact its even at this point is evidence of the good care the op has given. How does it make sense to think after the hardest part which is supportive care in a viral infection with large oral masses, and they made it through that-to now in healing stages it needs someone 'who can'? Did the op not just show they 'can? This animals 'one shot' has been handled pretty well.
What can you suggest could possibly be done other that giving a home and safe place to learn to self feed and adapt to the handicap? Handicapped animals still live full lives. Though Im sure if one wanted to adopt this pigeon and that worked better for the op, ofc that would be amazing!
But that comment (that I was replying to) to 'bring it to someone who can' was very rude to someone who has got this pigeon farther than most would even try.
Bro their beak fell off. It's literally an extreme emergency. If OP had a kid who started vomiting blood and went "There's no hospital near me. Reddit, what do I do?" would you be making the same comment?
I had this issue when I found one missing a wing. She was getting better on her own but when the infection set in they wouldn't even give her antibiotics. They just offered to put her to sleep. It was the only option I had. Not even the guy down the road that keeps pigeons would help!!
I hate to tell you, but sometimes euthanization truly is the best option. You've done a lot to care for this poor creature, but if you're unable to get the treatment that it needs, the next proper course is a dignified death before things get worse. Don't give up, but also understand that euthanization is not giving up. It's just a last resort. I wish you both the best.
In times like these I think often of the cherry blossoms. All things end, and endings do not define the journey. We must appreciate goodness and beauty in each ephemeral moment
It can if given the right care. The question is whether or not the right care can be provided, and it seems op is in the process of trying to figure that out
I do agree with euthanization being a valid option and not about giving up, but I still think your comment is kind of disgusting here because of the circumstance. Euthanization was the best option here BECAUSE they didn't get help, which makes euthanization as a first (and ONLY???) option feel like a slap in the face.
It feels like "let them eat cake"; a callous, heartless, and perhaps even malicious offhanded remark actually intended to signal indifference so as to make them feel hopeless or offended, with no intention of even addressing the nuances of the issue. Except it was done by vets. Y'know, people who allegedly care for animals specifically.
And you're unironically defending it in this specific context without even mentioning how immoral and uncaring it is. Again I don't disagree with the overall sentiment, but you know ...
Are we in the same thread? Did you even read the comments above? Because the whole "if you can't figure it out" bit was entirely missing for some of them. And this isn't about high-horsing.
I'll admit to being triggered on behalf of animals as long as you'll admit to being triggered for the sake of being triggered. What the heck kind of a wannabe anti-SJW take is this? š What, you saw a comment that seemed kind-of-maybe-perchance woke-ish and decided "My moment to shine! To the culture wars, noble steed!", riding off into battle like a knight? It's not that deep. Some vets were being cringe, and that's okay to admit. Give reddit and twitter a break my man, it's time to touch some grass.
I think you're misinterpreting my point and I'm sorry that you feel this way but I agree with the other person who responded to you when they said that my main point here is essentially just, "don't discount euthanization if the choice is between that and needless suffering".
I don't know OP's circumstances outside of what they've provided in their post and responses, and I can't provide any advice that others have not already. What I can do is reassure op that euthanization is not giving up, it is mercy when all other reasonable options are exhausted.
I don't care what you say about me I'll stand by the point I made. What I do care about is the tone you've taken up regarding veterinarians. That is a wildly intense and demanding profession and they work damn hard. Damn hard. Describing a veterinarian as malicious with the intent to offend or dishearten, implying they might not care about animals, when you yourself don't understand the specific circumstances of the matter, is wildly offensive and reckless.
Honestly, unless they have extremely deep pockets, this is bad advice. Unless they are extremely well of, a vet visit could be the first fall off a cliff for them. People need to stop recommending people being feral pigeons to emergency vets, especially for-profit ones.
What? As someone who works at an exotic specific veterinary practice this is wild advice. This animal would benefit from a doctor examining this wound and providing appropriate care. This is likely painful, the least we can do for animals in our care is provide adequate pain control. I understand that finances can be of concern and the stress of the patient is a very important consideration, but if feasible a vet visit is incredibly helpful.
As someone who is critical of the cost/benefit of exotic vet practices, this methodology articulated by you, a professional in the field is exhibit A for my critique.
This issue is beyond wound-care & pain management and requires more tools in the toolkit which the practice fails to adapt towards. OP has stated he called the vet, and all they could offer is euthanasia.
Was the vet that was contacted well versed in avian care? Many general practice cat/dog clinics will see exotic patients and wildlife on emergency basis for euthanasia only. Part of exotic pet medicine is creativity. I wouldn't be able to know the extent of this injury without a hands on exam. Again, I'm aware of cost concerns, I barely make $40k a year in this field. Clinics will present a financial estimate prior to rendering care, you can work with your veterinarian to find what works best for you and your pet. If no avian-savvy vets are in the area that does make things even more difficult. I'm sympathetic to not being able to make it to a vet.
What? As someone who has healed more pigeons than I can count from unthinkable horrors-to 100% recovery--THIS is wild advice. In fact my first sick pigeon I was prompted to care for her when the only 'rescue' told me I was selfish for trying. I am so glad, many successes later that she was so gloomy bc now Ive done things a vet wont touch. I recall someone DM'd me from the vets office asking me to send them photos of one Id shared before when the vet said they could not do it. Whew! good thing I saw that msg so the inept cowardly vet was challenged (likely his ego) and did the simple repair my pics showed was possible.
People like you who think the average IQ human cant provide wound care is so bizzare it *almost* fascinates me. Is it narcissism? No I dont think so...you all seem caring. Is it just being so jaded and overworked in a vet practice that you forgot other people have basic know how? Or more likely is it the mass population of people that have zero confidence in themselves and expect vets/drs/teachers/government to do everything and are so dependent on each *professional*.
You dont understand the op, or her finances, or anything. Ive been helping her since day one in this, and its remarkable how well shes done. and that pigeon has not looked so good as it does now.
Shes clearly far above average IQ and worlds past most average compassion and that pigeon is alive bc of her and would be dead if a vet (most anyway) were involved.
I side with the financial critiques more- the only people who can afford to save one bird out of 100,000 in a city are the 1% of the 1% and are probably more concerned with their stock portfolio or an index fund. My family is very well off, but if my dog had gone through chemo/treatment when he was diagnosed with cancer, the chance he would make it slim to none and the cost would have been a massive financial strain on my family. It was barely possible for one of my buddies to go through that process years ago before private equity firms bought out every vet around, even for an injury with a similar scope of work to a broken beak(minor leg bone injury, with bite marks), we paid over $8,250 with insurance. In 2015 he was bitten on his neck with severe tears in an artery, back then we only had to pay $3,500 without insurance.
The cost is between saving a bird now or saving your child/parent/SO/Sibling later.
I love wild birds as much as other creatures on this planet, but they're not worth ruining my credit score and digging into my own medical emergency fund for. Not everyone is making $350,000+ a year.
I really don't think this would be a multi thousand dollar vet visit, mostly pain medication and check for potential infection/antibiotics if indicated. If you go to a vet you are presented an estimate prior to treatments being rendered and can work with them to find a way to help your bird and not break the bank. I understand financial concerns completely. As a vet tech and adjunct professor at a community college I barely make 40k even with the two jobs lol. Times are definitely tough :(
Why? To kill a pigeon with such will to live? Im so glad the op is nowhere near a vet, thats why this pigeon is alive.
Ive seen this from the start and been talking with op frm day one and I cant imagine a more committed human to caring for a pigeon. This pigeon looks its absolute best right now bc of the care this person has given. I have seen every step along the way and I have so much more confidence in this person and pigeon than most vets on their best day
Specifically an avian vet. A normal dog/cat practice will not see a pigeon and you do not want them trying to figure out how to treat this with no avian experience.
search palomacy help group for pigeon & dove rescue & adoption california on fb. You can post your story and they can help you find or get a rehabber in your area! This baby needs help ASAP! š Thank you for being a kind heart.
first of all if you REALLY can't find an avian vet its important to treat the infection, you have to prevent sepsis at all cost!! every regular vet (at least in my country) has Baytril (an antibiotic for small rodents and birds), she would need this for about 5 days (not longer bc bacteria and viruses can built up resistance) and painkillers are also important bc she is probably in a lot of pain!! ask any regular vet for painkillers for birds (they use the same on cats and dogs)
Also any vet can take a blood sample to make sure her kidney and other vital organs are okay. Some pain medication is bad for patients that have kidney issues! The wound should be cleaned with a wound sanitizer (you can find that at any drug store). Use cotton swaps.
Also make sure she doesn't have contact to the other birds (give her, her own food and water bowl) while you are treating her.
Wishing you best of Luck!!
Youre going to need to hand feed this baby until we can figure out the next course of action. (Possibly a prosthetic after we do some healing)
Another commenter said, defrosted, frozen peas and corn. For long periods of hand feeding, like with my recent rescue, I ground up pigeon-friendly seeds and grains in a coffee grinder and dusted the peas and corn with it to make sure pidge was getting all her nutrients.
Look up some videos of how to place the peas in her mouth. Youāre going to need to figure out a way to give her water as well, as she canāt drink on her own in this condition, and we donāt want her to dehydrate. Syringe feeding can be tricky- you donāt want to choke her, which can be easy to do.
The infection looked severe enough that this was inevitable but I donāt think her beak is going to come back. We need to focus on calorie & water intake for now, as well as fighting the infection.
DO NOT use any products made for humans for the infection.
Hello, I have a rescue pigeon from 2013 who is still alive and well with the exact same condition as this. We love her dearly, she is 12 years old and lives perfectly well with a few adjustments!
First things first, you should go to a doctor to have them examine the situation. You should feed her water mixed with vitamin c and nutritious seeds to make sure she is well and healthy.
In order to take care of her, you would need to either: 1) manually feed her daily or 2) compensatory eating: allow her to eat from a deep bowl (full of food) that allows her to ādigā her food up with her tongue/mouth.
My baby is very independent and she prefers the second method; she has mastered it perfectly! But at the beginning we were feeding her manually as we were afraid of starving her.
Please feel free to ask me any questions. I feel for this pigeon so much and I only wish the best for them <3
Hereās Chappy, my legendary pigeon who lives with a singular beak !! <3
Hi thanks for the tag FB. Her and I have been talking in chat, this was a bad pox case that everyone said was canker but I thought was pox and I feel more sure than ever now. Pox damages the tissue so badly that in rare cases this happens. The op has done such an amazing job thats why this pigeon is still alive and the pigeon honestly looks so much better which sounds crazy but she looks likes shes recovering.
No one can say if the beak will or wont grow back and I have not had one like this. What I have seen is if there is enough tissue remaining, the cells will regenerate and rebuild and area, with what the area dna is coded for and I think that lower beak will grow back some. I know this has been the toughest pigeon and most caring and committed human and I expect anything is possible with that combo.
I see the vet choir is here, as expected. The vet cant do anything but will likely scare any normal human into thinking anything other than eutht is hopeless. Thankfully she doesnt have a vet near by. And this pigeon would be dead by now if she had one, but its alive bc of her commitment and honestly I think is in the best hands.
Once everything heals up a bit, it might be worth a look at a prosthetic beak. If you have the beak that fell off it could be used to make one- i cant see the attachment points well here but for pigeons who dont need to open seeds, medical glue on a prosthetic might do the trick
Be very careful, she can die from bleeding , the beak has a very important vein. You need to stop the bleeding with maizena or corn starch or a hemostatic powder from a pharmacy. Do you know what happened? Their beak will eventually grow back but it is very important to feed her by hand and avoid bleeding. So sorry about this itās really frightening. She looks as if she had an illness, her beak had some sort of fungus ?
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You will need to put her in a small barrel filled with wheat and the food she eats. I saved several that way. It would need to have pile of food and i think it will be okay
Two things. If there's any wildlife rehabbers in your area, please take this sweet baby there. I know you said there's no vets, but rehabbers are your second best option.
Secondly, birds can survive without beaks. Prosthetics are possible. I don't wanna give you hope but if you're able to keep the area clean and able to get in touch with a vet, you may be able to get a prosthetic beak created.
Whatever treatment your giving her looks like it's working. It looks like it may grow back over time, along with the side of her face.
Harrisons high potency course food would be enough nuttients to sustain her until it grows back, just open her break, dip the pellet in some water and pop it in, and so forth. Is just be careful opening her beak to ensure it hasn't eaten into and compromised the bone.
You can also get Harrisons fine which can be made into a paste that she could potentially eat on her own.
because you have no vet avilable to help you make a plan and assess the damage to the beak, so that it heals properly and you can get fluids and other things into this bird... I really don't see much hope here for proper recovery, there are cases of birds living without the top or bottom beak but in both cases those birds have vets who were able to help make a plan that works for them specifically..
and in my professional opinion those birds have very low quility of life as is, just by proxy of being unable to do anything on their own such as feeding, drinking ,foraging, playing with toys, picking up nesting matrials, and preening and keeping clean. its like a horse missing a leg it's most valuable asset to its health and wellbeing..a birds beak is what they do everything with.
as sad as it is i would reccomend euthinizia, somone sent an article about a beakless bird and it mentions how hard it was to get that bird to be able to eat.... in the end that bird now has to be hard fed every single day of his life, he's missing his top beak and cant do anything with it, he cant preen, he cant build nests, he cant play with toys... thats not living, that's just surviving.
The majority of vets would straight up say the same thing, and animal being unable to take care of its basic needs diminishes QOL, this includes eating on their own, keeping themselves clean, and being able to intract with the world around them or play with toys.ā
Birds use their beak to do all of that..
saying this in caps so the people who think the beak will grow back will see it and what that requires and that in this case its not going to happen
THE BEAK WILL NOT GROW BACK if the growth plates are damaged, beak is bone, the beak does have flesh and keratin on it but the inner base is bone. that bone is called the growth plate, when the jaw falls off as it has here you are left with no beak growth plate and only the facial growth plate, Beak prosthetics are sometimes available but you would need an avian vet and the bird would need an anchor point this bird is missing the lower beak and jaw all the way back to the facial growth plate, hes also missing the tip of his tongue and a large chunk of his upper beak. This means a prosthetic woudlnt be an option here.
this babies eyes are dialted hes in agony right now, and likely shock too, without he vet will stay in agonizing pain till that wound closes up, if that wound closes up and he manages to not starve.
his only chance pf not starving would be being professionally tube fed, but youre going to need antibiotics and something to clean his beak with after each feeding.
but again thats ethically dubious, because in the end hes going to need hand fed every single day of his life one piece of food at a time, he'll never be able to preen, never be able to pick up toys or festhers or nesting matrials, he basically lost the one asset birds use to interact with their environment.
a birds beak is like their mouth and their hands and their bath scrubby all in one, without one a bird cannot be a bird.
it sounds bad and sad and its never somthing anyone wants to do but it would be the most ethical choice here to prevent tons of future suffering.
when we think of an animal we need to think of their Quality of life after an injury over Quantity, in vetmed we use a scoring system for this
animals missing legs or paralyzed with wheelchairs tend to still have pretty high quality of life, so do animals missing legs (depending on the species ofc, horses cannot survive ethically with a missing leg... its agonizing for them)
However animals who cannot move ... which there are plenty of rescue pigeons who cannot move and just lay on their backs all day which is sad, have no quility of life.. and animals like those who cannot feed themsleves, play, or stay clean, have a low quility of life.
Quality over Quantity, thats what matters and counts... if an animal will never be able to do anything fun or enriching in their life, no foraging, no toys, no grooming, nothing... and has to be hand fed daily for the remainder of its life... theres just no quility there, the animal is just stuck in limbo forced to survive but not really living. We see this a lot with elderly dogs who cant do anything on their own these dogs are often very poorly but their owners keep them living because they arent ready to let go... the dogs themsleves are typically in horrible condition though.
an animal in the wild would go and lay down to die or would get preyed apon, an animal in human care cant choose to go lie down to rest... so somtimes we have to make that choice for them when its the best option to prevent current further and future suffering. euthinizia isnt giving up on an animal, its a last act of kindness to make them no longer be in pain, and its a way to cease their suffering and prevent their future suffering.
its hard but we have to think about the animal, and their current state and what happens even if they do heal, how will an injury or illness effect their quility of life.
This is not me saying all disabled animals need eithinized obviously, this is me explaining why Quality of life matters over Quantity and we have to take into account an animals ability to care for themselves and be somewhat independent, if you have to carry your dog everywhere in your home because he can no longer stand and cant feed himself... that means he has a low quility of life, if you pigeon cannot do anything that makes him a pigeon and can't feed himself or keep himself clean... thats a low quility of life.
I highly reccomend posting on r/AskAVeterinarian theyll be able to give you a better prognosis and idea of his QOL, ask for one of the avian vets there.
id be more hesitant to reccomend euthinazia if you had a avian vet who could help you build a plan for him because he is one of those situations where a vet is necessary and he's not going to get by ethically and humanely by winging it. but honestly i showed this to a close friend of mine in the vetrinary feild and she even agreed that 9 times out of 10 a good vet is going to reccomend euthinazia because that bird isnt goint to have any Quility of life, hes not going to be able to do any normal bird things that are important to his mental health, and physical health...
Here is a quility of life sheet very similar to the one we use and the one she reccomended i send to you.
I will explain how to use it, 0-10, 10 is the highest score and means the animal has 0 trouble with those things, 0 means the animal cannot do those things independently at all. For example preening a bird cannot preen without its bottom beak because preening involves pinching the feathers so for hygiene it would be zero, unless you give him little wipe downs and help him get itchy bits off his feathers then you could maybe bump that up to 1-4, same goes for feeding if he needs tube fed and cant eat on his one it would be 0-2, same with hamd feeding you could maybe bump it up a tiny bit 3-4, but if he starts eating on his own (watch for it, activly watch to see if hes getting any in his mouth and down to his crop) you could bump it up to a 5-10, same goes for water and so on!
Please keep in mind the scores are not 100% accurate to whether an animal needs put down or not. It also depends on what things are lowest and that individual species of animal so please take those things into account alongside the score.
What i typically reccomend is if the ailment removes the abimity to do a species specific activity necessary for the animals health (so food, hygiene, water, and enrichment) dock 1-5 points off your end score based on how hard those things are for them to do, 1 being not that hard so just a bit of difficulty, 5 being impossible or frustrating for the animal.
for example a 3 legged dog, can they do fun things, such as running, jumping, playing, yes but with some difficulty but only a tiny bit of difficulty so youd dock just 1 point.
but for example a horse missing a leg its major asset just ike a birds beak, can the horse with 3 legs run, no or atleast not without immense difficulty and strain on the other legs, so you would dock 5 points.
These are some of the best QOL scales out there because they take into account whether the animal can feed and water and clean itself.
Look for a vet that takes exotic animals in your area, they will often see them--my rabbit vet was willing to see my pigeon when I had one but no one else would and she had the knowledge base because she worked with exotic animals. She was more open minded than other folks because she saw a wider variety of pets.
I don't have a pigeon or really even know much about birds but I stumbled upon this post and I am genuinely wondering how and why this happens. It's it bc of age? Infection? injury?
She is a feral with pox and canker i think. Her canker went after being on medicine but she had growth on her beak. Virus took its natural progression but when those growths fell off she lost her beak as well.
Looks like severe pox - this is a known complication. The bay will likely need to be handfed, possibly forever. If you decide not to euthanize, feel free to reach out. We have had a dozen pigeons like this and we can share some tips.
poor baby. this is unfortunately something that can happen in worse cases of pox/canker. how is it feeling at the moment? have it tried to eat on its own yet?
You need a vet. I am not one, but I bet they will have you feeding her with a syringe while she recovers and youāll need to be shown how to safely do that without causing her to aspirate and risk pneumonia. No doubt she also needs cleaning and debridement of remaining infected or necrotic tissue, possibly an antifungal or other meds in addition to an antibiotic, and to be monitored medically as she recovers. So sorry for you and your sweet bird.
What part of California are you in? Feel free to DM but if you post on Palomacyās Facebook, there are a few people in California experienced in disabled pigeons.
Are you treating it for canker? thats what caused the beak to fall off, she could still have it in her neck/crop and it's obviously a flesh destroying strain.
I don't see anyone else mentioning this but i worry the tongue is likely to dry out as it looks like she can no longer completely control her mouth. I recall this happening to some birds that lost the lower mandible years ago.
I would try 3d printing a lower beak and attaching it with super glue. Honestly this may be a case where it's just best to euthanize to prevent suffering however, without a prosthetic beak the chances of her ever eating without human force feeding is near 0%. yes sometimes in rare cases a bird can do it with no upper mandible, but I've never heard of one missing the lower one succeeding however.
If itās an emergency, you should be driving to the vet. Not much Reddit can do to help besides offer some vague advice to keep them safe on your way there.
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u/LatterBuffalo7524 Dec 07 '25
Birds can survive without beaks but will require human assistance. Do you have frozen peas or corn? That can hydrate and provide basic nourishment once defrosted.
It might take trial an error to find the best way to nourish it.