Early Morning Rescue... At 2.15 this morning we headed over to Derby to help a pigeon in trouble. A cafe worker had seen the bird huddled up outside a shop and was worried about her. She unfortunately lived a good distance from Derby and despite trying to get security guards at the shopping centre to keep the bird safe, they refused. It took us a while to find the pigeon but we eventually spotted her. We approached and with little effort we caught her. We took her back and examined her. She has an eye infection, an infection on one side of her beak and is also suffering from Pigeon Paramyxovirus. This is a contagious virus of the feral and domestic pigeon resulting in neurological signs such as head twisting and also secondary bacterial infections. Sadly this is not the first case we have seen and we currently have 12 in our care all at various stages of recovery. Infected pigeons may need assisted feeding and need to be kept in a stress free environment with plenty of food and supplements. After six weeks the birds are no longer infectious however they may still show neurological signs. All pigeons we get in that have contracted this disease are offered permanent sanctuary due to possibility of relapse. All our feral pigeons at the Sanctuary that are free flying are vaccinated against this virus and are given boosters once a year. This lucky girl is now safe in an isolation pen and is receiving medication, vitamin supplements and food. Despite her neurological signs she is eating on her own and seems bright. We are confident she will recover.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 22:47:32 +0000
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