New Outbreak of PMV and Emma continues to lay awful Eggs

From the

Diary as of 11/1 – 11/6/2011

11/1   We have a new outbreak of PMV.

This time it was our Micky who started to show the first symptoms – I noticed that she was showing light symptoms for a few days but on last Sunday I was sure: real stargazing. She had problems to pick up the seed, she was very timid, very nervous. She stumbled from time to time.

So today I took Micky in. She was only skin and bones in the meanwhile and I was amazed that this morning she was still able to fly although she was very wobbly on her legs. So maybe she took her last energy to come to our balcony and walked straight inside. She was the only one with quite bad symptoms – although far not as bad as our other pijjies were 2 years ago – like Pina f.e. who could not eat for several months as you know.

Woody (Micky’s father)  was also showing symptoms but much less and he could eat properly. His mate Maggie did not show any signs at all.

I also realized that Lucky was having the first signs – yes, Lucky as well, who had the bad canker infection not long ago, holding head differently, being more nervous etc. simply the signs which indicate the existance of the virus. So far no real seizures and all can fly properly – even Micky who was showing the worst symptoms – but not all the time – thank heaven. This time it seemed to be a weaker strain of the virus or “our” pijjies were stronger to fight it off.

Well – I have to take it as it is: as long as they are able to eat – maybe with some help if necessary – there was nothing that I could do besides giving them some more care. There is no way to separate the infected ones from the healthy ones as the incubation time had already done its work.

This time I have started them all on carrot juice, an advice Brad Gibson was talking about in his forum: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pigeon-Pet-Chat/264318763604779.
Each pigeon that I could get hold of got some carrot juice with the syringe the others had to take their carrot juice from the drinking pots I always have on the balustrade. I gave them no choice – only carrot juice with water – 50/50.

It was quite funny to watch them how they lurked around the drinking pot. They waited apparently for the first to try it and this was then the signal to try it too. Some of them were really pissed off, some seemed to love the mixture of juice and water. To be honest I was amazed that they drank the stuff at all – imagine it is a bright orange liquid despite the 50/50 mixture but apparently the smell was good and most of them tried it.

Micky was and still is stargazing, loses her balance from time to time, is very fearful and easily shocked, seems to be in a trance from time to time and has some minor spasms in her feet but only for some minutes. She was and still is having seizures – circling/panicking – but then I take her out and stroke her softly and she stops immediately her trembling and becomes very calm. She is still trying to eat a few seeds but tosses 90% of them around but I have given her a little food dish so that she can continue to try. She becomes easily frustrated though and quickly gives up.

I put her on tubefeeding and she eats 3 x 20 ml without any problems – no vomiting so far. I made baby rice flakes with apple sauce and joghurt and added carrot juice each time. In the meanwhile she gets carrot juice in the evening and eats 50 thawed peas for supper. Of course she has a warm water bottle beneath her box so that it is cosy warm for her. She often perches either on the bottom or on the little saucer covered with kitchen paper I always put in the boxes and seems to relax. She is often taking a little nap which is really good for her. But she still has her seizures especially during the morning. Thank heaven her digestion works good and her poops look good – I am quite amazed about this.

Thank heaven Pina and Rudi don’t make a fuss this time – maybe they know in the meanwhile that Micky is no threat for them. I think there is a good chance that she will recover again.

Btw – Micky is the sister of Lucky from a different batch and such a sweet one. I would be really sad if we could not save her. And Woody is the father of Lucky and Micky. Lucky is still showing only some light symptoms – just a bit stargazing sometimes i.e. rather tilting his head to one side than holding it straight. The same applies to Woody but his symptoms are slightly worse than Lucky’s. Both can eat normally and behave normally besides showing some unusual nervousness and light head tremors. I have treated both with carrot juice too.

Emma still does not show any symptoms at all (she never had PMV), neither does Rudi. She is eating very well and is flying around. Pina and Jimi should be immune as we know. But I treated them also with carrot juice – just in case. Loki and Lotti do not show symptoms either. There are a few more pijjies which are coming regularly – some show light symptoms – others none at all. So I think that this is really a weaker strain of PMV or the pijjies from our balcony have become stronger due to the food and clean water supply and can fight it off themselves. Still my hopes that this would never happen again have ended in smoke. Oh my – as if we had not had enough sick and injured pijjies!!! Apparently this is a never ending story….

11/3   Nothing new. Nursing Micky, observing the others closely. No additional sick pigeons.

11/4  Emily laid another awful egg – it was #79 and she also made some very strange poops but only once:

As you can see the egg was broken again but there was a membrane that covered the hole so that nothing of the content was spilled. So Emma apparently is still suffering from calcium deficiency.

11/6   Micky is safe in the hospital box. There is no way that she can survive outside. I am so glad that I have her inside.

~~~

Lucky’s Recovery and Reunion with Emily

From the

Diary as of 10/19 – 10/31/2011

10/19   Lucky’s weight has not changed yet – still only 301 gr. But today he started to move around and did some helicoptering after I constructed a little pen for him with the mosquito net on my working table. Rudi and Pina did not like it though – both hate it when we have a patient inside. I can understand them – it is their home!!!!

Lucky received Flagyl #6 and in the evening his Bene Bac and Calcium #3.

Pina did not lay a second egg. Maybe the reason for this is her molting still – I don’t know. I don’t think I need to worry. The egg she laid was perfect and also fertilized.

10/20   This morning I decided to leave the Flagyl now off and give Lucky a chance to get his intestines in order again. He was a bit down this morning, and when I fed him thawed peas he vomitted them all again after 10 minutes. I don’t know what the matter was, maybe it was too early for him, maybe he still had not digested everything – my suspicion was that the pellets from yesterday were still a bit too heavy – too much fat from the peanuts and sunflower hearts. I think I have to be more careful. So I waited 2 hours and gave him his rice pudding with fruitsauce and joghurt. This at least stayed inside. He also had a visitor: Emma. I simply grabbed her and put her inside his pen made from the mosquito net. Lucky greeted her and she appreciated. But that was it – maybe Emma was not quite sure what to do. But none of them both got aggressive which I consider as a good sign. After 10 minutes I let her out again. Since her sickness she has become quite tame as well.

A short while after that I saw Lucky  perching (making sitting bull – as we call it) on his board and taking a little nap. He seems to feel well now. How sweet this looks.

In the afternoon Emma came in again and I let her into Lucky’s pen again. This time they kissed each other and Lucky started to coo abit. His voice is not fully there but it sounds much beter than 2 weeks ago.

10/21   Lucky is free again!!! I released Lucky this morning. He was so eager to get out of his “pen” that I gave in. I realized that he was feeling very warm – his wings slightly apart from the body and when Emma came in and was slightly panting I was sure that his body heating was functioning again. So I let him go. You should have seen how happy he was, being together with his wife and able to fly again. The weather was cold but sunny so I thought it would be okay.

At first he was still a bit insecure, he stumbled a couple of times, had to get used how to jump up but with every minute he grew stronger. He and Emma came in several times to get a snack. So my world is ok again!!!!!♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Piece by piece Lucky gained his kingdom back and chased off the pijjies who did not belong on our balcony. Of course he also had his dispute with Rudi who had to accept  that the former outdoor balcony owner was back. But everything went well – no injuries.

I only wondered how Lucky would do in the night because it was quite cold. In the evening he quarreled a bit with Emmy who did not want to give up her sleeping place she garnered on one of the pots but also this ended finally in a consent.

10/22   During the night I could not sleep of course so I checked several times on Lucky and Emma but both were sleeping deeply on the balcony – everything was perfect. This morning both came in as usual to take their breakfast and life seemed to be as it always was….

10/23   This morning I realized that Emma had a few small lesions in her mouth so I put her on Spartrix immediately. Probably the stress again because Lucky was hospitalized.

Jimi is heavily molting – in my opinion this happens quite late in the year:

10/24   Emma got another Spartrix and then she disappeared for 5 hours. She has never done this before and I already feared the worst: that she finally was fed up with waiting for Lucky etc. etc. But after 5 hours she re-appeared as if nothing had happened. Oh boy – was I relieved!!!

10/25   Lucky’s poop is firming up. He started to court Emma heavily. They are re-newing their relationship. What a sight – I am so happy about this. They are both enjoying the still-life on the balcony so it seems and…

…and Lucky can read his newspaper again:

10/27   Today everything seems to be in order. Temperatures are still about 10°C but the wind comes from east and is very cold. This morning I discovered a dead pigeon on the opposite building – seems as if a raptor got him. Jimi and Pina must have witnessed because both came in quite panicking. It is very moving that Jimi still seeks shelter here when something is wrong…

The crows and the kestrels are now quarrelling over the corpse – it will soon be gone.

10/30  Weighing day for Lucky:  356 gr. So he is well in shape.  Both he and Emma got a last portion of Bene Bac and Calcivet of course.

10/31   Nothing special – Lucky is doing very well and Emily also.

~~~

Lucky is slowly recovering and Pina lays an new Egg

From the

Diary as of 10/16 – 10/18/2011

10/16   I weighed Lucky today: he is on 303 gr – so he lost a little bit more but not too much – a good start for a recovery. Today he received his last Baytril #7 and Flagyl #3. From now on I will give him the Flagyl in the morning so that I can treat him with the probiotic and Calcium in the evening.

10/17   Today is another day: Lucky looks so much better. The expression in his face has changed – he has started to preen himself and from time to time he is really relaxing on his little saucer. He also started to pick some seeds from the bowl which contains some hulled millet, small enough to be digested easily. His poops are still all wet of course but are plenty and do not smell at all.

And he’s got his voice back -  a bit subdued still but he cooed a bit when Emma came in. So he is definitely on the mend. It is always so sad and frightening when a bird loses his voice – then you know that something is really wrong!!

I am not too over-optimistic though regarding the time he can be out again as there is still some canker stuff lurking in his trachea while his mouth is clear now. So the full cycle of Flagyl (7 days) will probably be necessary.

He is also still very weak and it is sad to see a bird like him in this condition. When Emma came in I opened the lid of the box and poor Lucky hardly made it to the corner of the box. When he did a bit of helicoptering he started to caugh a bit again so there is definitely still some stuff in his trachea which possibly comes up now.

I also started to feed him some homemade pellets for lunch: grinded peanuts and sunflower hearts, bread crumbs and corn flower so that he will gain some energy back. In the evening he ate 30 de-frosted peas, got his Bene Bac and Calcivet. In the morning I still tubefeed him with baby riceflakes with applesauce and vitamins and some grinded peanuts to add some fat and then he gets his Flagyl with some applesauce afterwards to neutralize the bitter taste of the metronidazole.

Lucky is such a brave little patient. He even likes to be groomed by me now and then. I hope that his poops will improve soon. He is drinking a lot which is good I think because this will help to clean his digestive tract from all that bad stuff and the heavy medicines.

Although this all won’t probably happen again – as usual – I am thinking of getting some extra dentist instruments for emergency cases like this. The tweezers I was using did not work at all – you need much finer tools and I think it cannot hurt to have some on hand. Could be useful for string injuries as well.

Pina has finally laid her first egg #46 (her only one as I later realized) – it was 2 days overdue according to her time plan – I suspect it was Lucky’s presence that kept her from laying. I was a bit nervous though after the experience with Emma.

10/18  Lucky is much more lively today. After giving him his riceflakes with applesauce and medication – Flagyl #5 – and cleaning his box I opened the balcony door and put his box into the sunlight. Emma came also – she is molting heavily and looks like a little vulture – and Lucky cooed a bit. He is also stretching himself and does a bit of helicoptering. I think in the afternoon I will hang up the mosquito net and let him a bit out of his box so that he can move more freely.

His trachea looked good this morning but I am not sure whether the canker stuff is entirely gone. We will see tomorrow whether he still needs medication. For the first time this morning he was doing something that looked a bit like a formed poop. But we have to be patient. It is getting along well….

Emma moulting:

Seldom I have seen Emma heavily moulting like this…

~~~

Poor Lucky is really sick and Things are getting worse!

From the

Diary as of 10/7 – 10/15/2011

10/7   It is unbelievable how peaceful it has become again. Emma and Lucky often sit on the middle of the balustrade and enjoy their peaceful place again.

Gave Emma another portion of Calcivet. Just to make sure there is no potential problem.

10/8   It is cold outside and there are still some hardcores like Charly and QuakQuak who try to sneak inside but I cannot allow this any more as we would probably have the same situation as before. For the sake of Emma’s and Lucky’s peace I cannot do this. It is hard but I do not want Emma to become sick again.

10/9   Weather is cold and unfriendly. Pina went out nevertheless – brave little girl.

Lucky is not feeling well. I think as a result of the stress with our pigeon mob and the cold and wet weather he has a light respiratory infection. I watched him “caughing” several times today and breathing through a slightly open beak – but not constantly. He still seems to be in a quite good mood, was flying around with Emily several times, was eating but not very much. I put him on Spartrix to prevent any outbreak of canker – whether he needs antibiotics we will see tomorrow. I don’t want to medicate him yet. His voice was very subdued today. Poor Lucky – I hope he is better tomorrow. I will watch him closely. His weight was a bit low – 330 gr – I have to watch this also.

Pina started to get off her nest now and then. Gave her a portion of Calcivet today and a small portion of Bene Bac – the remnants from Emily’s treatment. Could not hurt….

10/10   The weather is simply awful – cold, rainy and Lucky is still caughing. I have to take him in tonight so that he gets some warmth. Gave him another Spartrix and Baytril  course in the morning.

10/11   Lucky still has big problems to breathe and has some mucus (clear)  in his mouth – he is really sick. I left him out because Emily was crying for him and I was so worried that she might become sick again too. The weather was quite mild so I thought it would be better. But this was a mistake. When I tried to catch him in the evening he flew away and spend the night outside. This was really not good. I should have known that these birds are not clever enough to know when something is bad for them.  At least he had his medication.

Oh my – this is really getting complicated. I really don’t want Emma to become sick again. And I cannot leave both inside because of Pina and Rudi – they are getting crazy when other pigeons are inside – they are afraid of losing their home. You should have seen Pina and the fits she got during the time Emma was inside. She bit me all the time and attacked my feet whenever I walked near her. She absolutely felt betrayed. Poor girl. It’s not her fault. Unfortunately I don’t have the space to keepmore pigeons inside and separated from one another.

10/12   Things are getting worse: Lucky is really sick now and I am very worried. I discovered a large canker nodule in the middle of his trachea which makes it very difficult for him to breathe.  I deeply hope that the Spartrix is working soon and kills this abominable parasite. I feel very sorry for him. When he came in in the morning that was it – I put him immediately in a hospital box and put a warm water bottle beneath the box.

He is on Spartrix #4 and Baytril #3. In the evening his condition became worse and I started to really fear for his life. He was caughing all the time, trying to get rid of that lump in his trachea. I decided to try to get hold of the darn thing with a disinfected tweezers but did not succeed besides putting the poor bird even more under stress. What a shitty birthday this was for me!!!

10/13  This morning I weighed Lucky – he had lost some more weight: now on 310 gr. Not too worrying yet but not good either. No change in his condition – he was caughing terribly.

10/14   I am very worried about Lucky as he is still fighting very much to get rid of that nodule in his trachea which blocks his breathing. I am so sad that he is suffering so much. I gave him the first portion of Flagyl today because the Spartrix apparently wasn’t enough to solve the problem. I don’t know what to do any more. He is caughing and wheezing all the time and breathing still with an open beak. Yesterday it looked like as if it was getting better but today the poor bird was fighting terribly again. Even feeding him peas did not work. He hardly got any air – so I stopped and tubefed him again. It is awful.

This evening he was so miserable that I decided to try to remove at least part of that lump in his trachea with a disinfected tweezers and a large needle. I managed to remove at least part of the lump without any bleeding. He is still breathing heavily but has stopped to caugh all the time. What a stress for the poor bird. He breathes a bit more calm now but still with an open beak. I hope he will find some sleep tonight. The bird really needs some relaxing. Will be a disturbing night again. I really don’t know what to do any more besides praying and hoping.

10/15  Early in the morning I decided to undertake a second little “operation” after the poor bird had a terrible night again where I had the feeling he would not make it much longer. Either he would suffocate or his little heart would not be able to bear this stress any more. I had to do something even with the risk of some bleeding. Every hour when I checked on him it was the same picture: his back was bent like that of a cat to make it a bit easier for himself to breathe and cramps from the caughing going through the whole body. How can a bird hang on through this?

We did the same thing as yesterday – with a desinfected needle I was able to remove the largest lump in his trachea – it came off and Lucky stopped caughing – HE COULD BREATHE AGAIN AND HIS TRACHEA SEEMED TO BE FREE – at least free from larger lumps. You should have seen the change of his look after a few minutes: from total panicking he suddenly looked relaxed and nearly happy.

The rest was clear. We tubefed him, he got his Baytril and finally he could perch and get some rest. This afternoon I gave him his second portion of Flagyl. He even grumbled a bit when I took him out of his box. What a bird and what a fighter!!! Imagine – he hasn’t really slept since last Sunday, all his energy went into trying to get some air. Thank heaven we managed that he did not lose much more weight because this would have been even worse.

This was truly the worst case of canker I have been faced with a bird. And the most resistant.  Tomorrow I will give him the last Baytril and then start with the probiotics and calcium.
Poor Emma has to hold on still – alone on the balcony. If things go well now, she might have her Lucky back by the end of next week if it is dry outside.

I think tonight we both, Lucky and I, can sleep happily again, knowing that the worst is over. Oh my – what a terrible week.

Here are some pics: one is one of the canker nodules that I pulled out of his trachea and the other one is Lucky after the final “operation”:

How cute is this????

~~~

The Pigeon War on the Balcony….

From the

Diary as of 10/6 /2011

I thought I would post the following in an extra post as it is extremely unusual:

While Emma is her old self again, happy, makes very good poops, eats with great appetite and is so happy to have the balcony with Lucky for themselves again. Why I emphasize this – this is why:

last week we suddenly had not only the usual 12 – 15 pigeons in our livingroom for breakfeast etc. but about 30+!!!! And they did not want to leave! They completely occupied our balcony, becoming more and more aggressive so that we could not open the door without having 5 pigeons in our face immediately. We had to use broom and water spray bottle in order to get rid of them, but as soon as Pina or Rudi were eating inside they went nuts outside, tried to come inside and even flew  into the windows. It was awful.

Our dear Charly and his mate Robby became some of the worst and most agressive ones. The additional problem was that we still had Emma inside as well, being sick. This all was a nightmare because Lucky was alone outside to fight off all these beasts which he could not manage of course. I was very worried.

Then Weasely tried to capture Lucky as a mate so I had to drive her away as well. She suddenly became very aggressive too and tried to fly inside whenever she could even risking to be injured, ignoring any caution. Pina did not dare to go outside for 3 days any more. She was absolutely terrified and only Rudi was couragious enough to go outside. When he tried to come home again it was each time an act of balance to fight off the others to give him the  opportunity to fly inside. Altogether a nightmare. At the same time it nearly broke my heart to have to do all this as you can imagine, but I had to – otherwise Emma would become sick again the moment she would go outside with all this stress.

I have no idea why this happened. I would never have thought that I would have to shoo off these birds but they turned into completely aggressive beasts, additionally fighting nastily with each other. It must have been this crazy weather – unusually warm. Instead of preparing for the winter they all must have had a boost of hormones which turned them into something like in Hitchcock’s film. I have no other explanation. It could not be the food because they still find plenty outside. For the safety of our Pina and Rudi, Emma, Lucky, Micky and Jimi, who were the only ones who did not change at all we had to shoo them all off drastically.

Thank heaven this spook was over after a few days – a few of them still tried to get in but at least they became quite respectful again – so the water sprayer was sufficient. Charly and his mate still tried to come inside from time to time and he was still very aggressive so I am afraid he will not be allowed to come inside any more. What a shame. I am quite sad about this.

Now Emma and Lucky are quite relaxed again  and can defend their balcony now with a little help here and then from us. We have PEACE again. Have you ever heard of such an incident where the birds go all crazy?

~~~

Emma released again!!!!

From the

Diary as of 10/1 – 10/5/2011

10/1   I have good news: After treating Emma for a week with Baytril and keeping her in a hospital box for the time I let her out again today, roaming the whole appartment. The last 4 days – while she was still inside – I gave her Calcivet in the evening to build up her calcium levels again. I also treated her with the pro-biotic Bene Bac during this week to help her digestive tract to become normal again.
Closely watching her for the whole week I can say that she fully recovered, cuddling with her beloved Lucky again, making perfect poops and fighting off the unwanted guests from HER balcony. Emma is her old self again.

I think that the problem with the eggs was only secondary and no real Peritonitis – I remembered that, a little while ago, silly little Emily had sat on the thick moss on the roof top of her nest for a longer time – she likes it so much – and that moss was wet from the rain. So I think she simply got an infection of her abdominen that spread to the oviduct and from there to the forming eggs – like a human who gets a bad bladder infection from wearing wet clothes etc. Wet surfaces are never good for birds nor for humans!!! My explanation for her amazingly quick recovery.

She was btw an excellent patient – she vomitted only once on the 3rd day she was in when I got very worried because when I checked her in the very early morning – because I could not sleep really during the whole night – the whole box was full of old seed – stuff she had eaten DAYS before. But – clever bird she is – she only got rid of all the stuff which disturbed her – a cleaning action if you like. From that day on she got remarkably better, her poops started to increase which told me that her digestion was working again and the de-frosted peas did their job of course.

I now wonder when she is going to lay eggs again and how they look like. I pray that everything will be okay…

10/2   Released Emma today. She was so happy to be together with Lucky again. Fed her with 20 peas in the morning – so she had something in her crop and outside she went in the early morning. I had Lucky let inside so that he could get her. This eliminated the problem with Weasely who still had hopes that Lucky would be hers. Also the weather is still quite mild, 15°C during the night,  so I need not worry about Emma getting cold again.

10/3   Gave Emma her first portion of Bene Bac to help her digestion to become normal again.

10/4  Emma and Lucky are heavily cuddling. They look so happy together and with the others not disturbing any more – at least not many – they are without additional stress.

10/5   Gave Emma another portion of Bene Bac. I think this will be the last one because her poops are already perfect again.

~~~

Emma is very sick – potential Peritonitis after Egg laying Problems

From the

Diary as of 9/22 – 9/30/2011

9/22   Emma laid her first egg #77 – does not look very good – there is blood inside and the shell looks grey and rough – not quite as coarse as before but still not as it should be. Additionally I realized that there is some blood INSIDE the egg when I candled it. I am not worried about babies not hatching because the eggs will be exchanged anyway but I am bit concerned about the blood inside and whether this might be an indicator that something is wrong.

Already since a few breeding cycles the eggs of Emma – our matriarch – do not look any more how they should: the surface is not smooth any more, instead it is a bit coarse and bubbly. So I thought – okay – Emma needs some extra calcium and I put her on Calcivet for the last 4 weeks, twice a week 2 drops. As she is not a loft pigeon – only has her nest on our balcony since 4 years – I have not so much control over what she is eating besides the meals she is eating here in our living room. She has access to grit and crushed eggshells on the balcony etc.

9/23   Gave Emma another portion of Calcivet – she had laid her second “egg” #78 what I did not know on that day.

9/24  Things have turned worse: Emma is really sick. Yesterday the second egg should have been due but every time I looked into her nest I saw only one. Emma did not eat anything yesterday and I could not convince her to come in. I tried to catch her but each time I came near her she smelled the trap and jumped on the balustrade. I hoped that she would return to her nest but she did not. During the night she stayed outside ( thank heaven it was not as cold as in the last days). Several times I looked after her but she seemed to be sound asleep so I did not want to disturb her.

This morning I saw that she had urinated a whole lot with a lot of whites but it was too much liquid and she was puffed up of course. So I decided to catch her by all means. I had a piece of bird net still which she would not be as suspicious about and approached very slowly. I threw the net and had her quickly. What a relief

Upon checking her I felt that her abdomen was quite hard so I was not so sure whether she really had one egg inside still. I brougt her into the bathroom and gave her nice warm bath, massaged her very softly hoping that this would help to get the egg out if there was one still – I was still not sure – wrapped her in a towel and put her in a box, warm waterbottle beneath the box and she seemed a bit more relaxed now. No more puffed up.

Then I went out on the balcony and checked the little nest once more and felt inside that the hay was wet and that there was something slimy inside. I took everything out and what I found was this:

I felt so incredibly stupid that I did not check the nest yesterday properly – I could have spared her another terrible day in pain.
She had expelled the egg but apparently the shell did not form properly and then the contents got all spilled. At least the stuff was out of her body but I was sure  she’s had an infection now so I put her immediately on Baytril. I also checked her mouth and recognized 2 very small lesions – so I knew that canker was on the way or perhaps even inside her body already – I don’t know. I put her also on Spartrix this evening.

My poor Emma. I had the feeling though that she was feeling a bit better already – she seemed quite relaxed today, being warm and in a quiet place. I let her out for a few minutes when Lucky came in – who was desperately looking for her today – and they greeted each other. Then I put her back into the box.

She could watch the other pigeons outside and when they came in of course – so she did not feel left out and lonely. Her poops of course looked awful:

I hope it will be better tomorrow.

9/25  I tubefed Emma 3 times today – so she got some calories and liquid. I pray that she will recover soon again.

This is one of those cases again where a pigeon apparently looks very healthy and from one day to another things go terribly wrong. I am only glad that Emma is a strong pijjie and has been very healthy for a long time but then the weather started to play games with very cold nights already, temperatures going up and down, Emma getting into laying mode again which is always a problem for the immune system and then apparently she had not sufficient calcium supply although I gave her calcivet twice a week since the last breeding cycle. So what went wrong – I am asking myself? I have no answer…

9/26  I was told by other pigeon rescuers that Emma might have a Peritonitis. (Reti, thank you so much). I really hope it is not egg Peritonitis because this sickness can lead to death. Emma seemed to feel a bit better today. So I let her out again a bit when Lucky came in,  in order to remind him that his wife was still there and Emma greeted him. She preened herself a bit and afterwards I put her back into her box standing on a warm water bottle so that it was snuggly warm inside. This morning I tubefed her again 20 ml of baby rice cereal with vitamins added, a grinded peanut and a tiny tip of honey. For lunch she had 20 big defrosted peas which she liked a lot – she wiggled even a bit with her wing after the meal. So sweet.

Her poops are still awful but the colour has changed a bit from mushy dark green to lighter green. Her abdomen does not seem to be so swollen any more. So I take this as a good sign. Currently she is perching on her belly in a quite relaxed mode – so I assume that she does not have so much pain any more and that the medicine is working.

I pray that she is recovering soon.

9/30  Emma continues to recover.

~~~