Advice please on a sick dove (sensible answers ONLY please!)?

Question

My mum keeps doves and pigeons. Over the years she has lost some to old age but there are still a couple in their teens. She has had a few of the "go off their legs" sometimes when they lay eggs but they usually get better within a few days (the vet has checked them frequently and declared them fit and well, just trapped nerves).

However, one has recently "gone off her legs" again and is taking a lot longer to get better. She can eat, drink, coo, loves a cuddle and is otherwise ok, but dad thinks it may be cruel to keep locked up until she is better (my mum keeps her in a box in a bedroom). Dad is pissed off, and he is worried that doves and pigeons transmit all types of disesases, especially as she is living in the house! He thinks that enough is enough and she should have it put down before it gets too miserable. Mum wants to keep going until the dove recovers as she has a mate in the aviary who is the same age as her.

As i said before ONLY SENSIBLE ANSWERS PLEASE!

Thank you!

Answer 1

DOVE PIE

Ingredients

4-5 doves, drawn
salt and pepper
250g/8oz stewing beef
250g/8oz shortcrust pastry
beaten egg to glaze
2 tsp cornflour
300ml/10fl oz stock

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Joint the birds into two breast joints and two leg joints each and stew the rest of the carcass in a little water to make stock for the gravy.
3. Cut the beef into small pieces and line a deep 20cm/8in pie dish with these.
4. Lay the dove joints on top, cover with water, add salt and pepper, then cover the pie dish with greased paper or aluminium foil. Place in the oven and simmer for 1½ hours.
5. Remove from the oven and raise oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
6. Cover the pie with the shortcrust pastry, brush the top with beaten egg, put back into the oven and bake until the pastry is golden brown.
7. Make a gravy by mixing 10g/2tsp cornflour with a little cold water and add to 300ml/10fl oz of the warmed stock. Allow to thicken while stirring, season and serve with the pie.

Answer 2

Go to the vet and demand them to give the dove the proper care it needs. There is no law against being upset towards someone for inadiquate health care.

This, and is he a board certified avian veterinarian? He might not know a lick about birds, so he's giving you the A-okay on what he does know; it's breathing, eating, drinking, has both legs and two wings... Even with that information, any Schmoe can surmize that the bird is living, but without blood tests, feather tests and Gram's stains you won't know if they're healthy.

If your dad is that complacent, he probably has that stand that this is your mum's project and may have been asked in the past to not interfere (my assumption). It may be best to skip that step if your dad is taking the path of least resistance.

However, if this is a captive bred dove, your dad has little to worry about. The only way that a dove or pingeon can be infected by disease from wild pigeons is if they are in filthy conditions (which supresses their immune system) or if there have been wild caught doves or pigeons put with them. If that is the case, your mum should not be handling them, either. Some of the diseases carried by wild caught pigeons can be transmitted to humans. If any of the birds are sick, and he has been around them, people have been infected long before this bird came through the front door. This would be the "too little, too late" scenerio.

The box is not that bad of an idea- a quiet place in which to rest is always doctors orders, and this is the same thing my vet told me when I started having sick birds.

When my doves are sick, I use a heating pad to keep them warm (no more then 89 degrees F) and a hand towel. Cover only 1/2 the bottom of the box so she can move to the other side if she feels it's too warm. They also get the special treatment of nothing but eggs (boiled or scrambled) and kale, spinach or Romain lettuce. This will help her get her strength back.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Wow. I would explain to your daughter about why what happened with her friend was (obviously) not appropriate. (because #1 you do not do things like that w/your best friend, #2 you are 9 yrs old and you do not do those things period, etc) Then, your daughter needs to know that if she has any questions about anything that she can come to you for answers, without you getting mad at her. If you're too upset with her, she may not feel like she can trust you with questions, so she just won't ask. (and you don't want that). I'm not so sure I'd let her spend the night at that friend's house again either. I had a problem last summer with my niece saying some pretty nasty things to my daughter (about kissing and other sexual stuff - they were both 10 at the time) and I do not let her spend the night there anymore. I know they're cousins, but I feel like I have to protect my daughter from that kinda stuff for as long as I can. Nine and ten year olds should NOT be talking about those kind of things - it's just not right. This is your little girl you're talking about here - you know what to do.

Answer 4

It is a pity for that pigeon, better ask your mom to ask the vet to have a second look. Some people when sick need to be check not only once but twice or even more how much more the birds or animals. Please be advice not to keep your doves and pigeons inside your room especially this time when bird flu is common.

Answer 5

hi there, im sorry i do not know anything about doves, bnut maybe your mum, instead of keeping the dove in the bedroom, could keep it in some sort of cupboard(like under the stairs, i mean a large cupboard, i don't want it to sound creul, that way your dad doesn't get as pissed off that the dove is in the bedroom, he might just feel like his privacy is a bit invaded, sounds silly i know. and your mum is also happy, as the dove is still in the house, until the dove recovers, afterall, the dove doesn't know the difference between a cupboard(large) and a bedroom, i really hope things work out, good luck!

Answer 6

I suggest you talk to a vet or the RSPCA for advice on this one. Your father is correct, pigeons definitely carry diseases which can be transmitted to humans but I don't know about doves.

Definitely talk to a professional though for the best treatment for the dove.

Answer 7

My father and I have racing pigeons and I think the best is to get the vet to have another look at the bird and give you advice on what to do.

As for it living in the house. Pigeons actually have lice under their feathers so be careful not to keep it in the bedroom or near your clothes and things.

Answer 8

You could ask your mum to keep her in a small cage within the coop. If she's eating and drinking and defecating as normal, she should get better. If it's age, she won't and your Dad is right. You could also try worming her and giving her a dose of antibiotics (eg amoxycillin) in case she has a mild infection or parasite load.

Good luck.

Answer 9

Pigeons need grit (sand) and oyster-shell to be able to digest their food and to form eggshells property. This "off their legs" is a symptom of not having enough calcium in her diet. She needs oyster-shell regularly to avoid this. Human beings cannot get diseases from pigeons. In fact, pigeons are immune to the bird flu virus, per MS NBC News.

Answer 10

Since your mom has had doves for a long time, she probably knows instintively what to do for the bird so let her keep the bird in the shoebox. She may be missing her mate though.