would most certainly have the birds checked out by a good avian vet,,, hope this is diagnosed very quickly , as this could be one of many things,, hope things work out for you,
these are wonderfull feats for a" small bunch of feathers" it rings home the love they have of their home,and the stamina they have, there have been a few pigeons recorded flying over 1000, miles into scotland , our own" clockman" acheived this, and my now deceased freind billy pentland also acheived this , and also a mr moffat of mountskip, [nr edin], its easy to say 1000 miles ,,,but some feat for a pigeon , homing to a back garden loft,, its a long lomg way
theres no doubt about it , woman make better fanciers than men , they seem to have patience , natural sense, and seem to build a bond with the easier than men
one way of making "nettle soup" is to cut the top 6 inches from the stinging nettles , boil on water , then give in the birds water,, it is sopposed to be good for them[ good for the garden too ;D left in a barrel of water,, but it absolutely stinks ] personally i think, birds will eat what they need and when they need it , if available for them
sorry to hear that, but health and family come first,,,
who knows, maybe in a year or two, you will be back with the birds,meanwhile i hope your health improves
hope you have some luck in your area frazer , drinkers are very cheap for new ones , at blackpool , maybe someone going [if your not ] might get them for you,, wish you luck anyway