DJ

hi and thanks for looking after a lost racing pigeon,if a have any small seeds like rice,lentils,barley or even parrot or budgie seed than im sure the pigeon would appreciate it along with the water you have given it if you still have the pigeon than try cutting a hole in the box so it can see to eat/drink but as lindsay says there should be some letters on the pigeons leg ring before the no,s,which will help u trace the owner also the other ring may be the owners tel no so u can ring him direct,if you need any further help please update us but im sure that there must be some pigeon fanciers in your area who can help? come on guys who can help a non fancier out? debs

thanks for the reply IB my youngsters were left on there own last night in their bowl but when i checked them 10 mins b4 lights out they were warm as toast and nestled in straw so i left them and first thing this morning they were fine when i checked them again they are being fed ok so im probably worrying over nothing thanks again debs

hi can anyone tell me how old yb,s are before they are left on there own overnight in the nest? debs

well guys thanks for all your advice,its much appreciated i opened up my loft this morning and again only some came out leaving the majority of my birds just sitting on their perches in the loft,the one thing i did notice when cleaning out was that one bird has some blood in his/her droppings? when it was time to feed them some of them came down to eat corn but others just looked on? hopefully my test kit will arrive tomorrow so i can get the droppings checked asap,the only avian vet in my area has now retired and the other vets i have tried were worse than useless so i wont waste my money on them hopefully i can post some good news soon thanks again debs

thanks jim and IB for your help,i got some charcol tablets from the chemist and gave the worse affected birds half a tab each and some have eaten some corn today so hopefully that has helped, im still waiting for the test kit to arrive in the post so i can have their droppings tested so at least i will know what im treating for? ive also put cider vinegar in their drinking water as im told that helps fight infection? apparently most street/feral pigeons are infected with salmonella as they eat scraps in the street that have been in contact with mice/rats that carry the disease so thats a concern for me as the feral squeeker will probably have drunk water from my drinkers probably spreading the disease:( i will post an update tomorrow thanks again guys debs

thanks for the reply jim well ive left them without feed today and put fennel tea in their water as suggested by a friend, to make matters worse the feral squeeker that i threw out has now realised that he can get fed by visiting next doors bird table so is still hanging about, hopefully i might see a slight improvement in my birds tomorrow deb

i had been away for a week and left a friend looking after my birds,when i got home a couple of weeks ago i found a feral squeeker in my loft with my pigeons that that had been there for 2 days since my friend last let my birds out for a fly, i chucked it straight out of the loft and then the panic set in-what do i do now? well the first thing i did was one spot all my birds with ivermectin as the feral was covered in lice,then i kept watch? now some of my birds have stopped eating and just look as i fill the feeders without eating any corn? when i felt the affected birds crops they felt spongy and some had a small amount of corn still in them? some have now developed wet droppings and also lost weight? i opened the loft door yesterday and only about a third of my birds went out for a fly with the rest just sitting on their perches the affected birds all vary in age from yb,s,yearlings,right up to 04 birds, what would u do in my situation? debs

thanks 4 replies everyone debs

ive got a 05 white/red saddleback cock paired to a o2 blue bar hen that have bred a chequer yb? up till now theyve always bred blue bars except for one mealy pied can anyone tell me if this pair can breed a chequer or do u think my blue bar hen has been playing away? debs

HI,CAN ANYONE TELL ME TO BEST PLACE TO BUY SOME DOXY-T,IVE BEEN ADVISED TO TREAT FOR A MYCOPLASMA INFECTION/RESPIRITORY SO NEED TO GET SOME ASAP ANY HELP APPRECIATED DEBBIE

good to hear that owner is collecting bird tomorrow, try to entice the bird to drink by putting a small dish or bowl of water in front of it or dip its beak into it, lost young birds can easily become dehydrated which a non fancier like yourself wouldnt notice, but that said youve done a great job so far caring for it,please keep us posted when the bird is collected and thanks for all youve done debbie

please let me know if this bird is still with you tomorrow and refuses to fly away of its own accord. hopefully somebody nearer to you will collect this yb. debbie

is there anyone near reading or nearby who can help this non fancier out by collecting this yb tomorrow? debbie

the garage definately sounds like a better idea as a cat or fox could easily sniff it out in the garden overnight. debbie

well done for taking care of a lost young racing pigeon hopefully its just tired from trying to find its way home do u know if its drunk any water or eaten today? you can try dunking their beak in some water just in case its thirsty. it will eat food such as wild birds seed,barley,lentils or suchlike. as long as wild animals/cats cant get access to the box it should be fine overnight i only say this as i once asked somebody to put one of my birds in a box overnight which they did but left my bird/box in their garden overnight ive sent you a private message with my tel no in case you need any more help? keep us posted debbie