WOW!!! She looks great! You have both come a long way. I bet she enjoys her early X-mas
Since she is on Flagyl, you might want to follow up with a probiotic or antifungal. From personal experience I have had it generate secondary yeast problems.
Thank you! I think she has come a long way too. To think I might have followed the vet's advice and have her put to sleep!
I'm so grateful for all the people on all the forums I posted about her. I got some wonderful advice and it saved Wonka's life for sure!
And thank
YOU for all the fantastic advice you gave me.
I do have some probiotic at home so I'll use that as soon as I finish with her medicine.
Wow Kelsey, you have done such a terrific job getting her health back to normal - she looks so much better all thanks to you!
Thank you!
It is one of the best feelings in the world seeing an animal improve under my care.
Too bad my extended family think I'm crazy for spending time and money on "just a pigeon".
I honestly think non-bird people just don't get it.
that is great, so what did the vet think she had?
Well, the vet was a whole different story. Biggest rip-off of my life! He charged me $70 for the consultation and told me I had three options because Wonka had liver problems. The options were:
- Have her euthanized.
- Do nothing until she dies.
- Do blood tests to see if it really is a liver problem.
Thanks to a fantastic member on the pigeon forum we managed to figure out that Wonka actually had an oviduct infection (the similarities between her pigeon with an oviduct infection and Wonka's symptoms were almost identical!)
She looks great. You have done such a good job getting her healthy again.
I question releasing her now though. I know it seems like the right thing to do, but..
she is now dependent on you for food-could get her in trouble if she tries to seek human companionship with the wrong person. The run is wonderful. I would give her some toys and branches to make her feel comfy. Do you think perhaps she would benefit from some perches, maybe natural ones?
Thank you!
I have been keeping my eye out for possible places to release Wonka once she is healthy. I found a place about 5 minutes away from my house that looks good. There are other pigeons there and they often get scraps from the local bakery.
Wonka is also scared of people now! She runs away from me as soon as I come into the garage.
I guess since I've been stuffing a tube down her throat 4 times a day she's become very wary of humans. This is ultimately a good thing though since I wouldn't want her to get too familiar with strangers once she's released.
At the Wildlife Sanctuary I volunteer at we sometimes have to keep wild animals in captivity for months and months (turtles with broken shells need to regrow their shells before being released). They tend to do very well despite their stint in captivity and relying on humans. So I'm hoping the same will hold true for Wonka!
I didn't even think of adding branches! Thanks for the idea!
Pigeons tend to "perch" on flat surfaces so I'll add some bricks in the run so that she can be a little higher off the ground if she wants. The branches will give her something to hide behind.