Monday 19 December 2016

Paramyxovirus



The sick Pigeon sitting at my door at the beginning of the month is still alive. Initially I thought it was suffering from Salmonellosis a bacterial disease. However after 10 days of antibiotics it had not improved. The symptoms are very similar to Paramyxovirus which I now believe to be the real illness it is suffering from. As with most viruses there is no real treatment available. I have seen pigeons suffering from this before and it is pretty lethal. Around 70% of pigeons die but 30% can spontaneously recover after a month or so.


This one has survived nearly 3 weeks so far, but still has torsion of the neck and tends to hover / fly backwards. I have been hand feeding it 3 times a day, and it now preens itself and seems reasonable healthy. It will be interesting to see if it can overcome this virus. Short movie clip below.


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