My Java pigeon died a few weeks ago from old age, leaving us with just one bird, Julius. He became quiet, sad, and depressed, so we went to where we acquired him 10 years ago and took home their best Java pigeon, Roger. Roger is also 10 years old, but his true sex is unknown.
Roger has been with us for about three weeks. He and Julius have huge cages with openings on the side. They each have their own perch, nest box, food dish, and water bottle. They communicate with each other and have been eating, drinking, and looking nice. Until a few days ago… I went to take them out to take some pictures and saw Roger on his perch with both wings pointing down. His tail was up, his eyes almost closed, and he kept shaking his head like he was trying not to fall asleep.
My pigeon has a scaly beak and is misbehaving: what is the reason?
He let me hold him just fine, but he has something on his beak, which looks like calcium. Julius is great. He’s never been sick in 10 years and didn’t sleep much at night. pigeon lived alone in a barn before he came here. I don’t know what to do for him. I’m sending pictures. Julius is upstairs, pigeon is sick downstairs. Please help.” – Kelly.
See an avian vet
When you have an avian vet available, you should take Roger in for an exam so that the infection in his beak can be tested. The vet will be able to determine how well your bird is breathing and can perform a physical exam to determine the severity of the infection.
If you don’t have a vet nearby, you will be able to treat him at home for the problem in his beak. But, if he has a generalized infection and not just a local infection, which is all I can see in the photo, he may not survive. Birds have a very shallow respiratory system, much smaller than mammals, and an infection that we can live with could be fatal to a bird.
The symptoms you are describing point to a generalized infection. Sick pigeons tend to get into that position to breathe a little higher, they wag their tails, have their feathers ruffled to try to conserve body heat, and may appear sleepy or lethargic. If you don’t have a vet available, you can get doxycycline from a local animal farm (it’s an antibiotic used to treat fish) if you can weigh it properly to get the right dosage. However, if your chicken has a respiratory infection such as aspergillosis or air sac mites, they will need supportive care and the proper medication.
The dosage for doxycycline is 130 milligrams per kilogram of body weight introduced into the water every day. (1) If you don’t have a vet available and would like to use this product, please send us a follow-up inquiry and I’ll be happy to determine the dosage based on the calories you have available. A liquid form is also available at some feed stores to treat respiratory infections in chickens, so just let us know what product you can find. Fungal Infection in Birds
The plaque on the beak appears to be a fungal infection. It is also likely an early scale mite infection on the face, but considering his age, the fact that it is not affecting his face and he has no contact with other birds is not likely. (You can call the place you brought Roger home from and ask if any of their other birds are sick.
Do they see any other dead pigeons on the floor of the barn, although you said he was alone?
There are others with similar initial appearances as this fungal infection; however, if you cannot identify any, one may administer medications to which most fungi are sensitive and treatable.
This is not immediate in the sense that the scales do not seem to involve his nasal passages but can be attended to if possible.