The following story was shared with us by Olive’s Place Dove & Pigeon Sanctuary, Inc. in Oklahoma.
A juvenile pigeon was transferred to Olive’s Place Dove & Pigeon Sanctuary by a tech at a vet office. The young bird was found abandoned after a poultry show. We named this un-releasable domestic pigeon Fenimore.
Fenimore presented with no injuries and in healthy condition for her suspected age, and it was reported by the vet tech that she had some food in her crop upon intake. We opted to feed EmerAid immediately to provide good nutrition while we determined if she could self-feed. We supplemented a small amount of EmerAid during her transition to self-feeding, which took only three days.
In most cases, we see the juvenile continue to grow and develop rapidly, but Fenimore has proven to be a medical mystery. After 6 months, she still appears to be a juvenile bird, and has not developed adult characteristics. She has also gained fatty tissue and has not successfully been able to fly. Blood tests and bacteriology revealed no signs of disease. We are awaiting the results of a hormone function test to determine treatment protocol.