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Health index & triage
Check the urgent signs first, then use the short summaries below to choose the most relevant guide. Several illnesses can look alike, so these pages help with triage rather than confirming a diagnosis.
Urgent: act now
Keep the pigeon in a small, ventilated, dark and quiet box. Handle as little as possible and contact an experienced pigeon rescuer or avian/exotics veterinarian.
- Open-mouth or visibly difficult breathing
- Heavy bleeding or a deep wound
- A cat or dog attack—even without an obvious wound
- Seizures, collapse, or inability to stand
- A wing or leg hanging at an unusual angle
- Unresponsive, cold, or rapidly worsening condition
A consistent structure
What each complete guide will help answer
The current pages are intentionally brief: they introduce the condition, recognition and usual treatment. When a guide is expanded, these are the same questions its deeper research will follow.
- Signs and differential diagnosis
- Contagion and isolation
- Recovery time and expected course
- Prognosis and survival factors
- Possible sequelae and disabilities
- Prevention, immunity, and vaccination
- Medicines and treatments you may be offered
- Clinical sources, papers, and review date
All health guides
Choose a condition or symptom
Each guide briefly explains what the condition is, how it may present, the usual treatment approach and the sources used.
Trichomoniasis
A protozoal infection, often called canker, that mainly affects the mouth, throat, oesophagus and crop. Severe lesions can obstruct swallowing or breathing.
Read guideOrnithosis/Chlamydia/Coryza
A respiratory syndrome in which Chlamydia psittaci is an important possible cause. Other bacteria or mixed infections can look similar, so the name alone is not a diagnosis.
Read guideParamyxovirus
Pigeon paramyxovirus type 1 is a contagious viral disease that can affect the nervous, digestive and respiratory systems. Laboratory confirmation matters because trauma, toxins and other infections can mimic it.
Read guidePoxvirus
Pigeon pox is a viral disease. The common dry form causes wart-like growths on bare skin; wet pox affects the mouth or upper airway and can be much more serious.
Read guideAdenovirus
Adenovirus-associated disease is seen especially in young pigeons and may occur with aggressive secondary E. coli infection. Similar digestive signs have several other causes.
Read guideSalmonellosis/paratyphoid infections
Salmonella infection may stay in the intestine or spread to joints, organs and the nervous system. Some recovered pigeons remain intermittent carriers.
Read guideParasites
Pigeons may carry internal parasites such as roundworms, hairworms, tapeworms and coccidia, or external parasites such as mites, lice and pigeon flies.
Read guideDystocia
Dystocia or egg binding means an egg is not moving normally through the reproductive tract. Pressure on organs and air sacs can make it a rapidly fatal emergency.
Read guideRespiratory infections
Respiratory signs are a syndrome, not one disease. Chlamydia, Mycoplasma, other bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites and throat disease can all be involved.
Read guideCrop problems
A crop that stays full or swollen is a sign, not a diagnosis. Infection, trichomoniasis, obstruction, dehydration, systemic illness and feeding errors are possible causes.
Read guideCollision/trauma
Window strikes, vehicles, falls and other impacts can cause concussion, internal bleeding, eye injury, fractures or air-sac damage even when no wound is visible.
Read guidePartial paralysis/paresis
Paresis means weakness or incomplete loss of movement. It is a sign rather than one disease and may follow trauma, paramyxovirus, salmonellosis, toxins, nutritional imbalance or damage to nerves and organs.
Read guideMore bacterial infections
Pigeons can develop E. coli, streptococcal, staphylococcal, pasteurella and other bacterial infections affecting the gut, respiratory tract, wounds, joints or bloodstream.
Read guideMore viral infections
Herpesvirus, circovirus, rotavirus and other viruses can cause digestive, respiratory, immune or systemic disease in pigeons, especially young or stressed birds.
Read guideMore
Not every sick pigeon fits an infectious-disease label. Poisoning, nutritional imbalance, organ disease, tumours, overheating, starvation and other conditions can produce similar signs.
Read guide