Sick bird - possibly dying. Need help- Can't afford vet

[Nico]

Hey guys I'm new on this site and I don't own any finches but I was hoping if anyone could provide some helpful feedback for my sick diamond dove. Lately she has been very lethargic, sometimes sitting all puffed up at the bottom of the cage. She still eats and drinks and her droppings don't look abnormal but other than that she just acts lethargic and sleeps. She's been making some weird clicking noises sometimes when she breathes. There is no other bird in the cage, and her cage is kept clean, and not near any drafts, her water is changed daily. I don't know what could be wrong with her, and I'm poor and I can't afford to take her to a vet. I would really appreciate if anyone could provide some helpful feedback or knowledge about this and could help me figure out what is wrong with her... I will post more pictures of her soon so you guys can see. For some reason the website put the photo upside down, I'm sorry about that.

[Sally]

I used to have Diamond doves for a short time some years ago, so I don't know a lot about them, but I'll try to help. First off, are you sure it is a hen? I remember with my doves the hen had a much smaller and less prominent eyering. If this is a hen, the first thing I suspect when a hen sits puffed up on the floor is eggbinding.

I would give her some liquid calcium directly to the beak and put her in a small cage with a heat lamp positioned at one end of the cage so she can get away from the heat if needed. Drape a wet (not dripping) towel over part of the cage to provide humidity.

Welcome to the forum! We do have a dove forum here, so I'll move your thread to that forum, might get a little more attention there from members who have experience with doves.

[cindy]

She might have an upper respiratory infection. I would put her in her cage and put a heat lamp near where she is sitting (85 degrees). If she is sick the warmth will help her conserve her energy/reserves and use it of instead of trying to warm herself she can use it to help fight what she has.

Has she been exposed to any sprays, perfume, candles, smoke?


this is a site on sexing diamond doves... http://www.diamonddove.info/bird02_Acquiring.htm#Sexing Diamond Doves.... yours might be a male

[jonvill]

Have you caught the dove and checked it out?
It could be egg bound or it could have coccidiosis.
If it is coddidosis, you will feel the breast bone.
Coccidosis is sometimes called "going light".
There is little you can do for a bird with advanced coccidosis. ABBA seed company sells a medication for coccidosis to give to the rest of your birds to prevent loosing all of the others.

[monotwine]

Shame sorry for your troubles. I take it you don't have anyone else more experienced on hand to take a personal look. With little to go on I'd also guess upper respiratory infection from your descriptions. Your bird looks sick. Is it under weight at all. A course of general antibiotic like Terramycin would do no harm. Here it is a relatively inexpensive med and quite effective. If you see improvements after 3 days then finish a full course. If not them discontinue after 3 days and seek more professional help.