A Sentience Article from All-Creatures.org

Madame Puff Ball

From Guest Post by Jill McMurchy, Palomacy: It's Pigeon Diplomacy
October 2023

I’ve had experience with pigeons who have had spinal trauma and through a combination of anti-inflammatory drugs, physical therapy, time and mostly the pigeons’ own determination and resilience, they can often recover from the paralysis. 

Madame Puff Ball was found as a helpless stray and turned into Oakland Animal Services (OAS) unable to walk. While OAS accepts pigeons, has a beautiful, life-saving aviary, and helps a great many (unlike most shelters), they don’t have the staff or resources to provide avian vet care so they contact Palomacy.

On August 11th, we had a volunteer drive her to Medical Center For Birds right away. Her x-rays showed nothing of concern, in fact, Dr. Baden said they were boring. It seemed there was no obvious physiological reason for her paralysis (other than likely bruising and swelling affecting her spinal column). I picked her up and brought her foster home so we could start her rehab together. I’ve had experience with pigeons who have had spinal trauma and through a combination of anti-inflammatory drugs, physical therapy, time and mostly the pigeons’ own determination and resilience, they can often recover from the paralysis.

In Madame‘s case, I believe her body and brain need time to reconnect and relearn how to walk again. As of now, she is almost there! We use a sling to help her remember how to distribute her weight and help her muscles to gain strength. We do hydrotherapy to get weight off her legs and allow them to paddle, simulating walking. I massage her legs and have her push on my hands while she lays on her back. Her progress has been slow so far but she’s in good spirits, eating and preening and strong.

She’s determined. I follow her lead. Soon she will stand tall once again!

Wearing her suspension sling to rebuild strength and balance

Powerful wing flaps generate lift-assisted standing 

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