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