I began to notice he was lethargic and lacked interest in food, so brought him inside where I could observe and care for him if need be. I discovered then that he was vomiting up his food and passing abnormal droppings. Given his overall lethargy and myriad symptoms I decided there was nothing for it but to find an avian vet with experience treating something other than lovebirds, if one could be found. I did locate a good vet within an hour from home and made an urgent trip out to see her.
She did fecal and crop swabs and identified a large # of bacteria as the likely cause of his condition and put him on injections of Baytril (CIPRO) twice daily for 3 days, but by the third day he had lost all his strength and that evening he passed.
I am really devastated by losing him, he was a beautiful bird that I admired instantly on sight and for him to pass away at such a young age is heart-wrenching. I am indebted to the good people at Pigeon-Talk for all their support and help in my clumsy efforts to sustain this young bird through a crisis, and I am posting this message and some pictures here as a memorial to a beautiful fellow that I desperately wish I'd had a chance to know better, and more, that fate had dropped into more experienced hands.
