Is the stuff on this pigeon's beak a growth? (1 Viewer)

Dear Everyone.

OK, I'm prob. going to be censured for this but here goes....

Found a VERY sad pigeon a week or so back, in the local park. It was a pile of feathers, didn't have the energy to move let alone fly. I didn't want to take it to the local vet because this particular bozo's got a habit of putting wild things 'out of their misery' - to me that says 'I'm not getting paid for it, why should I bother fixing it up!' So I spent a week and a half looking up symptoms, feeding it loads, being there for it...

It SEEMS to have turned the corner, it's a LOT livelier these days though it does seem to still get tired easily, which is why I'm keeping it a little while longer before releasing it back outside. Thing IS, it's got what, to this guy who's previous interest in birds had been limited to the mini-skirted variety, looks like odd growths around its eye and beak. I looked through a BUNCH of pictures of pigeons online and found a few with similar looking things on their eyes and beaks and the sites didn't seem to see anything amiss with that.

Now if I take this bird to the vet and he sees them and doesn't like them, I KNOW he's going to put the pigeon down. Trust me, this guy's like that. IF I get a ton of replies saying that's the best thing, what these things are is incurable, stuff like that, I'll take it to the vet. But I really don't wanna lose it after getting it this far.

So I'm enclosing a pic. of a bird with EXACTLY the same stuff on its beak/eyes and EXACTLY the same style of pigeon (As far as I can tell, I'm no expert, but they look like twins!) I couldn't get a decent pic. from my phone (only camera) so I'm using this one instead.

Could someone tell me if they're dangerous growths/cancerous/anything, or if it's just the type of pigeon he is - the website this came from didn't even mention them so that's why I'm not certain.

Yours hopefully. Thanks for reading this far.

Chris.

Hi,

I'm certainly no expert, but I think the large wattles around the eyes and the beak are just characteristics of the breed and are harmless to the bird. If you can find a local pigeon breeder, they can probably advise you better. Independent pet shops are usually a good source of advice and information for these things. I've found one in Brighton that may be of use www.thepetshedbrighton.co.uk

Cheers,

Matt

Looks like an English Carrier Pigeon. It's not a disease, it's normal for that species (this applies to the pic you posted, may not apply to the actual bird you have)

Thanks for the lovely answers!!

Dear ChrisKten and Corvus.

Thankyou very much for your lovely answers! It's purely that I'm in no way a bird expert and had never seen a pigeon THAT wattl-y before, so I was just making certain!

It's REALLY better today, it's fluttering around the room and, if it's like this after tomorrow, I'm letting it back out in the wild. Just gonna give it one more day to make sure it's recovered from whatever it had wrong with it. It sure can fly, though, and that's the main thing.

Thanks again for your help.

Yours respectfully

Chris.