A Rare Congenital Anomaly of Wing in a Pigeon Chick (Columba livia)

Case Description- A 20-day-old pigeon chick with left wing distal to the carpal joint into left flank presented to our avian medicine and surgery clinic. Clinical Findings-The bird had a mal-shaped wing structure, whereas the axial skeleton, thoracic and pelvic limbs skeleton were normal radiographically and clinically, excluding the left wing. The only clinical sign observed was recumbency. Treatment and Outcome- The affected bird underwent surgery successfully for removal of the manus. The bird did not exhibit any unusual distress after the surgery, 3 and 13 months later, except of abnormal function of corrected wing. Clinical Relevance- Among the anomalies in birds, the most frequently occurring type is skeletal deformities. In this case the exact cause was unclear and remained unknown but based on owner’s report the pigeon chick had the anomaly from first day after the birth and it might be due to a malposition in embryonic period. According to our knowledge this is the first report of such a rare condition.