WicklowLofts

Moulting Programs

Principal aim: To have a good moult, resulting in the production of a lustrous set of feathers, and to allow on-going development of a strong natural immunity. This is achieved through the maintenance of a stress-free environment, drug avoidance, parasite elimination and a complete diet.

Approximately 3 weeks after weaning, the youngsters will start to moult. The process is accelerated in all birds, irrespective of age, in February in Australia with the shortening daylength. As this total replacement of feathers only occurs once a year, a new set of feathers must last the bird for its entire first year of competition. Poor feather quality compromises performance and so it is vital that everything is done to ensure that the new feathers are good.

Healthy stress-free youngsters moult quickly and the feathers they grow are of good quality. Conversely, birds that are sick for any reason take longer to complete their moult and the feathers they produce are not as lustrous. It is therefore important that the basic principles of on-going good care already established in the postweaning time and discussed in the chapter Weaning continue. During this time, medications are still best avoided if possible, the aim being to further strengthen the birds' developing natural immunity through low-grade on-going exposure to various organisms. The parasites, however, must be eliminated now.

Parasites
Internal parasites rob the birds of nutrition that would otherwise be available to them and compromise the moult. It is therefore vital that the birds are free of roundworm, hairworm and tapeworms and either have a low level of Coccidia or none. A low level of Coccidia is still permissible at this time because the youngsters' natural immunity is still developing. Hairworm, roundworm and Coccidia are all detected in a microscopic dropping analysis and this is often the best time for the fancier to send in his first dropping sample for examination for the season. Tapeworms are not a microscopic diagnosis because they can be seen with the naked eye. The different types of tapeworm vary in size. The small ones look like white pieces of cotton trailing through the dropping, larger ones look like pieces of rice stuck on the surface of the dropping, while the largest ones appear as whitish squares up to 0.5 x 0.5 cm either singly or stuck together as ribbons in or on the droppings. What we are actually seeing here are the tapeworm egg packets and, though not continually, they are regularly intermittently passed by infected birds.

Many fliers prefer to routinely treat preventatively for worms and Coccidia at this time of year and unless testing is done to confirm that the birds are free of these parasites, this is a good idea. As some wormers can affect feather quality (e.g. Panacur, Synanthic), it is vital that the correct wormers are used. I recommend for roundworm and hair worm Moxidectin 2 mg/ml (5 ml to 1 litre of water for 24 hours) and for tapeworms Prazivet Liquid (5 ml to 1 litre of water for 24 hours). If Coccidia levels are too high (i.e. more than one every second x100 microscope field), then they are best treated. I recommend Baycox Coccidiocide Solution(1 ml to 2 litres of water for 48 hours). Remember after worming for hairworm and roundworm that the loft must be thoroughly cleaned as any droppings passed before treatment may contain worm eggs and therefore have the potential to reinfect the birds. Hygiene is not as vital for tapeworm infection because they do not transfer directly from pigeon to pigeon through the droppings but are instead carried by insects, particularly slaters. (I think this is because slaters, when disturbed, roll themselves into balls, which the birds then mistake for peas.) To prevent reinfection it is therefore best to spray out the loft with Permethrin Solution (see section on parasitic diseases in The Common Diseases for correct use) the following day.

External parasites must be eliminated before the commencement of the moult, otherwise irreparable damage to the feathers is done. Moxidectin, as well as eliminating roundworm and hairworm, also eliminates all external parasites that suck blood. It therefore clears all mites (including airsac mites) but has only limited action against lice. To eliminate lice totally, the birds need to be dipped. The preferred product here is Permethrin Solution. As all lice live on the bird, a single treatment will eliminate all lice from the loft until they are reintroduced with strays, deliberately introduced birds and late returning race birds. However, only a percentage of mites infecting the birds are actually found on the bird at any one time. Many live in the cracks and crevices within the loft. To prevent reinfection, it is therefore important that the loft is sprayed with Permethrin.

Medication
Many of the common drugs used during this time, including, as mentioned earlier, some of the wormers, affect feather quality. Antibiotics (particularly Baytril and Sulpha AVS, and to a lesser extent doxycycline, Resfite and Doxy-T) if used during this time not only interfere with the development of natural immunity by interrupting the on-going exposure to organisms but also compromise feather quality and so their use is best avoided. They compromise feather quality by killing many of the beneficial bacteria in the bowel. These are necessary for digestion and the assimilation of nutrients. Their disruption by antibiotics interrupts the on-going delivery of nutrients to the growing feather within the feather follicle. Turbosole and other anticanker drugs do not disrupt the bowel bacteria and so can be safely used.

Supplementation
Any nutritional deficiency during this time also results in poor-quality feathers and so suggestions made under Supplement Recommendation in the Postweaning Program hold true here. In particular, the birds need to have good levels of iodine (found in some pink minerals, e.g. PVM Powder, and some vitamin/mineral supplements, e.g. Multivite Plus) in their diet for the moult to proceed quickly. Supplementation with unsaturated fatty acids (found in seed oils) aid in the production of lustrous silky feathers in birds (and interestingly also a glossy coat in mammals) and so their use is particularly recommended during this time.

If disease appears during this time, the same basic principles are followed as in the Postweaning Program. Flock treatments are avoided unless at least 5% of birds become affected. Unwell birds are treated individually. Those that do not respond within 4 days are usually best eliminated.

CANKER - ITS PREVENTION, CONTROL AND TREATMENT

Nature of the disease

The disease canker is caused by a protozoan Trichomonas columbae. This is a microscopic single-celled organism. It lives within the digestive tract of pigeons, in particular the throat and crop, and can also involve associated areas such as the bile duct. The organism is fragile in the environment, only surviving for a few minutes once outside the bird. This helps with control of the disease and means that the birds cannot become infected from the loft or immediate environment as happens with other diseases such as worms and paratyphoid. The organism (trichomonad) requires intimate contact between birds to be spread and is usually transmitted by saliva or pigeon milk. Saliva contaminates food and water. As a pigeon drinks, the organism swims away from its beak and, when another pigeon comes to drink, it not only drinks the water but also the trichomonads there. When a pigeon sorts through grain, each dropped grain contains a small amount of saliva. In this way, the disease can also be spread through a feed hopper. Adult birds 'billing' can transmit the organism, as do parents when feeding their nestlings.

Control of canker during the breeding season

Correct medication is vital during the breeding season so that the level of natural immunity in the weaned youngster is as high as possible. Because the severity of the disease varies in different lofts, there is no single blanket program that is best for all lofts. There is no drug that by itself will cure canker in a loft. It is a matter of using medication correctly so that the birds can establish a strong natural immunity to the disease. It is this natural immunity that, in the longer term, protects them from the disease.

What causes canker to appear during the breeding season?

In health, every time the feeding stock bird feeds its youngsters, it passes on some of its own trichomonads to them. This gives the youngsters a controlled gradual exposure to the organism, which in turn allows them to establish their own natural immunity. Clinical disease appears in the babies when the stock birds shed too many trichomonads over a given period of time to their youngsters.

Increased rates of trichomonad shedding will occur if:
• the stock birds are stressed for any reason - Anything that stresses the stock bird will lead to an increased rate of trichomonad shedding and includes such things as a poorly designed loft, poor management practices, incorrect feeding, and other concurrent diseases.
• the stock birds' natural immunity is not high - Stock birds are likely to shed higher numbers more readily when breeding if their own natural immunity to the strains present in the loft is not as yet solid. This can occur if new stock birds carrying different trichomonad strains have been introduced to the loft during the non-breeding time. All birds carry some immunity to the resident trichomonad strains in their loft. When birds from different lofts mix, they exchange their trichomonad strains. Adult stock birds during the non-breeding season are not stressed and so exposure to any new strains brought in by introduced birds is unlikely to lead to disease. They are not moulting, not breeding, and have plenty to eat, and therefore no sign of canker occurs. However, when paired, if their natural immunity to the new different strains is not solid, the stress of feeding will cause them to 'break down' and shed larger numbers of trichomonads. In the same way, the introduced birds need to establish an immunity to their new loft's resident strains. This is why canker is more of a problem in lofts that are still establishing with birds coming from a variety of other lofts. As the years roll by, fewer new birds are introduced and so the chance of new trichomonad strains getting into the loft decreases. The birds' immunity to resident strains becomes solid and the effect of the disease is less marked.

Many fanciers are frustrated when canker appears in the stock loft. With excellent care in a good loft, they wonder just how it is that the disease can come. Certainly they are on the right track with this approach because in a good loft under good care it is less likely that the stock birds will shed large numbers of trichomonads. However, some strains are so active that problems will arise no matter how well the birds are cared for.

How to manage an outbreak of canker during the breeding season

When canker does appear during breeding, its management is two-fold. It is a matter of:
1. treating the sick youngsters - In lofts with a canker problem, all youngsters should be checked daily. If a sick youngster is noticed it can be successfully treated, and such youngsters can go on to become champions. Either Spartrix or Flagyl tablets* can be used, however, Spartrix is more convenient to medicate the nestlings. The dose of Spartrix is one tablet per adult bird. Estimate how big the youngster is compared to the adult and give it this proportion of the tablet once daily until well. Usually, one to four doses are required. It is often good to also medicate both the nest mate and parents for 2 days. If the unwell youngster is slow to respond, it is usually best eliminated. Individual pairs that breed youngsters with canker are best mated to different birds for subsequent rounds.

At the same time, it is important to
2. decrease the number of fresh cases - This is done by checking the number of trichomonads that the stock birds are shedding. This is achieved by giving 2 days Turbosole* periodically. The exact frequency depends on the incidence of canker but usually every 1 - 3 weeks is appropriate. One needs to give sufficient 2-day courses to limit the number of new youngsters with the disease, but at the same time to avoid overuse of the drug so that the developing youngster is still getting an on-going exposure to the organism. It is a matter of working between these two extremes.

The important thing to always remember with canker during the breeding season is that the disease can never be controlled through medication alone. It is the development of a strong natural immunity that protects the birds in the longer term. It is important that medication is used to keep the birds well but used in such a way as to not interfere with the development of this immunity.
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Preventative programs for the breeding season

In the stock loft that had canker last season

Treat all stock birds for 5 - 7 days before pairing and then for 2 days every 1 - 3 weeks once paired. Frequency of treatment depends on the severity of the problem and the control achieved. Try and coincide these 2-day treatment periods with the time of hatching when trichomonad shedding is highest. If canker is still a problem in certain pairs, try to only medicate these pairs. This can be achieved by breeding from them in individual runs and only medicating their water with Turbosole for 2 days as required or alternatively leaving them in the loft and just treating them with Spartrix or Flagyl tablets for 2 days when needed. Splitting the pair and remating each to other birds for the next round may help.

Stock birds can be crop flushed before pairing to identify those birds carrying large numbers of trichomonads. These birds are not only more likely to shed large numbers of trichomonads more readily once paired but also to pass on their genetic susceptibility to canker. In the longer term, it is best if these birds, when identified, are eliminated. The problem is that they may, in fact, be the winners and here lies the challenge for the fancier - to breed birds less susceptible to the disease that are also winners.

In the stock loft that had no canker last season

No treatment is required. If there was no problem with canker in last year's nestlings, then it is best not to medicate for canker. Any medication will stop the paired bird shedding trichomonads and therefore interrupt the on-going exposure of the growing youngster to the organism. This leads to a lower natural immunity and may in fact create a vulnerability to the disease in the postweaning period.

In the stock loft that had no canker last season but to which new stock birds have been introduced

As discussed earlier, all birds carry in their systems the resident trichomonad strains of the loft and usually have a strong natural immunity to them. A newly introduced stock bird brings these strains with it. These strains may not have been encountered by your own birds and the new birds may not have encountered yours. Both lots of birds in time must, through exposure, become immune to the other strains. If introduced in the non-breeding time, when the stock birds are not under any stress, i.e. not moulting and in a good loft with plenty to eat, no clinical disease will be seen. However, with the stress of breeding, any immunity already developed will be put to the test. If immunity is not solid at the time of breeding, excessive trichomonads will be shed and the youngsters may develop canker. For this reason, new birds, especially if introduced immediately before pairing, should ideally be mated in individual runs and the youngsters monitored. If youngsters in the main loft begin appearing with canker, the loft should be managed as discussed under the section How to Manage an Outbreak of Canker During the Breeding Season.

Control at weaning

In lofts with a canker problem, all youngsters can be treated with Turbosole for 2 - 3 days at weaning, to avoid any check in their development through this stressful time. In the longer term, however, the important thing during this time is that only youngsters with the disease should be treated so as not to interfere with the developing natural immunity of the flock as a whole. Affected birds should be separated and treated with either one-quarter of a Flagyl tablet (200 mg) or one whole Spartrix tablet once daily until well. This usually takes 1 - 3 days. Alternatively, the unwell youngsters' water can be medicated with Turbosole (1/2 teaspoon to 1 litre of water). It is important, however, to ensure that any unwell youngster is still able to drink. Turbosole can also be mixed into a paste and the youngster's throat painted with this using a cotton bud. The group of youngsters, as a whole, should only be treated if more than 10% of youngsters are showing signs, usually with Turbosole for 2 - 3 days. However, in this situation it is best to seek veterinary advice.

Control during the race season

If canker was a problem during the breeding season, this tells us that the birds have the potential to have trichomonad flare-ups in response to stress and that canker is likely to be a problem during racing. However, through good management and the correct use of medication, it is hoped, however, that most birds have developed a reasonably strong natural immunity by the start of the race season. The stress of racing will put any immunity that the birds have formed to the test. Depending on what stresses the birds are under, trichomonad levels will rise and fall. When high, they have a typical parasitic effect, weakening the bird, in the process creating a vulnerability to secondary infection (particularly respiratory infection) and compromising race performance. They also produce a toxin that makes the birds feel unwell. Birds with elevated trichomonad levels are said to have 'wet canker'. Signs of infection can be subtle and quite varied. Typical signs that would alert the fancier to its possible presence include:

Sour crop

In pigeons with sour crop, at least 90% have an internal canker nodule located at the base of the crop or within the glandular stomach (proventriculus). As the nodule increases in size, it squashes the windpipe making breathing difficult and blocking the crop outlet. This interferes with crop emptying, leading to bacterial infection of the crop and secondary starvation and dehydration due to the crop contents not being able to pass into the bird's system. Usually by the time the bird is noticed to be unwell, the condition has passed the point where it will respond to treatment. Deaths often occur due to the nodule growing through the stomach wall, leading to stomach contents leaking into the chest. Alternatively, the nodule can damage the heart or large blood vessels within the chest, causing sudden and severe bleeding. Such birds are often found dead on the floor with blood coming from the mouth. It is always worth attempting to treat valuable birds and I suggest :
• Manually empty the crop
• Give electrolytes in water
• Treat bird with 3 drops Baytril twice daily
• Treat bird with 1 tablet of Spartrix or a 1/4 Flagyl tablet or 0.5 ml Flagyl syrup once daily
• Separate unwell bird from loft mates

THE PARASITIC DISEASES

There are many parasites that infect pigeons and I feel that it is beyond the scope of this book to discuss all of them in detail. The most important and most commonly encountered parasites are roundworm, hairworm, tapeworm, the external parasites, lice and mites and Coccidia.

Worms

Worms are a primary and serious parasite and it is important that they are completely eradicated for the birds to perform at their best. They weaken the bird, meaning that race performance cannot be optimal, and also increase vulnerability to other secondary diseases, such as canker and respiratory infection. There are three common intestinal worms - roundworm, hairworm and tapeworm.

Roundworm and hairworm

These worms live in the digestive tract of the pigeon and release eggs, which are passed with the bird's droppings. After several days in the environment, these eggs become infective and, if then accidentally ingested by a pigeon, hatch inside them and grow into the new worm. In the loft, there is no easy way for the fancier to tell whether his birds have these parasites as the adult worms are only rarely passed in the droppings and indeed hairworms are microscopic. They are usually diagnosed by microscopic examination of a dropping sample, in which their eggs can be seen.

Treatment

I recommend Moxidectin to treat hairworm and roundworm. Moxidectin (2 mg/ml) is a clear fully water-soluble liquid that, when diluted in the drinking water, is readily taken by the birds. The dose is 5 ml per 1 litre of water for 24 hours. It has a wide safety margin and is perfectly safe to use during racing, breeding and, in particular, moulting. Moxidectin does not cause nausea and vomiting as many older worming preparations do and so the birds can be fed and loft flown quite normally. Moxidectin also has the added advantage that it eliminates any external parasites that feed off body fluid. Mites in pigeons live off blood and so these are all cleared with Moxidectin. Lice live off feather debris and bloom and so in theory this drug should have no effect on them but in practice, during the 3 weeks following Moxidectin treatment, most lice also disappear. Moxidectin is also a safe and effective treatment for airsac mites at the usual dose given above.

Control in the stock loft

The stock loft should be completely free of worms. The roundworm life cycle can be completed in 3 - 4 weeks and so a single worming before breeding (or racing) will improve things for that period of time only. Eradication can be achieved by using Moxidectin twice at a 3-week interval followed by a superthorough clean after each treatment. This removes droppings passed before medication, which may contain infective parasite eggs with the potential to reinfect the birds. It is a good idea to have the droppings rechecked 3 weeks after the second worming to ensure that the parasite has been cleared. Once these parasites have been cleared, worming any new bird before it goes into the stock loft should prevent reintroduction of worms. The dose of Moxidectin for a single bird is 0.25 ml of the neat liquid. If it is not possible to completely and thoroughly clean the loft, Moxidectin can be repeated every 3 weeks over a 6-month period as the longest that eggs can remain infective in the environment is 5 - 6 months. Worms can also reenter the stock loft if the droppings of pigeons or doves outside the loft can enter. To prevent this, any external flight should either have a grid or suspended floor.

Tapeworm

Tapeworms also live in the pigeon's digestive tract. They have a head or scolex, which is embedded deeply into the lining of the pigeon's bowel. Behind this head mature segments, called proglottids, which are essentially packets of eggs. New segments are continuously forming behind the head, pushing maturing segments further and further away until eventually ribbons of segments trail behind the head down the bowel, with the most mature ones at the end. When fully mature, these egg packets snap free either singly or several at a time in ribbons before passing down the bowel and out with the droppings. The fancier will notice either a segmented white ribbon hanging from the pigeon's cloaca or, alternatively, as the segments are motile when passed, he may see small white segments wriggling within the droppings shortly after being passed or air-dried segments stuck to the surrounding perch. Tapeworms are therefore not a microscopic diagnosis because these segments can be seen with the naked eye. Different types of tapeworm vary in size. The small ones look like white pieces of cotton trailing through the dropping, larger ones look like pieces of rice stuck on the surface of the droppings, while the largest ones appear as whitish squares up to 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm. Once in the environment, the eggs inside these segments are ingested by insects. These eggs hatch into infective larvae in the insects. Pigeons become infected by eating these insects.

Treatment

For tapeworm eradication, I recommend Prazivet Solution. This is a new preparation that has many advantages over previously available treatments. It is fully water-soluble, meaning that birds do not have to be picked up individually and given tablets. It only needs to be made available for 24 hours, unlike other water-soluble preparations. It can also safely be given during racing, breeding, and, in particular, moulting. There is no need to remove food and the birds behave quite normally so that feeding and loft training can continue uninterrupted. It is also very cheap, costing less than 4 cents to treat each bird. The dose is 5 ml to 1 litre of water. It's active constituent is praziquantel. Praziquantel tablets (Droncit) are also available for those fliers preferring to give tablets to individual birds.

A tapeworm's life cycle can be completed as quickly as 21 days. This means that if a pigeon swallows an insect the day after worming, within 21 days it will have tapeworms again. It is therefore important to minimize the birds' exposure to insects. However, in the warmer northern areas of Australia where tapeworms are common, Prazivet can be given for 1 day every 3 - 4 weeks. Weevils are one of the insects that can carry tapeworm and so seed that either has or has had weevils in it (look for the little bored holes) must be avoided. Within the loft, slaters are the most common insect carrying tapeworm. When disturbed, slaters roll themselves into balls, which I think pigeons mistake for peas, because these balls are a similar size and colour. To prevent reinfection, it is therefore best to spray out the loft with Permethrin Solution simultaneously with a Prazivet treatment. Permethrin has a residual effect for 4 months.

Lice and mites

The two most common external parasites of pigeons are lice and mites. Lice live their entire life cycle on the bird, dying quickly once they are off the bird. They live off feather debris and bloom. Mites drink blood and other body fluids and not only live on the pigeon but also live in cracks and crevices throughout the loft. Not all mites that infect the pigeon are on the bird at any one time. Many live in the loft environment, hiding in cracks and crevices, and, in particular during the breeding season, below nest bowls and within nesting material, only moving onto the birds and nestlings at night to feed.

Treatment

Permethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid used to treat lice and mites. Pyrethroids are plant-origin insecticides, which are very effective but very safe for use in pigeons. Permethrin Solution is used in the following three situations:

1. To dip birds to eradicate lice - Fill a bucket, diluting 10 ml Permethrin to 1 litre of water. Use warm water and treat the birds in the morning of a warm day. Add half a teaspoon of soap flakes to act as a wetting agent. Immerse birds up to their neck, fanning their wings and tail through the solution. Momentarily dip their heads below the surface. Addition of the wetting agent enables complete penetration by the Permethrin. The birds look normal 2 hours after dipping. Permethrin does not remove the birds' bloom and has a residual effect for up to 4 months.

2.To spray the loft - This is done in conjunction with Prazivet treatment to kill any insects in the loft that might be carrying any tapeworm and also to eradicate mites in conjunction with a Moxidectin treatment. It is also done before breeding to eliminate mosquitoes, flies and, in particular, red mite. Birds are removed from the section, which is then scraped clean. Permethrin is diluted 10 ml to 1 litre and sprayed onto the clean scraped surfaces and into any nooks and crannies. The loft will dry in 1 - 2 hours and the birds allowed to re-enter.

3. To treat individual birds - It is a good idea to have some diluted Permethrin mixed and ready to use in a spray bottle. Any introduced birds can be quickly sprayed before being placed in the loft as can any late returning race birds. The usual dilution used is also 10 ml to 1 litre.

RESPIRATORY INFECTION

If you ask any experienced flier what health problem he fears the most, then if it is the breeding season he will probably say canker, but if it is the race season he will probably say respiratory infection. Respiratory diseases are very common in pigeons. They are the major cause of poor performance and pigeon loss during the race season. Young birds under stress are most at risk of contracting respiratory diseases, although healthy old birds can fall ill when exposed to respiratory diseases in the race basket. Race birds with respiratory infection can be difficult to detect and yet, like a human athlete with flu, cannot compete. When some fanciers talk about respiratory infection, they give the impression that they are discussing a single problem and, yet, several organisms can be involved and often simultaneously. Clinical respiratory infection in pigeons is the end result of the interplay of a number of factors but, in particular, the type of infective organism and the vulnerability of the birds to infection are important . The respiratory system can be infected by Chlamydia, Mycoplasma, bacteria (in particular E. coli), fungi, viruses and mites. The control of some of these starts, in certain lofts, not only before racing and not even during breeding, but right before the stock birds are paired.

Stress is always a big factor. The vulnerability of the pigeon is affected by what stress it is under. Stress weakens the bird, enabling infective organisms to cause clinical disease. The control of respiratory disease is therefore two-pronged.

1. Control of any predisposing stress factors - These can take the form of :
(a) Environmental triggers, e.g. dampness, overcrowding, low hygiene
(b) Management triggers, e.g. poor feeding, excessive tossing, or
(c) Concurrent disease, in particular parasitism. This includes wet canker. The combination of either worms or elevated trichomonad levels and respiratory disease is very common.
The fancier must establish a healthy loft environment, otherwise respiratory disease will continually recur, despite medication.

2. Correct use of appropriate drugs to either eradicate or keep the organism level low so that disease does not occur.

The organisms that infect the respiratory system and how they are controlled are set out below.

Piczo