Rota in race baskets
As in previous years, with the start of group tossing and racing ,fanciers are reporting Rota virus infections in their birds. Control of this disease once birds from different lofts start to mix is difficult. Vaccination reduces the severity of the disease but does not prevent infection with the virus. One federation has proposed that if birds are observed to vomit or vomit is seen in a fanciers baskets that that fancier should not be allowed to race until his birds have had a negative Rota test. In Melbourne a Rota virus PCR costs about $140 and it takes 4 working days to get the result back. To do the test is relatively straightforward. The test sample needs to be collected in a clean but not necessarily sterile manner. Where a fancier is collecting a sample, a human cotton bud can be used. This is inserted into the vent of an unwell or recently dead bird and wiped around just inside. The same swab can be used on several birds to produce a pooled sample that is then sent for testing. Although testing is relatively straightforward the difficulty comes in what to do with the result. Birds that have recovered from Rota virus continue to carry the virus long after they look well. Testing that was done in 2018 (and the results published in this Journal) showed that recovered Rota birds continued to intermittently shed the virus in their dropping for many weeks and in some cases many months with a few birds still carrying the virus after a year. This variable, prolonged carrier state makes the control of Rota difficult. In effect, it means that several birds from a loft may test negative but it is very likely that there will be a proportion of birds in the loft , even months later, well after all of the birds look well, that will occasionally shed the virus. This means that that loft , could still be a source on infection. This is part of the reason why Rota virus appears to sometimes just come from “nowhere”. All a fancier can do is ensure that his birds are double vaccinated against Rota – testing has shown that this decreases the severity of the disease and reduces the risk of internal damage that may compromise subsequent race performance , monitor his birds for Rota and be prepared to allow them time to recover if they do become infected before putting them back into work. By comparison PMV is easier to control. Birds that recover from PMV only carry the virus for up to 60 days.
The photo accompanying this article was taken by me at a federation basketing in Melbourne in July. Vomited grain and the mucoid creamy olive droppings that are often passed by birds with Rota can be clearly seen. The photo was taken after the birds in the basket had been entered in the race. Unfortunately the problem was not detected until after the birds had been “put through”.
Birds presented for basketing that are displaying symptoms consistent with a Rota virus infection should not be allowed to be entered into races for several reasons :-
1/ Animal Welfare – birds that are unwell for any reason have a compromised ability to return
2/ Controlling the spread of the virus -- although birds that have recovered from Rota virus continue to shed the virus (and therefore remain infectious) for several weeks and in some cases months after recovery, actively sick birds shed the virus in large numbers thus exposing healthy birds to high levels of the virus. Not having actively unwell birds in the race units will therefore decrease the exposure of further birds to the virus and spread of the disease.
3/ All larger federations have written into their rules and the VRPB supports that any injured bird or bird that is unwell for any reason should not be entered. Denying Rota birds entry is simply complying with earlier rules and guidelines.
Because of the prolonged viral shedding time in recovered birds the main reason these birds need to stay at home are the concerns over animal welfare and quite simply doing what is “right for the birds”.
Photo Caption “Vomited grain and the mucoid creamy olive droppings that are often passed by birds with Rota can be clearly seen on the wire floor of this basket . The photo was taken in July in Melbourne after the birds in the basket had been entered in a race.”
VRPB News.
The minutes of the VRPB AGM in March are now on the VRPB website. Also the Race Release Guidelines for Liberation committees have been completed and placed on the VRPB website. The guidelines are based on those of the KBDB , in Belgium and the AU, in America. It is hoped that these guidelines provide a useful reference for those individuals and committees charged with the important job of deciding if race birds should be released. The VRPB was grateful to receive a donation of $1350 from the VHA for the VRPB Veterinary Health Management Fund. As discussed in the last few Journals ,several veterinary investigations that will benefit all Australian fanciers are ready to start as soon as sufficient funds are raised. Those wishing to donate should contact the VRPB treasure Eddie Szatkowski. His email address is [email protected]
The Maintenance of Health During the Race Season
If you had an aviary of healthy parrots or a flock of healthy sheep, for that matter, the last thing that you would want to do is expose them to disease by getting another bird or animal from just anywhere and put them in with your own. One of the principles of maintaining health in any animal population is quarantining them from potential diseases by preventing exposure to animals of unknown health status. Yet, this is what we do every week during racing. Our race teams mix intimately, in a potentially stressful environment with birds from many different lofts. For this reason the health status in a loft is never static. Fortunately, if our birds are well cared for during their growth and development, they form a strong natural immunity that protects them against many of the common organisms that can potentially make them unwell or more subtly compromise their race performance.
Regular veterinary checks and the correct use of medication are used to identify health issues and maintain health.
Race Programs
Principal aim: To maintain winning form through the entire season by good management and the maintenance
of health.
During competition there is ongoing exposure to disease in the race unit. The principal factor that protects
the birds is the natural immunity they have formed during development. However, occasionally, disease
will occur. Health monitoring aims to detect this before it effects the team as a whole. Medication is used
to control disease if it is detected.
It is vital that the birds are completely free of any health problems to give their best. Winning birds are always
not only fit but also healthy. If the natural immunity they have formed is not strong enough to keep them
healthy during the inherent stress of racing, then medication is used to help ensure that health is maintained,
so that success can be ongoing and unnecessary losses avoided.
Unless the genetic base of the birds has changed, or the way they are managed has altered, then it is very
likely that any health problems that occurred in previous years will reappear in a particular loft. This is why
successful preventative programs can be reapplied to particular lofts year after year. Some health problems
are more likely to occur in particular types of loft and in lofts in particular locations. This explains why a
program that works well in one loft may be inappropriate in another.
Medication serves another purpose. Out of the race season, exposure of loft members to birds from
other lofts is minimal, while once racing starts there is sudden and immediate high exposure to many birds
from many different lofts. In this way, birds become exposed to different strains of disease-causing organisms,
in particular strains of wet canker and respiratory infection. Because these strains may not be resident
in their own loft, the birds cannot possibly have developed immunity to them. For this reason, disease can
flare up, even in well-managed lofts, with resultant sudden loss of form and variable losses. Medication is
used to minimise the impact of this exposure.
When to treat
Some fanciers like to provide medication to race birds as they return. However, giving birds medication
immediately upon return is problematic. Often the fancier’s aim in doing this is to prevent the introduction
of disease (particularly wet canker and respiratory infection) into the loft by returning race birds. To be truly
effective this medication would need to be given for several days.
There are other practical considerations. To be effective in preventing the entry of disease, medication
for returning race birds must be given after their return but before these birds mix with other birds in the
loft. This usually means treating them as soon as they return. This makes it impossible to use other useful
post-race treatments such as electrolytes and probiotics. If returning race birds are treated the next day (for
example, Sunday), it means they must be kept apart from other birds in the loft until this time. If returning
race birds have mixed with other non-race birds, there is no point in treating just them on Sunday.
Under most management systems, it is important from a motivation point of view that birds be allowed
access to their perch, box or mate as soon as possible after return. This can be difficult if medication is delayed
until Sunday. In addition, some post-race drugs are bitter, which can deter returning race birds from drinking
fully, when in fact it is important that they do so in order to rehydrate. Another factor to consider is that,
if it is a harder race and the birds are arriving at the loft over an extended time, then if medication is only
provided for a specific time, the later birds have limited access to the drug. They may be late because they
have a health problem and should actually be the ones to have more of the medication.
These days, the usual recommendation is to focus on recovery from the race on Saturday and then to use
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday or Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as the days to give any medication that
may be necessary. Usually all birds in the loft (those that have raced that weekend and those that haven’t)
are treated. If a fancier tosses non-race birds on Sunday or there are stragglers from Saturday’s race, then
usually treatments are started Monday.
To speed race recovery on Saturday, I recommend either electrolytes, multivitamins or probiotics be
given. If the race has been hot, or especially hard, or if the birds look distressed upon return, I think it is best
to give electrolytes (and a brand made specifically for this purpose such as Electrolyte P180). Alternatively,
if the race has not been especially taxing, multivitamins or probiotics are preferred. I find that the droppings
from returned race birds the following morning are more likely to be brown and tight, and that the birds
will maintain a feather down drop if probiotics are given as they return.
Health monitoring
The common diseases that affect race form are coccidia, worms, wet canker, respiratory infection due to Chlamydia
and Mycoplasma, ‘thrush’ and some bacterial infections. Wet canker can be diagnosed and accurately
treated with a microscopic examination of a crop flush because the causative agent, the living
Trichomonad, can be seen. Coccidia, worms and ‘thrush’ are monitored through microscopic
examination of the droppings. A bacterial infection can sometimes also be detected through
microscopic examination of the droppings but more often thorough tests such as staining or
culture are required.
The most common tests to check for Chlamydial respiratory infection are either a PCR
test (done on throat mucus) or a Chlamydia Immunocomb test (done on blood). In Melbourne I encourage
fanciers to take to an avian vet three to four birds every few weeks, or sooner if they are concerned through the
race season. Usually fresh droppings are examined. The birds are crop flushed and a Chlamydia test is done
on a pooled sample of throat mucus from the birds. This allows for efficient and accurate monitoring of the
common health problems that the birds are likely to be exposed to in the race units. Further tests are recommended
if the fancier or vet is suspicious of a less common or more serious problem.
Medication
Respiratory infection is usually treated with doxycycline or a combination of docycycline/tylosin or sometimes a combination of doxycycline/tylosin and spiramycin. Treatment times are based on the severity of the problem and the response to treatment but three to five days during racing is fairly standard. Antibiotic courses are best completed at least two days before basketing and are best followed up by a probiotic course. It can be hard to give the birds an antibiotic
course of sufficient length and still field a competitive team given time restraints. Sometimes what is recommended is to send a small, very select team on the Thursday basketing night and commence an antibiotic course Friday morning. The birds in the loft can then be treated Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, thus completing a five-day antibiotic course. The race birds return to antibiotic medicated water. As they are not watered on Saturday prior to release they then drink a whole day’s water on return. They are therefore medicated Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, completing a four-day course. Often one day less of treatment makes no difference for them, as they were the less affected birds.
With severe respiratory infection requiring longer antibiotic courses it may be necessary to miss races.
The onset of respiratory infection during the race season is always a blow because not only do the birds
need to throw off the infection and become fully healthy, but they then must re-establish their race fitness.
Meanwhile, the races are getting longer and longer, which can make it very hard to catch up. Often, a loss ofmform lasting three to four weeks is experienced.
It is standard around the world to treat race teams periodically for wet canker. Wet canker is ubiquitous.
Birds will be exposed in the race units. If new strains become established in the loft they dramatically affect
race form. In most teams we would expect to find some birds with wet canker if they have not been treated
during racing for three to four weeks (that is, if birds from that team have competed in three to four races).
Given this frequency, I am quite happy to recommend routine periodic preventative treatment. The most
common drug used around the world is ronidazole. It is fast-acting and also very quickly excreted from the
body once treatment ceases (less than 24 hours).
This means that birds can be treated for three to four days early in the week but still be sent as drug-free
pigeons on Thursday or Friday. Most strains will be killed by a two-to-three-day course; however more
pathogenic (disease-causing) strains may require extended courses of four to five days or even longer.
It is a good idea to have your vet check your birds periodically for wet canker with a crop flush, even if
you are regularly medicating. Resistance occurs with all of the common canker medications in use. It can be
a good idea to treat periodically with a different drug to kill any resistant strains that have developed. Alternatives
include dimetridazole, secnidazole, carnidazole and metronidazole. All are available in Australia. Dimetridazole must be used with extreme care and dosed accurately. An overdose makes the birds giddy and lightheaded – not ideal if the
birds are going to be tossed or raced, particularly on a windy day when they will need to dodge obstacles.
Metronidazole is available as a thick sugary syrup that is unpalatable for the birds (often leading to a
reduced water intake) and also as a tablet. Secnidazole and carnidazole are only available as tablets. Dosing
with a tablet requires increased effort by the fancier, but can be an effective way of treating if a smaller number
of birds is involved. Secnidazole is long-acting, taking approximately 24 hours to start to exert its effect but
then staying in the bird’s system for two to three days. A single dose of carnidazole exerts effect for 24 hours.
If fliers feel that ronidazole is not giving quick clearance of Trichomonads they have three options:
1. Use ronidazole for longer; i.e. 3–4 days. This is quite reasonable. If necessary, ronidazole can be given right
up to the day of basketing. Birds can safely be sent to the race with it in their crop.
2. Substitute every third or fourth treatment with another canker drug. All birds can be picked up for 3 days
in a row and given 1 Spartrix or ¼ Flagyl 200mg tablet each day, or given 2 Ronsec tablets, each tablet 48 hours
apart, or alternatively a 3–4-day course of dimetridazole can be given in the water.
3. Ronidazole can be combined with other drugs. Ronidazole can be placed in the water and at the same time
all birds are given a ¼ Flagyl or 1 Spartix each daily for two days in a row.
Of the three alternatives, I usually recommend option 2.
All canker medications should, ideally, be given at the start of the week during racing so that the birds have a
chance to ‘lift’ after having the trichomonads cleared with treatment. All canker medications can be mixed
with doxycycline-based respiratory medications.
E. coli and ‘thrush’ during racing are usually treated with probiotics. This can be given any day of the week
and more and more successful lofts are not only using it for this purpose, but are also using a probiotic to
advantage to maintain a healthy beneficial population of bowel bacteria at all times during racing. I usually
recommend Wednesday and Saturday or Sunday (for Thursday night basketing) as the best treatment
days for probiotic, because the first dose sets the birds up for the race and the second helps them recover.
Worms and coccidia are treated during racing when they are detected on microscopic examination of
the droppings. Moxidectin and toltrazuril are the most commonly-used medications respectively. When coccidia
is diagnosed it takes the bowel wall approximately four days to heal after an effective treatment. This
means that it will take more than one week for the birds’ race form to start to return.
Supplementation
A range of conditioning agents and multivitamins can be used during the season and, although not directly
treating disease, do help the birds resist disease by promoting their health generally. I believe that it is wise
to incorporate a good-quality multivitamin, amino-acid, mineral supplement in the loft health protocol
once or twice weekly.
During racing, birds can miss meals through being late to the loft, and sometimes eat irregularly through
being away from the loft racing. The use of a multivitamin helps ensure that they are not lacking something
in their diet. Seed oils together with feed yeasts, when added to the grain, increase the energy and calorie
content of the seed mix and are a way of making an especially nutritious meal for the birds. Some fliers
always use such agents on a particular day of the week; however, I do not believe this is the optimal way of
using them. Such products put condition or weight on the birds which, at particular times, is advantageous
but at other times is not.
Astute fanciers can use such products as needed to bring their birds into race condition. Just how often
they are used should be based on the birds’ condition (assessed by handling and observation of loft flying).
As a general rule, however, they are of benefit during cold weather, following hard tossing or hard racing, if
the birds are underweight, and during disease recovery.
Obviously, the optimal way of maintaining health through racing is to have the birds regularly checked
by your vet and medication used where indicated. Where a visit to the vet is not possible, the following
program can be safely used. As mentioned earlier wet canker is ubiquitous. Unless testing is done to show
that your birds are free, it is much safer to treat preventatively. At worst, it may mean that you waste some
of the drug and the birds receive some medication that they do not need. Not treating may cost you some
good pigeons, through compromising their ability to return, and also adversely affect your race results.
Mycoplasma is the other common agent implicated in respiratory infections. Birds infected with mycoplasma are infected for life, and virtually all racing pigeons are infected. When the birds are not under stress these infections remain silent. Racing is stressful and mycoplasma disease flare-ups are common. Treating regularly through the season helps to control these.
Even if you are not able to take the birds to a vet, it is always possible to post droppings to a vet to be checked for coccidia
and worms. These problems are treated if they are identified in the droppings. Probiotics are placed in the
water or on the food (usually the food, if other medications are being given in the water) whenever the droppings
appear green or watery. If the droppings’ appearance fails to improve, a sample of these should be sent
to your vet for testing. Through experience I have found that the following simple program will maintain
health in about 90% of lofts.
Insert attached diagram here
If necessary, the week without treatment is eliminated, changing the program from a three-week rotation
to a two-week one. All of the canker medications can be combined with the doxycycline based respiratory
medications. Some fanciers prefer to do this and then give the bird no medication for 1 or 2 weeks. This is
quite resonable. Sometimes it is a good idea to collect droppings for checking before the probiotic treatment
is commenced after the doxycycline/tylosin treatment as the following week has no scheduled treatment
and is therefore available if problems requiring treatment are identified.
Summary
1. Canker medication, usually ronidazole, 3 or perhaps 4 days every third week.
2. Respiratory medication, usually doxycycline/tylosin, 3 or 4 days every third week.
3. Probiotics:
• for 24 hours after doxycycline/tylosin; e.g. ‘DoxyT’
• when droppings become green or watery; if there is no response, droppings will need microscopic analysis
• consider for use on Wednesday and Sunday as a conditioning agent.
4. Seed oils and yeasts added to food on any day of week, based on birds’ condition.
5. Water-soluble multivitamin, mineral, amino-acid supplement in water is best given by itself and can be given 1
or 2 days per week on spare days.
6. Dropping analysis every 3 weeks. Other treatments, if needed; e.g. for coccidia and worms, can be given when diagnosed.
Fanciers should not develop a false sense of confidence when using this program. They should monitor their birds’
health continually. The racing season can be a long one and many variables affect health throughout the season.
Modifications to a health management program sometimes become necessary, depending on events arising.
Health varies with time and the change of weather that occurs from the start to the end of the season.
Problems that may be present early in the season often disappear as the birds get older, their immunity rises
and the weather gets warmer, so that the need for certain medications falls away. This occurs with such problems
as E. coli. At other times, there can be a sudden drastic change in the loft’s health status necessitating
a change in health management; for example, the introduction of a new Mycoplasma strain.
As always, if in doubt, contact your avian veterinarian.
Most fanciers are keen to do as much as possible to prevent disease during racing . To this end I feel it is imperative to vaccinate against PMV , Rota , Pox and Salmonella well before the start of racing. Recommended vaccination programs can be found on the VRPB website at www.vrpb.org.au in the “Disease Management” section.
I am surprised how many fanciers still do not vaccinate against Salmonella. Many fanciers associate Salmonella with swollen joints and unwell babies and therefore think that their birds don’t get the disease. This is not correct. Salmonella is often carried without symptoms in the bowel of race birds and is a common cause of transient diarrhoea in race birds. The cause of diarrhoea in race birds often goes undiagnosed. Fanciers may treat diarrhoea with probiotics or if more severe, antibiotics such as Sulpha AVS. The problem goes away . Fanciers don’t realise that they have treated their birds, in fact, for Salmonella. The problem is very common in Europe. We are no different here. The Bioproperties Salmonella vaccine is cheap, easy to administer, safe and effective. I think all fanciers should use it. The way to use the vaccine is summarised below.
The vaccine can be given in 1 of 3 ways:
1/ A 0.1ml injection under the skin at the back of the neck. The vaccine is dissolved into 100ml of sterile water for injection to create 1000 doses. This is done by repeatedly rinsing the vial with sterile water (available through your vet) using a needle and syringe until all of the vaccine is dissolved in the 100ml bottle of sterile water.
2/ 0.1ml of vaccine can be given orally. The vaccine is equally well absorbed from the lining of the bowel as from an injection under the skin. When giving the vaccine orally you need to be clean but not sterile. 100ml of tap water can be used to dissolve the pellet. If smaller numbers of birds are to be vaccinated the pellet can be divided using a Stanley knife or similar and then dissolved into an appropriate amount of water. For example a quarter of a pellet is dissolved in 25ml of water to provide 250 x 0.1ml doses. Half the pellet is dissolved into 50ml to make 500 doses. The rest of the pellet is returned to the freezer ready to prepare the second dose 2 to 4 weeks later. This is the method I recommend and use on my own birds. Using this method requires very little effort to protect your birds.
3/ The vaccine can be prepared as above but then added to the drinking water at the rate of 10mls in 5 litres of water to vaccinate 100 pigeons. All of this water must be drunk within 2 hours for the vaccine to be effective. Because this is difficult to achieve, this is regarded as a less optimal method. Fanciers can expect some vaccinated birds to be a bit quiet and ‘fluffed up’ on the day of vaccination. More details can be found on the VRPB website.
How many peas should I be feeding ?
A very common question is “ What percentage of my grain mix should be peas?” The well- known and successful fancier, Graham Davison calls them “sinkers” alluding to the suggestion that there overuse causes the pigeons not to want to fly. Some fanciers suggest that fanciers that insist on using high levels of peas in their grain mix are handicapping themselves. Pigeons in full work , particularly in warm weather , often eat less and so it is important that what they eat gives them the energy they need for sustained flight. This is why fanciers use seeds rich in fats and sugars such as safflower, hemp , small corn and peanuts particularly for the longer races. Birds however need protein as well. Low protein leads to general weakness, fatigue, a feeling of persistent hunger as well as delayed recovery and healing after exertion or injury. I thought however that you can never argue with success and so I rang 4 particularly successful VHA fanciers and asked them what level of peas they usually feed. The answers ranged from 20 to 40 %. It is a matter of finding the right balance. For racing the recommendation is to have 12 to 14 % protein in the diet. Peas are approx. 25% protein so based on the average protein levels of the grain blends that fanciers feed (made up mainly of maize, wheat, milo and safflower) about 30% of the overall diet peas seems correct. As this is the overall level one would anticipate that will be times in the week when the birds will need less peas ie straight after a toss or race and times when they will need more ie when the weather is particularly cold. Fanciers need to monitor their birds activity and condition but on average , if using a typical grain blend then making about 30 % of the diet peas is correct.
Breaking News -- Pigeon Pox Vaccine Availability – Pox vaccine is now available
Unfortunately pigeon pox vaccine has not been available in Australia since February this year. Those fanciers who regularly read the Journal will be aware that the APC purchased the vaccine seed and the technology for its production from CCD in 1991. Since then the vaccine has been available each year to Australian fanciers from the APC. In late 2021, the APVMA ( the regulatory authority for various medications including vaccines) conducted an audit, the result of which was that the APVMA needed more information about the product for supply to be maintained. The only information they had was 30 years old. The APC initially applied to the APVMA for an emergency permit to maintain supply. This was declined. The APC then applied for a research permit. Fanciers will be pleased to hear that this has now been granted. As a result the vaccine is now, once again become available. The permit allows the APC to supply the vaccine to fanciers for the purpose of gathering clinical information about the vaccine. The information will then be collated and form the basis of a registration dossier submitted by the APC to the APVMA. Once the vaccine is registered the vaccine will again become normally available. Each fancier who obtains a vial of vaccine will be asked to provide information by completing a form about the vaccine’s use. Without this information the APC will not have the information that is needed for a registration application and the vaccine will again no longer be available.
Details that will be required are:-
1/ the name and address of the fancier using the vaccine
2/ the birds that are treated eg a race team of 200 birds,
3/ the method and frequency of application, eg needle prick to outer thigh once
4/ the total amount of vaccine used eg micro drop
5/ date and location where the vaccine will be used
6/ any adverse reactions.
Like many fanciers, I don’t like red tape however when you get your vaccine Laura at the APC will help you with this. If you don’t want to fill out the form , you can request that Laura phone you after you have used the vaccine so that you can simply tell her the required information. It is however vital that we do get this information, otherwise we will not have the information required to register the vaccine and the vaccine will again not be available.
The permit is only valid until the end of May 2023. The vaccine lasts indefinitely when in the freezer so I would suggest that fanciers get their pox vaccine sooner rather than later and absolutely before 31/5/23.
After May next year the gathered information will be collated to form part of a registration application to the APVMA. The APVMA is likely to take more than 6 to 12 months to review this. Vaccine will not be available during this time. Hopefully if our registration is successful the vaccine will then become available normally.
The APC has tried to keep the pox vaccine as economical as possible . To this end the APC has kept the price of pigeon pox vaccine the same since 1991 when it took over supply. However with the overall anticipated costs involved in registration to be $30.000 to $50,000 unfortunately an overdue price rise will need to occur. The expected cost will be approximately $125 plus GST for a 500 dose vial . Fanciers will appreciate that as the bottle can vaccinate over 500 birds that this is still a cheap vaccine.
Vaccine can be ordered by calling Laura at the APC on 0450 400 034.
Vet Questions
1/ I picked up one of my race birds today and he had a large amount of blood come out his beak onto my hands and clothes. He is a performing bird with no signs of puncture or trauma. Never been ill actually . Any chance that I can help him ?
The bird most likely has hit another bird in the sky while flock exercising and is bleeding into an air sac. No treatment is available . If the bleeding is going to be fatal this usually occurs in 15 minutes. The bird should be confined until he recovers. There is the potential for subsequent race performance to be compromised. Another possibility would be a small canker abscess on the top side of the pharyngeal tonsil. In this case, treatment for canker eg one Spartix tablet daily would help.
2/ I have a 9 year old stock hen that has a head tilt. She was one of a group that I recently acquired from a deceased. Their recent care had not been good . The loft was dirty and they had not been vaccinated against anything. Apart from the head tilt she looks basically. Do you think that the problem could be Salmonella . Would this affect her subsequent breeding or should she be disposed of?
Possible causes of a head tilt in Australia include :---
1/ several birds affected --- PPMV, Salmonella or Herpes virus
2/ individual bird ---- head trauma ( concussion ), “stroke”, invasive trichomonad abscess particularly from pharyngeal tonsil , invasive sinus infection, inner ear infection, brain tumour
In PPMV the head tilt appears late in the disease when many birds are already recovering while with Salmonella the head tilt appears during active disease ( but not always ). I would treat her with Baytril ¼ ml once daily direct to her mouth. If treatment is successful it will take her several weeks or even months to become normal. The brain takes a long time to recover after injury. As you would be aware Salmonella can damage the gonads but provided she can look after herself in the loft she would be worth trying to breed off. The antibiotics would also help with any of the other bacterial infections that I have listed.
3/ I am a veterinarian working in South Africa. For quite a few years now we have been experiencing what I call new eye eyed cold. Long ago we got the odd pigeon with one eyed cold. It was easy to treat and we only had a few cases a year if we were unlucky.Now every fancier in SA seems to get it at some stage. More in YB than old birds. Fanciers usually go to the loft one morning and find that in some birds the lower eyelid is more in a straight line than round. For several years now it comes and goes in all our lofts. Now we are finding it more and more. Very few lofts seem to escape it and we get it every year. When it is at a peak in the loft the performance goes down even in pigeons not showing the eye symptoms. The condition seems to respond to Mycoplasma / Ornithosis treatments but VERY slowly. It also appears to behave differently in different lofts.
I remember reading in one of your articles where you mentioned that Rota virus was a possible agent playing a role along with Mycoplasma and Ornithosis. Have you perhaps done further tests to find if this is the case or not. It certainly is behaving like a complex syndrome type of condition. I was wondering if viruses like Herpes (it is found to cause eye problems in cats) or Circo ( inclusion bodies have been found in 3rd eyelid)don’t play a role???????
The eye problem you describe sounds very much like a condition that we now call "fat eye " in Australia. It appeared around the same time as Rota virus but whether the 2 conditions are linked is hard to say. It is certainly infectious as it appears each year as birds from different loft start to mix in organised training tosses and the early races. We did investigate this fairly thoroughly at the time it appeared. Conjunctival biopsies were consistent with a Mycoplasmal infection -- and not bacterial or Chlamydial infections. PCRs done on throat and conjunctival swabs were positive for Mycoplasma but the University of Melbourne was unable to speciate it -- which means it was not one of the earlier known more common Mycoplasma species. It does seem to respond to doxy/tylan blends but most birds get better in 3 to 5 days anyway so is fairly self-limiting. The birds performance does seem to be compromised during this time which is consistent with a Mycoplasmal sinus infection and possible airsac involvement.
Herpes is becoming increasingly commonly diagnosed in Australia , some of these birds get a conjunctivitis but we have also had some with a corneal infection and also an iris infection. It would not surprise me if Herpes was involved with fat eye. More investigative work needs to be done. The VRPB is currently seeking funding for several veterinary research projects and the cause of fat eye and its relationship ( if any ) to Rota virus would be another potential investigation. Currently none of these investigations are proceeding through a lack funding. There are a group of fanciers in Australia that call themselves a national board that are currently holding over $60,000 of Australian fanciers money but are refusing to make this available for any veterinary investigations which is very frustrating.
4/ I have a pigeon in my race loft which I suspect has a salmonella infection. It has a very swollen wing joint. I am currently treating it with Sulfa AVS, even if it does recover, will there be permanent damage, or is it likely to recover sufficiently to be raced?
Salmonella can cause a bacterial joint infection and so is a possible cause of the symptom you describe. Either Sulpha AVS in the drinking water or Baytril ¼ ml directly to the throat once daily for 10 to 24 days are both reasonable treatments. Usually by the time that the joint is visibly swollen the cartilage surface of the joint has already been damaged . This means that subsequent racing will not be possible or at least compromised.
5/ I have search high and low, ask around and no-one seems to know or understand so here goes.Me and my dad race pigeons in northern Ireland (uk), my dad raced for around 45-50 years and says to this date never seen anything like it.So this year we had a good breeding programme down all young birds weened over very well and no issues. We have around 78 young birds in a 20ft by 10ft loft which to large Avery’s attached, there also deep litter down (wood chips) on flooring.The young birds went off there food so upon exemption we need a treatment for Cranker which work prefect, young birds pick up and started eating well and flying well also vaccinated for Pmv again all good. They where started hamper training which we seen some stress issue come. So a few days off hamper training and observed the birds flying round the loft flying and got dropping and crop test done and report came back with no issue. . We noticed some Respiratory issue (head scratching, sneezing and when sitting in loft sleepy eyes) we again treated and and they pick up for a day or 2 and back to these “sleepy eyes”. I cant understand these and they fly really well, eat really well droppings are really good, we have even trained them about 5 miles and doing in 6-7 minutes but we keep coming back to this sleepy eyes (meaning the eyes shut or squinting). We have used eye drops, nasel drops throat drops (from Roinfield, Naseline, belgica de weerd products for Respiratory). And still no sign of this issue going away. Im pulling my hair out and not sleeping think of every element possible and cant find anything around this issue. I understand not seeing the birds doesn’t help this issue or testing but wondering if I can get some help round it? I can send videos of the birds etc.Pigeons Condition – really good feather quality real silky, no nasal blockage or discharge, white chalky nose, Rosie pink throat, and pink body colour. So cant understand this
Products and treatment used:- doxycycline, tylosin, tylan,
Belgica De Weerd:- BelgaTai, Orni 3, OrniSpecial,
Pigeon Vitality – anti fugal, improver
They also get mutivits, electrolytes, probiotics
I sent some samples for testing to a non veterinary lab. The droppings were negative for worms and were described as having a low to moderate level of coccidian. A sample sent to test for canker was negative.
Although the test results you have are useful they are the minimum required. I understand that it may be difficult to access more thorough and complete veterinary testing but with only these results, it is unfortunately not possible to advise you. As a minimum, in addition , we would need Chlamydia and Mycoplasma PCRs, bacterial cultures from the throat and “slot”, basic blood tests—biochemistry and haematology and other tests as indicated to give you any accurate information that would be of use to you.
On a personal note, this question highlights the frustration and the difficulty that many fanciers throughout the world have in accessing veterinary services . Because of this, other fanciers become a source of “veterinary advice” and multiple drugs are used trying to find a cure. Both far from ideal ways of solving a problem. An accurate diagnosis not only allows for a targeted correct treatment but provides information that allows the problem to be prevented from re occurring. I have no easy answer to this problem but at least in Australia there is a qualification process for veterinarians to become recognised avian vets through post graduate study and examination. For fanciers unclear how to find their closest avian vet a list is on the Australian Pigeon Company website or you can ring Laura at the APC on 0450 400 034 who will help you find the nearest avian vet to you.
5/ Can 2 year old race birds that had Rota virus in their first year of racing catch it again?
Absolutely yes. Birds that had Rota in their first year of racing can become unwell with Rota when they are racing as two year olds. Testing done in 2018 , the results of which were published in this Journal, showed that a year after infection the number of birds , whose immunity dropped below the threshold required to protect them from becoming unwell ,gradually increased each month . Basically what happens is that birds catch Rota in their first year of life. Survivors develop strong immunity that initially protects them from re- infection. With time, the level of immunity gradually falls. By the time a year has passed the immunity has dropped to the point that in some birds there is no longer sufficient immunity to protect them from disease. As each month then passes , more and more birds become vulnerable to re infection.
This means that a year after recovery, with each passing month , as the level of immunity falls, more birds can be expected to show signs of disease and their symptoms will be more severe if exposed to Rota virus. Typically however, because the 2 year olds do have some immunity their symptoms will be milder than unvaccinated yearlings if a loft is exposed to Rota virus.
As in previous years, with the start of group tossing and racing ,fanciers are reporting Rota virus infections in their birds. Control of this disease once birds from different lofts start to mix is difficult. Vaccination reduces the severity of the disease but does not prevent infection with the virus. One federation has proposed that if birds are observed to vomit or vomit is seen in a fanciers baskets that that fancier should not be allowed to race until his birds have had a negative Rota test. In Melbourne a Rota virus PCR costs about $140 and it takes 4 working days to get the result back. To do the test is relatively straightforward. The test sample needs to be collected in a clean but not necessarily sterile manner. Where a fancier is collecting a sample, a human cotton bud can be used. This is inserted into the vent of an unwell or recently dead bird and wiped around just inside. The same swab can be used on several birds to produce a pooled sample that is then sent for testing. Although testing is relatively straightforward the difficulty comes in what to do with the result. Birds that have recovered from Rota virus continue to carry the virus long after they look well. Testing that was done in 2018 (and the results published in this Journal) showed that recovered Rota birds continued to intermittently shed the virus in their dropping for many weeks and in some cases many months with a few birds still carrying the virus after a year. This variable, prolonged carrier state makes the control of Rota difficult. In effect, it means that several birds from a loft may test negative but it is very likely that there will be a proportion of birds in the loft , even months later, well after all of the birds look well, that will occasionally shed the virus. This means that that loft , could still be a source on infection. This is part of the reason why Rota virus appears to sometimes just come from “nowhere”. All a fancier can do is ensure that his birds are double vaccinated against Rota – testing has shown that this decreases the severity of the disease and reduces the risk of internal damage that may compromise subsequent race performance , monitor his birds for Rota and be prepared to allow them time to recover if they do become infected before putting them back into work. By comparison PMV is easier to control. Birds that recover from PMV only carry the virus for up to 60 days.
The photo accompanying this article was taken by me at a federation basketing in Melbourne in July. Vomited grain and the mucoid creamy olive droppings that are often passed by birds with Rota can be clearly seen. The photo was taken after the birds in the basket had been entered in the race. Unfortunately the problem was not detected until after the birds had been “put through”.
Birds presented for basketing that are displaying symptoms consistent with a Rota virus infection should not be allowed to be entered into races for several reasons :-
1/ Animal Welfare – birds that are unwell for any reason have a compromised ability to return
2/ Controlling the spread of the virus -- although birds that have recovered from Rota virus continue to shed the virus (and therefore remain infectious) for several weeks and in some cases months after recovery, actively sick birds shed the virus in large numbers thus exposing healthy birds to high levels of the virus. Not having actively unwell birds in the race units will therefore decrease the exposure of further birds to the virus and spread of the disease.
3/ All larger federations have written into their rules and the VRPB supports that any injured bird or bird that is unwell for any reason should not be entered. Denying Rota birds entry is simply complying with earlier rules and guidelines.
Because of the prolonged viral shedding time in recovered birds the main reason these birds need to stay at home are the concerns over animal welfare and quite simply doing what is “right for the birds”.
Photo Caption “Vomited grain and the mucoid creamy olive droppings that are often passed by birds with Rota can be clearly seen on the wire floor of this basket . The photo was taken in July in Melbourne after the birds in the basket had been entered in a race.”
VRPB News.
The minutes of the VRPB AGM in March are now on the VRPB website. Also the Race Release Guidelines for Liberation committees have been completed and placed on the VRPB website. The guidelines are based on those of the KBDB , in Belgium and the AU, in America. It is hoped that these guidelines provide a useful reference for those individuals and committees charged with the important job of deciding if race birds should be released. The VRPB was grateful to receive a donation of $1350 from the VHA for the VRPB Veterinary Health Management Fund. As discussed in the last few Journals ,several veterinary investigations that will benefit all Australian fanciers are ready to start as soon as sufficient funds are raised. Those wishing to donate should contact the VRPB treasure Eddie Szatkowski. His email address is [email protected]
The Maintenance of Health During the Race Season
If you had an aviary of healthy parrots or a flock of healthy sheep, for that matter, the last thing that you would want to do is expose them to disease by getting another bird or animal from just anywhere and put them in with your own. One of the principles of maintaining health in any animal population is quarantining them from potential diseases by preventing exposure to animals of unknown health status. Yet, this is what we do every week during racing. Our race teams mix intimately, in a potentially stressful environment with birds from many different lofts. For this reason the health status in a loft is never static. Fortunately, if our birds are well cared for during their growth and development, they form a strong natural immunity that protects them against many of the common organisms that can potentially make them unwell or more subtly compromise their race performance.
Regular veterinary checks and the correct use of medication are used to identify health issues and maintain health.
Race Programs
Principal aim: To maintain winning form through the entire season by good management and the maintenance
of health.
During competition there is ongoing exposure to disease in the race unit. The principal factor that protects
the birds is the natural immunity they have formed during development. However, occasionally, disease
will occur. Health monitoring aims to detect this before it effects the team as a whole. Medication is used
to control disease if it is detected.
It is vital that the birds are completely free of any health problems to give their best. Winning birds are always
not only fit but also healthy. If the natural immunity they have formed is not strong enough to keep them
healthy during the inherent stress of racing, then medication is used to help ensure that health is maintained,
so that success can be ongoing and unnecessary losses avoided.
Unless the genetic base of the birds has changed, or the way they are managed has altered, then it is very
likely that any health problems that occurred in previous years will reappear in a particular loft. This is why
successful preventative programs can be reapplied to particular lofts year after year. Some health problems
are more likely to occur in particular types of loft and in lofts in particular locations. This explains why a
program that works well in one loft may be inappropriate in another.
Medication serves another purpose. Out of the race season, exposure of loft members to birds from
other lofts is minimal, while once racing starts there is sudden and immediate high exposure to many birds
from many different lofts. In this way, birds become exposed to different strains of disease-causing organisms,
in particular strains of wet canker and respiratory infection. Because these strains may not be resident
in their own loft, the birds cannot possibly have developed immunity to them. For this reason, disease can
flare up, even in well-managed lofts, with resultant sudden loss of form and variable losses. Medication is
used to minimise the impact of this exposure.
When to treat
Some fanciers like to provide medication to race birds as they return. However, giving birds medication
immediately upon return is problematic. Often the fancier’s aim in doing this is to prevent the introduction
of disease (particularly wet canker and respiratory infection) into the loft by returning race birds. To be truly
effective this medication would need to be given for several days.
There are other practical considerations. To be effective in preventing the entry of disease, medication
for returning race birds must be given after their return but before these birds mix with other birds in the
loft. This usually means treating them as soon as they return. This makes it impossible to use other useful
post-race treatments such as electrolytes and probiotics. If returning race birds are treated the next day (for
example, Sunday), it means they must be kept apart from other birds in the loft until this time. If returning
race birds have mixed with other non-race birds, there is no point in treating just them on Sunday.
Under most management systems, it is important from a motivation point of view that birds be allowed
access to their perch, box or mate as soon as possible after return. This can be difficult if medication is delayed
until Sunday. In addition, some post-race drugs are bitter, which can deter returning race birds from drinking
fully, when in fact it is important that they do so in order to rehydrate. Another factor to consider is that,
if it is a harder race and the birds are arriving at the loft over an extended time, then if medication is only
provided for a specific time, the later birds have limited access to the drug. They may be late because they
have a health problem and should actually be the ones to have more of the medication.
These days, the usual recommendation is to focus on recovery from the race on Saturday and then to use
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday or Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as the days to give any medication that
may be necessary. Usually all birds in the loft (those that have raced that weekend and those that haven’t)
are treated. If a fancier tosses non-race birds on Sunday or there are stragglers from Saturday’s race, then
usually treatments are started Monday.
To speed race recovery on Saturday, I recommend either electrolytes, multivitamins or probiotics be
given. If the race has been hot, or especially hard, or if the birds look distressed upon return, I think it is best
to give electrolytes (and a brand made specifically for this purpose such as Electrolyte P180). Alternatively,
if the race has not been especially taxing, multivitamins or probiotics are preferred. I find that the droppings
from returned race birds the following morning are more likely to be brown and tight, and that the birds
will maintain a feather down drop if probiotics are given as they return.
Health monitoring
The common diseases that affect race form are coccidia, worms, wet canker, respiratory infection due to Chlamydia
and Mycoplasma, ‘thrush’ and some bacterial infections. Wet canker can be diagnosed and accurately
treated with a microscopic examination of a crop flush because the causative agent, the living
Trichomonad, can be seen. Coccidia, worms and ‘thrush’ are monitored through microscopic
examination of the droppings. A bacterial infection can sometimes also be detected through
microscopic examination of the droppings but more often thorough tests such as staining or
culture are required.
The most common tests to check for Chlamydial respiratory infection are either a PCR
test (done on throat mucus) or a Chlamydia Immunocomb test (done on blood). In Melbourne I encourage
fanciers to take to an avian vet three to four birds every few weeks, or sooner if they are concerned through the
race season. Usually fresh droppings are examined. The birds are crop flushed and a Chlamydia test is done
on a pooled sample of throat mucus from the birds. This allows for efficient and accurate monitoring of the
common health problems that the birds are likely to be exposed to in the race units. Further tests are recommended
if the fancier or vet is suspicious of a less common or more serious problem.
Medication
Respiratory infection is usually treated with doxycycline or a combination of docycycline/tylosin or sometimes a combination of doxycycline/tylosin and spiramycin. Treatment times are based on the severity of the problem and the response to treatment but three to five days during racing is fairly standard. Antibiotic courses are best completed at least two days before basketing and are best followed up by a probiotic course. It can be hard to give the birds an antibiotic
course of sufficient length and still field a competitive team given time restraints. Sometimes what is recommended is to send a small, very select team on the Thursday basketing night and commence an antibiotic course Friday morning. The birds in the loft can then be treated Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, thus completing a five-day antibiotic course. The race birds return to antibiotic medicated water. As they are not watered on Saturday prior to release they then drink a whole day’s water on return. They are therefore medicated Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, completing a four-day course. Often one day less of treatment makes no difference for them, as they were the less affected birds.
With severe respiratory infection requiring longer antibiotic courses it may be necessary to miss races.
The onset of respiratory infection during the race season is always a blow because not only do the birds
need to throw off the infection and become fully healthy, but they then must re-establish their race fitness.
Meanwhile, the races are getting longer and longer, which can make it very hard to catch up. Often, a loss ofmform lasting three to four weeks is experienced.
It is standard around the world to treat race teams periodically for wet canker. Wet canker is ubiquitous.
Birds will be exposed in the race units. If new strains become established in the loft they dramatically affect
race form. In most teams we would expect to find some birds with wet canker if they have not been treated
during racing for three to four weeks (that is, if birds from that team have competed in three to four races).
Given this frequency, I am quite happy to recommend routine periodic preventative treatment. The most
common drug used around the world is ronidazole. It is fast-acting and also very quickly excreted from the
body once treatment ceases (less than 24 hours).
This means that birds can be treated for three to four days early in the week but still be sent as drug-free
pigeons on Thursday or Friday. Most strains will be killed by a two-to-three-day course; however more
pathogenic (disease-causing) strains may require extended courses of four to five days or even longer.
It is a good idea to have your vet check your birds periodically for wet canker with a crop flush, even if
you are regularly medicating. Resistance occurs with all of the common canker medications in use. It can be
a good idea to treat periodically with a different drug to kill any resistant strains that have developed. Alternatives
include dimetridazole, secnidazole, carnidazole and metronidazole. All are available in Australia. Dimetridazole must be used with extreme care and dosed accurately. An overdose makes the birds giddy and lightheaded – not ideal if the
birds are going to be tossed or raced, particularly on a windy day when they will need to dodge obstacles.
Metronidazole is available as a thick sugary syrup that is unpalatable for the birds (often leading to a
reduced water intake) and also as a tablet. Secnidazole and carnidazole are only available as tablets. Dosing
with a tablet requires increased effort by the fancier, but can be an effective way of treating if a smaller number
of birds is involved. Secnidazole is long-acting, taking approximately 24 hours to start to exert its effect but
then staying in the bird’s system for two to three days. A single dose of carnidazole exerts effect for 24 hours.
If fliers feel that ronidazole is not giving quick clearance of Trichomonads they have three options:
1. Use ronidazole for longer; i.e. 3–4 days. This is quite reasonable. If necessary, ronidazole can be given right
up to the day of basketing. Birds can safely be sent to the race with it in their crop.
2. Substitute every third or fourth treatment with another canker drug. All birds can be picked up for 3 days
in a row and given 1 Spartrix or ¼ Flagyl 200mg tablet each day, or given 2 Ronsec tablets, each tablet 48 hours
apart, or alternatively a 3–4-day course of dimetridazole can be given in the water.
3. Ronidazole can be combined with other drugs. Ronidazole can be placed in the water and at the same time
all birds are given a ¼ Flagyl or 1 Spartix each daily for two days in a row.
Of the three alternatives, I usually recommend option 2.
All canker medications should, ideally, be given at the start of the week during racing so that the birds have a
chance to ‘lift’ after having the trichomonads cleared with treatment. All canker medications can be mixed
with doxycycline-based respiratory medications.
E. coli and ‘thrush’ during racing are usually treated with probiotics. This can be given any day of the week
and more and more successful lofts are not only using it for this purpose, but are also using a probiotic to
advantage to maintain a healthy beneficial population of bowel bacteria at all times during racing. I usually
recommend Wednesday and Saturday or Sunday (for Thursday night basketing) as the best treatment
days for probiotic, because the first dose sets the birds up for the race and the second helps them recover.
Worms and coccidia are treated during racing when they are detected on microscopic examination of
the droppings. Moxidectin and toltrazuril are the most commonly-used medications respectively. When coccidia
is diagnosed it takes the bowel wall approximately four days to heal after an effective treatment. This
means that it will take more than one week for the birds’ race form to start to return.
Supplementation
A range of conditioning agents and multivitamins can be used during the season and, although not directly
treating disease, do help the birds resist disease by promoting their health generally. I believe that it is wise
to incorporate a good-quality multivitamin, amino-acid, mineral supplement in the loft health protocol
once or twice weekly.
During racing, birds can miss meals through being late to the loft, and sometimes eat irregularly through
being away from the loft racing. The use of a multivitamin helps ensure that they are not lacking something
in their diet. Seed oils together with feed yeasts, when added to the grain, increase the energy and calorie
content of the seed mix and are a way of making an especially nutritious meal for the birds. Some fliers
always use such agents on a particular day of the week; however, I do not believe this is the optimal way of
using them. Such products put condition or weight on the birds which, at particular times, is advantageous
but at other times is not.
Astute fanciers can use such products as needed to bring their birds into race condition. Just how often
they are used should be based on the birds’ condition (assessed by handling and observation of loft flying).
As a general rule, however, they are of benefit during cold weather, following hard tossing or hard racing, if
the birds are underweight, and during disease recovery.
Obviously, the optimal way of maintaining health through racing is to have the birds regularly checked
by your vet and medication used where indicated. Where a visit to the vet is not possible, the following
program can be safely used. As mentioned earlier wet canker is ubiquitous. Unless testing is done to show
that your birds are free, it is much safer to treat preventatively. At worst, it may mean that you waste some
of the drug and the birds receive some medication that they do not need. Not treating may cost you some
good pigeons, through compromising their ability to return, and also adversely affect your race results.
Mycoplasma is the other common agent implicated in respiratory infections. Birds infected with mycoplasma are infected for life, and virtually all racing pigeons are infected. When the birds are not under stress these infections remain silent. Racing is stressful and mycoplasma disease flare-ups are common. Treating regularly through the season helps to control these.
Even if you are not able to take the birds to a vet, it is always possible to post droppings to a vet to be checked for coccidia
and worms. These problems are treated if they are identified in the droppings. Probiotics are placed in the
water or on the food (usually the food, if other medications are being given in the water) whenever the droppings
appear green or watery. If the droppings’ appearance fails to improve, a sample of these should be sent
to your vet for testing. Through experience I have found that the following simple program will maintain
health in about 90% of lofts.
Insert attached diagram here
If necessary, the week without treatment is eliminated, changing the program from a three-week rotation
to a two-week one. All of the canker medications can be combined with the doxycycline based respiratory
medications. Some fanciers prefer to do this and then give the bird no medication for 1 or 2 weeks. This is
quite resonable. Sometimes it is a good idea to collect droppings for checking before the probiotic treatment
is commenced after the doxycycline/tylosin treatment as the following week has no scheduled treatment
and is therefore available if problems requiring treatment are identified.
Summary
1. Canker medication, usually ronidazole, 3 or perhaps 4 days every third week.
2. Respiratory medication, usually doxycycline/tylosin, 3 or 4 days every third week.
3. Probiotics:
• for 24 hours after doxycycline/tylosin; e.g. ‘DoxyT’
• when droppings become green or watery; if there is no response, droppings will need microscopic analysis
• consider for use on Wednesday and Sunday as a conditioning agent.
4. Seed oils and yeasts added to food on any day of week, based on birds’ condition.
5. Water-soluble multivitamin, mineral, amino-acid supplement in water is best given by itself and can be given 1
or 2 days per week on spare days.
6. Dropping analysis every 3 weeks. Other treatments, if needed; e.g. for coccidia and worms, can be given when diagnosed.
Fanciers should not develop a false sense of confidence when using this program. They should monitor their birds’
health continually. The racing season can be a long one and many variables affect health throughout the season.
Modifications to a health management program sometimes become necessary, depending on events arising.
Health varies with time and the change of weather that occurs from the start to the end of the season.
Problems that may be present early in the season often disappear as the birds get older, their immunity rises
and the weather gets warmer, so that the need for certain medications falls away. This occurs with such problems
as E. coli. At other times, there can be a sudden drastic change in the loft’s health status necessitating
a change in health management; for example, the introduction of a new Mycoplasma strain.
As always, if in doubt, contact your avian veterinarian.
Most fanciers are keen to do as much as possible to prevent disease during racing . To this end I feel it is imperative to vaccinate against PMV , Rota , Pox and Salmonella well before the start of racing. Recommended vaccination programs can be found on the VRPB website at www.vrpb.org.au in the “Disease Management” section.
I am surprised how many fanciers still do not vaccinate against Salmonella. Many fanciers associate Salmonella with swollen joints and unwell babies and therefore think that their birds don’t get the disease. This is not correct. Salmonella is often carried without symptoms in the bowel of race birds and is a common cause of transient diarrhoea in race birds. The cause of diarrhoea in race birds often goes undiagnosed. Fanciers may treat diarrhoea with probiotics or if more severe, antibiotics such as Sulpha AVS. The problem goes away . Fanciers don’t realise that they have treated their birds, in fact, for Salmonella. The problem is very common in Europe. We are no different here. The Bioproperties Salmonella vaccine is cheap, easy to administer, safe and effective. I think all fanciers should use it. The way to use the vaccine is summarised below.
The vaccine can be given in 1 of 3 ways:
1/ A 0.1ml injection under the skin at the back of the neck. The vaccine is dissolved into 100ml of sterile water for injection to create 1000 doses. This is done by repeatedly rinsing the vial with sterile water (available through your vet) using a needle and syringe until all of the vaccine is dissolved in the 100ml bottle of sterile water.
2/ 0.1ml of vaccine can be given orally. The vaccine is equally well absorbed from the lining of the bowel as from an injection under the skin. When giving the vaccine orally you need to be clean but not sterile. 100ml of tap water can be used to dissolve the pellet. If smaller numbers of birds are to be vaccinated the pellet can be divided using a Stanley knife or similar and then dissolved into an appropriate amount of water. For example a quarter of a pellet is dissolved in 25ml of water to provide 250 x 0.1ml doses. Half the pellet is dissolved into 50ml to make 500 doses. The rest of the pellet is returned to the freezer ready to prepare the second dose 2 to 4 weeks later. This is the method I recommend and use on my own birds. Using this method requires very little effort to protect your birds.
3/ The vaccine can be prepared as above but then added to the drinking water at the rate of 10mls in 5 litres of water to vaccinate 100 pigeons. All of this water must be drunk within 2 hours for the vaccine to be effective. Because this is difficult to achieve, this is regarded as a less optimal method. Fanciers can expect some vaccinated birds to be a bit quiet and ‘fluffed up’ on the day of vaccination. More details can be found on the VRPB website.
How many peas should I be feeding ?
A very common question is “ What percentage of my grain mix should be peas?” The well- known and successful fancier, Graham Davison calls them “sinkers” alluding to the suggestion that there overuse causes the pigeons not to want to fly. Some fanciers suggest that fanciers that insist on using high levels of peas in their grain mix are handicapping themselves. Pigeons in full work , particularly in warm weather , often eat less and so it is important that what they eat gives them the energy they need for sustained flight. This is why fanciers use seeds rich in fats and sugars such as safflower, hemp , small corn and peanuts particularly for the longer races. Birds however need protein as well. Low protein leads to general weakness, fatigue, a feeling of persistent hunger as well as delayed recovery and healing after exertion or injury. I thought however that you can never argue with success and so I rang 4 particularly successful VHA fanciers and asked them what level of peas they usually feed. The answers ranged from 20 to 40 %. It is a matter of finding the right balance. For racing the recommendation is to have 12 to 14 % protein in the diet. Peas are approx. 25% protein so based on the average protein levels of the grain blends that fanciers feed (made up mainly of maize, wheat, milo and safflower) about 30% of the overall diet peas seems correct. As this is the overall level one would anticipate that will be times in the week when the birds will need less peas ie straight after a toss or race and times when they will need more ie when the weather is particularly cold. Fanciers need to monitor their birds activity and condition but on average , if using a typical grain blend then making about 30 % of the diet peas is correct.
Breaking News -- Pigeon Pox Vaccine Availability – Pox vaccine is now available
Unfortunately pigeon pox vaccine has not been available in Australia since February this year. Those fanciers who regularly read the Journal will be aware that the APC purchased the vaccine seed and the technology for its production from CCD in 1991. Since then the vaccine has been available each year to Australian fanciers from the APC. In late 2021, the APVMA ( the regulatory authority for various medications including vaccines) conducted an audit, the result of which was that the APVMA needed more information about the product for supply to be maintained. The only information they had was 30 years old. The APC initially applied to the APVMA for an emergency permit to maintain supply. This was declined. The APC then applied for a research permit. Fanciers will be pleased to hear that this has now been granted. As a result the vaccine is now, once again become available. The permit allows the APC to supply the vaccine to fanciers for the purpose of gathering clinical information about the vaccine. The information will then be collated and form the basis of a registration dossier submitted by the APC to the APVMA. Once the vaccine is registered the vaccine will again become normally available. Each fancier who obtains a vial of vaccine will be asked to provide information by completing a form about the vaccine’s use. Without this information the APC will not have the information that is needed for a registration application and the vaccine will again no longer be available.
Details that will be required are:-
1/ the name and address of the fancier using the vaccine
2/ the birds that are treated eg a race team of 200 birds,
3/ the method and frequency of application, eg needle prick to outer thigh once
4/ the total amount of vaccine used eg micro drop
5/ date and location where the vaccine will be used
6/ any adverse reactions.
Like many fanciers, I don’t like red tape however when you get your vaccine Laura at the APC will help you with this. If you don’t want to fill out the form , you can request that Laura phone you after you have used the vaccine so that you can simply tell her the required information. It is however vital that we do get this information, otherwise we will not have the information required to register the vaccine and the vaccine will again not be available.
The permit is only valid until the end of May 2023. The vaccine lasts indefinitely when in the freezer so I would suggest that fanciers get their pox vaccine sooner rather than later and absolutely before 31/5/23.
After May next year the gathered information will be collated to form part of a registration application to the APVMA. The APVMA is likely to take more than 6 to 12 months to review this. Vaccine will not be available during this time. Hopefully if our registration is successful the vaccine will then become available normally.
The APC has tried to keep the pox vaccine as economical as possible . To this end the APC has kept the price of pigeon pox vaccine the same since 1991 when it took over supply. However with the overall anticipated costs involved in registration to be $30.000 to $50,000 unfortunately an overdue price rise will need to occur. The expected cost will be approximately $125 plus GST for a 500 dose vial . Fanciers will appreciate that as the bottle can vaccinate over 500 birds that this is still a cheap vaccine.
Vaccine can be ordered by calling Laura at the APC on 0450 400 034.
Vet Questions
1/ I picked up one of my race birds today and he had a large amount of blood come out his beak onto my hands and clothes. He is a performing bird with no signs of puncture or trauma. Never been ill actually . Any chance that I can help him ?
The bird most likely has hit another bird in the sky while flock exercising and is bleeding into an air sac. No treatment is available . If the bleeding is going to be fatal this usually occurs in 15 minutes. The bird should be confined until he recovers. There is the potential for subsequent race performance to be compromised. Another possibility would be a small canker abscess on the top side of the pharyngeal tonsil. In this case, treatment for canker eg one Spartix tablet daily would help.
2/ I have a 9 year old stock hen that has a head tilt. She was one of a group that I recently acquired from a deceased. Their recent care had not been good . The loft was dirty and they had not been vaccinated against anything. Apart from the head tilt she looks basically. Do you think that the problem could be Salmonella . Would this affect her subsequent breeding or should she be disposed of?
Possible causes of a head tilt in Australia include :---
1/ several birds affected --- PPMV, Salmonella or Herpes virus
2/ individual bird ---- head trauma ( concussion ), “stroke”, invasive trichomonad abscess particularly from pharyngeal tonsil , invasive sinus infection, inner ear infection, brain tumour
In PPMV the head tilt appears late in the disease when many birds are already recovering while with Salmonella the head tilt appears during active disease ( but not always ). I would treat her with Baytril ¼ ml once daily direct to her mouth. If treatment is successful it will take her several weeks or even months to become normal. The brain takes a long time to recover after injury. As you would be aware Salmonella can damage the gonads but provided she can look after herself in the loft she would be worth trying to breed off. The antibiotics would also help with any of the other bacterial infections that I have listed.
3/ I am a veterinarian working in South Africa. For quite a few years now we have been experiencing what I call new eye eyed cold. Long ago we got the odd pigeon with one eyed cold. It was easy to treat and we only had a few cases a year if we were unlucky.Now every fancier in SA seems to get it at some stage. More in YB than old birds. Fanciers usually go to the loft one morning and find that in some birds the lower eyelid is more in a straight line than round. For several years now it comes and goes in all our lofts. Now we are finding it more and more. Very few lofts seem to escape it and we get it every year. When it is at a peak in the loft the performance goes down even in pigeons not showing the eye symptoms. The condition seems to respond to Mycoplasma / Ornithosis treatments but VERY slowly. It also appears to behave differently in different lofts.
I remember reading in one of your articles where you mentioned that Rota virus was a possible agent playing a role along with Mycoplasma and Ornithosis. Have you perhaps done further tests to find if this is the case or not. It certainly is behaving like a complex syndrome type of condition. I was wondering if viruses like Herpes (it is found to cause eye problems in cats) or Circo ( inclusion bodies have been found in 3rd eyelid)don’t play a role???????
The eye problem you describe sounds very much like a condition that we now call "fat eye " in Australia. It appeared around the same time as Rota virus but whether the 2 conditions are linked is hard to say. It is certainly infectious as it appears each year as birds from different loft start to mix in organised training tosses and the early races. We did investigate this fairly thoroughly at the time it appeared. Conjunctival biopsies were consistent with a Mycoplasmal infection -- and not bacterial or Chlamydial infections. PCRs done on throat and conjunctival swabs were positive for Mycoplasma but the University of Melbourne was unable to speciate it -- which means it was not one of the earlier known more common Mycoplasma species. It does seem to respond to doxy/tylan blends but most birds get better in 3 to 5 days anyway so is fairly self-limiting. The birds performance does seem to be compromised during this time which is consistent with a Mycoplasmal sinus infection and possible airsac involvement.
Herpes is becoming increasingly commonly diagnosed in Australia , some of these birds get a conjunctivitis but we have also had some with a corneal infection and also an iris infection. It would not surprise me if Herpes was involved with fat eye. More investigative work needs to be done. The VRPB is currently seeking funding for several veterinary research projects and the cause of fat eye and its relationship ( if any ) to Rota virus would be another potential investigation. Currently none of these investigations are proceeding through a lack funding. There are a group of fanciers in Australia that call themselves a national board that are currently holding over $60,000 of Australian fanciers money but are refusing to make this available for any veterinary investigations which is very frustrating.
4/ I have a pigeon in my race loft which I suspect has a salmonella infection. It has a very swollen wing joint. I am currently treating it with Sulfa AVS, even if it does recover, will there be permanent damage, or is it likely to recover sufficiently to be raced?
Salmonella can cause a bacterial joint infection and so is a possible cause of the symptom you describe. Either Sulpha AVS in the drinking water or Baytril ¼ ml directly to the throat once daily for 10 to 24 days are both reasonable treatments. Usually by the time that the joint is visibly swollen the cartilage surface of the joint has already been damaged . This means that subsequent racing will not be possible or at least compromised.
5/ I have search high and low, ask around and no-one seems to know or understand so here goes.Me and my dad race pigeons in northern Ireland (uk), my dad raced for around 45-50 years and says to this date never seen anything like it.So this year we had a good breeding programme down all young birds weened over very well and no issues. We have around 78 young birds in a 20ft by 10ft loft which to large Avery’s attached, there also deep litter down (wood chips) on flooring.The young birds went off there food so upon exemption we need a treatment for Cranker which work prefect, young birds pick up and started eating well and flying well also vaccinated for Pmv again all good. They where started hamper training which we seen some stress issue come. So a few days off hamper training and observed the birds flying round the loft flying and got dropping and crop test done and report came back with no issue. . We noticed some Respiratory issue (head scratching, sneezing and when sitting in loft sleepy eyes) we again treated and and they pick up for a day or 2 and back to these “sleepy eyes”. I cant understand these and they fly really well, eat really well droppings are really good, we have even trained them about 5 miles and doing in 6-7 minutes but we keep coming back to this sleepy eyes (meaning the eyes shut or squinting). We have used eye drops, nasel drops throat drops (from Roinfield, Naseline, belgica de weerd products for Respiratory). And still no sign of this issue going away. Im pulling my hair out and not sleeping think of every element possible and cant find anything around this issue. I understand not seeing the birds doesn’t help this issue or testing but wondering if I can get some help round it? I can send videos of the birds etc.Pigeons Condition – really good feather quality real silky, no nasal blockage or discharge, white chalky nose, Rosie pink throat, and pink body colour. So cant understand this
Products and treatment used:- doxycycline, tylosin, tylan,
Belgica De Weerd:- BelgaTai, Orni 3, OrniSpecial,
Pigeon Vitality – anti fugal, improver
They also get mutivits, electrolytes, probiotics
I sent some samples for testing to a non veterinary lab. The droppings were negative for worms and were described as having a low to moderate level of coccidian. A sample sent to test for canker was negative.
Although the test results you have are useful they are the minimum required. I understand that it may be difficult to access more thorough and complete veterinary testing but with only these results, it is unfortunately not possible to advise you. As a minimum, in addition , we would need Chlamydia and Mycoplasma PCRs, bacterial cultures from the throat and “slot”, basic blood tests—biochemistry and haematology and other tests as indicated to give you any accurate information that would be of use to you.
On a personal note, this question highlights the frustration and the difficulty that many fanciers throughout the world have in accessing veterinary services . Because of this, other fanciers become a source of “veterinary advice” and multiple drugs are used trying to find a cure. Both far from ideal ways of solving a problem. An accurate diagnosis not only allows for a targeted correct treatment but provides information that allows the problem to be prevented from re occurring. I have no easy answer to this problem but at least in Australia there is a qualification process for veterinarians to become recognised avian vets through post graduate study and examination. For fanciers unclear how to find their closest avian vet a list is on the Australian Pigeon Company website or you can ring Laura at the APC on 0450 400 034 who will help you find the nearest avian vet to you.
5/ Can 2 year old race birds that had Rota virus in their first year of racing catch it again?
Absolutely yes. Birds that had Rota in their first year of racing can become unwell with Rota when they are racing as two year olds. Testing done in 2018 , the results of which were published in this Journal, showed that a year after infection the number of birds , whose immunity dropped below the threshold required to protect them from becoming unwell ,gradually increased each month . Basically what happens is that birds catch Rota in their first year of life. Survivors develop strong immunity that initially protects them from re- infection. With time, the level of immunity gradually falls. By the time a year has passed the immunity has dropped to the point that in some birds there is no longer sufficient immunity to protect them from disease. As each month then passes , more and more birds become vulnerable to re infection.
This means that a year after recovery, with each passing month , as the level of immunity falls, more birds can be expected to show signs of disease and their symptoms will be more severe if exposed to Rota virus. Typically however, because the 2 year olds do have some immunity their symptoms will be milder than unvaccinated yearlings if a loft is exposed to Rota virus.