Doxycycline use
Doxycycline is a widely used antibiotic in pigeon health management.
Doxycycline has many advantages when compared to other tetracyclines – rapid absorption from gastrointestinal tract, less disruption of normal bowel bacteria, less affected by concurrent calcium supplementation and the maintenance of prolonged therapeutic levels in the blood with a single dose, providing effective blood levels for 20 hours. It is used by itself or in combination with other antibiotics notably tylosin and spiramycin. It’s dose is 12 to 25mg/pigeon over a 24 hour period. Used so commonly that some fanciers almost seem to forget that it is a potent drug. Like all antibiotics it has side effects. Notably it can damage the liver. As with any prescription medication it should only be used under veterinary guidance. Below are some of the special considerations regarding doxycycline’s use
Doxycyline medicated water turning purple
Fanciers in some areas will notice that water medicated with doxycycline will change from the normal pale yellow to pale pink then red and finally deep purple. This colour change occurs if there are minerals in the water that react with the doxycycline. This change is unlikely to be seen where mains water is used, but is quite common where bore water and other sources of mineral rich waters are used.
As the water changes colour the antibiotic is being inactivated. Solutions for fanciers in affected areas include using either bottled water (not mineral water), distilled or rain water. Alternatively, smaller volumes of medicated water can be prepared that are changed more frequently as the pink colour appears. The whole process is accelerated by heat and UV light. In one interesting situation, a fancier observed that the pink colour appeared less rapidly in his white drinkers than in his black drinkers (that absorb heat). Using lighter coloured drinkers placed out of the direct sun will further help in affected areas.
Concurrent calcium supplementation
Doxycycline absorption from the bowel is reduced if the pigeons ingest supplements that contain calcium, concurrently. To improve uptake of the drug, fanciers should avoid concurrent use of supplements containing calcium on the food or provide fresh grit, pink powder and mineral blocks that might stimulate ingestion during medication with doxycycline.
Water acidification during doxycycline medication
In birds that are unwell bowel ph can rise ( ie become less acidic ). In this situation doxycycline absorption from the bowel may be improved if the doxycycline is provided in a weakly-acidic solution. Simultaneously medicating the water with a weak organic acid;, for example, citric acid or acetic acid, may not only enhance the effect of the drug but also make the somewhat bitter doxycycline more pleasant tasting for the birds. Both citric acid (available as a white powder and dosed at the rate of 3gm/6L) and acetic acid (available as apple cider vinegar and dosed at the rate of 5ml/L) are available from most supermarkets.
Doxycycline use and the choice of drinker
Drinkers made from galvanised metal or unglazed pottery will inactivate the doxycycline in medicated water. Drinkers should be made from stainless steel, glass, plastic, enameled metal or glazed pottery.
Mixing other medications with doxycycline
It is sometimes an advantage to treat birds simultaneously with several medications. Doxycycline can be safely mixed with all of the canker medications and also toltrazuril (for coccidia). It is best, however, not to combine doxycycline with enrofloxacin ("Baytril"), wormers (for example, moxidectin) and multivitamins. Doxycycline should not be mixed with sulphur-based antibiotics as these directly interfere with the effectiveness of the doxycycline. Also if doxycycline is mixed with probiotics then, like other antibiotics, the doxycycline will interfere with the function of the probiotics before they exert their beneficial effect.
Giving doxycycline combined with bacteriocidal antibiotics such as penicillins (for example, amoxycillin) and fluoroquinolones (for example, "Baytril")
Doxycycyline is a bacteriostatic antibiotic (eliminates infection by stopping bacteria replicating) while amoxycillin and "Baytril" are bacteriocidal antibiotics (eliminate infection by actually killing the bacteria). Giving bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal antibiotics together does not work well. This is because the bacteriostatic antibiotics stop the bacteria from replicating and it is when the bacteria are replicating that they are vulnerable to the bacteriocidal antibiotics. As an example, most authorities agree that giving doxycycline with "Baytril" reduces the effectiveness of the "Baytril" by 50%.
Giving doxycycline with other bacteriostatic antibiotics such as tylosin and spiramycin
Like doxycycline, spiramycin and tylosin are both bacteriostatic antibiotics. They do not interfere with the action of each other. In pigeons they are commonly used together when combined infections, such as those that occur with respiratory infections, are suspected.
Doxycycline compared to other tetracyclines
Doxycycline varies from other tetracyclines, such as chlortetracycline and oxytetracycline, in its therapeutic activity, in a number of ways. The three most important ones are :
1. Longer activity in the blood after a single dose – if a pigeon is dosed in the drinking water with doxycycline, each dose persists in the blood and exerts a therapeutic affect for up to 20 hours. Other tetracyclines only provide effective blood levels for about 4 hours. As pigeons rarely drink every 4 hours and certainly don’t drink through the night this means that doxycycline provides more consistent effective levels in the blood which, in turn, means the birds respond to medication and recover more quickly.
2. Disruption of normal bowel bacteria – doxycycline causes less disruption to the normal bowel bacteria than other tetracyclines.
3. Concurrent calcium supplementation – the effect of doxycycline is less affected by concurrent calcium supplementation.
4. Rapidly absorbed from the bowel.
Because of these benefits doxycycline is the preferred tetracycline prescribed by many avian vets.
Doxycycline compared to enrofloxacin ("Baytril")
“Baytril" is used by some fanciers to treat respiratory infection due to Chlamydia. Doxycycline is a more effective treatment. "Baytril" stops the Chlamydia organism replicating itself and leads to a clinical improvement in the birds; that is, they appear to get better, but while treatment with "Baytril" improves the birds, it may not clear the carrier state. Relapses are common. Doxycycline not only stops the Chlamydia organism replicating, but also clears the organism, resulting in a more successful and targeted treatment.
Antibiotic use and abuse
Some fanciers are keen to buy medications but are not keen to pay for veterinary advice on how to use them. Inadequate dosing, usually through treating for too short a period of time or at doses lower than those recommended, encourages the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Easy to kill bacteria are eliminated, leaving only the hard to kill bacteria which then become the dominant population. These resistant bacteria create real problems for attending veterinarians in the face of a disease outbreak. For example some tests on common bacteria such as E.coli show the bacteria to be resistant to many of the commonly used antibiotics. This means that treatments are more likely to fail and that less common and usually more expensive antibiotics need to be used. In this way inappropriate use of antibiotics in the longer term can create problems for fanciers.
Professor Chengbao Wang visits APC lofts.
On the 22 February I was honoured to be visited at the APC loft by Professor Chenbao Wang , the professor of Veterinary Medicine College, Northwest A&F University in China and Chairman of the Chinese Branch of the International Pigeon Veterinarian Association. (IVPA). I met Chengbao in Cracow in Poland at the IVPA conference in 2019 where I was keynote speaker . He subsequently invited me to present virtually at the 2nd Congress “Symposium on Veterinary Science and Pigeon Health” in Xi’an in Shaanxi in China in 2021. As Australia’s representative to the IVPA I was pleased to accept. It was great to again catch up with him but this time at home in Australia.
Best birds in VHA excluded from recognition in ANRPB Ace bird awards.
Last year in the Victorian Homing Association, (VHA ) two birds put up exceptional performances. Their details are below.
PRV 22 45 raced by J Hao 2nd VHA Federation , 300 miles , 1926 birds,
4th VHA Federation , 10 bird race, 350 miles, 609 birds
1st VHA Federation, 400 miles, 731 birds
This bird gained the highest number of federation championship points in the VHA’s 124 year history
VHA 22 6273 raced by R. Lay 26th VHA Federation, 200 miles, 2668 birds
8th , VHA Federation, 300 miles, 1926 birds
5th , VHA Federation, 350 miles, 1534 birds
20th VHA Federation, 350 miles, 609 birds
These results were submitted by our federation secretary, Steve Brown, to the ANRPB for consideration in the ANRPB inaugural Ace pigeon awards. He was rung by the ANRPB to say that both birds did not fit the criteria for consideration because they had taken positions in both short & long distance events! Steve was advised that the birds would have to take their positions in either short to middle or middle to long distance events to be considered.
This matter received some discussion at the April VHA delegates meeting. Members were surprised to learn that birds of this calibre were not even eligible for consideration. It did seem farcical to some members that the best birds in the largest Federation in Victoria were excluded from awards intended to identify and champion the best birds in the country. As with anything new there are often issues to sort out to make things really work .The matter has been drawn to the attention of the ANRPB . The current system is based on that used by the FCI in Europe. With most clubs/feds using single bird clocking in Australia this system may not be practical here . The ANRPB plans to undertake a review.
Maintaining a strain
A strain is defined as “a subtype within a species within which individuals share a number of genes and therefore characteristics”. It is not easy to maintain a strain. When producing a pigeon strain the aim is to produce a population that share a proportion of their genes. The difficulty comes in having them share the genes that you want ie the genes associated with winning .
There are a number of ways of trying to do this :-
1/ Outcrossing – here good birds from other families are sourced and mated to the best birds of the strain. Doing this means that with each generation the number of “original strain” genes is halved. This would mean that over multiple generations it becomes progressively less likely that there is any genetic overlap between the original birds of the strain. In an outcrossing breeding program after 10 generations gene sharing between the original birds and the 10th generation is only 0.1% .
2/ Inbreeding - Inbreeding occurs when two closely related pigeons mate with each other and produce young. The two main negative consequences of inbreeding are an increased level of undesirable genes and a reduction in genetic diversity. Within any population there are a number of birds with genes that code for undesirable characteristics. These are often carried as recessive genes which means that when they join with a dominant gene their effect is concealed. As the level of inbreeding increases it becomes more likely that 2 pigeons that carry the same recessive harmful gene will mate. A number of their young will then get the recessive gene from both parents and with no dominant gene to mask them these genes will be expressed. This means that the pigeon will display the harmful characteristic. The trick with inbreeding is to concentrate the genes that you want without getting any of the harmful genes that you don’t want. An accumulation of harmful genes can lead to obvious signs such as reduced vigour, reduced fertility and an increased susceptibility to disease. It can also lead to less obvious symptoms like a deceased ability to win races. On the other hand a very good inbred bird can be very useful in a breeding program . This is because an inbred bird has less genetic variation and is therefore more likely to breed birds similar to itself
3/ Linebreeding - Linebreeding is where breeders frequently choose to mate birds who have a common ancestor, but who are not as closely related as in close inbreeding (eg not first-degree and second-degree relatives). This is the most common method used in pigeons to maintain desirable characteristics with a loft. Birds that are related and therefore share some genes are mated together with the hope that the desired genes will be maintained in the young. These line bred birds can be raced and selected from there. Just as commonly though, the individual birds that are most likely to be carrying the desired genes , usually based on external appearance , are retained for breeding and they are then assessed, not on how they race but rather on how their youngsters race. It is possible to review line bred pedigrees and estimate the degree of genetic overlap in various birds. The aim is generally to improve or maintain specific traits within the strain.
Food intake after Rota vaccination
I have now had a number of fanciers mention to me that they have noticed a reduction in food intake of about 20% in their birds in the few days following vaccination against Rota virus. It is unclear whether this is due to some discomfort at the inoculation site or perhaps nausea associated with the vaccine itself. Nevertheless this is a good observation from a number of successful fanciers. Flyers should not be alarmed if they notice this in their own birds but recognise a short term reduction in appetite as a side- effect of Rota vaccination.
PRV News
The PRV is an organisation that started with the best incentives in 2017, namely to promote pigeon racing. Founded by GMPF flyer Tas Gazis together with a group of experienced fanciers from each Melbourne federation the organisation has had some great initiatives. Unfortunately “ lady luck” has not always been on the PRV’s side. The initial race organised with a first prize of $100,000 conducted in 2018 proved to be very hard. A similar race was planned for 2020 but then the Covid outbreak occurred with Melbourne in lockdown. A third event planned for 2023 had to be cancelled only days before due to the untimely death of a major sponsor. A combined 500 mile race sponsored by the PRV and open to all Melbourne fanciers “fell through” due to issues with potential “drag” and transport. Tas Gazis and the three fanciers, who now make up the PRV committee, Rod Simmons (VPU ), Michael Portelli ( VHA and formerly WPF) and Joe Farrugia (WPF) have decided to take a break. As a result the PRV has currently gone into a “holding pattern”. The PRV does hold significant fancier funds and has assured fanciers that this will be used for the benefit of the sport. Hopefully when the time is right the PRV can again look at what it can do for Victorian fanciers.
VRPB news
As usual the VRPB has been busy. In particular our secretary Andrew Demidowski has been particularly active . Not only is he working on a Liberation Guideline for clubs and federations but has also made a few final changes to the Code of Practice which is now ready to be distributed . He has also formulated an Action Plan for 2024. I have been busying myself with veterinary investigations and our solicitor, Charles Hider, has been involved with the important upcoming VCAT hearing. The VRPB met at the VHA headquarters on Sunday the 17th March for what turned out to be a lengthy meeting running for 3 ½ hours . There were a considerable number of issues to discuss. Some of these are listed and discussed below. Full details are on the VRPB website.
1/ The VRPB is to provide guidelines for OLR managers regarding health control. These will initially be developed by Colin Walker and will be similar to those proposed in the March ARPJ.
2/ The VRPB is to establish a contact list of all fanciers in Victoria to improve the spread of information and guide decisions about the sport in Victoria. It was subsequently decided by Andrew Demidowski and Tony Price not to proceed with the development of the list.
3/ The VRPB is to outline the responsibilities of fanciers with an outbreak of PMV in their lofts These will initially be developed by Colin Walker and will be similar to those proposed in the March ARPJ.
4/ The VRPB was pleased to welcome our new GMPF rep Rodney Maine
5/ The VRPB to invite Tas Gazis from the PRV to the next VRPB meeting to investigate ways that the two organisations can benefit each other. This was done and will hopefully occur at a later date
6/ Veterinary investigations – a/ vacc trial of nestlings completed and results reported directly to VRPB reps and to the wider Australian pigeon community through the ARPJ. b/ Fat eye trial testing completed, awaiting final lab results , CW to prepare a final report when all results are back , this will be reported as earlier. c/ PMV RAT validation initiated with tests being offered to fanciers for free but trial stalled through fancier apathy/ failure to use tests and notify results etc. d/ Next planned investigation has already been summarised and costed. The investigation is to screen for the diseases that are active in Australia and in particular what is causing death in young pigeons. Investigation details have been circulated to VRPB members and discussed in the ARPJ. Formal application to be prepared.
Additional funding of $470 for Mycoplasma speciation as part of Fat Eye investigation approved
7/ Victoria’s new animal welfare laws- The period for consultation was extended until 25th March . Colin Walker had already read through this document about 18 months ago . Colin suggested that a “new set of eyes “ should take advantage of this extended review time to read it again. An email should be sent introducing ourselves ( making sure that the department is aware that the VRPB is the reference authority) , thanking the department for the opportunity to comment and most importantly provide input for changes if any are identified.
Tony Price reviewed the proposed legislation. In October 2022 I reviewed Victoria’s new animal welfare laws and presented my summary to the VRPB . I then presented a summary to the authority. Tony has now again reviewed the extensive legislation and does not see the need to make any changes or further suggestions. He asked me to submit a brief summary of the VRPBs position which I have now done. The submitted summary is below. I think it is important that the state government is aware of the VRPB’s existence and that they know that the new laws are important to us, with us having taken the time to review the proposed changes and return comments twice. It is also important that we have had our say and have made a contribution – albeit a small one. The following email was forwarded to the appropriate department in the State government.
“The VRPB ( Victorian Racing Pigeon Board ) is an elected body that represents the interests of Victoria's approximately 800 pigeon racers. I reviewed the new animal care and protection laws on behalf of the VRPB in October 2022. At that time , I could not see any parts that would raise a concern for our members. The VRPB now welcomes the opportunity to again review the document in this new extended period of consultation. A fresh review was conducted by our current president, Mr Tony Price. Once again , this second review sees no need for change to the proposed new laws as they relate to racing pigeons. In particular, the VRPB welcomes the proposal of sentience in racing pigeons, and the increased responsibility, level of care and general well -being of the birds that this notion entails .
Regards
Dr Colin Walker
Avian veterinarian
Vice president VRPB”
The new laws are a good thing. They have the potential to alter the way that some fanciers manage their birds and bring pigeon racing more into line with society expectations of animal care. Activities such as the culling of healthy pigeons, fanciers operating on their own birds, failing to seek veterinary attention, activities that cause illness or suffering ( eg placing droppings known to be infected with Rota virus into the drinking water ) and others will all be affected. Many fanciers “ who just want to race their birds” and who don’t subscribe to the ARPJ or go to club meetings will remain unaware . Others will be aware but choose not to alter their behaviour. Probably it will require a few fines and a conviction, as occurred in WA in 2022 where a fancier declined veterinary care and operated on his own bird , before there will be any change. All the VRPB can do is make Victorian fanciers aware. The rest is up to them.
It should be noted that pigeon racing has been placed in an exemption category that also includes activities like fishing and greyhound racing. This category makes an allowance for the fact that there is the potential for some harm to come to the animals involved but fortunately regards this an inherent risk associated with that activity. This means that pigeons can be sent to races knowing that some may be lost and some may be injured but acknowledges these as an unavoidable and intrinsic part of the activity. Problems come if efforts are not made to keep these to an absolute minimum. If this had not happened the VRPB would have needed to become very involved because it could have meant that pigeon racing might have been illegal. It is important to remember that, although for most Victorians , greyhound racing is regarded as a normal activity, in most of the world it is illegal, and in countries where it is still allowed ,a significant part of the population regards it as a cruel activity. We do not want pigeon racing to end up like that.
8/ Vaccination of sale birds against PMV . It is common sense that every effort should be made to limit the spread of disease. With the introduction of PMV into Australia and the appearance of Rota virus pigeon sales, in particular squeaker sales, have become potentially dangerous activities. Although the vaccination of birds before being placed in a sale makes sense , the VRPB welcomes fancier feedback on this issue
9/ An ANRPB report to be presented by the Victorian metropolitan rep at each VRPB meeting
10/ Australian Racing Pigeon Journal ongoing support . Fanciers are encouraged to subscribe to the ARPJ. The ARPJ remains the primary means of getting information out to fanciers. Many fanciers who do not subscribe to the ARPJ remain unaware of what is happening at a national level. It is important and beneficial to the sport that the ARPJ is supported and persists.
11/ VCAT hearing . VRPB solicitor Charles Hider presented a summary of the impending VCAT hearing. Although the issues faced by individual fanciers with councils are important the longer term answer is to have pigeon racing reclassified as a separate animal husbandry activity so that it is exempt from many current planning restrictions . A hearing is planned in the coming months. Charles advised that between $6K and $10K would be required for this.
12/ Victorian Conference . VRPB treasurer , Marc Tenaglia advised that prior to the conference it was agreed that a donation would be made for prostate research. Balance of profits to be returned equally to the 4 main Metro feds. When the VCAT need was identified it was agreed that enough money should be kept for this. Profits from the Victorian conference are currently being held in the VRPB account pending the outcome of the VCAT hearing.
13/ Conference updates. It was suggested that if National conferences are to continue that the ANRPB should take advantage of the opportunity to provide an update to attending fanciers of their activities. The VRPB to provide a similar update when a national conference is in Victoria
14/ Veterinary Funding. Colin Walker listed the 7 new diseases that have occurred in Australia since the beginning of the modern diagnostic era. One of these is pigeon Rota. It is very unlikely that a new disease will occur at any time and indeed remote that this will occur in birds let alone in pigeons. Colin is to prepare a formal submission to the ANRPB for funds to finance the next investigation. Tony Price to present this at the next ANRPB meeting.
15/ Charitable donations. Colin Walker suggested in the future that funding an underprivileged student’s education in the form of a scholarship ( as is done by the AU in the USA ) may be a good use of funds for donation if available in the future. Enabling underprivileged student(s) to complete a tertiary education rather than donate to random causes may be more easily linked directly to pigeon racing as the donating organisation and increase the degree of credibility and standing of the sport
16/ Liberation Guideline. Andrew Demidowki to continue to work on a guideline for liberation. Providing a thoroughly researched protocol that is available as a reference for liberation committees is seen as very important and also evidences the sport’s concern and acceptance of responsibility that as much as possible is done to ensure that birds are not liberated in conditions that adversely affect their ability to safely return.
17/ VRPB Code of Practice. A few minor changes have been made otherwise this document is now completed. Andrew Demidowski will forward this to the various Victorian organisations
18/ Action Plan 2024 .Andrew Demidowski to provide an Action Plan for 2024 . This has now been done and has been placed on the VRPB website
ANRPB News
Vince Pedavoli, on my request, kindly forwarded some information about the latest ANRPB activities. In breaking news the ANRPB has just been accepted as a member by the Federation Columbophile Internationale (FCI). The FCI represents the interests of pigeon fanciers around the world and is “composed of National Federations that govern the pigeon sport in their respective countries and sporting associations representativeness in countries where there is no National Federation.” Seventy four countries are members and together they “shape and develop the pigeon sport.” Hopefully Australia, through the ANRPB, can make a worthwhile contribution.
In other news Greg Kakoschke after 5 years as chairperson has stood down ,as required by the ANRPB constitution. The new chairperson is Vince Pedavoli. There have been some other rep changes – Tony Price has become the new Victorian metropolitan rep, Philip Almond is the new Queensland metropolitan rep and Louie Piculovski has joined as publicity delegate.
The ANRPB has commissioned a promotional video from Rod Simmons of Winners One. A wreath of flowers was provided to the National war memorial for Animals in War day. Australian contact details for Squills has been changed from the Australian Pigeon Fancier Association to a rep from the ANRPB. The ANRPB had a stand at last year’s Victorian pigeon conference. Ten birds were sold on behalf of the ANRPB which raised $8,500 for the Board. Inaugural national Ace bird awards were organised and an enquiry was made about importing an alternate PMV vaccine into Australia. This was found not to be possible. The costs involved in making a vaccine similar to that in the EU in Australia were found to be totally prohibitive and this vaccine was seen to have no inherit advantage over the current vaccine used in Australia.
Fat Eye Investigation
As reported in last month’s ARPJ I have completed on behalf of the VRPB an investigation into the cause of Fat Eye. I was hoping to provide a full report in this edition but unfortunately the results of some of the PCRs have been delayed . These should become available by next month and so a full report on this investigation is now planned for the June Journal.
Ask the Vet
1/My total water system is on auto float valves so I prefer to give mediations when needed in the grain mixture via the concrete mixer.I have previously used Moxidectin oral for the birds. – (2 mg/mil) mixed with the grain. Also used Ivermectin cattle pour on (oil based) in the bath water, which I know, apparently only effects external parasites.I have been given from a local sheep farmer some Ausmectin sheep drench, - Ivermectin 0.8 g/litre.What would you recommend the dose rate for this Ivermectin be for a 10 kg bucket of mixed grain. Also I tend to get confused between mg/mil, and gram/litre. Could you clarify this for me.
The dose of ivermectin for pigeons is 1mg/kg. This means each pigeon would need about 0.4 - 0.5 mg for the drug to be effective. To achieve this in the drinker (based on each pigeon drinking 45mls of water/day ) you would need to add Ausmectin 13 mls/1L . When adding to the food you would need 13 mls /1kg of grain ( based on each pigeon eating 10% of their body weight /day— about 40g of grain) . So in a 10 kg bucket you would need to add 130 mls. This may seem a lot to you but the strength of ivermectin in the Ausmectin is quite low.
I personally think that you are more likely to accurately dose each bird if treated through the drinker. When put on the food, grain with a larger surface area , such as a pea, will have less of the drug on it for its weight compared to a smaller grain. Unless all birds ate the available grains in the same ratio, birds would receive variable doses.. It is worth remembering too that you need a higher dose of ivermectin to achieve a similar parasite kill as that with other macrocyclic lactones ie “the mectins” such as moxidectin.
Mg/ml and g/L are the same . mg/ml is the same measure but expressed at 1/1000th the strength of g/L
2/ I have a 10 year old stock hen with a yellow lump near her vent. She laid a round of eggs at the start of last breeding season but did not lay after that. She is a very good hen and I would like more youngsters from her if possible. What could this be ?
There are 2 things that this lump is most likely to be. The first of these is a particular type of benign tumour called a fibrolipoma These tumours are made up of fat and connective tissue and sometimes grows near the vent. This type of tumour never spreads to other parts of the body but locally expands. As the tumour increases in size , its physical bulk can interfere with the bird moving around the loft and looking after itself. The birds can knock them causing them to bleed and become infected. Surgical removal is curative . The second is a hernia. A hernia near the vent is either a split in the muscles which allows internal organs to slip through or an area of thin muscles that bulge out containing internal organs. The skin over the hernia becomes infiltrated with fat . This gives the hernia a very similar appearance to a fibrolipoma. . Hernia can be repaired surgically but in a more complex operation than fibrolipoma removal .Both surgeries would not normally be attempted by a general vet but are regular procedures for an experienced avian vet. In a bird of value it would be worth contacting your local avian vet and taking the bird to him for examination and surgical assessment.
3/ I always remember fanciers saying to use a light at night to check for trichomoniasis but am not sure this theory is correct.Upon shining a light brightly upon the birds in total darkness a certain number will shake their head and gulp and then scratch there beak. I'm guessing protozoa. But, of what? Is it yeast canker perhaps cocci. Unfortunately I reside in the UK and don't really have or know anyone that can test them and of course you too far away. Would you be able to shed some light on this? Excuse the pun.
Seems a bit strange to me. Even if the signs displayed by the birds when disturbed indicated some throat or sinus irritation how would you know what the cause was without testing. Routine vet tests would identify if there was a problem and if there was , the cause. Contact the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and find out who your closest avian vet is would be my advice
4/Can you confirm if this is accurate. “Doxycycline and Megamix – Metal containers ( except stainless steel) and minerals present in shell grits, sand, deep litter and mineral supplements have a negating effect on the proper absorption of doxycycline into the bird’s body. In the past it has been necessary to remove all minerals and metal containers in order to achieve a full therapeutic effect of the medication. However removal of minerals during doxycycline treatments has been found to handicap recovery. It has recently been discovered that minerals will not affect the absorption when citric acid is added to the doxycycline. Now it is recommended to mix Megamix ( citric acid ) with all medecines that contain doxycycline. Megamix is ideally suited for this purpose and it has a dual action. First, recovery is accelerated because there is no need to restrict mineral supplements that are so vital to health. Secondly, Megamix , contains special sufactants that keep drinking water containers free of heavy sludge that appears during antibiotic use.”
I am not aware of any such recent discovery ( which is not to say that one has not been done ). This would require a major study where two groups of pigeons were treated, one with doxycycline and a second with doxycycline and citric acid (“Megamix” ) . Tests to evaluate the level of doxycycline in the blood and tissues throughout a 24 hour period would then need to be done and the results compared.
Pigeons keep a permanent supply of minerals in their second stomach ( the gizzard ) all the time. Ingested doxycycline has to pass through this before it can reach the intestines where the doxycycline is absorbed. Removal of grit from the loft in the comparatively short period the birds are being treated with doxycycline is unlikely to affect this. In health the contents of a pigeons intestine is weakly acidic. Giving further acid in the form of citric acid in this situation is not going to have any affect. If, however, a pigeon is unwell the ph in the bowel can rise and therefore become less acidic. It is debatable however that giving a weak organic acid like citric acid orally is going to significantly alter this . Ingested citric acid has to pass through the crop , then through the naturally acidic stomach before reaching the bowel . The idea is that the citric acid is not diluted or altered and can still exert the effect of ensuring that the bowel ph is acidic. Can weak acids like citric acid taken orally actually increase intestinal acidity and improve doxycycline absorption – the jury is still out on that one.
Although contact with the mineral grits in the gizzard is unavoidable what I think is worthwhile is not deliberately adding mineral supplements to the food while the birds are on doxycycline medicated water. Mineral supplements when mixed with the food are compulsorily ingested. If the birds then drink water that is medicated with doxycycline the minerals and doxycycline are in intimate contact in the crop for a period of hours before moving into the stomach. This is likely to affect the action of the doxycycline. Similarly I would not offer fresh grit , pink minerals or other supplements while on doxycycline as this may encourage ingestion.
More information about doxycycline use can be found in the text of this update
5/ Can I vaccinate a 2 week old chick against PMV?
This is a question that can now be answered with more confidence after the recent nestling vaccination study conducted through the VRPB. We now know that chicks do not respond to vaccination in the same way as birds older than 6 weeks. The immunity they form is lower and takes longer to form with some birds not forming any immunity . The study also showed that birds bred from vaccinated parents did get some passive immunity from their parents and that this was still detectable up to 4 weeks of age. This passive immunity is likely to decrease the chicks ability to form its own active immunity in response to vaccination. In summary vaccinating a 2 week old chick is unlikely to do it harm but at the same time is very unlikely to benefit it through it developing significant immunity to PMV.
6/ I come from Slovakia and I devote my free time to breeding ornamental pigeons. I breed Slovak pouter and Cauchois pigeons. I have about 45 pigeons in total.It's been almost 2 years since my pigeons have been suffering from a very watery diarrhoea, which is intense in the cold months (October-March), but also occurs all year round in 80% of my pigeons.I have treated them for the most common diseases like salmonellosis, coccidiosis, trichomoniasis, e-coli etc. several times, the pigeons are dewormed, vaccinated against adenovirus and paramyxovirus. Naturally, I made a break after each treatment and put them on probiotics and vitamins for 7-8 days, but their droppings hardly ever improved, unfortunately.I have contacted 2 vets, they both did a faecal analysis, in which they found NOTHING, the faeces are supposedly fine. A couple of weeks ago I had a pigeon (which I put down) necropsied and the mould "Mucor" was found in it - I put on the recommended medicine, but there was no subsequent change in the droppings at all. I also had the fodder analysed but nothing was found in it either.I clean the dovecote regularly, after cleaning I always apply pigeon/floor white on the floor and in the bird boxes - mainly because of this watery diarrhoea to disinfect and dry out the dovecote since it is made of wood. The dovecote is south-oriented, there is mesh on the front side and there are vents on the sides as well. I can say with certainty, that the dovecote is not accessible to rodents.I give the pigeons clean water every day, from the public tap, from which I myself and my family drink, I also give them dry clean grain, which is fine according to the analysis, the grain is stored in barrels with a cap.The pigeons have access to minerals -grit- throughout the year.The pigeons don't show any signs of disease at first sight, they are lively/cheerful, egg laying is fine, when rearing the chicks mortality occurs here and there but it is sporadic. Mortality in older pigeons is also very rare.I myself see that pigeons take in a lot of water and consequently that water goes out of them - literally just runs through their digestive tract. For example, if I give the pigeons no water for 3-4 hours, then stiffer and better droppings are observable.I have absolutely no idea what the pigeons' problem might be, and neither do the vets in my area.Therefore, I am turning to you for advice that might help me solve the problem. ( Photo of droppings included)
Thank you for your interesting email. As you would realise your birds do not have diarrhoea but rather a large amount of urine in the droppings. This occurs when the kidneys are damaged and cannot concentrate the urine. By far the most common cause of this is exposure to PMV virus in birds that are not fully immune. PMV causes a particular type of kidney damage called interstitial nephritis. This is very common and I have seen many cases around the world. When you had the bird autopsied were tissues , in particular the kidneys and pancreas, examined microscopically? Could you please send me your veterinary test reports and also a summary of your PMV vaccination program and the vaccine used. I may have to recommend further specific tests for you to have done to get a diagnosis.
7/I am a beginner in pigeons and have been asking fanciers on facebook what to feed my birds. One fancier said “whatever you do don’t feed pellets , they are called maintenance pellets after all”. My avian vet recommended pellets. I am confused. What is best?
The fanciers are giving you advice mainly based on their personal experience. It is their opinion. The avian vet has studied for 8 years—6 years to become a vet and then another 2 years to become an avian vet – he is an expert. His advice will be evidence based. Essentially you have 2 ways of feeding pigeons. Either you can feed them grain and then provide supplements to compensate for the deficiencies of a grain based diet. Common supplements are grit, pink minerals and water based multivitamins. Alternatively you can feed pellets. Being called maintenance pellets is a bit misleading because the name implies that all they are doing is maintaining the bird ie keeping it alive. In fact, pellets are formulated by nutritionists and vets and provide everything that a pigeon needs nutritionally in the correct balance. Pellets provide excellent nutrition. A term being increasingly used is “full feed” pellets . This name probably describes more accurately the nutrition that pellets provide. In reality many fanciers use a blend of both methods often feeding a grain based to diet to the actual race birds and pellets to the breeding birds.
8/ I have two youngsters that are "going light" . Should I cull one and send it to a vet for analysis of what is going on here ?
The best diagnostic sample to investigate this type of problem is a sick live bird or a bird that has been dead for less than 4 hours. Is there an avian vet within driving distance to you who can do this work? If there is no one nearby you could post a dead bird to an avian clinic. Although this is not ideal many tests can still be done. If the vet receives the bird within 24 or even 48 hours of death , he may still be able to give you a diagnosis. The difficulty is that because pigeons have a high body temperature ( 41.7C) and are wrapped in thermal insulators ( feathers ) decomposition begins very quickly. Bathing a freshly dead bird in cold soapy water helps to reduce the temperature more quickly but, even so, bacterial populations change and tissues start to break down within a few hours of death, meaning that some problems can no longer be accurately diagnosed. There may be other samples that can be sent where a particular diagnosis is suspected . Best to contact your vet first and take it from there.
9/ My young birds are now about 4 months old . They keep getting canker. 26 of my 80 youngsters have had canker. I treat them with Emtril for 3 days and they get better but after a while fresh cases develop. The birds are fed a diet of 80%peas and the rest is made up of wheat and milo. What should I do?
There are many conditions that cause yellow material to form in the throat but the fact that the unwell birds get better with Emtril makes it very likely that the problem is, in fact, canker. Most birds by 4 months of age have already developed quite strong natural immunity to canker. Since hatching , in most lofts growing youngsters have a low grade, ongoing exposure to canker organisms. This usually does not cause clinical canker to develop but enables the development of natural immunity that in my most youngsters by 4 months of age is sufficient to stop the development of disease. For canker to be developing this means that something must have blocked this immunity from forming . In some lofts this can be due to general poor care – low hygiene, overcrowding, poor ventilation, low protein diet etc. In good lofts in may be something quite subtle. A diet that is low in vitamin A in particular is associated with diseases that involve the skin and mucous membranes such as canker. Pigeons usually get their vitamin A from corn. The diet you have described could be deficient in vitamin A. I would review the general loft design and management, add corn to your grain mix at a rate of 20%, ensure the birds have free access to grit and a pink mineral, give a complete multivitamin, amino acid supplement once a week in the drinker and treat with the Emtril for longer - 5 to 7 days in case we are dealing with a partially resistant strain of canker. If problems persist despite these efforts it would be best to have the birds examined by an avian vet. He will be able to check for any concurrent health issues , in particular Circo virus that may be creating the vulnerability to canker.
10/ I am an avian vet and have been asked how long sperm will last in the oviduct of the hen. How long after mating will the sperm be able to fertilise the egg?
That is a good question. I don’t know the exact answer. My understanding however is that in birds generally, sperm survive longer in the reproductive tract than in mammals and that in pigeons this may extend to several weeks.
11/ Do you recommend giving Fenugreek to pigeons. I have heard that it is good for them.
Fenugreek is a herb grown in arid areas. Its seeds and leaves are commonly used in Indian cooking Although sold as a dietary supplement , there is no clinical evidence that fenugreek has therapeutic properties. If eaten in large quantities it is toxic. I do not recommend its use in pigeons
12/ Can you give Rota , PMV and Pox vaccines at the same time. I have herad that you cannot give live and killed vaccines at the same time.
These vaccines can be given at the same time. Inactivated vaccines may be administered at the same time or at any time before or after a live vaccine. Full details are on the VRPB website under “Pigeon Health” and the “Vaccinations”
13/ Is it better to use Yellow Drops in the nostril or mouth?
Yellow Drops contain acryflavine. Acryflavine has antiseptic properties but is very irritant. When placed in the nostril ( as recommended on some websites ) it causes such irritation that large amounts of mucous are produced. Fanciers see the pigeons sneezing and flicking this out and interpret this as the product “cleansing” the sinuses. This is ridiculous. If pigeons perform well after this “treatment” it is despite the Yellow Drops rather than because of them . The use of Yellow Drops is certainly something that I do not recommend.
Doxycycline is a widely used antibiotic in pigeon health management.
Doxycycline has many advantages when compared to other tetracyclines – rapid absorption from gastrointestinal tract, less disruption of normal bowel bacteria, less affected by concurrent calcium supplementation and the maintenance of prolonged therapeutic levels in the blood with a single dose, providing effective blood levels for 20 hours. It is used by itself or in combination with other antibiotics notably tylosin and spiramycin. It’s dose is 12 to 25mg/pigeon over a 24 hour period. Used so commonly that some fanciers almost seem to forget that it is a potent drug. Like all antibiotics it has side effects. Notably it can damage the liver. As with any prescription medication it should only be used under veterinary guidance. Below are some of the special considerations regarding doxycycline’s use
Doxycyline medicated water turning purple
Fanciers in some areas will notice that water medicated with doxycycline will change from the normal pale yellow to pale pink then red and finally deep purple. This colour change occurs if there are minerals in the water that react with the doxycycline. This change is unlikely to be seen where mains water is used, but is quite common where bore water and other sources of mineral rich waters are used.
As the water changes colour the antibiotic is being inactivated. Solutions for fanciers in affected areas include using either bottled water (not mineral water), distilled or rain water. Alternatively, smaller volumes of medicated water can be prepared that are changed more frequently as the pink colour appears. The whole process is accelerated by heat and UV light. In one interesting situation, a fancier observed that the pink colour appeared less rapidly in his white drinkers than in his black drinkers (that absorb heat). Using lighter coloured drinkers placed out of the direct sun will further help in affected areas.
Concurrent calcium supplementation
Doxycycline absorption from the bowel is reduced if the pigeons ingest supplements that contain calcium, concurrently. To improve uptake of the drug, fanciers should avoid concurrent use of supplements containing calcium on the food or provide fresh grit, pink powder and mineral blocks that might stimulate ingestion during medication with doxycycline.
Water acidification during doxycycline medication
In birds that are unwell bowel ph can rise ( ie become less acidic ). In this situation doxycycline absorption from the bowel may be improved if the doxycycline is provided in a weakly-acidic solution. Simultaneously medicating the water with a weak organic acid;, for example, citric acid or acetic acid, may not only enhance the effect of the drug but also make the somewhat bitter doxycycline more pleasant tasting for the birds. Both citric acid (available as a white powder and dosed at the rate of 3gm/6L) and acetic acid (available as apple cider vinegar and dosed at the rate of 5ml/L) are available from most supermarkets.
Doxycycline use and the choice of drinker
Drinkers made from galvanised metal or unglazed pottery will inactivate the doxycycline in medicated water. Drinkers should be made from stainless steel, glass, plastic, enameled metal or glazed pottery.
Mixing other medications with doxycycline
It is sometimes an advantage to treat birds simultaneously with several medications. Doxycycline can be safely mixed with all of the canker medications and also toltrazuril (for coccidia). It is best, however, not to combine doxycycline with enrofloxacin ("Baytril"), wormers (for example, moxidectin) and multivitamins. Doxycycline should not be mixed with sulphur-based antibiotics as these directly interfere with the effectiveness of the doxycycline. Also if doxycycline is mixed with probiotics then, like other antibiotics, the doxycycline will interfere with the function of the probiotics before they exert their beneficial effect.
Giving doxycycline combined with bacteriocidal antibiotics such as penicillins (for example, amoxycillin) and fluoroquinolones (for example, "Baytril")
Doxycycyline is a bacteriostatic antibiotic (eliminates infection by stopping bacteria replicating) while amoxycillin and "Baytril" are bacteriocidal antibiotics (eliminate infection by actually killing the bacteria). Giving bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal antibiotics together does not work well. This is because the bacteriostatic antibiotics stop the bacteria from replicating and it is when the bacteria are replicating that they are vulnerable to the bacteriocidal antibiotics. As an example, most authorities agree that giving doxycycline with "Baytril" reduces the effectiveness of the "Baytril" by 50%.
Giving doxycycline with other bacteriostatic antibiotics such as tylosin and spiramycin
Like doxycycline, spiramycin and tylosin are both bacteriostatic antibiotics. They do not interfere with the action of each other. In pigeons they are commonly used together when combined infections, such as those that occur with respiratory infections, are suspected.
Doxycycline compared to other tetracyclines
Doxycycline varies from other tetracyclines, such as chlortetracycline and oxytetracycline, in its therapeutic activity, in a number of ways. The three most important ones are :
1. Longer activity in the blood after a single dose – if a pigeon is dosed in the drinking water with doxycycline, each dose persists in the blood and exerts a therapeutic affect for up to 20 hours. Other tetracyclines only provide effective blood levels for about 4 hours. As pigeons rarely drink every 4 hours and certainly don’t drink through the night this means that doxycycline provides more consistent effective levels in the blood which, in turn, means the birds respond to medication and recover more quickly.
2. Disruption of normal bowel bacteria – doxycycline causes less disruption to the normal bowel bacteria than other tetracyclines.
3. Concurrent calcium supplementation – the effect of doxycycline is less affected by concurrent calcium supplementation.
4. Rapidly absorbed from the bowel.
Because of these benefits doxycycline is the preferred tetracycline prescribed by many avian vets.
Doxycycline compared to enrofloxacin ("Baytril")
“Baytril" is used by some fanciers to treat respiratory infection due to Chlamydia. Doxycycline is a more effective treatment. "Baytril" stops the Chlamydia organism replicating itself and leads to a clinical improvement in the birds; that is, they appear to get better, but while treatment with "Baytril" improves the birds, it may not clear the carrier state. Relapses are common. Doxycycline not only stops the Chlamydia organism replicating, but also clears the organism, resulting in a more successful and targeted treatment.
Antibiotic use and abuse
Some fanciers are keen to buy medications but are not keen to pay for veterinary advice on how to use them. Inadequate dosing, usually through treating for too short a period of time or at doses lower than those recommended, encourages the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Easy to kill bacteria are eliminated, leaving only the hard to kill bacteria which then become the dominant population. These resistant bacteria create real problems for attending veterinarians in the face of a disease outbreak. For example some tests on common bacteria such as E.coli show the bacteria to be resistant to many of the commonly used antibiotics. This means that treatments are more likely to fail and that less common and usually more expensive antibiotics need to be used. In this way inappropriate use of antibiotics in the longer term can create problems for fanciers.
Professor Chengbao Wang visits APC lofts.
On the 22 February I was honoured to be visited at the APC loft by Professor Chenbao Wang , the professor of Veterinary Medicine College, Northwest A&F University in China and Chairman of the Chinese Branch of the International Pigeon Veterinarian Association. (IVPA). I met Chengbao in Cracow in Poland at the IVPA conference in 2019 where I was keynote speaker . He subsequently invited me to present virtually at the 2nd Congress “Symposium on Veterinary Science and Pigeon Health” in Xi’an in Shaanxi in China in 2021. As Australia’s representative to the IVPA I was pleased to accept. It was great to again catch up with him but this time at home in Australia.
Best birds in VHA excluded from recognition in ANRPB Ace bird awards.
Last year in the Victorian Homing Association, (VHA ) two birds put up exceptional performances. Their details are below.
PRV 22 45 raced by J Hao 2nd VHA Federation , 300 miles , 1926 birds,
4th VHA Federation , 10 bird race, 350 miles, 609 birds
1st VHA Federation, 400 miles, 731 birds
This bird gained the highest number of federation championship points in the VHA’s 124 year history
VHA 22 6273 raced by R. Lay 26th VHA Federation, 200 miles, 2668 birds
8th , VHA Federation, 300 miles, 1926 birds
5th , VHA Federation, 350 miles, 1534 birds
20th VHA Federation, 350 miles, 609 birds
These results were submitted by our federation secretary, Steve Brown, to the ANRPB for consideration in the ANRPB inaugural Ace pigeon awards. He was rung by the ANRPB to say that both birds did not fit the criteria for consideration because they had taken positions in both short & long distance events! Steve was advised that the birds would have to take their positions in either short to middle or middle to long distance events to be considered.
This matter received some discussion at the April VHA delegates meeting. Members were surprised to learn that birds of this calibre were not even eligible for consideration. It did seem farcical to some members that the best birds in the largest Federation in Victoria were excluded from awards intended to identify and champion the best birds in the country. As with anything new there are often issues to sort out to make things really work .The matter has been drawn to the attention of the ANRPB . The current system is based on that used by the FCI in Europe. With most clubs/feds using single bird clocking in Australia this system may not be practical here . The ANRPB plans to undertake a review.
Maintaining a strain
A strain is defined as “a subtype within a species within which individuals share a number of genes and therefore characteristics”. It is not easy to maintain a strain. When producing a pigeon strain the aim is to produce a population that share a proportion of their genes. The difficulty comes in having them share the genes that you want ie the genes associated with winning .
There are a number of ways of trying to do this :-
1/ Outcrossing – here good birds from other families are sourced and mated to the best birds of the strain. Doing this means that with each generation the number of “original strain” genes is halved. This would mean that over multiple generations it becomes progressively less likely that there is any genetic overlap between the original birds of the strain. In an outcrossing breeding program after 10 generations gene sharing between the original birds and the 10th generation is only 0.1% .
2/ Inbreeding - Inbreeding occurs when two closely related pigeons mate with each other and produce young. The two main negative consequences of inbreeding are an increased level of undesirable genes and a reduction in genetic diversity. Within any population there are a number of birds with genes that code for undesirable characteristics. These are often carried as recessive genes which means that when they join with a dominant gene their effect is concealed. As the level of inbreeding increases it becomes more likely that 2 pigeons that carry the same recessive harmful gene will mate. A number of their young will then get the recessive gene from both parents and with no dominant gene to mask them these genes will be expressed. This means that the pigeon will display the harmful characteristic. The trick with inbreeding is to concentrate the genes that you want without getting any of the harmful genes that you don’t want. An accumulation of harmful genes can lead to obvious signs such as reduced vigour, reduced fertility and an increased susceptibility to disease. It can also lead to less obvious symptoms like a deceased ability to win races. On the other hand a very good inbred bird can be very useful in a breeding program . This is because an inbred bird has less genetic variation and is therefore more likely to breed birds similar to itself
3/ Linebreeding - Linebreeding is where breeders frequently choose to mate birds who have a common ancestor, but who are not as closely related as in close inbreeding (eg not first-degree and second-degree relatives). This is the most common method used in pigeons to maintain desirable characteristics with a loft. Birds that are related and therefore share some genes are mated together with the hope that the desired genes will be maintained in the young. These line bred birds can be raced and selected from there. Just as commonly though, the individual birds that are most likely to be carrying the desired genes , usually based on external appearance , are retained for breeding and they are then assessed, not on how they race but rather on how their youngsters race. It is possible to review line bred pedigrees and estimate the degree of genetic overlap in various birds. The aim is generally to improve or maintain specific traits within the strain.
Food intake after Rota vaccination
I have now had a number of fanciers mention to me that they have noticed a reduction in food intake of about 20% in their birds in the few days following vaccination against Rota virus. It is unclear whether this is due to some discomfort at the inoculation site or perhaps nausea associated with the vaccine itself. Nevertheless this is a good observation from a number of successful fanciers. Flyers should not be alarmed if they notice this in their own birds but recognise a short term reduction in appetite as a side- effect of Rota vaccination.
PRV News
The PRV is an organisation that started with the best incentives in 2017, namely to promote pigeon racing. Founded by GMPF flyer Tas Gazis together with a group of experienced fanciers from each Melbourne federation the organisation has had some great initiatives. Unfortunately “ lady luck” has not always been on the PRV’s side. The initial race organised with a first prize of $100,000 conducted in 2018 proved to be very hard. A similar race was planned for 2020 but then the Covid outbreak occurred with Melbourne in lockdown. A third event planned for 2023 had to be cancelled only days before due to the untimely death of a major sponsor. A combined 500 mile race sponsored by the PRV and open to all Melbourne fanciers “fell through” due to issues with potential “drag” and transport. Tas Gazis and the three fanciers, who now make up the PRV committee, Rod Simmons (VPU ), Michael Portelli ( VHA and formerly WPF) and Joe Farrugia (WPF) have decided to take a break. As a result the PRV has currently gone into a “holding pattern”. The PRV does hold significant fancier funds and has assured fanciers that this will be used for the benefit of the sport. Hopefully when the time is right the PRV can again look at what it can do for Victorian fanciers.
VRPB news
As usual the VRPB has been busy. In particular our secretary Andrew Demidowski has been particularly active . Not only is he working on a Liberation Guideline for clubs and federations but has also made a few final changes to the Code of Practice which is now ready to be distributed . He has also formulated an Action Plan for 2024. I have been busying myself with veterinary investigations and our solicitor, Charles Hider, has been involved with the important upcoming VCAT hearing. The VRPB met at the VHA headquarters on Sunday the 17th March for what turned out to be a lengthy meeting running for 3 ½ hours . There were a considerable number of issues to discuss. Some of these are listed and discussed below. Full details are on the VRPB website.
1/ The VRPB is to provide guidelines for OLR managers regarding health control. These will initially be developed by Colin Walker and will be similar to those proposed in the March ARPJ.
2/ The VRPB is to establish a contact list of all fanciers in Victoria to improve the spread of information and guide decisions about the sport in Victoria. It was subsequently decided by Andrew Demidowski and Tony Price not to proceed with the development of the list.
3/ The VRPB is to outline the responsibilities of fanciers with an outbreak of PMV in their lofts These will initially be developed by Colin Walker and will be similar to those proposed in the March ARPJ.
4/ The VRPB was pleased to welcome our new GMPF rep Rodney Maine
5/ The VRPB to invite Tas Gazis from the PRV to the next VRPB meeting to investigate ways that the two organisations can benefit each other. This was done and will hopefully occur at a later date
6/ Veterinary investigations – a/ vacc trial of nestlings completed and results reported directly to VRPB reps and to the wider Australian pigeon community through the ARPJ. b/ Fat eye trial testing completed, awaiting final lab results , CW to prepare a final report when all results are back , this will be reported as earlier. c/ PMV RAT validation initiated with tests being offered to fanciers for free but trial stalled through fancier apathy/ failure to use tests and notify results etc. d/ Next planned investigation has already been summarised and costed. The investigation is to screen for the diseases that are active in Australia and in particular what is causing death in young pigeons. Investigation details have been circulated to VRPB members and discussed in the ARPJ. Formal application to be prepared.
Additional funding of $470 for Mycoplasma speciation as part of Fat Eye investigation approved
7/ Victoria’s new animal welfare laws- The period for consultation was extended until 25th March . Colin Walker had already read through this document about 18 months ago . Colin suggested that a “new set of eyes “ should take advantage of this extended review time to read it again. An email should be sent introducing ourselves ( making sure that the department is aware that the VRPB is the reference authority) , thanking the department for the opportunity to comment and most importantly provide input for changes if any are identified.
Tony Price reviewed the proposed legislation. In October 2022 I reviewed Victoria’s new animal welfare laws and presented my summary to the VRPB . I then presented a summary to the authority. Tony has now again reviewed the extensive legislation and does not see the need to make any changes or further suggestions. He asked me to submit a brief summary of the VRPBs position which I have now done. The submitted summary is below. I think it is important that the state government is aware of the VRPB’s existence and that they know that the new laws are important to us, with us having taken the time to review the proposed changes and return comments twice. It is also important that we have had our say and have made a contribution – albeit a small one. The following email was forwarded to the appropriate department in the State government.
“The VRPB ( Victorian Racing Pigeon Board ) is an elected body that represents the interests of Victoria's approximately 800 pigeon racers. I reviewed the new animal care and protection laws on behalf of the VRPB in October 2022. At that time , I could not see any parts that would raise a concern for our members. The VRPB now welcomes the opportunity to again review the document in this new extended period of consultation. A fresh review was conducted by our current president, Mr Tony Price. Once again , this second review sees no need for change to the proposed new laws as they relate to racing pigeons. In particular, the VRPB welcomes the proposal of sentience in racing pigeons, and the increased responsibility, level of care and general well -being of the birds that this notion entails .
Regards
Dr Colin Walker
Avian veterinarian
Vice president VRPB”
The new laws are a good thing. They have the potential to alter the way that some fanciers manage their birds and bring pigeon racing more into line with society expectations of animal care. Activities such as the culling of healthy pigeons, fanciers operating on their own birds, failing to seek veterinary attention, activities that cause illness or suffering ( eg placing droppings known to be infected with Rota virus into the drinking water ) and others will all be affected. Many fanciers “ who just want to race their birds” and who don’t subscribe to the ARPJ or go to club meetings will remain unaware . Others will be aware but choose not to alter their behaviour. Probably it will require a few fines and a conviction, as occurred in WA in 2022 where a fancier declined veterinary care and operated on his own bird , before there will be any change. All the VRPB can do is make Victorian fanciers aware. The rest is up to them.
It should be noted that pigeon racing has been placed in an exemption category that also includes activities like fishing and greyhound racing. This category makes an allowance for the fact that there is the potential for some harm to come to the animals involved but fortunately regards this an inherent risk associated with that activity. This means that pigeons can be sent to races knowing that some may be lost and some may be injured but acknowledges these as an unavoidable and intrinsic part of the activity. Problems come if efforts are not made to keep these to an absolute minimum. If this had not happened the VRPB would have needed to become very involved because it could have meant that pigeon racing might have been illegal. It is important to remember that, although for most Victorians , greyhound racing is regarded as a normal activity, in most of the world it is illegal, and in countries where it is still allowed ,a significant part of the population regards it as a cruel activity. We do not want pigeon racing to end up like that.
8/ Vaccination of sale birds against PMV . It is common sense that every effort should be made to limit the spread of disease. With the introduction of PMV into Australia and the appearance of Rota virus pigeon sales, in particular squeaker sales, have become potentially dangerous activities. Although the vaccination of birds before being placed in a sale makes sense , the VRPB welcomes fancier feedback on this issue
9/ An ANRPB report to be presented by the Victorian metropolitan rep at each VRPB meeting
10/ Australian Racing Pigeon Journal ongoing support . Fanciers are encouraged to subscribe to the ARPJ. The ARPJ remains the primary means of getting information out to fanciers. Many fanciers who do not subscribe to the ARPJ remain unaware of what is happening at a national level. It is important and beneficial to the sport that the ARPJ is supported and persists.
11/ VCAT hearing . VRPB solicitor Charles Hider presented a summary of the impending VCAT hearing. Although the issues faced by individual fanciers with councils are important the longer term answer is to have pigeon racing reclassified as a separate animal husbandry activity so that it is exempt from many current planning restrictions . A hearing is planned in the coming months. Charles advised that between $6K and $10K would be required for this.
12/ Victorian Conference . VRPB treasurer , Marc Tenaglia advised that prior to the conference it was agreed that a donation would be made for prostate research. Balance of profits to be returned equally to the 4 main Metro feds. When the VCAT need was identified it was agreed that enough money should be kept for this. Profits from the Victorian conference are currently being held in the VRPB account pending the outcome of the VCAT hearing.
13/ Conference updates. It was suggested that if National conferences are to continue that the ANRPB should take advantage of the opportunity to provide an update to attending fanciers of their activities. The VRPB to provide a similar update when a national conference is in Victoria
14/ Veterinary Funding. Colin Walker listed the 7 new diseases that have occurred in Australia since the beginning of the modern diagnostic era. One of these is pigeon Rota. It is very unlikely that a new disease will occur at any time and indeed remote that this will occur in birds let alone in pigeons. Colin is to prepare a formal submission to the ANRPB for funds to finance the next investigation. Tony Price to present this at the next ANRPB meeting.
15/ Charitable donations. Colin Walker suggested in the future that funding an underprivileged student’s education in the form of a scholarship ( as is done by the AU in the USA ) may be a good use of funds for donation if available in the future. Enabling underprivileged student(s) to complete a tertiary education rather than donate to random causes may be more easily linked directly to pigeon racing as the donating organisation and increase the degree of credibility and standing of the sport
16/ Liberation Guideline. Andrew Demidowki to continue to work on a guideline for liberation. Providing a thoroughly researched protocol that is available as a reference for liberation committees is seen as very important and also evidences the sport’s concern and acceptance of responsibility that as much as possible is done to ensure that birds are not liberated in conditions that adversely affect their ability to safely return.
17/ VRPB Code of Practice. A few minor changes have been made otherwise this document is now completed. Andrew Demidowski will forward this to the various Victorian organisations
18/ Action Plan 2024 .Andrew Demidowski to provide an Action Plan for 2024 . This has now been done and has been placed on the VRPB website
ANRPB News
Vince Pedavoli, on my request, kindly forwarded some information about the latest ANRPB activities. In breaking news the ANRPB has just been accepted as a member by the Federation Columbophile Internationale (FCI). The FCI represents the interests of pigeon fanciers around the world and is “composed of National Federations that govern the pigeon sport in their respective countries and sporting associations representativeness in countries where there is no National Federation.” Seventy four countries are members and together they “shape and develop the pigeon sport.” Hopefully Australia, through the ANRPB, can make a worthwhile contribution.
In other news Greg Kakoschke after 5 years as chairperson has stood down ,as required by the ANRPB constitution. The new chairperson is Vince Pedavoli. There have been some other rep changes – Tony Price has become the new Victorian metropolitan rep, Philip Almond is the new Queensland metropolitan rep and Louie Piculovski has joined as publicity delegate.
The ANRPB has commissioned a promotional video from Rod Simmons of Winners One. A wreath of flowers was provided to the National war memorial for Animals in War day. Australian contact details for Squills has been changed from the Australian Pigeon Fancier Association to a rep from the ANRPB. The ANRPB had a stand at last year’s Victorian pigeon conference. Ten birds were sold on behalf of the ANRPB which raised $8,500 for the Board. Inaugural national Ace bird awards were organised and an enquiry was made about importing an alternate PMV vaccine into Australia. This was found not to be possible. The costs involved in making a vaccine similar to that in the EU in Australia were found to be totally prohibitive and this vaccine was seen to have no inherit advantage over the current vaccine used in Australia.
Fat Eye Investigation
As reported in last month’s ARPJ I have completed on behalf of the VRPB an investigation into the cause of Fat Eye. I was hoping to provide a full report in this edition but unfortunately the results of some of the PCRs have been delayed . These should become available by next month and so a full report on this investigation is now planned for the June Journal.
Ask the Vet
1/My total water system is on auto float valves so I prefer to give mediations when needed in the grain mixture via the concrete mixer.I have previously used Moxidectin oral for the birds. – (2 mg/mil) mixed with the grain. Also used Ivermectin cattle pour on (oil based) in the bath water, which I know, apparently only effects external parasites.I have been given from a local sheep farmer some Ausmectin sheep drench, - Ivermectin 0.8 g/litre.What would you recommend the dose rate for this Ivermectin be for a 10 kg bucket of mixed grain. Also I tend to get confused between mg/mil, and gram/litre. Could you clarify this for me.
The dose of ivermectin for pigeons is 1mg/kg. This means each pigeon would need about 0.4 - 0.5 mg for the drug to be effective. To achieve this in the drinker (based on each pigeon drinking 45mls of water/day ) you would need to add Ausmectin 13 mls/1L . When adding to the food you would need 13 mls /1kg of grain ( based on each pigeon eating 10% of their body weight /day— about 40g of grain) . So in a 10 kg bucket you would need to add 130 mls. This may seem a lot to you but the strength of ivermectin in the Ausmectin is quite low.
I personally think that you are more likely to accurately dose each bird if treated through the drinker. When put on the food, grain with a larger surface area , such as a pea, will have less of the drug on it for its weight compared to a smaller grain. Unless all birds ate the available grains in the same ratio, birds would receive variable doses.. It is worth remembering too that you need a higher dose of ivermectin to achieve a similar parasite kill as that with other macrocyclic lactones ie “the mectins” such as moxidectin.
Mg/ml and g/L are the same . mg/ml is the same measure but expressed at 1/1000th the strength of g/L
2/ I have a 10 year old stock hen with a yellow lump near her vent. She laid a round of eggs at the start of last breeding season but did not lay after that. She is a very good hen and I would like more youngsters from her if possible. What could this be ?
There are 2 things that this lump is most likely to be. The first of these is a particular type of benign tumour called a fibrolipoma These tumours are made up of fat and connective tissue and sometimes grows near the vent. This type of tumour never spreads to other parts of the body but locally expands. As the tumour increases in size , its physical bulk can interfere with the bird moving around the loft and looking after itself. The birds can knock them causing them to bleed and become infected. Surgical removal is curative . The second is a hernia. A hernia near the vent is either a split in the muscles which allows internal organs to slip through or an area of thin muscles that bulge out containing internal organs. The skin over the hernia becomes infiltrated with fat . This gives the hernia a very similar appearance to a fibrolipoma. . Hernia can be repaired surgically but in a more complex operation than fibrolipoma removal .Both surgeries would not normally be attempted by a general vet but are regular procedures for an experienced avian vet. In a bird of value it would be worth contacting your local avian vet and taking the bird to him for examination and surgical assessment.
3/ I always remember fanciers saying to use a light at night to check for trichomoniasis but am not sure this theory is correct.Upon shining a light brightly upon the birds in total darkness a certain number will shake their head and gulp and then scratch there beak. I'm guessing protozoa. But, of what? Is it yeast canker perhaps cocci. Unfortunately I reside in the UK and don't really have or know anyone that can test them and of course you too far away. Would you be able to shed some light on this? Excuse the pun.
Seems a bit strange to me. Even if the signs displayed by the birds when disturbed indicated some throat or sinus irritation how would you know what the cause was without testing. Routine vet tests would identify if there was a problem and if there was , the cause. Contact the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and find out who your closest avian vet is would be my advice
4/Can you confirm if this is accurate. “Doxycycline and Megamix – Metal containers ( except stainless steel) and minerals present in shell grits, sand, deep litter and mineral supplements have a negating effect on the proper absorption of doxycycline into the bird’s body. In the past it has been necessary to remove all minerals and metal containers in order to achieve a full therapeutic effect of the medication. However removal of minerals during doxycycline treatments has been found to handicap recovery. It has recently been discovered that minerals will not affect the absorption when citric acid is added to the doxycycline. Now it is recommended to mix Megamix ( citric acid ) with all medecines that contain doxycycline. Megamix is ideally suited for this purpose and it has a dual action. First, recovery is accelerated because there is no need to restrict mineral supplements that are so vital to health. Secondly, Megamix , contains special sufactants that keep drinking water containers free of heavy sludge that appears during antibiotic use.”
I am not aware of any such recent discovery ( which is not to say that one has not been done ). This would require a major study where two groups of pigeons were treated, one with doxycycline and a second with doxycycline and citric acid (“Megamix” ) . Tests to evaluate the level of doxycycline in the blood and tissues throughout a 24 hour period would then need to be done and the results compared.
Pigeons keep a permanent supply of minerals in their second stomach ( the gizzard ) all the time. Ingested doxycycline has to pass through this before it can reach the intestines where the doxycycline is absorbed. Removal of grit from the loft in the comparatively short period the birds are being treated with doxycycline is unlikely to affect this. In health the contents of a pigeons intestine is weakly acidic. Giving further acid in the form of citric acid in this situation is not going to have any affect. If, however, a pigeon is unwell the ph in the bowel can rise and therefore become less acidic. It is debatable however that giving a weak organic acid like citric acid orally is going to significantly alter this . Ingested citric acid has to pass through the crop , then through the naturally acidic stomach before reaching the bowel . The idea is that the citric acid is not diluted or altered and can still exert the effect of ensuring that the bowel ph is acidic. Can weak acids like citric acid taken orally actually increase intestinal acidity and improve doxycycline absorption – the jury is still out on that one.
Although contact with the mineral grits in the gizzard is unavoidable what I think is worthwhile is not deliberately adding mineral supplements to the food while the birds are on doxycycline medicated water. Mineral supplements when mixed with the food are compulsorily ingested. If the birds then drink water that is medicated with doxycycline the minerals and doxycycline are in intimate contact in the crop for a period of hours before moving into the stomach. This is likely to affect the action of the doxycycline. Similarly I would not offer fresh grit , pink minerals or other supplements while on doxycycline as this may encourage ingestion.
More information about doxycycline use can be found in the text of this update
5/ Can I vaccinate a 2 week old chick against PMV?
This is a question that can now be answered with more confidence after the recent nestling vaccination study conducted through the VRPB. We now know that chicks do not respond to vaccination in the same way as birds older than 6 weeks. The immunity they form is lower and takes longer to form with some birds not forming any immunity . The study also showed that birds bred from vaccinated parents did get some passive immunity from their parents and that this was still detectable up to 4 weeks of age. This passive immunity is likely to decrease the chicks ability to form its own active immunity in response to vaccination. In summary vaccinating a 2 week old chick is unlikely to do it harm but at the same time is very unlikely to benefit it through it developing significant immunity to PMV.
6/ I come from Slovakia and I devote my free time to breeding ornamental pigeons. I breed Slovak pouter and Cauchois pigeons. I have about 45 pigeons in total.It's been almost 2 years since my pigeons have been suffering from a very watery diarrhoea, which is intense in the cold months (October-March), but also occurs all year round in 80% of my pigeons.I have treated them for the most common diseases like salmonellosis, coccidiosis, trichomoniasis, e-coli etc. several times, the pigeons are dewormed, vaccinated against adenovirus and paramyxovirus. Naturally, I made a break after each treatment and put them on probiotics and vitamins for 7-8 days, but their droppings hardly ever improved, unfortunately.I have contacted 2 vets, they both did a faecal analysis, in which they found NOTHING, the faeces are supposedly fine. A couple of weeks ago I had a pigeon (which I put down) necropsied and the mould "Mucor" was found in it - I put on the recommended medicine, but there was no subsequent change in the droppings at all. I also had the fodder analysed but nothing was found in it either.I clean the dovecote regularly, after cleaning I always apply pigeon/floor white on the floor and in the bird boxes - mainly because of this watery diarrhoea to disinfect and dry out the dovecote since it is made of wood. The dovecote is south-oriented, there is mesh on the front side and there are vents on the sides as well. I can say with certainty, that the dovecote is not accessible to rodents.I give the pigeons clean water every day, from the public tap, from which I myself and my family drink, I also give them dry clean grain, which is fine according to the analysis, the grain is stored in barrels with a cap.The pigeons have access to minerals -grit- throughout the year.The pigeons don't show any signs of disease at first sight, they are lively/cheerful, egg laying is fine, when rearing the chicks mortality occurs here and there but it is sporadic. Mortality in older pigeons is also very rare.I myself see that pigeons take in a lot of water and consequently that water goes out of them - literally just runs through their digestive tract. For example, if I give the pigeons no water for 3-4 hours, then stiffer and better droppings are observable.I have absolutely no idea what the pigeons' problem might be, and neither do the vets in my area.Therefore, I am turning to you for advice that might help me solve the problem. ( Photo of droppings included)
Thank you for your interesting email. As you would realise your birds do not have diarrhoea but rather a large amount of urine in the droppings. This occurs when the kidneys are damaged and cannot concentrate the urine. By far the most common cause of this is exposure to PMV virus in birds that are not fully immune. PMV causes a particular type of kidney damage called interstitial nephritis. This is very common and I have seen many cases around the world. When you had the bird autopsied were tissues , in particular the kidneys and pancreas, examined microscopically? Could you please send me your veterinary test reports and also a summary of your PMV vaccination program and the vaccine used. I may have to recommend further specific tests for you to have done to get a diagnosis.
7/I am a beginner in pigeons and have been asking fanciers on facebook what to feed my birds. One fancier said “whatever you do don’t feed pellets , they are called maintenance pellets after all”. My avian vet recommended pellets. I am confused. What is best?
The fanciers are giving you advice mainly based on their personal experience. It is their opinion. The avian vet has studied for 8 years—6 years to become a vet and then another 2 years to become an avian vet – he is an expert. His advice will be evidence based. Essentially you have 2 ways of feeding pigeons. Either you can feed them grain and then provide supplements to compensate for the deficiencies of a grain based diet. Common supplements are grit, pink minerals and water based multivitamins. Alternatively you can feed pellets. Being called maintenance pellets is a bit misleading because the name implies that all they are doing is maintaining the bird ie keeping it alive. In fact, pellets are formulated by nutritionists and vets and provide everything that a pigeon needs nutritionally in the correct balance. Pellets provide excellent nutrition. A term being increasingly used is “full feed” pellets . This name probably describes more accurately the nutrition that pellets provide. In reality many fanciers use a blend of both methods often feeding a grain based to diet to the actual race birds and pellets to the breeding birds.
8/ I have two youngsters that are "going light" . Should I cull one and send it to a vet for analysis of what is going on here ?
The best diagnostic sample to investigate this type of problem is a sick live bird or a bird that has been dead for less than 4 hours. Is there an avian vet within driving distance to you who can do this work? If there is no one nearby you could post a dead bird to an avian clinic. Although this is not ideal many tests can still be done. If the vet receives the bird within 24 or even 48 hours of death , he may still be able to give you a diagnosis. The difficulty is that because pigeons have a high body temperature ( 41.7C) and are wrapped in thermal insulators ( feathers ) decomposition begins very quickly. Bathing a freshly dead bird in cold soapy water helps to reduce the temperature more quickly but, even so, bacterial populations change and tissues start to break down within a few hours of death, meaning that some problems can no longer be accurately diagnosed. There may be other samples that can be sent where a particular diagnosis is suspected . Best to contact your vet first and take it from there.
9/ My young birds are now about 4 months old . They keep getting canker. 26 of my 80 youngsters have had canker. I treat them with Emtril for 3 days and they get better but after a while fresh cases develop. The birds are fed a diet of 80%peas and the rest is made up of wheat and milo. What should I do?
There are many conditions that cause yellow material to form in the throat but the fact that the unwell birds get better with Emtril makes it very likely that the problem is, in fact, canker. Most birds by 4 months of age have already developed quite strong natural immunity to canker. Since hatching , in most lofts growing youngsters have a low grade, ongoing exposure to canker organisms. This usually does not cause clinical canker to develop but enables the development of natural immunity that in my most youngsters by 4 months of age is sufficient to stop the development of disease. For canker to be developing this means that something must have blocked this immunity from forming . In some lofts this can be due to general poor care – low hygiene, overcrowding, poor ventilation, low protein diet etc. In good lofts in may be something quite subtle. A diet that is low in vitamin A in particular is associated with diseases that involve the skin and mucous membranes such as canker. Pigeons usually get their vitamin A from corn. The diet you have described could be deficient in vitamin A. I would review the general loft design and management, add corn to your grain mix at a rate of 20%, ensure the birds have free access to grit and a pink mineral, give a complete multivitamin, amino acid supplement once a week in the drinker and treat with the Emtril for longer - 5 to 7 days in case we are dealing with a partially resistant strain of canker. If problems persist despite these efforts it would be best to have the birds examined by an avian vet. He will be able to check for any concurrent health issues , in particular Circo virus that may be creating the vulnerability to canker.
10/ I am an avian vet and have been asked how long sperm will last in the oviduct of the hen. How long after mating will the sperm be able to fertilise the egg?
That is a good question. I don’t know the exact answer. My understanding however is that in birds generally, sperm survive longer in the reproductive tract than in mammals and that in pigeons this may extend to several weeks.
11/ Do you recommend giving Fenugreek to pigeons. I have heard that it is good for them.
Fenugreek is a herb grown in arid areas. Its seeds and leaves are commonly used in Indian cooking Although sold as a dietary supplement , there is no clinical evidence that fenugreek has therapeutic properties. If eaten in large quantities it is toxic. I do not recommend its use in pigeons
12/ Can you give Rota , PMV and Pox vaccines at the same time. I have herad that you cannot give live and killed vaccines at the same time.
These vaccines can be given at the same time. Inactivated vaccines may be administered at the same time or at any time before or after a live vaccine. Full details are on the VRPB website under “Pigeon Health” and the “Vaccinations”
13/ Is it better to use Yellow Drops in the nostril or mouth?
Yellow Drops contain acryflavine. Acryflavine has antiseptic properties but is very irritant. When placed in the nostril ( as recommended on some websites ) it causes such irritation that large amounts of mucous are produced. Fanciers see the pigeons sneezing and flicking this out and interpret this as the product “cleansing” the sinuses. This is ridiculous. If pigeons perform well after this “treatment” it is despite the Yellow Drops rather than because of them . The use of Yellow Drops is certainly something that I do not recommend.