DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Roller Pigeons
HTML https://rollerpigeon.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: General Discussion
*****************************************************
#Post#: 10768--------------------------------------------------
canker
DIR By: Jon
Date: March 5, 2012, 10:00 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
My first couple years my birds had no health problems. The last
two to three years I seem to have more YB with canker. Some I
have been able to save but some were so young that I didn't
catch it in time. I read that stress and bad food can bring this
on. Nothing has really changed in my loft so I can't figure out
why I'm having more of a problem with this. How do you relieve
stress in the birds? Any Ideas. Thanks.
#Post#: 10770--------------------------------------------------
Re: canker
DIR By: scott70
Date: March 6, 2012, 9:03 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Hi Jon have you gave your breeders any meds for canker if not
start there then make sure you clean your waters out every day
and see if this helps if you only treat the young birds you will
never stop it you must treat the adults
Also get a hold of a guy on here his name is Old Fart on the
site but his real name is Mr Thom he is one of the best guys I
know on here and will take the time to help you and get you on
the right road I am still a rockie yet so I dont know nearly as
much as mr Thom does
#Post#: 10776--------------------------------------------------
Re: canker
DIR By: oldfart
Date: March 6, 2012, 7:10 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Hey Jon,
Canker is one of the diseases best treated by building natural
immunities within the loft. Individual or whole lofts can be
treated with Canker medications but only with the whole lofts
welfare in mind. Sometimes the loss of a few birds will protect
the whole loft. I would recommend Dr. Colin Walker's book
"Pigeon Health Management" Tony might have a few copies or
Amazon.com might have used copies. Jedd's or Foy's will stock
medications.
Take care my friend
Thom
#Post#: 10780--------------------------------------------------
Re: canker
DIR By: scott70
Date: March 6, 2012, 7:42 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for helping Mr Thom
#Post#: 10781--------------------------------------------------
Re: canker
DIR By: Jon
Date: March 6, 2012, 10:30 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the info. I have only treated the YB never the
breeders. I can't tell if the breeders have it or not but I
guess they all do. I'm fairly close to a Jed's store so I'll
stop and talk to them. I have been treating the YB with pills, I
think they are called 5 in one or something like that. It seems
to work well if the birds are not real young. I'll see if I can
find the book. This canker is starting to wear on me. Thanks
again Jon
#Post#: 10782--------------------------------------------------
Re: canker
DIR By: scott70
Date: March 6, 2012, 10:37 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Jon glad to be of some help to ya and like I said before Mr Thom
is a great guy and are so many others here just ask they will
always do there best to help ya I am still a rockie my self but
will try
#Post#: 10783--------------------------------------------------
Re: canker
DIR By: Jon
Date: March 6, 2012, 10:56 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Crazy. I just googled the book. Amazon had it for about $250.00.
another site had it for about $85.00. I think I'll do a lot of
talking to the guys at Jedd's
#Post#: 10784--------------------------------------------------
Re: canker
DIR By: oldfart
Date: March 7, 2012, 5:17 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Hey Jon, My copy was a present, I had no idea it cost that much!
The biggest thing to understand is to build immunities
throughout the whole loft and NOT
over medicating to save one or two birds. Treat individual birds
with medication in pill form.
Talk to the guy at Jedd's, I am sure they will advise you.
Good luck!
Take care
Thom
#Post#: 10786--------------------------------------------------
Re: canker
DIR By: wannaroll
Date: March 7, 2012, 9:39 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[left]From Dr. Gordon Chalmers[/left]
[left]1. Canker[/left]Cause: a small, one-celled, microscopic
parasite called Trichomonas gallinae. The same organism causes a
disease called frounce in birds of prey. In pigeons, there are
strains of this organism that range from very mild, relatively
innocent types through to those that are very deadly.
Occurrence and Signs: Canker is probably most important in young
birds, but it can also be a serious threat to old birds as well.
The commonest form of the disease in youngsters is a yellowish
lump in the mouth or throat area. It may also affect lower areas
such as the crop or liver where it would not be visible to naked
eye inspection. "Going light" is one of the first signs of
illness if there is no visible change in the mouth or throat,
although canker is not the only cause of "going light".
The disease may affect the liver severely, especially when one
of the more deadly strains is involved. Here, "going light" may
be the first sign of illness. Another important sign when the
liver is severely involved is a puffiness in the abdomen, which
can be detected by examination of the area between the keel and
the vent bones. The mouth and the whites of the eyes may also
have a yellow discoloration in this situation. It is common for
involvement of the liver to occur in youngsters in the period
soon after weaning when stresses are very high. At that time,
depending on the strain of organism involved, one or more
youngsters in a group of recently weaned birds may be affected.
They go off feed, are listless and sit in a hunched posture with
feathers ruffled. Droppings may have a yellow discoloration that
is most commonly visible in the white portion.
Treatment: A commonly used drug in Canada is Emtryl. This
product is purchased as a 40% water-soluble powder that is added
to the drinking water at the rate of 1 level teaspoon per
Imperial gallon (4.55 litres). Birds should be treated for a
minimum of 5 days, and not longer than 7 days. Don't buy the
feed-grade formulation of Emtryl.
One problem is that Emtryl can be poisonous. Commonly, birds are
overdosed during hot weather or when they are raising
youngsters, or both, because of their greater need for more
water. In my experience, this tends to happen when fanciers
leave Emtryl-treated water before the birds 24 hours a day in
hot weather. One of the dramatic side effects is to see
Emtryl-poisoned pigeons flopping upside down on the floor of the
loft, with the remainder of the birds in the loft terrified by
this aberrant behavior. Other, more subtle nervous signs of
poisoning can be detected by the observant fancier. If these
signs occur, simply remove the treated water and replace it with
fresh, clean water, and affected birds will often recover in a
day or so.
Fanciers may attempt to compensate during hot weather by cutting
the dosage. However, such an approach (as well as putting Emtryl
on the end of a toothpick and dropping it into the mouth of a
bird -- avoid this procedure) opens the door widely to the
development of resistance by the canker organism, and since
there seem to be fewer and fewer effective anti-canker products
on the market, it is important not to squander perhaps one of
the few remaining arrows in our quiver, so to speak.
Luckily, there is a practical solution that should avoid both
lower dosages and the possibility of resistance. The practical
answer is one that was proposed by an Australian fancier. Having
tried it many times, I am convinced that it works, and works
well. Here is what the Aussie report recommended.
At the evening feeding, make up the correct dosage of Emtryl in
the drinking water, that is, about 3/4 teaspoon of Emtryl per US
gallon of water. (Fanciers in Canada should use one level
teaspoon of Emtryl per imperial gallon.) The Aussie who proposed
this method recommended that treated water be placed in the loft
and left for a couple of hours or so, after which, this water is
thrown out and replaced with fresh untreated water for the next
24 hours. At this time, on the next evening, water containing
the same correct dosage is placed in the loft and left for two
hours or so, then replaced with fresh water until the next
evening. This process is repeated each evening for 5-7 days.
This practical answer has two major advantages. Firstly, the
birds receive the correct therapeutic dosage of Emtryl for the
required number of days. Secondly, the problem with poisoning
seems to be largely avoided.
I have often modified this procedure in my own loft by leaving
the treated water in the loft over night, and haven't had any
problem even with small youngsters in the nest. Note that the
company recommends avoiding treatment if the adults are feeding
small youngsters. Caution: if the weather is extremely hot and
humid, as it can be in southern Ontario, I would suggest that,
to be more certain of avoiding a poisoning situation, I would
follow the Aussie recommendations and remove the treated water
each evening after two hours or so, and replace it with fresh
clean water until the next evening. Note that the dosage
mentioned here is the one recommended for pigeons by the
producer of Emtryl. The information presented here simply
follows company recommendations for the use of Emtryl to treat
or prevent canker in pigeons.
Sometimes during the racing season, performances will fall off
and birds are no longer at the top of the sheet, even though
they continue to look good. One possibility is that during the
stresses of racing, the immune system of the birds is weakened,
and canker organisms have begun to multiply. If you examine the
mouths of these birds, you may see marked reddening of the
tissues and excess stringy, even dirty, mucus in the back of the
throat. It is possible that canker organisms have begun to
multiply into the many hundreds of thousands to cause irritation
of the throat. To protect the throat from the irritation and to
soothe the surface, glands in the area pour out a thick mat of
protective mucus . When swabs of this mucus are examined under a
microscope, the material is seen to be teeming with many
tumbling, wriggling canker organisms.
For those who like to medicate against these canker organisms
for one or two days at the beginning of the week, every 2-3
weeks during the racing season, it would seem advisable to use
the correct dosage, that is, at the rate of 1 level teaspoon per
gallon of water. Like others, I have some concerns about these
short one or two-day treatments, because of the strong
possibility of resistance developing in the organism as a result
of the short treatment period. However, to treat for a full five
days could throw the birds completely off form, so the short
term treatment period may well be the lesser of two evils. The
company producing Emtryl also recommends that you do not inhale
the dust, and if you get any of the powder on your hands, wash
it off immediately.
#Post#: 10787--------------------------------------------------
Re: canker
DIR By: wannaroll
Date: March 7, 2012, 9:43 am
---------------------------------------------------------
CANKER - ITS PREVENTION, CONTROL AND TREATMENT
Nature of the disease by Colin Walker
The disease canker is caused by a protozoan Trichomonas
columbae. This is a microscopic single-celled organism. It lives
within the digestive tract of pigeons, in particular the throat
and crop, and can also involve associated areas such as the bile
duct. The organism is fragile in the environment, only surviving
for a few minutes once outside the bird. This helps with control
of the disease and means that the birds cannot become infected
from the loft or immediate environment as happens with other
diseases such as worms and paratyphoid. The organism
(trichomonad) requires intimate contact between birds to be
spread and is usually transmitted by saliva or pigeon milk.
Saliva contaminates food and water. As a pigeon drinks, the
organism swims away from its beak and, when another pigeon comes
to drink, it not only drinks the water but also the trichomonads
there. When a pigeon sorts through grain, each dropped grain
contains a small amount of saliva. In this way, the disease can
also be spread through a feed hopper. Adult birds 'billing' can
transmit the organism, as do parents when feeding their
nestlings.
Control of canker during the breeding season
Correct medication is vital during the breeding season so that
the level of natural immunity in the weaned youngster is as high
as possible. Because the severity of the disease varies in
different lofts, there is no single blanket program that is best
for all lofts. There is no drug that by itself will cure canker
in a loft. It is a matter of using medication correctly so that
the birds can establish a strong natural immunity to the
disease. It is this natural immunity that, in the longer term,
protects them from the disease.
What causes canker to appear during the breeding season?
In health, every time the feeding stock bird feeds its
youngsters, it passes on some of its own trichomonads to them.
This gives the youngsters a controlled gradual exposure to the
organism, which in turn allows them to establish their own
natural immunity. Clinical disease appears in the babies when
the stock birds shed too many trichomonads over a given period
of time to their youngsters.
Increased rates of trichomonad shedding will occur if:
• the stock birds are stressed for any reason- Anything that
stresses the stock bird will lead to an increased rate of
trichomonad shedding and includes such things as a poorly
designed loft, poor management practices, incorrect feeding, and
other concurrent diseases.
•the stock birds' natural immunity is not high - Stock birds are
likely to shed higher numbers more readily when breeding if
their own natural immunity to the strains present in the loft is
not as yet solid. This can occur if new stock birds carrying
different trichomonad strains have been introduced to the loft
during the non-breeding time. All birds carry some immunity to
the resident trichomonad strains in their loft. When birds from
different lofts mix, they exchange their trichomonad strains.
Adult stock birds during the non-breeding season are not
stressed and so exposure to any new strains brought in by
introduced birds is unlikely to lead to disease. They are not
moulting, not breeding, and have plenty to eat, and therefore no
sign of canker occurs. However, when paired, if their natural
immunity to the new different strains is not solid, the stress
of feeding will cause them to 'break down' and shed larger
numbers of trichomonads. In the same way, the introduced birds
need to establish an immunity to their new loft's resident
strains. This is why canker is more of a problem in lofts that
are still establishing with birds coming from a variety of other
lofts. As the years roll by, fewer new birds are introduced and
so the chance of new trichomonad strains getting into the loft
decreases. The birds' immunity to resident strains becomes solid
and the effect of the disease is less marked.
Many fanciers are frustrated when canker appears in the stock
loft. With excellent care in a good loft, they wonder just how
it is that the disease can come. Certainly they are on the right
track with this approach because in a good loft under good care
it is less likely that the stock birds will shed large numbers
of trichomonads. However, some strains are so active that
problems will arise no matter how well the birds are cared for.
How to manage an outbreak of canker during the breeding season
When canker does appear during breeding, its management is
two-fold. It is a matter of:
1. treating the sick youngsters - In lofts with a canker
problem, all youngsters should be checked daily. If a sick
youngster is noticed it can be successfully treated, and such
youngsters can go on to become champions. Either Spartrix or
Flagyl tablets* can be used, however, Spartrix is more
convenient to medicate the nestlings. The dose of Spartrix is
one tablet per adult bird. Estimate how big the youngster is
compared to the adult and give it this proportion of the tablet
once daily until well. Usually, one to four doses are required.
It is often good to also medicate both the nest mate and parents
for 2 days. If the unwell youngster is slow to respond, it is
usually best eliminated. Individual pairs that breed youngsters
with canker are best mated to different birds for subsequent
rounds.
At the same time, it is important to
2. decrease the number of fresh cases - This is done by checking
the number of trichomonads that the stock birds are shedding.
This is achieved by giving 2 days Turbosole* periodically. The
exact frequency depends on the incidence of canker but usually
every 1 - 3 weeks is appropriate. One needs to give sufficient
2-day courses to limit the number of new youngsters with the
disease, but at the same time to avoid overuse of the drug so
that the developing youngster is still getting an on-going
exposure to the organism. It is a matter of working between
these two extremes.
The important thing to always remember with canker during the
breeding season is that the disease can never be controlled
through medication alone. It is the development of a strong
natural immunity that protects the birds in the longer term. It
is important that medication is used to keep the birds well but
used in such a way as to not interfere with the development of
this immunity.
>>Back to Top
HTML http://www.auspigeonco.com.au/products/veterinary_medicines2.html#top<br
/>
[center]Preventative programs for the breeding
season[/center]In the stock loft that had canker last season
Treat all stock birds for 5 - 7 days before pairing and then for
2 days every 1 - 3 weeks once paired. Frequency of treatment
depends on the severity of the problem and the control achieved.
Try and coincide these 2-day treatment periods with the time of
hatching when trichomonad shedding is highest. If canker is
still a problem in certain pairs, try to only medicate these
pairs. This can be achieved by breeding from them in individual
runs and only medicating their water with Turbosole for 2 days
as required or alternatively leaving them in the loft and just
treating them with Spartrix or Flagyl tablets for 2 days when
needed. Splitting the pair and remating each to other birds for
the next round may help.
Stock birds can be crop flushed before pairing to identify those
birds carrying large numbers of trichomonads. These birds are
not only more likely to shed large numbers of trichomonads more
readily once paired but also to pass on their genetic
susceptibility to canker. In the longer term, it is best if
these birds, when identified, are eliminated. The problem is
that they may, in fact, be the winners and here lies the
challenge for the fancier - to breed birds less susceptible to
the disease that are also winners.
In the stock loft that had no canker last season
No treatment is required. If there was no problem with canker in
last year's nestlings, then it is best not to medicate for
canker. Any medication will stop the paired bird shedding
trichomonads and therefore interrupt the on-going exposure of
the growing youngster to the organism. This leads to a lower
natural immunity and may in fact create a vulnerability to the
disease in the postweaning period.
In the stock loft that had no canker last season but to which
new stock birds have been introduced
As discussed earlier, all birds carry in their systems the
resident trichomonad strains of the loft and usually have a
strong natural immunity to them. A newly introduced stock bird
brings these strains with it. These strains may not have been
encountered by your own birds and the new birds may not have
encountered yours. Both lots of birds in time must, through
exposure, become immune to the other strains. If introduced in
the non-breeding time, when the stock birds are not under any
stress, i.e. not moulting and in a good loft with plenty to eat,
no clinical disease will be seen. However, with the stress of
breeding, any immunity already developed will be put to the
test. If immunity is not solid at the time of breeding,
excessive trichomonads will be shed and the youngsters may
develop canker. For this reason, new birds, especially if
introduced immediately before pairing, should ideally be mated
in individual runs and the youngsters monitored. If youngsters
in the main loft begin appearing with canker, the loft should be
managed as discussed under the section How to Manage an Outbreak
of Canker During the Breeding Season.
Control at weaning
In lofts with a canker problem, all youngsters can be treated
with Turbosole for 2 - 3 days at weaning, to avoid any check in
their development through this stressful time. In the longer
term, however, the important thing during this time is that only
youngsters with the disease should be treated so as not to
interfere with the developing natural immunity of the flock as a
whole. Affected birds should be separated and treated with
either one-quarter of a Flagyl tablet (200 mg) or one whole
Spartrix tablet once daily until well. This usually takes 1 - 3
days. Alternatively, the unwell youngsters' water can be
medicated with Turbosole (1/2 teaspoon to 1 litre of water). It
is important, however, to ensure that any unwell youngster is
still able to drink. Turbosole can also be mixed into a paste
and the youngster's throat painted with this using a cotton bud.
The group of youngsters, as a whole, should only be treated if
more than 10% of youngsters are showing signs, usually with
Turbosole for 2 - 3 days. However, in this situation it is best
to seek veterinary advice.
Control during the race season
If canker was a problem during the breeding season, this tells
us that the birds have the potential to have trichomonad
flare-ups in response to stress and that canker is likely to be
a problem during racing. However, through good management and
the correct use of medication, it is hoped, however, that most
birds have developed a reasonably strong natural immunity by the
start of the race season. The stress of racing will put any
immunity that the birds have formed to the test. Depending on
what stresses the birds are under, trichomonad levels will rise
and fall. When high, they have a typical parasitic effect,
weakening the bird, in the process creating a vulnerability to
secondary infection (particularly respiratory infection) and
compromising race performance. They also produce a toxin that
makes the birds feel unwell. Birds with elevated trichomonad
levels are said to have 'wet canker'. Signs of infection can be
subtle and quite varied. Typical signs that would alert the
fancier to its possible presence include:
1. 'Penguin' posture - Associated with proventricular (glandular
stomach) and crop pain. Birds will lean back on their tails and
gulp. Noticed particularly after eating and drinking.
2. 'Dry feather' - Due to lack of down feather drop and bloom
production.
3. 'Leady' feel - Affected birds will not come into condition
and feel heavy in the hand.
4. Wet dropping - Inflammation in the digestive tract creates a
thirst, leading to elevated water intake and urine production.
This produces a clear watery rim around the dropping.
5. Green droppings - Due to digestive tract irritation and in
some birds decreased food intake.
6. Inflammation in the throat - Tonsillitis and increased clear
to grey bubbly mucus.
7. Interference with crop function - Delayed crop emptying and
sometimes vomiting.
8. Increased food consumption by team as a whole
9. Dry yellow canker - In birds of any age, this tells you that
many other birds have elevated trichomonad levels, which have
not yet passed the threshold for yellow material to form.
10. Indirect signs - Poor loft flying, poor tossing, respiratory
problems that respond poorly to medication or quickly relapse, a
dramatic improvement in the birds' general vigour in response to
anticanker medication are all suggestive.
Definitive diagnosis, however, depends on microscopic
examination of a crop flush. Microscopic changes that are
suggestive of the problem also develop in the dropping,. These
changes are associated with the stress of the disease and
include elevated E. coli and yeast levels. These changes,
however, do not occur in all birds.
Race lofts are divided into one of two groups for the purposes
of canker management:
1. Those without resident wet canker strains.
Since the rapid spread of wet canker strains through the racing
pigeon fraternity since the early 1990's, not many lofts now fit
into this category. In these lofts, canker is unlikely to be a
problem during breeding and crop flushes done on members of the
race team will be repeatedly negative. Here, an effort is made
to prevent the introduction of these strains with returning race
birds. In races where the birds are provided with drinkers,
returning race birds are medicated with Turbosole (1/2 teaspoon
to 1 litre of water) for 24 hours upon return. Often the single
big drink that returning race birds have, although not
sufficient to treat an active infection, will clear the
trichomonads picked up from a recent exposure.
2. Those lofts with resident wet canker strains.
In these lofts, canker is likely, but not always, to be a
problem during breeding, and crop flushes done on individual
race birds, particularly following stress, will contain large
numbers of trichomonads. Here, attention focuses not on treating
returning birds, because the strains are already in the loft,
but on keeping the numbers of trichomonads low so that they
cannot affect race form. This is achieved by giving periodic
2-day courses of Turbosole. The length and frequency of each
treatment is variable from one loft to the next, being affected
by a number of factors intrinsic to that loft. In most lofts,
however, 1 - 2 days every 1 - 3 weeks will keep trichomonad
levels low. In the absence of testing, treatment 2 days every
third week is advised. This is usually given on the Monday and
Tuesday. Preferably, however, the use of Turbosole within a loft
is based on the results of testing birds from that loft. If
trichomonads are detected in a crop flush, an initial 2-day
course of Turbosole is given. Follow-up crop flushes are then
done every few days so that the exact time that trichomonads
start to reappear is detected. Once this interval is known for
that loft, then, given a constant set of loft parameters, the
trichomonads will repeatedly and predictably reappear at this
time. Follow-up 2-day Turbosole treatments at this interval will
ensure the trichomonad levels are always low and therefore not
given a chance to affect race form. The main loft parameters are
the genetic make-up of the birds, the strain(s) of trichomonad
present, the loft environment and the management practices. If
these change, the use of Turbosole may also need to change, e.g.
increased tossing combined with cold weather may stress birds,
leading to premature trichomonad flare-ups and a shortening of
the treatment interval for one or two treatments. Generally,
however, as the season progresses, the need for medication
declines as the birds get older, both their level of fitness and
natural immunity rise and, in particular, in Victoria, as the
weather becomes warmer.
*****************************************************
Page 1 of 2
DIR Next Page