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Dr Boddaert Wim	Dr Guy Werquin	Dr Gyselbrecht Carlo	Dr Lanckriet Ruben
Dr Lanneau Pascal	Dr Van Der Cruyssen Johan	Dr Van Rompaey Karlo	Dr. Schroeder Vincent

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I have a yearling that has lost so much weight she is like a blade, I have treated for multiple infections?

I have a yearling that has lost so much weight she is like a blade. I have done for paramixovirus, Trichomoniasis, Ornithosis, Mycoplasmosis, E-coli, Endoparasites, Coccidiosis and she hasn't been poisoned. Plz any advice would be appreciated. Her Symptoms sound very similar to Salmonella infection or Streptococcus infection but she eats alot everytime I feed.

question by: Wesley Mercer

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

Dear Sir, It is indeed probable that the pigeon could be suffering from paratyphoid (salmonella infection). Streptococcus doesn't give typically weight loss. Although you treated for worms, it can be important to know if the product you used is active for hairworm infestation and the environment has been desinfected. If so, you probably should treat for Salmonella (Baytril or enrofloxacine) according advice from your veterinarian. Kind regards

Hi, I have 3 stock birds which went sick. They are having very liqiud faeces which smell very bad. Baytril doesn't help.

Hi, I have 3 stock birds which went sick. They are having very liqiud faeces which smell very bad. they are on a Baytril course since 5 days with no effect at all. I have separate the birds from others. They also drink more than usual and they have lost pectoral muscle mass aswell. All the time they are puffed up without any glint in their eyes. I think it is a bad situation. No faecel smeares have been done yet and no other tests. What could be the disease and treatment please? I have also given the birds 3 drops of baytril directly in the mouth last monday with little or no effect. Any suggestions please? Thanks. Joe.

question by: Joseph Scicluna

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

Dear Sir, You should consult a vet as soon as possible. There are some possibilities for the symptoms. One of the possibilities certainly could be paramyxovirus, in which case your other birds also could be in danger. Other possibilities are parasites, adenovirus type II, yeast infection, etc. Kind regards

Why are my pigeons losing weight?

A friend of mine has pigeons that are losing weight, droppings are watery with dark green slimy bit in the middle, and hens under stress because they are being chased to lay, are the worst affected. Some of the hens also cannot walk. Pigeons sit looking sick, not eating for 2 weeks and many especially the cocks make spontaneous recovery. Even the hens...once they start eating again and droppings improve they seem to recover. Not all pigeons are affected at the same time. Our thinking is that pigeons could be affected by adenovirus or streptococcus infection. Pigeons are being given cider vinegar, probiotic and vitamins and the affected pigeons are being given spartrix for secondary infections. What do you think that the problem is?...
Do you recommend different treatment.
Many thanks in advance.

question by: Yesugei

answer by: Dr. Johan Van der Cruyssen

Dear Sir,
At first sight I think of two problems: Salmonella infection or Streptococcus infection. For a diagnosis of Salmonella you should advise your friend to gather some droppings for five consecutive days. Bring them to a pigeon veterinarian. He can send them to a laboratory. They can do a bacteriologic culture and an antibiogram on the droppings. For a diagnosis of Streptococcus infection an autopsy must be done on a sick pigeon. First choice antibiotic to treat Streptococcus infection is amoxicillin. Enrofloxacin (Baytril) is the best choice for treating Salmonella. However the antibiogram can give you the best information on what antibiotic you can use for treating Salmonella or Streptococcusinfections.
Kind regards,
Dr. Johan Van der Cruyssen

Some of my pigeosn are losing weight and have a deep keel. What is the best treatment?

I have vaccinated all my youngsters for paramyxovirus at weaning, and the pigeons were in excellent health. But I am noticing when the youngsters are about 2-3months old they start losing weight and most of them have a deep keel. Meanwhile the youngsters look very healthy but when handling you can feel that deep keel. The astonishing part is that I have two separate lofts and I split every pair in separate lofts, the youngsters in one loft have lost weight while others kept a good body like when they were about 1-2 months old. Do you think it could be a bacterial infection such as E coli that could be affecting the weight of the youngsters in that particular loft? If so what would be the best possible treatment?

question by: Bertram Debono

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

There are some possible diseases that can cause these symptoms. First of all, did you let the birds check for worms? If you don't have the possibility to check the droppings I would do a treatment for worms. Secondly paratyphoid could also be the problem. In that case, a good antibiotic and vaccination program could be of effect. Other diseases are possible but unlikely with the information I have now

What do you suggest with pigeons with swollen heads, watery eyes ans yellow streeks in the mouth?

I have seen three youngbirds in a space of two weeks with swollen heads, watery eyes and yellow streeks in the mouth.They loose weight very quickly and do not eat.After injecting with an ornithose injection ,one made improvements while another was put down. I have heard other fanciers having similar problems.I have put the rest of the young birds on enrofloxacine, hoping it stops the spread of infection. What do you suggest I should do?

question by: Joe

answer by: Pascal Lanneau

The symptoms you say seems to be related to respiratory problems, these can be caused by plenty different bacteria, virusses .... E. Coli, Chlamydia, Staphyllococs, Mycoplasma,Pelistega, Riemerella, Herpes virus, etc, can all cause respiratory problems, like swollen heads, dirty noses, sneezing, scratching on their heads, watery eyes,... Also some yellow streeks in the mouth can sometimes be seen , with tricho, but also with Herpes etc. This last one can also damage a lot the liver, which possible can explain the death of one pigeon. Probably will a treatment for respiratory diseases will help to solve your problem, but if there is also a viral factor in it, it can take a long time before the problem completely stopped. Sometimes you see that some pigeons are healthy again, but other pigeons that were healthy before become ill and have the same symptoms, allthough you have treated already. Can I ask you how old your young birds are at the moment they have problems?

Is Baytril advisable against herpesvirus?

I wonder if you could advise me please, I believe my pigeons may have pigeon herpesvirus (phv), at the moment I am treating them with baytril is this advisable? Symptoms - watery droppings, sometimes mushy olive green, Thirst, weight loss, signs of canker in the mouth also ornithosis type symptoms i.e. one eyed cold.

question by: Jim

answer by: Wim Boddaert

If you have really problems with herpes-viral infection , I think then you would see the following symptoms yellow spots in the upper respiratory tracts and in the throat. Also as you said f.e. one-eye-cold. In such a cases of infections we give them a treatment with a combination of Doxycycline ( f.e. Soludox or Ornicure ) + Spiramycine (Suanovil ) + Tylosine ( Tylan ) together in the drinking water for 8 or 10 days. Also at the same time treat them with ronidazole tabltes for tricho. Of course you have to be sure that this is a correct diagnose. If you have the possiblitiy to let your pigeons examinate, od not hesitate. The green dropping and watery dropping could be from some other infections.

After vaccinating for paramyxovirus and salmonella, my pigeons are getting sick. What is my problem?

I hope you can help me with my problem.........
I vaccinated my pigeons on November 25-08, for Paramyxovirus 1 and Salmonella Typhimurium Bacterin and thats when all my problems started, now it`s December 9-08. When I was vaccinating the pigeons, as I was putting the birds back in the loft and I found a 2000 male pigeon DEAD in the basket, I just thought that I might`ve hit a nerve, now a couple of day`s later I found about 4 hens and a male that could not fly up to the lower perches, the strange thing is that 2 of the hens a 98 and a 99 are both sisters of the 2000 male, now the 08 male is a son of the 98 hen and the 07 and the 08 are grand daughters of the 98 hen so I though that it was something to do with the bloodline. Now a couple of day`s later I started noticing some watering droppings green and yellow, I thought that they had PARATYPHOID ( SALMONELLA ) infection, so I started treating with ENROFLOXYN on December 4-08, now it`s December 9-08 and althought I have seen some improvemente there is not a major improvemente, as the 98 and 99 hen have lost a lot of weight and the 99 hen was eating very little as of today, and the droppings in most of the sections have gotten a lot worst. The pigeons have no lumps on the wings or the legs as I handle them all and the research that I did on the internet at the ALBERTA CLASSIC web-site mention that if it is PARATYPHOID that there should be some lumps on the wings or legs. Also I came up with the conclusion that it might be STREPTOCOCUS gallolyticus as per the research that I did it sounds that the symptoms that my pigeons have are more simular to the ones discribed on the articule that I read of the STREPTOCOCUS. Thank you very much, any information that you can share with me as to my problem would be much appreciated as I am very frustraded and I feel if I don`t resolve this problem soon I am risking losing these OLD pigeons that are very VALUABLE to me.

question by: Paul Tavares

answer by: Johan Van der Cruyssen

Before you vaccinate against Salmonella you must be sure there is no Salmonella on your loft.You can give a blind cure against Salmonella before the vaccination. Better is to send the droppings (gathered during 5 days) to a laboratory. They will do a bacterial culture .If this test is negative you may vaccinate.When you have carriers on your loft and you vaccinate against Salmonella you can have some serious vaccination reactions.I don’t advise to give paramyxovaccination and paratyphusvaccination at the same time. Pigeons with Salmonella don’t always have lumps on the wings or legs. Symptoms of streptococcosis in pigeons are often quite similar to the symptoms of paratyphus.The best you can do is to contact a pigeon veterinarian. He can check if your pigeons are affected with streptococcosis. Streptococci bacteria are not sensible for enrofloxacin. Amoxicillin or ampicillin are first choice for treating this disease. Ask your veterinarian to check also for worms. They also can be responsible for loosing weight and for problems with the droppings.

Wat kan ik doen om, in geval van een ziekte, het gewichtsverlies te beperken?

Als een duif omwille van een of andere ziekte niet meer wil eten, wat kan ik dan doen (of geven) om het gewichtsverlies te beperken ?
Idem voor het drinken. Is opspuiten van een waterige oplossing van elektrolieten een oplossing ?

question by: Roger

answer by: Pascal Lanneau

Het is in eerste instantie heel belangrijk te proberen te achterhalen wat de oorzaak zou kunnen zijn van het niet meer eten van de duiven. Door de oorzaak weg te nemen zal er normaalgezien ook een verbetering van de eetlust optreden.
Let wel, als je voor de onderliggende oorzaak medicatie dient te geven aan de duiven, vergewis u ervan dat de duiven het zeker binnen hebben, als ze niet eten of drinken zal de duif op die manier niet de nodige medicatie binnenkrijgen. Dien de medicatie in deze gevallen individueel toe, ttz rechtstreeks in de bek, op deze manier ben je er zeker van dat de duif eveneens de juiste hoeveelheid medicatie binnenkreeg. (de dierenarts kan eventueel ook de nodige medicatie injecteren)
Ondertussen kan men inderdaad wat water met eventueel electrolieten opspuiten. De dagdosis dat een duif in normale omstandigheden drinkt is ongeveer 50 cc, afhankelijk van oa de weersomstandigheden. Dit dien je best toe in verschillende beurten, zodat de duif de tijd krijgt dit te verwerken of te verteren, indien de duif met een volle krop blijft zitten, heeft het weinig zin extra water of voer toe te dienen op dat moment.
Een betere vertering kan eveneens worden bekomen door de duiven bvb extra ecuchol, sedochol of dergelijke toe te dienen.
Maar een eerste vereiste is en blijft het nagaan van de oorzaken , en hiervan af te helpen, en niet alleen symptomatisch te behandelen, want dan kan de duif bvb ten onder gaan, niet aan het feit dat ze weinig eet, maar bvb aan die ander onderliggende oorzaak.

When do I have to vaccinate for paratyphus and where do i get the vaccine?

Over the last couple of seasons i think i have been having problems with paratyphoid but only just began to realize it. Birds starting to limp or one wing hanging down, also the young birds, going downhill after weaning, also I had one of the cocks loose wieght but kept his condition but would not fly, he did make full recovery! Only to be lost racing I would be gratefull if you could advise on vaccination (the hows and whens) as I've read it is best to clear the birds fully with baytril. And could you advise on when to vaccinate the young, and last but not least could you advise on were to get the vaccine from ?

question by: Dave Leese

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

In your case you should treat the birds for at least two weeks with Baytril. Then you can give a prime vaccination with an inactive vaccine. One month later you can boost the immunity by giving an inactivated or live vaccine f.e.chevivac-s.

Mijn duif laat een vleugel hangen en vliegt schuin. Wat kan ik doen?

Ik heb een duif die al goed gevlogen heeft voor een 2-jaarse. Deze duif heeft dit jaar Barcelona en Narbonne zeer succesvol afgewerkt , toch 3 dagen na Narbonne kon deze duif niet meer in zijn nestbak geraken en nu nog steeds niet. Hij laat 1 vleugel hangen en als hij probeert op te vliegen vliegt hij schuin. Hij is ook lichter dan normaal en zit nu reeds 3 maand in de volière en nog steeds is er geen verandering .Ik ben reeds bij verschillende dierenartsen geweest en deze spreken van een ontsteking in het vleugelgewricht en na verschillende behandelingen tegen deze ontsteking is er nog steeds geen verandering.
Wat kan ik nog doen ?

question by: E.Willems

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

Indien een ontsteking zo lang aanhoudt, is er steeds een onderliggend probleem die bijna altijd van infectieuse aard is. In uw geval kan dit paratyfus, streptococcose, E coli of een andere kiem zijn. Een gericht diagnostisch onderzoek kan dit uitmaken. Het feit dat er al behandelingen geweest zijn, is wel nadelig voor de diagnostiek zelf maar kan een voordeel zijn om zaken uit te sluiten.

What can I do when my pigeons are going light or have a wet eye?

If you don’t mind I have some question regarding my pigeons, our race season will start in Oct.
1. When my bird back to my loft on the training I encounter that one bird has a one eye cold / wet eyes. What is the cure for this type of problem?
2. What is the best to do when the pigeons are going light?
3. What are the best to motivate the pigeons?

question by: Roderick

answer by: Vincent Schroeder

1)The 2 bests products for that are: Doxycycline other Baytril.
When you give such a product by one cold eye problems you have to give that minimum 10 days.
You have to be sure also that your pigeons are not infected with canker because canker is about by 90 % present by such a problem.
2)When the pigeons are going light, the best is consult a Vet to control the current diseases (Canker-coccidiosis-worms...).
When the Vet don't find any disease and that your pigeons are very light, the best is sacrify a pigeon to make an analysis in a good labo.
When you find the cause of the problem than it's easy to give the just treatment.
3)For the long distance races I don't believe in motivation.
On my own loft, my best prestations (1st internat. Bordeaux, 2nd nat. Montauban...) are always with pigeons who are basketted very quiet.
From 100 km until 400 km, you can use some motivation but not at the beginning of the season.

Newly bought pigeons are fading away and losing body. What is wrong?

I presently have a problem with my young birds. I recently purchased some 20 youngsters from holland all in good health when they arrived. but now they seem to be going light, fading away without any reason, losing body. They are in a spacious loft feed a good mixture and it only appear to be affecting the dutch birds, my own bred youngsters are OK at the moment. I would like to add that I have been very unhappy with the youngsters I have bred earlier this year, I killed alot, they seemed small and weak in the nest. The latest batch are much better. I treated all my youngsters on 7days of linco and followed this with 5 days on a provit but still some of the birds just don't look right. I understand that you can get tests carried out on your birds in belgium. Is there a site I can go to and purchase a kit which I can sent off to see what wrong??
I do not like treating my pigeon without really knowing whats wrong, I simply put them on linco as I was advised by another pigeon fancier. The vets in Ireland do not undestand pigeons so I hope you can help me.

question by: Andrew Moran

answer by: Pascal Lanneau

Apparently there is a big problem in your youngster loft, and a good diagnosis is very important to start with.
The problem can be caused by different kinds of organisms, like parasites, bacteria or viruses.
A good thing to start with is checking the droppings, first of all searching for parasites like coccidiosis, or wurms like ascaridia or capilaria. Especially the last ones can cause pigeons that are coming thinner and thinner.
Also a bacterial culture is in this case very recommended, certainly when I hear the symptoms you see: fading away, going light, losing body,...You mentioned also you killed a lot of youngsters earlier that didn't grow like they should and were weak. All of this could be a sign of an infection with Salmonella, Paratyphus.
For a bacterial culture you need droppings from 5 days, from that specific loft, in that way you are pretty sure there is or there is no paratyphus in the loft. Make sure the pigeons didn't receive any antibiotic the last 2 weeks before the test!!
Also Coli could give some problems in the loft as going light.
How old are the youngsters now? Tricho could also be a problem in young pigeons who don't grow up like they should. You can find out whether they have tricho or not by checking a crop swab.
I should propose that you do a general check up of your youngster loft by
1. Analysis of a crop swab
2. Analysis of the droppings
a. parasitologic examination
b. bacterial culture
3. Analysis of the blood of a youngster could may be reveal if they had contact with paratyphus.
I strongly recommend to do 1 & 2, in that way you will be sure you can treat the pigeons with the right medication. (number 3 will give you a fast result concerning the paratyphus, but is not all over the world available I think)
It is possible that the pigeons from another loft are more vulnerable at this moment for any kind of disease due to the stress situation they are.

Waarom willen sommige duivinnen plots niet meer vliegen en vermageren ze zonder reden?

Sedert een 3 tal jaar ervaar ik in het najaar (september- oktober) problemen met de gezondheid van enkele duiven. Ik verklaar me nader: De rui verloopt voorspoedig, duiven hebben ganse dag open hok. Toch vertoond plots een duif ziekteverschijnselen (geen verwondingen):
Dik zitten
Niet meer willen/kunnen vliegen
Vermageren
Geel-groene mest
Eetlust blijft aanwezig
Vooral duivinnen

Het gekke is dat het steeds duiven betreft die goed gepresteert hebben (de selectie is immers achter de rug, van overbevolking is dus geen sprake). Telkens worden slechts één of twee duiven ziek. Bacteriekweek van de mest was al iedere keer negatief op parathyfus. Duiven worden trouwens 2/jaar geënt na het eerste voorval. Tricho binnen aanvaardbare normen, geen wormen of ornithose ... De diagnose was telkens streptococcen. Al had ik de indruk dat dit eerder een gokje is vermits er na behandeling ( 10dagen amco) geen volledige genezing optreed. De duiven blijven op de een of andere manier minder soepel vliegen en zijn voor de vlucht waardeloos, ik verwijder ze telkenmale. Ik ben niet alleen met dit probleem vermits het in mijn vriendenkring de laatste jaren eveneens opduikt. De meeste verwijderen zo'n duif meteen, ook al omdat de rest niet ziek is of wordt. Het is reeds de tweede keer dat ik duiven om deze reden liquideer die bij de eerste 100 nationaal vlogen ... ik kan dergelijke duiven eigenlijk niet missen.

question by: Kurt

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

De symptomen die u beschrijft wijzen inderdaad sterk in de richting van streptococcose. Dit is een ziekte die heel veel voorkomt en typisch problemen geeft zoals u die beschrijft. Om één of andere reden (stress, gedaalde immuniteit, hoge infectiedruk,...) weten bepaalde streptococcen-stammen (deze zijn nog niet gekend) door te breken vanuit de darm (waar hij normaal onschadelijk kan verblijven) in de bloedbaan om zo organen en spieren te bereiken. In spieren en pezen ontstaat er zo een ontsteking waardoor hele stukken spier en pees aangetast worden (ik heb zo eens een duif in handen gehad waarvan de hele borstspier aan één kant van de borstkam weggevreten was). Zo een duif is inderdaad nooit meer geschikt om aan wedstrijden deel te nemen. De diagnose van streptococcen is alleen zeker te stellen via autopsie. Daarom kan het goed zijn om een zieke duif te laten necropsiëren om zo een beter beeld te kunnen krijgen van het probleem.
Differentiaal diagnostisch dienen we in uw geval nog te denken aan adenovirose type 2 (is niet hetzelfde als jongeduivenziekte), paratyfus, E. coli-septicemie.
Het uitbreken van de ziekte is een samenloop van omstandigheden. Het feit dat dit in de rui uitbreekt is niet uitzonderlijk aangezien de rui zeer belastend is voor de immuniteit. Er is immers veel eiwit nodig voor de rui die niet kan aangewend worden voor de productie van afweercellen en antilichamen. Het seizoen was reeds belastend voor de duiven, daarna wordt er dan nog dikwijls mee gekweekt. Zeker de duivin dient voor de productie van haar eitjes weer veel krachten (+ opnieuw eiwit) aan te spreken. Dit is in de rui zeer belastend. Iedere bijkomende onderliggende ziekte (zoals doodgewoon tricho, coccidiose, vaak onderliggend paratyfus, ornithose, herpesvirose,...) zorgt voor een extra belasting van het immuunsysteem waardoor streptococcose gemakkelijker kan doorbreken.
Het is van belang de volledige kolonie voldoende lang te behandelen en andere complicaties te vermijden. De immuniteit goed ondersteunen (leverondersteundende producten in de rui, hoogkwalitatieve voeding, mineralen, B-vitaminen, essentiële vetzuren!) en duiven voldoende laten recupereren van het seizoen is van het grootste belang.

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