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Dr Boddaert Wim	Dr Gyselbrecht Carlo	Dr Lanckriet Ruben	Dr Lanneau Pascal
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A question about a disease or a symptom you're not familiar with?

My birds are reluctant to train around the loft. They are constantly hungry (consuming a lot of seeds)?

My birds are reluctant to train around the loft. They are constantly hungry (consuming a lot of seeds). When called down to the loft, they are panting and their wings are hanging like they are tired.

question by: pieter

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

Dear Madam/Sir,

I would advise to change the diet of the birds on a light digestible food with less fat (less seeds) and give the birds not too much. They will probably start to train more.

Off course try to make sure the birds are healthy and free from most parasitic diseases.

Kind regards

We have started our racing season 2 weeks ago, and mine is a disaster with loss of good pigeons. On handling they look healthy. Can you help?

We have started our racing season 2 weeks ago, and mine is a disaster. My pigeon are fit. On handling they look healthy. They were tested for the most common diseases and tested negative. We have started with the short races, and I’m clocking my first pigeons half an hour to one hour after the arrival of the first race pigeons from the club. I’ve lost good pigeons in these short races. Looses, I would say 20-30% per race. The problem is that I thought my pigeons have the muscle and wing disease, but it does not make sense as the pigeons arrive without any breathing symptoms or hanging wings etc. They do not look drained. In fact the day after the race they would fly around the loft for an hour plus. On the normal exercise pre race tosses where they are liberated in one basket, they will arrive together without any trouble. As soon as the races is getting a little further, they come late and as I mentioned, I’m loosing good pigeon which seem to be in form. I don’t want to treat unnecessary. Please help.

question by: Christiaan Venter

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

Dear Madam/Sir,

Although the racing condition during the week and for short training tosses seems to be fine from the information in your question, it is still very probable a disease or syndrom is causing the problems you are talking about. I am thinking about streptococs, paratyphus and/or herpes. These diseases are not easily detectable on normal diagnostic examination. More information on history of the loft and diseases is necessary to get a complete picture and to be able to find the cause.

Kind regards

My team have good droppings, come home from training tosses ok, but do not fly enough around the loft?

Hi gentlemen, my question is my team have good droppings come home from training tosses ok no sign of resp but when i let them out the fly great for 20 minutes then want to land no matter what i do they want to come out of the sky even landing on roofs away from loft till i whistle for them to come in what could be the problem cheers junior

question by: junior

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

Dear Junior,

First try to let your birds be checked for the normal parasites like trichomonas, coccidiosis or worms. Normally one of these is the problem. If everything is fine, your birds could just lack condition and need some more exercice. By doing more training tosses they can certainly improve in racing condition. Also give light digestable food to make them train more.

Kind regards

A friend of mine have been timing birds late from short distance races and a lot of losses on longer distance?

Hi to all.. a friend of mine have been timing birds late from short distance races with few losses but when it comes to races over 400 kilometers he loose high percentage, after visiting a few vets and gave the pigeons most of medicine on the market he decided ts sacrifice a pigeon and when cut open all seems well accept the liver color which was yellow greenish like! any suggestion please? T.B Malta

question by: Tony Bileci

answer by: Dr Johan Van der Cruyssen

Hello Mr T.B

It is very difficult to make a diagnosis with that information. You visited a few vets and gave most of the medicine on the market. What kind of medication did you give? How long? What was the reason for the treatment with antibiotics?

Have the birds been checked for ornithosis?

Concerning the autopsy:the color of the liver is unsatisfactory information for giving a suggestion on a possible disease. I’m sorry.

Kind regards

Good day all. Last season I had my pigeons vaccinated with a local vaccine here in South Africa for paratyphoid giving problems during the racing season?

Good day all . Last season I had my pigeons vaccinated with a local vaccine here in South Africa for paratyphoid . The end was me only racing 6 weeks and there after it was only down hill , birds arriving 30 min after race leaders and coming home one by one . I noticed that when speeds were above 1250 meters / min my birds do well , but below that speed I might not even try to clock . Some of my friends also use the same vaccine and had the same problem . What else can we try to use that will not affect our performance and when do we need to vaccinate .

question by: Neels Booyse

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

Dear Sir,

Try to treat your birds for two weeks with enrofloxacine. After that you can vaccinate, but indeed the kind of vaccine could give different results. Here in Belgium I have good results with colombovac Paratyphus from Pfizer. You should vaccinate twice with four weeks in between.

Kind regards

My birds are training badly and don't have any endurance. Everything was resulted fine, no coccidoses, no worm, etc

My birds have a great condition and I already took a sample to be tested. Everything was resulted fine, no coccidoses, no worms, no canker was found. I gave them respiratory course to try and help, but the problem is still there. The pigeons are flying for only ten minutes and once they come down they look like have been flying all day. What do you think they have the vets here cannot help me.

question by: Christopher Deguara

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

Dear Madam/Sir,

If nothing can be found, there is a possibility your birds are having trouble with streptococcosis. A treatment with amoxicilline for ten days can be very effective. Use in cooperation with your veterinarian.

Kind regards

My birds have stopped exercising around the loft and are way behind at the weekend.

Hi Im having a few problems with my birds at the moment and was hoping you maybe able to help out. My birds have stopped exercising around the loft and are way behind at the weekend. I have had droppings tests done and they are fine with regards to the usual suspects like cocci, canker, worms and yeast. The problem is the birds have a large amount of mucous in the throat and the tonsil area is very swollen. I have treated with doxy cycline for 7 days with very little improvement in their exercising around the loft. Im lucky to get 10 minutes out of them. When they land there is no panting and they show up to each other and strike off, fighting with each other on landing. I work at a vet teaching hospital and was wondering what is the best plan of action to try and solve this problem. many Thanks

question by: John

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

Dear Madam/Sir, When there is a problem of exercising and there can't be anything found of parasites, I'm always alert for a streptococcus problem. It is a common infection with pigeons and it can be cause of abnormal losses. In a lot of cases I have seen that a amoxycilline treatment was very helpful in these cases. The mucus problem could be multifactoral, both bacteria or herpes virus. Doxycycline will not always help for a lot of bacteria that can cause throat and upper respiratory inflammation. Linco-spectin, tylosine, amoxycilline, spiramycine, enrofloxacine are possibilities for these infections. Better would be to let throat samples be tested by your vet(s) and do an antibiogram. If there is herpes complexing the problem, letting the birds rest and heal on their own could be the best solution. Kind regards

My young birds have watery droppings, look dull, their crop is full of water, some have tilted heads.

Dear Sir; Recently my young birds are having the following symptoms; 1- Do not want to train. 2- Looks dull. 3- their crop seems full of water which is yellow and smell very bad. 4- 1 or 2 days then dead. 5- Clear wattery droppings. 6- Some of them that didn't die have tilted heads but I beleive it is not paramyxo virus but I am not sure. In my place we do not have any facility to check pigeon droppings (no vets to diagonis pigeon problems). I Had to kill 20 of my 23 young birds to eleminate the problem. Please advise what we should do if we face disease knowing we cannot check the droppings and what was the disease ??

question by: Ahmed El Adawy

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

Dear Sir, The symptoms clearly are indicative for paramyxovirus. Possibly other diseases like canker are complexing the problem. So I would advise you to certainly vaccinate the birds for paramyxo and in your case vaccinate them twice with 3 or 4 weeks in between. It is good to vaccinate your young birds as early as possible. At the same time preventive measures can be taken for canker, worms and paratyphus if you are not able to let your pigeons be checked. Kind regards

My race pigeons arrive late, and some even get lost. What is my problem?

I seem to be having a big problem with my old birds, the same happened this time off the season last year ??? Carlo , the birds did not breed only sat eggs , no problems all winter , till i paired the second time in late march , then 4 with wings a bit stiff , also one badly crocking like resp , i thought at the time parathpoid , so i killed the infrected birds , i sent to the first race which i took first prize a easy race 120 miles a lot took all day to come , since then the are reluctant to fly and feel very soft with no body , i change the food but still the same , this week they seemed to be a bit better , but i sent them to the race yesterday very fast , in the local club all members had there birds back in minutes but mine were all day and still 6 missing from 25 , this is what happen last year so i got rid off my old team and stated a fresh with 2007 birds Carlo last year at the same time i had them tested and they came back all clear , i have been a very top flyer in my local area for thirty years so please dont think i am a novice , but i am at my wits end with these birds in the state there in , they look this morning like they have flown 600 miles all soft and blown up

question by: David

answer by: Pascal Lanneau

I think it would be a good idea to start with a general health state check up of you birds. Testing them for tricho, coccidiosis, wurms, paratyphus, coli, etc. In this way you can have a real impression of the problem and so the treatment can be done like it should be. Just some small questions to have a better impression of the problem:
* are they vaccinated against pmv?? pox?? paratyphus??
* how was breeding this season?
* did the youngsters grow well?
* are the pigeons much thinner when they come back?
* are the tired after a small race?
* do they recover very well?
* do you see some obvious problems in the loft, with the pigeons?
* is there a good apetite?
* did you do already a dropping test searching for cocci? wurms? paratyphus?? What were the results?
* did you gave already any treatment against some diseases?
May be we can learn something more about the problem if we have an answer to these questions.

My pigeons have little endurance, but all tests are good. What is my problem?

Hope you can help. My pigeons are unable to excercise for long periods, without dropping back on my shed and trying to cool themselves down through open beak and rapid movement of the throat. I have had them to the local vets and all bacterial and fungal tests have come back clear. I am at a loss to know what to do. After 3 minutes back in the shed they look to be in show condition. I have changed diets and dont know what else to do.

question by: T.Senior

answer by: Ruben Lanckriet

There can be multiple causes for your problem. I would need more information and probably a thorough diagnostic exam to be able to know what your problem is.

My pigeons look healthy, but don't want to take exercise. What could be the problem?

For some reason our darkness young bird team do not want to take exercise naturally or roam the skys. They appear to be in perfect health, droppings are excellent. Treament wise they have been vaccinated, cankered and cocci. We have also tried varying the diet in terms of Carbo content and amount fed. Please could you advise how to condition and treat youngsters to gain natural health and avoid forced exercise. Please note we are flagging the youngsters who fly for 40 to 60 minutes, on landing they do not show any signs of stress but will not leave the area? These YB's were bred in February.

question by: Barry

answer by: Pascal Lanneau

It is very important to know the real health state of your pigeons. They can look very healthy, the droppings can look excellent, but they always can have some tricho, some coccidiosis, some wurms, some respiratory problems, some other disease.
I should first of all check the droppings, searching for wurms, coccidiosis, a troat swab for tricho, an eye swab searching for chlamydia, etc.
When all seems to be fine, it can be due to the fact that you feed food that is too rich.

What can I give my pigeons to stop a yeast infection?

The last couple of years, my young birds have been suffering from a yeast infection, resulting in loss of form. Any possible tips on medication I could give them to stop the yeast infection returning for the 2007 youngbird season?

question by: Malcolm Manders

answer by: Wim Boddaert

Concerning an infection with yeast in your young birds , are you sure that it is something like that ? Because it is very important that you make first the diagniosis and then give the correct treatment.
For a treatment of yeast , you can use the following :
we give 7 days in the drinking water : Nystatine Labaz ( Company Sanofi ) , which means 100.000 U.I.of Nystatine / 1 ml into 1 liter of drinking water for 7 days. Afterwards it is better to give some days a multivitamin together with amino-acids. Also important is to clean up the loft very well , and to make sure that everything is desinfected in the loft.
In a second step it is also important that you look once to the loft ventilation , because in a good ventilated loft I think such a problems are seen a lot less.

My pigeons have red throats and lack of condition. What can I do?

I decided to write to you because at the moment I am facing great respiratory problems with my pigeons. Their throat is red, lack of condition, when they fly they dont range but just fly round the loft and are not able to do 30 minutes flying properly. I treated them with various products but with no effect. Last year with the same pigeons I won the national short distance championship and this year the same pigeons are homing 15 minutes or more after the first pigeons. Unbelievably enough I havent changed anything in my loft. I was thinking of administering a long treatment {21 days of ornicure} because when I use "The de hoop anti snot powder" and the nasal drops the pigeons are having a lot of yellowish matter in their throat and nostrils. I would like to hear your professional and experienced advice because in Malta we do not have any pigeon vets.

question by: Michael Salibaf

answer by: Karlo Van Rompaey

A treatment with doxycycline (ornicure), as you proposed, is certainly recommendable for pigeons suffering from ornithosis (coryza, roup, swelled head, contagious nasal catarrh). Treatment may be continued for 21 days when theornithosis problems are grave. Make sure, however, that the yellow film in the throat is not caused by a strong trichotomonas infection.
Only too often we see a combination of trichomonas with ornithosis problems. Correct diagnosis is required!
You have given treatment with a few products but with no sufficient results. To exclude possible antibiotics resistance among your pigeons, you’d better have an antibiogram composed in order to know which group of antibiotics is most appropriate.

My pigeons have little endurance and return late. What can I do?

Hello Dr.
Last year's racing season was very poor. My pigeons returned about 20 to 30 minutes after first pigeon timed in club. I do not wish to repeat again this season. I noticed that my pigeons had dry mucos under their nostrils, had red throats and some also had a thread-like thin line of clear mucos running down from roof of the mouth to the epiglotis. I also noticed that the pigeons had several yellow dots on the roof of their mouths. Do you suggest a 21/28 day threatment of doxycycline? This season I intend to follow your preventative medicaction scheme.
When you say (trichomonas + ornithos), we mix any two products of canker and respiratory together or do you suggest any products yourself? What preparation do you suggest to enhance endurance? I would also like to add, since our tap water is hard and doxycyline would not have the desired effect as regards to treatment, do you suggest I would add doxycyline to the feed springled with a glucose mixture or some oil?

question by: MC

answer by: Karlo Van Rompaey

All the symptoms that you see with your pigeons indicate respiratory problems. If your pigeons had these problems in the season then it is normal that they returned home too late! Problems with the airways are often due to many different causes: a 'multifactor problem'. Several factors can play a role by breathing problems: stress, high infection pressure and surrounding factors. We have to keep this in mind when treating and preventing the problem. Surrounding factors: bad lofts: draughts and humidity! Stress: weekly basketting and often after tough races (rain and head wind) Infection pressure: these can, amongst other things, play a role: Chlamydophila, Staphylococcus int., Mycoplasma, E. Coli … Treatment and prevention: try to exclude all these factors: make sure you have a dry and well ventilated loft. Treat your pigeons after a tough race with eye drops (based on antibiotics!). Treat the more serious problems with a cure of antibiotics. The best results are with doxycycline, tylosin or enrofloxacin. Let your vet decide which antibiotic will achieve the best result in your loft. This could be preceded by an antibiogramme.
A 21 day cure with doxycycline before the season can solve a lot of the problems. It is important that everything mentioned above is in order. If this is not the case then the problem soon returns. A trichomonas contagion is responsible for the fact that the pigeon is more susceptible to secondary airway problems. By contamination, you can treat them at the same time (trichomonas individually with a tablet or powder over the food, antibiotics in the water).
The working of doxycycline is reduced when grit or water containing a lot of lime is consumed. Treatment via the feed, so as you suggest, doesn't really solve this problem. The binding with Ca occurs in the digestive organs. You can do three things: remove the grit during treatment, use demineralised water or increase the dosage

Alle symptomen die je bij uw duiven ziet, wijzen op respiratoire problemen. Wanneer uw duiven in het seizoen daar ook last van hadden, is het normaal dat ze steeds te laat arriveerden! Luchtwegproblemen worden vaak veroorzaakt door verschillende oorzaken: een 'multifactorieel probleem'. Meerdere factoren kunnen een rol spelen bij ademhalingsproblemen: stress, hoge infectiedruk en omgevingsfactoren. Hiermee moeten we rekening houden bij de behandeling en preventie van het probleem. Omgevingsfactoren: slechte hokken: tocht en vocht! Stress: wekelijks ingemand en vaak na slechte vluchten (regen en kopwind) Infectiedruk: kunnen o.a. een rol spelen: Chlamydophila, Staphylococcus int., Mycoplasmen, E. Coli … Behandeling en preventie: probeer al deze factoren uit te schakelen: zorg voor een droog en goed verlucht hok. Behandel uw duiven na een slechte vlucht met oogdruppels (op basis van antibiotica!). Behandel bij erge problemen met een antibioticakuur. Beste resultaten met doxycycline, tylosine of enrofloxacine. Laat uw dierenarts bepalen welk antbioticum het beste resultaat zal hebben op uw hok. Dit eventueel na het opstellen van een antibiogram. 21 dagen kuren met doxycycline voor het seizoen kan veel problemen oplossen. Het is hierbij belangrijk dat het geheel zoals hoger beschreven wordt, in orde is. Zoniet krijgt men vaak een snel herval van het probleem. Een eventuele trichomonasbesmetting maakt dat de duif meer kans heeft op secundaire luchtwegproblemen. Bij een besmetting mag je gelijktijdig behandelen (trichomonas individueel met tablet of poeder op het voer, antibioticum in het water). De opname van doxycycline vermindert bij gelijktijdige gritopname of bij kalkhoudend water. De behandeling via het voeder, zoals u voorstelt, lost dit probleem niet echt op. De binding met Ca vindt dan plaats in het spijsverteringstelsel. Je kan 3 zaken ondernemen: grit verwijderen tijdens behandeling, gedemineraliseerd water gebruiken ofwel de dosering verhogen.

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