Pigeonbasics.com

Came across this by accident, while looking for something else. I don’t think anyone has ever mentioned this potential problem in relation to giving regular doses of antibiotics to pigeons before. I wonder if the same ‘sensitizing’ occurs in birds?

Can using antibiotics regularly result in the bird not being able to make its own antibodies?

Nonmedical Use

Antibiotics have found wide non-medical use. Some are used in animal husbandry, along with vitamin B12, to enhance the weight gain of livestock. However, some authorities believe the addition of antibiotics to animal feeds is dangerous because continuous low exposure to the antibiotic can sensitize humans to the drug and make them unable to take the substance later for the treatment of infection. In addition low levels of antibiotics in animal feed encourage the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of micro-organisms. Drug resistance has been shown to be carried by a genetic particle transmissible from one strain of micro-organism to another, and the presence of low levels of antibiotics can actually cause an increase in the number of such particles in the bacterial population and increase the probability that such particles will be transferred to pathogenic, or disease-causing, strains. Antibiotics have also been used to treat plant diseases such as bacteria-caused infections in tomatoes, potatoes, and fruit trees. The substances are also used in experimental research.


http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Broad-spectrum+antibiotic

Sorry I thought we'd been waging a verbal war against those that 'Blanket Use' them. Must have misunderstood your meaning by ....quote '. I don’t think anyone has ever mentioned this potential problem in relation to giving regular doses of antibiotics to pigeons before' end of quote.

may be that relate's to the prob's fancier's were having , back in '70's & '80's , feeding chicken pellet's / layer's , that were loaded with tylosin and other stuff ,

Quoted from Roland

Sorry I thought we'd been waging a verbal war against those that 'Blanket Use' them. Must have misunderstood your meaning by ....quote '. I don’t think anyone has ever mentioned this potential problem in relation to giving regular doses of antibiotics to pigeons before' end of quote.

Sorry, Roland. The potential problem I was talking about, which I personally had not heard of before, or seen posted on the forum, is :

continuous low exposure to the antibiotic can sensitize humans to the drug and make them unable to take the substance later for the treatment of infection.

Now that I have read this bit again, I think it is me that has misunderstood / misread it, because I thought it read continuous low exposure to the antibiotic can sensitize humans to the drug and make them unable to make the substance later for the treatment of infection. That's why I said continuous low exposure ... stops us making antibodies against bacterial infection. What it is really saying is that when infection does come about - the antibiotic is useless for treating it.

constant use of any drug can cause a build up of imunity to that drug after a period of time.
The constant use of antibiotics is not only going to keep the birds own imunity low but long term will cause greater problems.

Phil

Quoted from pjc

constant use of any drug can cause a build up of imunity to that drug after a period of time.
The constant use of antibiotics is not only going to keep the birds own imunity low but long term will cause greater problems.

Phil

That is how I have understood it these past few years.
Every day in 'Humans' our defences get weaker as the imunity gets stronger.
It is strange, I feel, how 'Man' always the optimist believes 'Someone' will put it all right, or say's 'I'll be dead and long gone by then', which I find rather distastefull and very selfing of my fellow man. In fact it stinks... yet in all walks it s happening more and more. So sad.