Herpes viruses Herpes viruses (Colimbid herpesvirus 1 / CoHV-1) have always existed in pigeons and probably 60% to 70% of todays pigeons are infected. With the increasing sales and purchases of pigeons, these percentages will probably even increase in the future. If a pigeon is infected with herpes it does not mean the pigeon is ill. The animals live with it. Until now there have been hardly any problems with herpes in old pigeons, for the youngsters however the situation is different for several years. Yellow deposits in the beak, elongated like chewing gum, usually in side of the cheeks and sometimes in the back of the throat, are infallible visible signs of a herpes infection. However, these yellowish deposits are often confused with trichomonads or pox. Young pigeons with these yellow deposits will start to rattle after a few days (they breather heavily with every movement) and sit apathetically on the floor. Everyone should have now realised that this is not the so called “Young Bird Sicknessâ€. After several days, these youngsters then suffer a painful death by suffocation as the herpes virus attacks the lungs/ In this phase, when the yellowish deposits are visible in the beak then no antibiotic can help anymore. In some cases only a couple of young birds in the flock will die, but sometimes it could be 20, 30 or 40 young birds that will die. Actually, only a Paramyxo-Herpes vaccine can help but unfortunately it has not been approved in Germany and is therefore not available to German fanciers. The heavy mortality of pigeons that are infected with the herpes virus, usually ceases within a week after Paramyxo-Herpes vaccination. Practice has shown that boosting (re-vaccination) is not required, even if recommended by the vaccine producers.