lofty

metronidazole (Flagyl) dose 50mg daily for 3 days to divide 500mg tab crush into powder, use a razor blade to arrange the powder in a long ribbon and divide it into 10 segments -each segment aprox 50mg Lofty PS Side effects of overdose pigeons 'overshoot' when flying to perch appear not to be able to see properly act like they are dizzy if these symptoms occur do not give any more flagyl but ad B vitamins to water and leave birds undisturbed

A 6x4 shed with a set of nest boxes each 2'x1'x1' at one end starting2-3' off the floor would be fine a shelf about a foot wide half way up the back will give them something to parade around on. lofty

Your right -Thats not the best way to speak to someone especially who has just joined. But some people just arn't very good with words. At least you know they are doing things as they should so sod him you joined becouse it suited you so don't cut your nose off to spite your face Lofty

I believe in the hope that the immune system will get some clues regarding making antibodies! fortunately some strains are quite mild and the birds are able to deal with them But like most viruses paramyxovirus will continue to mutate -some times more virulent, sometimes milder. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed that the birds are covered for the strains they meet! pigeons are able to recover from Paramyxovirus and breed good youngsters even if they may not be able to race themselves I have a cock west of England who was very badly infected he couldn't fly and carried his head to one side for months he has now fully recovered and since his illness, is rearing his 3rd set of youngsters as I type. None of his youngsters have shown any evidence of disease. But I'm pretty sure he will have given them a strong pasive immunity from his crop milk. Lofty

The purpose of vaccination is to prevent disease becoming established so vaccinated birds should not be able to pass on the virus as far as I am aware pigeons eventually clear the virus from their system But failure can result from Poor storage of the vaccine Incorect vaccination technique the pressence of passive antibodies (vaccinating birds that where too young) exposure to a different strain of virus than the one vaccinated against an overwhelming infection( exposure to massive numbers of virus) or exposure before antibodies have been produced general poor responers depressed immune system due to stress or concurrent disease Lofty

Hi well did what was sugested re listening -can't hear anything pressed the wattles and their noses are dry so I assume its not any disease Thanks Lofty

resembles one but not a good picture -can't see proper shape lofty

MMmm I see, looks like I need to do some extending then becouse it will soon be double that! Lofty

A UK GP will not prescribe human drugs for animals It is illegal or any drug without good reason (metronidazole is used for anaerobic infections such as Dental abscess,trichomonas vaginalis,infected leg ulcers etc. So unless you present to your GP with one of these infections you won't get any. Believe me!! and the cost will come out of his/her budget! and prescription costs are now £7.10 per item. Lofty Better off buying carnidazole or ronidazole -both licenced for pigeons and both very effective and less side effects in birds.

OK you racing pigeon people How many birds do you think a loft 14' x 10' x 7' high would comfortably hold? this space is all to the birds, there is no corridor and no partition (as I take it out in the spring and only divide the cocks and hens during the winter from about october 'till march) Lofty ps I keep fancy birds but am interested in what racing keepers think

Very interesting! so how much exactly do you give each bird and how many times per day Have you noticed any side effects? Lofty

Canisten (clotrimazole) is anti fungal? would probably cure candida but wouldn't of expected it to have any effect on canker or hexamita as they are protozoans? still anything is possible Lofty

To be on the safe side if using tetracyclines -terramicin, Doxycicline etc you should use distilled water if you live in a hard water (bottled water is 'hard') area otherwise the drug will bind to the calcium present and then can't be absorbed by the birds with most other drugs boiling and cooling (to remove chlorine and chloramine) is OK as they are not affected by calcium. Most water authorities use chloramine now as it is more stable than chlorine so standing overnight may not clear it. Lofty

this is nicolas's web page http://pagesperso-orange.fr/pigeonsport/index_en.htm

Hi Mike I keep Portuguese Tumblers (Flying type) They are great little birds -very fast and agile but at only 1/2 the size of a roller are unfortunately the perfect size for sparrow hawks so are no good for keeping 'free' in the garden I have to let mine out after the Oriental rollers have had their fly as the hawks can't catch them and give up!! Actually I would recomend Oriental rollers - they don't roll as neatly as Birminghams and will not 'kit' (stay in a tight group) but are good to watch as they do a lot of diving and rolling sideways. They do however carry their wings dragging on the floor and some people find this untidy?! There is a chap called NIcolas girard He has some videos of Orientals on you-tube in fact there are lots of videos of pigeons on there -would let you see the breeds in action before you made a choice I believe there is an auction in Goole every thursday that has pigeons (friend of mine bought some tipplers there) Lofty

Hi Tiamutin is lethal at 3 times recomended dose for 3 days please bear this in mind if using for feeding birds It is usually used for poultry as it is effective for treating resistant strains of mycoplasma and also has been found usefull in preventing vertical transmission (via the egg) of mycoplasma in Turkeys but it is not anti viral. The only anti viral I am aware of that has been used in birds is acyclovire at the rate of 400mg / litre of drinking water for prevention of pachecos disease (a type of herpes virus infection in south american conures) but even then has to be started before symptoms appear. Once the disease has taken hold it is unlikely to be effective. acyclovir can damage the kidneys if used to excess. Lofty

Hi Depends on the vaccination if it is a dead vaccine then no. Treated birds will not affect untreated ones becouse there is no living organism to transmit IF it is a live vaccine then it is possible but very unlikely although I have heard that poultry vaccinated for marek's disease are then able to infect unvaccinated poultry Marek's remains in the system for life where as paramyxovirus does not -not sure re pigeon pox but I believe it is a live vaccine? Lofty

Do pigeons sneeze occasionally without being ill?

Can I just say antibiotics do not strip natural immunity but they can kill beneficial bacteria and cause an upset which may allow bad bacteria and fungi to take over. And also most drugs have side effects and make the birds feel ill and off form In fact if the bird has several diseases incuding viral (which most antibiotics don't affect ) then giving a suitable antibiotic to kill pathogenic bacteria Will in fact support the immune system. Becouse it can then concentrate on the viral (for example) disease alone and not have to divide attention between several diseases. I am not advocating the indiscriminate use of any drugs (It is the attitude of the 'just give it once a week' brigade that has ruined a lot of antibiotics) But the right drug at the right strength for the right amount of time should be the motto. Anyway to answer the question Amoxicillin is apparently very effective for STREPTOCOCUS BOVIS, as prophylaxis in injuries and also for most strains of SALMONELLA. (hower it is not very effective for clearing 'carriers') as it does not penetrate the tissues as effectively as something like baytril therefore isolated pockets of infection can remain to flare up again once the drug is stopped. It is not effective for chlamydia infections (the cause of many respiratory diseases) regarding salmonella (Paratyphoid) to clear carriers Baytrill should be given for a full 10 days. Also half way through and at the end of the treatment the loft should be thoroughly cleaned out preferably with a pressure hose, with something like bleach and every bird should have its feet washed in soapy water before rbeing returned to the loft otherwise the infection will probably start up again. Amoxicillin is also bacteriaCIDAL and will kill the bacteria directly so will work faster than antibiotics that are bacteriaSTATIC such as Erythromycin which only prevent the bacteia reproducing and leave them to be 'mopped up' by the immune system. But as has been said already, ideally you would have a culture and sensitivity test done to find out which drug would be effective. but in reality sick birds can not always wait 3-4 days for the result and need some treatment quickly so broad spectrum antibiotics are given in the hope of some effect! Personally I wouldn't throw the drugs out provided it is stored correctly and is in date then it may come in handy!!! Lofty

When it produces young that resemble itself IE when they are able to replicate themselves with only minor differences can you say something is pure bred untill that point a bird (or anything else) can look very much like the real thing at face value but can be carrying all manner of genetic mixes. Lofty

Although I agree with whats been said already There are times when crosses are needed For instance If I wanted to improve a strain of West of England Tumblers that had been kept for showing and lost some flying ability then I would be looking to Rollers and Tipplers to improve stamina and tumbling ability. Unfortunately once you mix breeds the genetic makeup/ traits become unstable and you will end up with a mix of allsorts -the only thing to do then is fly them and select birds that have what you are looking for to breed from. Eventually you will end up with a family of birds that look simillar and fly in a particular style That is how all breeds come about -adding the characteristics wanted and then nurturing them in future generations. But as has been mentioned, before for every bird that has what your looking for there will be many more that won't. At the moment I have a WEFT paired up to a Paki Highflyer -if the resultant young show good flying ability then I will paired them back to WEFTS (some characteristics I want are present in both birds already IE pearl eye, feathered legs etc. But I will keep very good records For if I need to 'unravel' things in future. Horseman pouters are another good example.- Norwich Croppers crossed with Homers etc and bred back to croppers to produce the Horseman. This improves the flying and homing ability of the Croppers but preserves, even enhances the 'Theivng' traits! Lofty

Gone!

My get 'young bird mix' and do fine

some pics of the birds

Due to ill health I have to reduce bird numbers (Actually I am supposed to get rid of them all but this is a compromise) So reluctantly have decided to sell my pouter type birds and have the following 2 Norwich Cropper cocks (1 meally 1 check) 1 Voorburgh cropper cock (yellow) 1 Horseman pouter cock (blue) 3 Horseman pouter hens (2 blue 1 silver) 5 young second cross Horsemen ( homer x norwich x norwich) (2 blue pied 3 almost all white) plus 4 young voorurgh x horsemen Squeakers Would prefer it if someone took the lot So I have no excuse to start breeding them again I would take £100 for them all Lofty ps near Dewsbury /Wakefield