Im a young fancier and need help asap

Ulsterman · December 20, 2009

and what have you used to get rid of the worms then?

December 20, 2009

vermox! i used vermox since i took over the pigeons! but as long as it does the job 5ml to 1L half for 3 days then same 2 weeks later to kill all hatchted eggs! im really happy now because when i get them in mint cond again i can upload videos again on you tube!

but i used belgica de weerd last year and found that better! but i cant get that anymore because the fella who had it doesnt do and belgica de weerd medicines anymore!

December 20, 2009

i found out the problem!
its worms thanks every1 i found a site by complete fluke and i cant find it anymore and it was a wonder site with picture of dropping and show wat droppings have wat diseases! my ones had worms so thanks for the help anyway evey1

Don't think you can tell from looking at droppings on a perch what is wrong with birds, and to assume something is wrong is a mistake.

I recognised the active ingredient in Vermox, and knew I had something on that, which I have posted from time to time to remind members of its dangers, and especially so when given when there is nothing wrong with the birds, it damages the gut. The same research shows that pigeons left alone are perfectly capable of cleaning worms from their gut without our intervention - not something I can recommend but in the 8 or so years I have kept pigeons I have wormed them only once, and that was after I brought birds in, had a loft pooled dropping test done which turned up hairworm. I used active ingredient Levamisol for that, and having used it once, should the need arise again, I'll use a different one, which I would recommend to you, otherwise you will create worms resistant to the one antibiotic you use.

The commonly used wormers Fenbendazole and Albendazole are toxic to pigeons.

410 pigeons of various species at San Diego Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park were examined alive or dead. All birds were healthy at the start point, and kept during a period of 45 days because of quarantine, relocation, or presale health check. The symptoms looked for were weight change, leukopoenia (too few white blood cells), bone marrow changes (less or more bone marrow than normal), small intestinal changes (injuries to the inner lining of the intestines, causing diarrhoea and mal-absorption) and survival. The results are as follows:

Treatment given Weight Leukopoenia Bone Marrow Intestinal changes Survival

No treatment Up 4.6% - 12% 33% Better All normal 91.7%

Albendazole Down 13.3% 100% 83% worse 77.8% injured 66.7%

Fenbendazole low Down 8.3% 83.3% 78% worse 91.7% injured 75.4%

Fenbendazole high Down 18.8% 100% 30% worse 50% injured 66.7%

What seems obvious is that both the drugs are disadvantageous to the pigeons. In all cases the pigeons loose weight after treatment. Also, most pigeons develop leukopoenia. The fewer white blood cells in the medicated pigeons cause them to be more susceptible to bacteria and other microbial intruders. This might explain why the survival rate of the treated pigeons is lower then the untreated (controls). Most pigeons that died suffered from an infection. The bone marrow is involved in the production of blood cells, and in the treated birds production was suppressed. Furthermore, the majority of the birds suffer varying degrees of injury to the intestines, probably caused by these drugs. So, why should we give the pigeons one of these drugs?

This research shows very strongly that these drugs must never be used unless they are absolutely needed.

If you think the birds have worms, the droppings must be tested by a vet to confirm the diagnosis. Test the droppings from each single pigeon, and only treat those birds found having worm eggs. If intestinal worm infection is diagnosed on the loft, cleaning is very important to get rid of worm eggs. If you want to give any medication, any remedy containing albendazole ( like "Valbazen") and fenbendazole (like "Panacur") should be avoided. Because of chemical similarity, it is likely that also flubendazole (like "Flunebol"), is harmful to pigeons.

Ivermectine (IVOMEC) might be a better alternative for pigeons. I have used this type of antihelmintic in my veterinary practice for 12 years and never seen adverse effects. However in-depth investigations on possible negative effects on pigeons are lacking for ivermectine and related drugs. Treatment should therefore be avoided unless a diagnosis has been confirmed by the vet.

The study referred to concerns many species of wild pigeons, but it is very likely that fenbendazole and albendazole will also harm racing pigeons at least as much. Especially in periods of stress such drugs can be very harmful. Actually, there are reasons to believe that such drugs can trigger many diseases like trichomoniasis, coccidiosis, adenovirus and salmonellosis.

More generally, the use of any drug should be limited. Many of the more successful lofts do not use drugs at all, unless a serious contagious disease is diagnosed by the vet. Simply because drugs generally do more harm than good on healthy pigeons.