bird struggling to breath

[samantha]

i got home from my holiday last night and went to the birds before i even unlocked my house, id paid a teenager to water and feed them which he seems to have done ok, but i imediately noticed one of my birds wheezing badly

 

he can fly, i saw him peck at food and dip at water but im not sure he actually ate or drank, he looks fairly bright and was preening and his mouth looked clear, but he is breathing through his beak with his beak open and the noise is terrible when he breaths out, if it were one of my kids id say a chest infection, but i have never had a sick bird before,

 

im gonna go to the vet when it opens, though im not sure they have much pigeon experience ... any ideas what i should do ??

 

thanks guys

[samantha]

has no one got any ideas???  :'( :'(  

[Guest Paulo]

sounds like res disease to me but I know nowt. isolate the bird and try to treat for it.

 

Theres a few threads on here about res disease

[Guest Paulo]

http://www.pigeonbasics.com/forum/blah/m-1145472847/

[Guest Paulo]

is its eye waterly if so could be one eyed cold

[samantha]

blumin eck paulo ive never heard of the treatments in the link, so im gonna have to hope the vet has a clue,

 

no watery eyes as far as i can see, thanks for your help luv  

[pigeonpete]

Hi sam, it sounds like respirtory to me!! could be an underlying problem of somthing else :-/ would isolate, are the other birds showing any signs? check for canker!!

 

hope all goes well

 

:K)

[samantha]

thanks pete, of course with being away i dont know how long hes been ill, im sure the teenager who has looked after them is still in bed right now! but as far as i can see the others look ok

 

will the vet know about canker?? whatever the heck that is lol

[Guest Paulo]

no worries might be best for vet to have a look its hard to tell what some illnessess are unless you have a good look at the bird and have some experience. Shame theres noone near you who could have a look at the bird fo you to save you the expense of the vet.

 

I've got a book the disease and illnesses of the racing pigeon by old hand which I use plus I'm lucky enough to have a dad and gran who have kept pigeons for all their life he's sick of hearing the shouts of dad dad when's there's owt wrong.

 

Murray mills is good for medicines and that.

 

http://www.murrayandmills.co.uk/catalog/erol.html#382x0&&

 

Hope your bird gets better let us know how he gets on

[samantha]

pete?? when you say check for canker?? what do you mean??

 

that i should check, if so how?? or ask the vet to check??

 

 

[Guest Paulo]

to check for canker look for cheesy growths in birds throat

[samantha]

i wish there was someone close by with some experience at times like this, i worried about my birds all holiday, i even had a dream about them one night, dreamt i came home to 2 beautiful fluffy grey babies  ;D

[samantha]

did check throte last night, but will look for cheezy substance in a mo, thanks again hun

[Guest Paulo]

trichomonas is the technical name for canker. A decent vet will know what it is as the disease affects commercial poultry such as turkeys

 

[samantha]

just rang the vet, booked in for ten past 2, she said if she doesnt know there is a bird specialist at the practice, so im quite relieved about that

 

thanks paulo,  :K)

[Guest Paulo]

No worries good luck with him if it is canker don't waste your money on expensive vet medicine as there is plently of stuff available commercially from pigeon suppliers that will treat canker.

 

You can buy a box of 50 Harkers Spartrix tablets for £14.50 so you don't want to be paying stupid prices for stuff from the vets.

 

Tell I'm a geordie I'm tight as, I should be scottish moths fly out of my wallet when I open it. lol

 

[pigeonpete]

good look sam, canker is very easy to treat!! have you ever treated them for canker? there must be a fancier near you?? is the loft well ventilated and dry? where do you get your corn etc from?? they should be able to put you in touch with a local fancier for future reference, and they will know more than a vet

if it does turn out to be canker the treatment i use is spartrix tablets (spelling?) made by harkers, 1 of those and would have cleard up with 2/3 days but make sure you treat them all, see what the vet say s first.

 

hey paulo stop chattin up sam and do some work you lazy git!!  ;D ;D

[Guest Paulo]

I'm just trying to help with her pigeon problem the fact she's quite good looking has nothing to do with it lol. I would give the same amount of my time to even a old woman who wanted help I'm just that kind of guy.

 

Besides I'm only 25 she'd eat me alive I'm going red as I'm typing this.

 

Its a monday morning pete no work to do as being so efficent I have done all my survey work until wednesday morning. Just a bit filing to do as the admin goper hasn't turned in today but I'm doing that and looking at this website as I'm too efficent.

 

You should be out there terrorising other roadusers with your driving students lol

[samantha]

thanks sweetie peteie  :K)   ;D

[samantha]

" quite good looking !!!"  the cheek of it !!   ;D ;D ;D  

 

 

[Guest Paulo]

Canker – Trichomoniasis

 

Causes and Clinical Signs

 

Canker is due to a parasitic organism called Trichomonas colombi and three forms are recognised affecting the pharynx, navel and internal organs respectively.  The majority of adult pigeons are symptomless carriers of the organism but clinical cases may occur if the bird is under stress and in young pigeons the disease may be severe and even fatal.  The disease is spread from adults to squabs in the crop milk and between pigeons by the oral route.

  

 

A.     Pharyngeal Form

Cheesy yellow deposits are seen on the membranes of the pharynx at the back of the mouth.  The deposits can affect food intake and also breathing.  Severely affected birds are depressed, food intake is reduced and they become emaciated.  Affected birds may have diarrhoea.  Water intake may increase.

  

 

B.      Navel Form

This form occurs in young birds that are affected in the nest box from affected crop milk dripping onto the nest box floor.  A typical cheesy yellow deposit is present under the skin at the navel and it may spread from here to the internal organs.

  

 

C.      Internal Form

The internally affected organs include liver, crop and lung in which the cheesy yellow deposits may be found.  The clinical signs of the internal form vary depending upon the organ involved but usually diarrhoea and emaciation are a feature of this condition.

 

Diagnosis

 

Diagnosis has to be based on the clinical signs in the living birds.  Samples of crop smears are positive in the majority of adult birds and diagnosis is dependent on the number of organisms present.  Post mortem examination of cadavers will give a positive diagnosis of the internal form.  The disease needs to be distinguished from Pox, Tuberculosis, Aspergillosis and Salmonellosis.

  

 

Treatment

 

Dimetridazole is very effective against Trichomonas.  All susceptible and in contact birds would be treated for a period of seven days.  In some a broad-spectrum antibiotic or multi vitamin may be recommended.

  

 

Prevention  

 

No flock can be permanently kept free of this organism. Due to its severity in young birds we recommend a treatment of all birds at the end of the flying season and the treatment of adults for a period of five to seven days after egg laying and before the squabs are hatched.

[Guest Paulo]

Its all banter I'm quite goodlooking if I say so myself lol

 

30's not old man especially in the world of pigeon fancying sick of people calling me son down the allotment lol

[pigeonpete]

Sam really sorry about that!! :B :B cant edit it now sorry!! speak to you later gotta go work! hope your pigeon o.k later

[stevebelbin]

Hi sam if its canker, which it sounds like to me, i have some flagyl tablets at home you can have. I bought a load of boxes when i was in spain last year and have loads spare.

[pigeonpete]

Hi sam, how did you get on at the vets?? did they know it was a pigeon?? lol ;D