Canker – Trichomoniasis

[ch pied]

hi . only one way to tell if canker/tricomonias is present in a bird , and that is a swab taken from the throat , placed under the microscope at x400. my local vet told me if yellow  deposits are seen it may be canker or pox if its canker they are the weak strains and the birds own imune system is fighting ,ridzol should be used as perscribed ....if its pox let it run its coarse as they will never take it again

[ch pied]

hi   my local vet says treat the secoandery infection first,/worms/thursh /cocci/?????? what a mine field

[Silverdale Lofts]

ch pied if you take a swab test you wont find yellow deposits  you will find a little bug what spins like mad under the microscope

[ch pied]

hi  silverdale lofts   .if TRICHOMONAS GALLINAE are present .that little single celled bug , knowen as a protazoa , you are correct it spins like mad , by means of to little legs .knowen as FLAGELLA. as you know, their are 20+ strians of that little bug of which their is weak and strong types. none are visible to the naked eye, the yellow deposits are a product of the birds anti-bodies ,fighting the good fight with the weak types . the strong type no visaible sign . hence canker can be confused with pox...  yours in sport

[Guest]

I'm pleased that you posted that there are many strains of Trichomonas, Ch Pied. Methinks the ordinary fancier out there thinks there is only one (called canker  ;D   they confuse the organism with the disease) and they seem to spend an awful lot of time trying to get rid of 'it'.  

 

I also have a suspicion that if this organism was as dangerous to the bird as is hyped, then the bird's immune system would ZAP-IT to the last little beggar. The fact that it doesn't suggests one of three things (1) that constant medication has compromised the bird's immune system and / or made the thing into a superbug which neither medication nor the immune system can shift; or (2) that the organism serves some unknown purpose for the pigeon and the immune system tolerates it at certain levels, above which it ZAPS-IT back to previous levels; or (3) that the bird is immune to the organism and although it is present in the bird, it ordinarily has no effect on its health until another disease allows its numbers to get out of control and cause a second illness in the bird .. canker.  

 

Food for thought?  

[Silverdale Lofts]

Great post ch pied in my post i was just trying to explain to the new starters on the forum its not all yellow deposits they should be looking for and your post explains it all.

[ch pied]

hi folks  in my post jan 6th i admit therewas a lot of room for confusion. in future i will keep any posts more basic , as we must take into account the broad spectrum of fanciers that visit this site. i have only joined this site this month and read most of the posts ,i must say novice and oldhands always have something to learn keep the posts comming...bruno, 100%...SILVERDALE  i was not having a dig....sorry..

[Guest]

Tricky trichomonas has me puzzled. Described as a parasite. The parasitic worm found in the intestine, presumably feeds on the partly digested contents there. But Mr Trich is found (as far as I know) only on mucous linings e.g the throat, the crop. So what does Mr Trich feed on?

[jimmy white]

tricho. organisms may also enter through the body through the unhealed naval of squabs. in this form necrotic tumour like swellings occur under the skin ,adjacent to the naval, lesions can spread to various internal organs,particularly the liver

[ch pied]

hi  folks,   going back to bruno,s jan 6th . have found in my loft ,that if cocci count is on the up the tricho comes up with it . i then treat for cocci and as a result the tricho comes down to a safe leval ?.  THAT WAS PRE 1994. since then i fitted floor grills and have been using stalosan F in the loft  i have not had any problems with cocci or worms being that the life cycle of both has been broken , by the use of stalosan and the grills. please dont think i,am promoting the use stalosan and grills but i,am happy with the result.  YES i do think over use of treatments for tricho has reduced the natural immune system to this organinsm.  YES i do think pigeons over treated will result in some sort of super bug, just look at the M.R.S.A. bug. i think tricho needs a boost ,and that being cocci/worms /trush/ i have not treated for tricho since 94, as the count has stayed low at around 4/5%. the only bird,s treated are new one,s ,found with high count,s . should read bruno jan 7th

[Guest]

Flagyl tablets - how often do you give tablets for pigeons throught the year and the worm tablets?

[jimmy white]

IFYOU GO BACK TO WESTWATTER ASSASINS POST HE HAS THE DOSE FOR FLAGYL TABLETS, I THINK ITS HALF A 250 GM TABLET, BUT JUST MAKE SURE SPEIGHT, I HAD THE LIQUID, BOUGHT CHEAP IN SPAIN AND GIVEN AWAY FREE HERE   :)

[Guest]

Yes ive bought Flagyl's cheap in Spain but what is different Liquid and Tablets? Jimmy

[jimmy white]

i dont think there is any differance, its just getting the  dose right as its really for humans, in fact when i was in hospital the other week ,i noticed i had a drip of flagyl, i should have asked them about it, but unfortunately i was in a lot of pain , so that was the last thing on my mind, but i was surprised to see them giving me that   had i had been a bit better i would have asked them for a spare pint or two of it ;D ;D ;D

[Guest]

Metronidazole

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

 

Metronidazole is an antibiotic and antiprotozoal drug.

 

Brand names for metronidazole include Flagyl, Metryl, Protostat, Satric, Neo-Tric, and MetroGel.

 

 

Side effects

 

Metronidazole tastes very bitter, and can cause headaches. Long term or high dosage administration of metronidazole can lead to peripheral neuropathy, which often manifests itself as a tingling or numbness in the fingers or toes. Patients who experience neuropathy should stop taking the drug and immediately contact their physician. Another common side effect is the darkening of the urine. Patients should drink plenty of water to avoid constipation. Patients taking metronidazole have also reported loss of appetite and mild nausea. Forcing oneself to eat, despite lack of appetite and fatigue, may reduce the nausea.

 

 

 

pigeon people would recognise peripheral neuropathy as a 'bird off its legs'.

[jimmy white]

looking back now i was completely fatigued and had no appetite anyway, i wondered why they gave me it in the first place, i had septic arthritis, i felt that rotten i didnt even ask

[Guest]

Been in touch with Gordon Chalmers and he has provided me with this reply and an article on 'canker' for members' information:

 

Trichomoniasis - there is quite a range of strains, from the very mild to the very deadly. It has been well established that mild strains will protect against more pathogenic strains, which is why I have been reluctant to treat against the condition. My feeling is that I'd prefer to use the hopefully mild strains of the organism present in my birds to deal with any possible introduction of a pathogenic strain. My references, which go back many years, don't discuss the means by which the organism causes disease, but I'd suspect powerful enzymes or toxins at the root of the problem.

 

What do they consume? I don't know but again would suspect local nutrients such as glucose, perhaps even some bacteria. A lot of the answers might be gleaned from studies on the human reproductive trichomonad, as I am not aware of such studies in the organism in pigeons. For your information, I have attached an article that distils a lot of the information in my trichomonas file.

     

 

 

 

 

Canker:  Strains of the Causative Organism

 

     Gordon A Chalmers, DVM

     Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Email:  gacdvm@telus.net

 

An article that I read recently asked if there was a new strain of canker, and it reminded me that there are indeed strains of the canker-causing organism.  Canker is the name of the disease caused by the tiny parasite called Trichomonas gallinae.  It occurred to me then that, as a reply to the question asked by this article, I might present some background information on strains of Trichomonas gallinae, and their importance to all of us.  I have drawn the information in this article from a number of important old and some fairly current scientific papers selected from my files.  Incidentally, in the following material, when I refer to the canker organism, I will likely use the terms "Trichomonas gallinae, T. gallinae (the latter is simply a shortened form of the full scientific name), trichomonad, trichomonas and canker organisms" interchangeably -- all mean the same thing.

Infection by this organism was first identified in Europe in 1878 by a researcher named Rivolta.  Many years later in the USA, a scientist named Robert Stabler, conducting research in the state of Colorado, pioneered extensive work on the organism in pigeons -- in fact in 1938, he gave the organism its scientific name, Trichomonas gallinae.  

In a 1948 publication on the subject, he noted that not all pigeons that harbour the organism die of the infection, or even have internal changes to indicate the presence of this organism.  As well, he found that youngsters from some parents in a loft nearly always died of canker in a few days or weeks after hatching, whereas certain other parents, although infected, raised healthy youngsters indefinitely.  Obviously these facts gave rise to the idea that there were strains with differing abilities to cause disease, a suggestion that had also been proposed by other scientists who had worked on canker in pigeons.

To test this idea, Dr Stabler then set up an experiment in which he used canker organisms that he arbitrarily designated as "strains" (see explanation in the next paragraph), from five different sources:  Strain 1 from an infected wild youngster, Strain 2 from a healthy adult King (a meat variety of pigeon), Strain 3 from a healthy adult Carneaux (a meat variety of pigeon), Strain 4 from an adult racing pigeon that had a history of transmitting lethal canker to his youngsters and to at least three successive hens, and Strain 5 from the mouth of a peregrine falcon that had died with severe canker of the mouth.  (Note that canker caused by T. gallinae occurs in birds of prey in which it is called "frounce".  Broadly related organisms in this group also cause infections, variously, in the reproductive systems of humans, cattle, and sheep, and in the digestive tracts of domestic chickens and turkeys.  I have also seen it in devastating outbreak form in small aviary finches in which the disease very much resembled that seen in the oral cavity of young pigeons.)  

Dr Stabler defined "strain" as the particular canker organisms removed from the mouth of an individual bird, even though he recognised the possibility that any given bird might harbour more than one strain.  The results he obtained seemed to justify the use of the organisms from a particular bird as "a strain", at least in terms of their ability to cause disease.  He maintained the five individual strains mentioned previously by inoculating them by eyedropper into the mouths of clean pigeons, and took great care to be sure that the different strains weren't accidentally mixed.  The clean pigeons he infected with these five strains came from his own loft of racing pigeons that he knew were free of canker-causing organisms.  

In the first experiment, he used 25 of his own young birds, aged 6 weeks, 5 1/2 weeks, 5 1/2 months, 7 months, and 9 months, with five birds in each group.  One bird in each age group was inoculated by mouth with Strain 1, one in each group received Strain 2, and so on.  Results showed that the Strains 1, 4, and 5 caused severe signs of disease that ended in the death of all except two youngsters, a 7 and a 9-month-old bird infected with the Strain 4.  These two birds had severe canker for over a week, but they recovered.  Strains 2 and 3 either didn't produce signs of disease in the youngsters they infected, or the infection was very slight and lasted only 2-4 days.  

In follow-up work, Dr Stabler showed that Strain 1 (which became known in trichomonad circles as his famous "Jones' Barn" strain) obtained from the wild youngster with canker, was the most deadly of the five strains, killing 12 of 13 birds inoculated with it in an average of 10.6 days.  Over all, he was able to show that, of 119 pigeons infected successively with this potent strain, 114 (95.8%) died in 4 to 18 days.  In later work, he showed that Strain 1 was deadly even if only one organism was placed in the mouths of susceptible pigeons.  Obviously, this single organism multiplied rapidly into the thousands or more to cause serious illness.

These results showed that there was a marked difference in the ability of these five different strains of T. gallinae to cause disease in pigeons.  These strains varied from those that caused little or no disease to those that caused high losses.  Obviously, there were also strains that were intermediate in their ability to cause canker, since they were able to cause serious illness from which most birds eventually recovered.

In important later studies, Dr Stabler was able to show that mild strains of the canker organism were able to protect birds against more deadly strains, a finding that continues to have practical application today.  To confirm these results, he first gave eight of his own trichomonas-free youngsters the relatively potent Strain 5 obtained from the peregrine falcon.  All developed severe canker of the mouth, six birds recovered and two died.  Fifty-four days after the initial infection with Strain 5, the six survivors were given the very deadly Strain 1.  None of them developed evidence of disease during the following month.  These six birds were then killed and examined at post mortem.  There was evidence of scarring of the liver of three birds, findings that suggested infection from the previous dose of organisms.  The other three birds were almost completely free of signs of infection.  The only significant finding in these birds was the loss of the palatal fringe on the roof of the mouth.  (Dr Stabler believed that, in every case examined, this change was highly characteristic of evidence that the canker organism was the cause.)  

He then repeated this experiment with eight more clean youngsters that were first given the mild Strain 3 from the adult Carneaux.  Only two youngsters developed a mild form of the disease.  About a month later, all eight birds were given the deadly Strain 1.  In the next three weeks, only two of the eight birds developed signs of canker.  One had a mild form of the disease, and the other had a severe form from which it eventually recovered.

Post mortem examinations of these eight birds determined that tissues of seven birds were completely normal, and that the bird that developed severe canker had severe changes of canker in the liver.  At the same time, as a control, Dr Stabler inoculated 13 youngsters from his own loft of trichomonas-free birds with deadly Strain 1; 12 of the 13 birds died.  Thus, these experiments demonstrated that infection by a mild strain of T. gallinae conferred protection against a more deadly strain of the organism.  However, the duration of that immunity wasn't determined at that time.

During the spring, summer and fall of 1950, there was a major outbreak of canker in wild mourning doves across much of the southern USA, with the greatest losses apparently in the state of Alabama where it was estimated that deaths might well run into the thousands in that state.  Dr Stabler obtained strains of trichomonads from several sources of these doves to see if the organisms from these doves could cause illness in pigeons.  He inoculated 50,000-100,000 organisms from different doves, into each of five pigeons from his clean colony.  For comparison, he inoculated only 3,000-10,000 organisms of his deadly Jones' Barn strain into another five clean pigeons, all of which subsequently died of canker of the liver.  The most deadly of the strains from the doves came from a bird collected in Alabama, and like the Jones' barn strain, this one proved to be equally deadly, killing all but one of the pigeons inoculated with it.   The other four strains obtained from the doves proved to be relatively mild when inoculated into pigeons, as most of these pigeons survived the infection.

The next question to resolve was this:  would pigeons that survived the infections with mild strains obtained from doves, be able to withstand infection by the deadly Jones' barn strain?  To test this idea, Dr Stabler inoculated all of these survivors with the Jones' barn strain.  The result was that all birds inoculated with the Jones' barn strain survived, findings that indicated good protection following infection with strains from the doves.  Did the fact that these birds survived mean that 1) the strains derived from doves had killed off the deadly Jones' barn strain, or 2) was the Jones' barn strain still present in these surviving birds, and if so, was it now altered so that it was now a mild strain, or 3) was the Jones' barn strain as powerful as ever for clean birds, but unable to cause illness in protected birds??

To test these ideas, Dr Stabler collected canker organisms from birds that had a combination of a mild strain and the deadly Jones' barn strain, and inoculated these organisms into clean pigeons.  The results were variable, as some of the newly infected clean birds had only mild changes of canker, whereas other birds either died of severe canker, or almost died.  These results indicated that the deadly Jones' barn strain continued to be present, and equally important, was as potent as ever.  Over all, of 13 birds infected, six died outright, one barely survived, and six had mild cases of canker.  Incidentally, Dr Stabler reported that the Jones' barn strain typically caused the most severe disease in the liver of infected birds, whereas milder strains produced only oral infections.

Although the procedure isn't too practical for us as pigeon fanciers, Dr Richard Kocan, working in the USA, found that blood plasma from pigeons infected with even a mild strain of T. gallinae could protect other pigeons infected with a deadly strain of the organism.  Much more practically, Dr Kocan was also able to demonstrate that previously infected pigeons that had been treated with the formerly used anti-canker drug Enheptin, were free of the organism for as long as 16 months, yet remained immune to infection when they were inoculated with deadly strains.  On this point, some of his other work showed that 172 of 313 wild pigeons and 54 of 66 mourning doves (all of the mourning doves captured were completely free of the canker organism) -- all trapped in his area, were resistant to the deadly Jones' barn strain.  His conclusions:  recovery from an infection with T. gallinae, even when the birds eventually completely eliminate the organism from their systems, results in long-term immunity to this parasite -- a fact that is of great importance to us as pigeon fanciers, one that we can use to advantage, especially in these days of apparent resistance by this organism to some of our modern, previously useful drugs.

The subject of drug resistance by the canker organism to modern drugs is also of major current importance to us.  Almost 10 years ago, in 1990, Drs Lumeij and Zwijnenberg of Utrecht University, Holland, demonstrated the fact that canker organisms recovered from a large flock of pigeons in that country, were uniformly resistant to all of our commonly used modern drugs -- Emtryl, Ridzol, Spartrix and Flagyl.  On the basis of that information, it seems likely that canker organisms in many other untested flocks of pigeons in Holland and indeed throughout Europe, and other countries, could have been similarly resistant at that time, likely, as these researchers pointed out, because of the common practice among fanciers, of continually under-dosing birds with these drugs.  

On the subject of under-dosing, especially with Emtryl, I find in my travels in the USA and Canada, that the dosage of the 40% water-soluble Emtryl, as recommended by several pigeon supply houses in North America is far below that recommended for pigeons by the producer of the drug.  (At one time, this company sold small 3-gram packets of Emtryl, the exact dosage for one Imperial gallon - 4.55 litres).  The fact that Emtryl is being recommended today at much lower dosages could certainly contribute to the problem of drug resistance mentioned in the previous paragraph, and may be a developing problem with major far-reaching consequences for us.  I would remind fanciers that the correct dosage of Emtryl for pigeons, as recommended by the company, is 3 grams (or one level teaspoon) per imperial gallon (4.55 litres) of drinking water for 5-7 days.  For the smaller US gallon (4 litres), this is about 3/4 teaspoon per gallon for the same treatment period.  

To avoid the problems of toxicity if birds drink excessive amounts of water especially during hot weather, try an Australian method that I know works well.  Make up the correct dosage of Emtryl and place it in front of the birds at, say, the evening feeding for a couple of hours or so.  After this time, throw out the medicated water and replace it with fresh water until the next evening.  Repeat the correct dosage for a couple of hours or so each evening for a total of 5-7 days.  This method insures firstly, that birds receive the correct therapeutic dose each day for the treatment period, and secondly, that problems with toxicity can be largely avoided.  It is important not to treat with Emtryl or other drugs of the same family during the pairing up period, because there is some suggestion that the drug can interfere with fertility.  It is also a good idea to change drugs each time you feel birds need to be treated, say, Emtryl for one 5-7 day treatment period, and another appropriate for the next one, etc., all at the correct dosage.

On the subject of canker and treatments, some fanciers subscribe to the idea that if it's not broken, don't fix it.  Dr Colin Walker, the Australian veterinarian who has written many excellent articles for racing pigeon magazines, seems to accept this idea.  In one of his books, he states that drugs alone will never control a canker problem.  He feels that it is important to allow developing youngsters enough exposure to the organism that they can develop natural resistance -- my idea for many years as well, based on the work of Dr Stabler.  

Dr Walker expands on this idea by stating that if birds in the stock loft (and presumably their youngsters) did not develop canker the previous year, no treatment is needed this year.  However, if canker did occur in stock birds and their youngsters last year, birds should be treated this year with a suitable drug prior to mating, and for two days every week after that.  Further, he suggests co-ordinating these two-day treatments with the hatching period when trichomonad shedding is the highest.  If the occasional youngster still develops canker, he recommends treating the parents and both youngsters in the nest with Spartrix or Flagyl for three days.  (Incidentally, some veterinary writers in the USA have some legitimate concerns about short periods of treatment because of the risks of resistance by the canker organism to these drugs.) Dr Walker also recommends avoiding the treatment of breeding pairs whose youngsters don't develop canker, so that there is no interference in the development of natural resistance, an idea that makes a great deal of sense to me.  

Speaking of natural resistance, I recall that when I worked in New Zealand during the early 1980s, a medical doctor there raced pigeons, but apparently didn't treat his birds for any disease.  Instead he preferred to rely on the development of natural resistance to any virus, bacteria or parasite his birds might encounter.  

For the past several years, I haven't used preventive canker treatments on any of my old or young birds, and touch wood(!), so far there hasn't been a detectable problem.  It is probable that the natural resistance developed in these birds by repeated exposure to the strains of canker organisms that very likely reside in my birds has (to date) been holding the disease at bay.  Based on information from Dr David Marx, one of the top pigeon veterinarians in the USA, I have also been examining the mouths of my birds during the racing season for evidence of reddening and excess stringy mucus, findings that could suggest multiplication of canker organisms and increased irritation of the oral cavity during this stressful time.  So far, on the basis of finding clean, pink throats, I haven't felt a need to treat preventively during the racing season, although it is possible that deeper areas such as the crop, which I didn't examine, may have been affected.  I acknowledge the possibility, however, that if I had treated periodically for canker in spite of these normal findings, some racing performances might have improved.  As far as canker is concerned, the idea "if it's not broken, don't fix it" seems to be working in my loft.  If things change for the worst, I am ready to treat if I have to.

I hope that this look at the historical background of strains may stimulate thought on this subject among fanciers.  As the risk of drug resistance by canker organisms (and other agents as well) increases steadily, I hope that fanciers may be better able to assess the facts surrounding natural immunity, and to use these facts to their advantage by recognising the biological benefits of using any mild strains of canker organisms that reside in their birds as a major defence against deadly strains.  In saying this, I also recognise the need to treat birds when or if the disease occurs.  A combination of judicious treatment when necessary, plus strategies to allow for the development of natural resistance may well be the best approach.  I also hope that information on the correct dosage of Emtryl -- and by extension, other drugs as well -- may help to reverse the trend of vastly underdosing our birds with these products.  

 

 

[Guest CS]

Trichomoniasis (Canker)

 

Trichomoniasis occurs in pigeon flocks worldwide. It is especially feared as a rearing disease with severe losses.

 

Pathogen:

Trichomonas gallinae is a monocellular, motile flagellate. Nearly all pigeons are carriers of trichomonads, which live in the mucosa of the beak and throat, the gullet and the crop. Infected pigeons excrete the parasites in saliva and faeces. Adult pigeons infect the young when feeding crop milk.

 

Symptoms of the disease:

In adult pigeons and fledglings, there is a noticable decrease in vitality, reluctance to fly, diarrhoea and a reddening of the throat. As the infection progresses, "yellow buttons" appear on the palatal mucosa, developing into caseous yellow deposits (canker). Do not detach the deposits due to risk of bleeding.

Nestlings develop an umbilical infection and an abscess is formed which can spread to the internal organs. At 10-14 days of age, pungent-smelling liquid droppings and the first signs of retarded growth are observed, with the nestlings constantly squeaking for food.

 

Recognition of the disease:

Trichomonads are demonstrated microscopically in moist smears from the pharyngeal or crop mucosa of a living or recently killed pigeon. In a cadaver, it is possible to demonstrate the pathogen for up to 20 hours after death.

 

Similar conditions:

In adult pigeons, white dots appearing towards the back of the throat are not trichomonas foci. These firm, white or yellowish-grey nodules are, in fact, salivary calculi (sialoliths), formed from the hardened secretions of the mucous glands. They are harmless and should not be removed due to risk of bleeding.

 

Treatment:

When trichomonads are identified, all pigeons in the flock should be treated at the same time with chevi-col®+.

If increased drinking water is required (e.g. in the hatching period or hot weather), do not dilute medicated water. Instead, provide fresh water after the medicated water is finished. Do not provide bath water during the treatment period.

 

 

Punctiform accumulations of trichomonas in the throat of a pigeon which showed no symptoms whatever.

 

 

Canker in the liver: Coarse, yellowish caseous and clearly defined focus which is deeply embedded in the organ tissue and may cause necrosis.

Racing pigeons with liver damage are no longer suitable for competitions.

 

Mixed infection of pox and trichomoniasis: The proliferations on the edge of the beak are due to pox infection, the deposite in the throat are trichomonas foci.

 

When do members treat and what brand of medication do you use?

[jimmy white]

VERY INTERESTING ,,,,FOUND FLAGYL TO BE THE BEST TREATMENT [ADVICE FROM A GREAT FANCIER] :)

[Guest CS]

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 CS]

last 5 days in the nest is a good time to treat .....then old and young done at same time

[Roland]

Don't obviously want to see thw cotten wool type that can be removed with a match. But I like my birds to be carrying some mild forms at all times. Very rarely treat for it, and will do so a lot lot less from now on.

Like all and any Yeast etc. say Coli, there are umpteen strains and very seldom  - if ever except after a ardent clean out - with you not see sme form of yeast  / coli / canker in the droppings. If they are performinga and in a good healthy state, you are probably better off leaving alone! JMO

[chickadee]

Don't obviously want to see thw cotten wool type that can be removed with a match. But I like my birds to be carrying some mild forms at all times. Very rarely treat for it, and will do so a lot lot less from now on.

Like all and any Yeast etc. say Coli, there are umpteen strains and very seldom  - if ever except after a ardent clean out - with you not see sme form of yeast  / coli / canker in the droppings. If they are performinga and in a good healthy state, you are probably better off leaving alone! JMO

 

So you do not reccomend giving them a canker treatment every once in a while to keep them clear?

[ALF]

i treat every 3 weeks with metronidazole tablets or flagyl liquid young birds out the nest were all treated yesterday

[peterpau]

The vet Dr Colin Walker recommends treat once a month. Started to do this and it worked well, but now treat less often now I am confident with the quality of birds we have.