Cleft

[johnny11]

Could someone explain the significance of the cleft in pigeons. Should it be wide open?

 

If its not what causes this and how is it rectified...

 

Can some be open and some closed

 

Thanks

 

John

[Guest IB]

There was an earlier thread on this which I've linked. The cleft's main function happens when the bird is in flight, so I think when the bird is at rest it will be hard to tell what 'width' it should be.

 

http://forum.pigeonbasics.org/topic/18740-the-curtain/page__p__289177__hl__sinus__fromsearch__1entry289177

 

 

Frank Harper says in his booklet Coughs & Colds : Croaks & Canker (Respiratory Problems in Pigeons Explained) 'many fanciers worry unduly if the slot is not open when the mouth is examined. The opening is probably under control and can open up in flight as air demand increases. It is normally wider in YBs than OBs, but the slot is at its widest in severely ill birds, especially those at the point of death.

 

Of much more significance than the width of the opening is the appearance of the slot; it can become closed or blocked by swelling of the mouth membranes, exudate or discharge in respiratory disease.'

[johnny11]

There was an earlier thread on this which I've linked. The cleft's main function happens when the bird is in flight, so I think when the bird is at rest it will be hard to tell what 'width' it should be.

 

http://forum.pigeonbasics.org/topic/18740-the-curtain/page__p__289177__hl__sinus__fromsearch__1entry289177

 

 

Frank Harper says in his booklet Coughs & Colds : Croaks & Canker (Respiratory Problems in Pigeons Explained) 'many fanciers worry unduly if the slot is not open when the mouth is examined. The opening is probably under control and can open up in flight as air demand increases. It is normally wider in YBs than OBs, but the slot is at its widest in severely ill birds, especially those at the point of death.

 

Of much more significance than the width of the opening is the appearance of the slot; it can become closed or blocked by swelling of the mouth membranes, exudate or discharge in respiratory disease.'

 

 

Cheers IB