Pigeon diseases: names and causes, symptoms and home treatment

All diseases that affect pigeons can be divided into infectious, caused by viruses, bacteria and pathogenic fungi, and non-infectious, associated with injuries, poor maintenance and feeding. Many infectious pathologies of birds are incurable, dangerous to humans, so the owner of the dovecote must separate sick pigeons from relatives, observe safety measures when caring for pets.

Ornithosis

Viral infection affects wild, domestic, commercial birds, can attack the human body. The disease occurs in an acute form, accompanied by severe symptoms, and in a chronic one.

Symptoms of psittacosis in pigeons:

exposure of the skin around the eyes;
narrowing of the eyes, acquiring an oval shape;
fear of bright light;
changing the color of the iris;
lacrimation;
sticking eyelids;
heavy, wheezing breathing;
weight loss;
nasal discharge;
diarrhea;
lack of appetite;
paralysis of limbs and wings.

In the chronic form of the disease, the pet does not eat well, breathes heavily, discharge flows from the nostrils. For treatment, antibiotics "Azithromycin", "Erythromycin", "Tetracycline" are used, mixed with feed. The areas of the head around the eyes and nostrils are washed with water, treated with tetracycline ointment. Bury "Miramistin" - drop by drop into each nostril. To restore the intestinal microflora spoiled by antibiotics, a complex of vitamins is given.Treatment lasts 10 days.

In the absence of timely treatment, the pet dies due to impaired breathing and exhaustion. In a neglected situation, sick birds are destroyed so that the infection does not spread to he althy individuals.

Prevention is to disinfect the dovecote. For processing, use a formalin solution or soda, slaked with boiling water. All surfaces of the house are covered with bleach in 2 layers. Rubbish is burned, litter is disposed of in a timely manner.

Smallpox

Viral infection attacks pigeons mainly in the spring. Symptoms of illness in pigeons:

feather shedding;
covering bare skin with red spots;
the appearance of a yellow coating on the beak;
damage to the mucous membranes of the oral cavity.

Sick birds should take broad-spectrum antivirals such as Albuvir. As a preventive measure, birds need to be vaccinated.

Virtyachka

Also called Newcastle disease. This is a common and deadly pathology that affects mainly wild pigeons. The virus invades the central nervous system, causing the bird to have epileptic seizures.

The spinner develops in stages:

at the 1st stage, the bird walks unevenly, keeps its head bowed, body temperature is a couple of degrees higher than normal;
at the 2nd stage, the pet randomly turns its head, rolls over on its back, does not eat, dies of exhaustion.

Treatment is not always effective, you can try Loseval together with immunostimulants.

Salmonellosis

Also the disease is called paratyphoid. Salmonella is spread through food, drink, and droppings. Symptoms are determined by the form of the disease and the condition of the bird:

the acute form is manifested by disheveled plumage, lethargy and depression, unwillingness to take food and water, loss of the ability to take off;
intestinal form manifested by bloody diarrhea;
articular form accompanied by trembling and cramps of the limbs.

Salmonellosis in pigeons is treated with Levomycetin, Tetracycline, Baytril, the dosage is set by the veterinarian. The course lasts 2 weeks. In addition to antibiotic treatment, it is necessary to disinfect the dovecote. Prevention consists in disinfecting the house 2 times a year, in regular cleaning and airing, and in vaccinating pets.

The bacterium is tenacious both in the body and in the external environment. Many birds die even with timely treatment.

Salmonella is dangerous for the human body, it captures the heart muscle, blood vessels, and digestive organs. After about a day, an infected person develops tachycardia, fever, profuse diarrhea, and vomiting. A person with strong immunity usually gets off with dehydration. A child, an elderly person, a person with an immunodeficiency may need hospitalization.

Worms

Helminthiasis affects many birds, but the disease is more dangerous than it seems. Parasites affect birds with weak immunity, malnourished, living in unsanitary conditions. Sick pets lose their tone, become lethargic, almost do not move. Their feathers grow dull, limbs, in most cases, paralyze, bleeding may open. In a neglected case, due to intoxication of the body, the birds die.

Treat pigeons with drugs based on albendazole. A single dose, the dose is set by the veterinarian, it must be strictly observed, since antihelminthic drugs have a high degree of toxicity. After treatment, pets are given vitamin supplements.

Coccidiosis

Coccidia - the simplest microbes that spread through food and droppings, in the bird's body affecting the digestive tract, causing enteritis and inflammation in the intestines. Mostly young individuals are ill.

Symptomatology depends on the form of the disease:

in the subclinical form, a diseased bird develops immunity, due to which the disease is asymptomatic;
in the acute form, severe symptoms appear 5-7 days after infection.

Symptoms of acute coccidiosis in pigeons:

ruffled state, disheveled plumage;
sluggishness;
weight loss, head volume reduction;
bloody diarrhea;
constant yawning;
impaired coordination of movements on the ground and in flight;
paralysis.

Treat pigeons with coccidiostats. The specific drug is chosen by the veterinarian, taking into account the physical condition of the pigeons and the severity of the symptoms. Usually prescribed "Amprolium" (added to feed, the course lasts 2 weeks), "Baikoks" (added to food, treatment lasts a week).

The dovecote, in which sick birds are found, needs to be cleaned. But cleaning should be dry, mechanical, using a broom and a scraper, since the reproduction of coccidia becomes more intense in a humid environment.

Tuberculosis

In pigeons, tuberculosis is chronic, sick birds are able to transmit the infection to humans. However, in humans, the avian form of the disease is mild.

Symptoms of tuberculosis in pigeons:

lethargy, decreased body tone;
lowered wings;
loss of appetite, emaciated appearance;
paw paralysis.

The disease is incurable, sick individuals must be destroyed.

Trichomoniasis

Trichomonas breed in dirty food and stagnant water, penetrate into the bird's body orally. In the bird's body it captures the digestive tract and liver. The infection can be transmitted to humans, capture the organs of the genitourinary system.

Symptoms of disease in pigeons:

lethargy, muscle weakness;
loss of ability to fly;
stuck together feathers;
yellowish plaque in the oral cavity with lesions of the upper respiratory tract;
bloated belly;
diarrhea, putrid-smelling faeces;
brown knots on the body with a skin form of the disease.

If human trichomoniasis can be treated with folk remedies and herbs, then bird infection is removed only with medicines. For the treatment of pigeons, drugs "Tricho Cure", "Ornidazole", "Metronidazole" are used.

A sick pet is unable to feed on its own. The owner has to shove food down the throat.

Plaque in the oral cavity is carefully removed with a thin blade, the exposed surface is smeared with iodine or a mixture of iodine and glycerin.The affected body and feathers are wetted with the drug "Trichopol" in liquid form, they are also instilled into the mouth, for young birds they take 17.5 g per 1 liter of water. To lubricate the affected areas, you can also use 0.25% silver nitrate, Lugol's solution.

Trichomonas are unstable in the external environment; regular cleaning and disinfection of the poultry house is sufficient to prevent infection. Also, as a preventive measure, it is recommended to periodically add "Trichopol" to the drinker.

Candidamicosis

Also called thrush. Fungal infection mainly affects young animals with poor nutrition, lack of vitamins, crowded content. Adult birds with strong immunity rarely get sick, but can carry an opportunistic fungus.

In pigeons with an acute form of the disease:

feeling worse;
loss of appetite;
swollen goiter;
disturbed digestive function;
Curd builds up in the mouth, making swallowing difficult.

In the chronic course of the disease, lasting from half a month to several months, the bird loses weight, suffers from diarrhea, and the mouth exudes a putrid stench.

Treat a fungal infection in pigeons with the preparations "Biomycin", "Terramycin", "Nystatin". To strengthen the immune system give a vitamin complex. All surfaces of the house are treated with a mixture of formaldehyde and sodium hydroxide.

Aspergillosis

Fungal infection breeds in damp bedding and feed. The risk of disease is increased when birds are kept in dusty, damp, crowded conditions.

Aspergillosis symptoms in pigeons:

sluggish state;
incomplete closing of the beak;
accumulation of gray mass in the oral cavity;
yawning and sneezing;
blue limbs and beak;
stretching the neck;
rapid wheezing;
appearance of yellow crusts on the body with a skin form of the disease.

The disease is practically incurable, young animals die in 80-100% of cases. In adult birds, the disease often becomes chronic, they are treated with a spray prepared with 9 g of powdered iodine, 1 g of ammonium chloride, 0.5 g of aluminum powder, 5 ml of water.

Ticks and fleas

If antiparasitic measures are ignored, parasites infect even pigeons living at home. Feeding on bird blood, they provoke anemia. At the initial stage of the spread of parasites, birds constantly clean their feathers and tumble in the sand. In an advanced case, when the plumage begins to fall out, it is too late to save the pigeons.

How to remove parasites depends on their type:

scabies mites are removed with tar soap or birch tar, the product is lubricated with Vaseline-treated skin;
pereed is removed with insecticidal powder "Pyrethrum", the affected areas of the body are powdered 3 times with a weekly interval;
pigeon bugs and fleas are destroyed by treating the pigeon house with Trichlormetaphos acaricide, you can still bake the surfaces with a blowtorch.

Eye diseases

Eye diseases are usually associated with injuries, infections and improper management of pigeons.With conjunctivitis associated with poor nutrition, lack of vitamins, injury or contamination of the eye, the bird feels normal, the appetite is good. In this case, the affected eye is treated with a solution of boric acid. If the cause of suppuration of the eyes is inflammation of the sinuses, salmonellosis or another infection, then the underlying disease must be eliminated.

Goiter

The goiter swells in pigeons when they eat spoiled or non-vitamin food, drink rotten water. A goiter can become inflamed if glass, a pebble, or another hard and sharp object accidentally swallowed by a bird gets into it.

In sick pigeons:

goiter fills with foul-smelling gases released when pressed;
appetite decreases;
goiter softens, becomes hot;
when feeling the goiter, pain often occurs;
decreases body tone;
head down;
greenish discharge flows out of the beak, which dries, turns into a crust.

Sick goiter is washed with any of the following solutions:

potassium permanganate (1:3000);
3% boric acid;
5% baking soda.

During the day after processing, the bird is not given food. Drinking is not restricted.

Listeriosis

Bacterial disease in pigeons is asymptomatic. Symptoms are observed only in birds with weak immunity, their central nervous system is affected, which is why death soon occurs. There is no treatment, sick pigeons are destroyed.

The disease is dangerous for humans, especially for children, the elderly, people with immunodeficiency. In them, it can provoke blood poisoning, meningitis, endocarditis. It is possible to identify listeriosis in birds and humans only through a laboratory study of the biomaterial. With a confirmed illness, a person is treated with antibiotics, the dosage of which is determined by the doctor.

Cryptococcosis

The fungus lives in bird droppings. In sick pigeons:

hard knots form around the beak;
appetite decreases;
feathers on the head are covered with a gray hard coating;
mucous tissues swell.

Treatment, in most cases, does not bring results, sick pets have to be destroyed. But you can try to save them using antifungal medicines.

Toxoplasmosis

How the infection of pigeons occurs is not yet clear. A sick bird refuses to feed, moves with a stagger, it paralyzes its limbs. Approximately half of infected pigeons survive but remain carriers of the infection.

Protozoan pathogen is unstable in the external environment, it is killed by solar ultraviolet. To destroy the infection, disinfection of the dovecote is enough. Toxoplasmosis is dangerous for humans, especially for pregnant women. They are more likely to miscarry.

Newcastle disease

The previously described disease, also called the whirlwind, is dangerous not only for pigeons, but also for humans. Infection occurs as a result of contact with a sick bird. Incubation lasts 3-5 days.

Symptoms of the disease in humans are less pronounced than in birds:

runny nose;
heavy breathing with wheezing;
temperature increase;
itchy eyes;
depressed emotional state.

Treat the infection with Metronidazole. A sick person should drink plenty of warm water and eat well. If the symptoms of the disease appear in a child, then you should immediately call a doctor. May require hospitalization.

To prevent infection, pigeons must be vaccinated. For Newcastle disease, the inactivated Virosalm vaccine is used. It is administered to 3-week-old chicks, revaccinated after 2 weeks.When caring for sick pets, the owner of the dovecote must wear personal protective equipment: a medical bandage, rubber gloves. It is strictly forbidden to take infected pigeons with bare hands.