Best Treatment for Blackhead Disease (Histomoniasis)

[poorfarm]

Treatment with dimetridazole for pigeon canker is 5-7 days, that's on the labels. Treatment of blackhead in a turkey needs 14 days per the avian specialist vet here.
In the US, 100 30 mg tablets of ronidazole is around $30-$35. The dimetridazole is similar range. I haven't looked for it, but the Fishzole for use in fishtanks might be cheaper from overseas, but much longer shipping time, and it would be in capsules of powder rather than solid pills. If you wanted powder to put in the water, that is cheaper, from the same pigeon supply houses here. Be aware that these drugs are very bitter and make the water unpalatable, so the birds don't want to drink. It's very hard to be sure they are getting an adequate dose, and also to be sure they drink enough water to maintain health.

Blackhead parasites would not be transmitted into an egg.

Dimetridazole drug would very likely be deposited in an egg. You should never eat eggs from any bird you are treating with any drug until the withdrawal period has passed, or you may be consuming that drug as well. Remember that these are offlabel meds in poultry.

Oregano, or any other herb that I am familiar with, with or without apple cider vinegar is NOT an effective treatment for blackhead.

 

[copper2]

People have had success curing blackhead with cayenne pepper.

 

[casportpony]

Recently I read that dimetridazole (Emitryl) has a much narrower margin of safety than metronidazole (Flagyl, FishZole, AquaZole, Meditrich, etc.), so that something to think about.

The metronidazole dose I use to treat blackhead is 50 mg/kg once a day for 5 days. The AAAP (American Association of Avian Pathologists) Disease Manual says that the dose is only 30 mg/kg once a day for 5 days.

If blackhead is caught soon enough, treatment with just metronidazole can be effective, but if not caught soon enough, one will probably need to treat for E. coli as well, and the bird should also be de-wormed with something like albendazole (Valbazen) or fenbendazole (Safeguard).

-Kathy

 

[toptom]

A week after treatment, it returned. I switched to cayenne pepper, 10 pieces each bird and then switching to 5 each after a week (for 1 more week). And 2 pieces of garlic per bird. I also put ACV on their drinkers. It seems like they have recovered already. They got bigger and heavier (I knew it cause I force fed them). If it returned, I might just use cayenne as maintenance, as we have plenty.

I also free range chickens, guinea fowls, ducks, and geese (they're probably the carriers as my turkeys are new).

I also have pheasants that I don't free range.

 

[toptom]

Yes it can reoccur as it's a parasite; they can get reinfested with it.  Like coccidia, the adults do develop some resistance to it, but not like say, you've had measles so you can't ever get it again. So if a bird accumulates a heavy infestation a second or third time, it can still have liver damage to the point that it dies.  Think of it like an intestinal parasite rather than a bacterial or viral disease.  If your turkeys are eating a lot of earthworms in an area where the parasites are present, you should follow a worming program like a horse owner would worm for intestinal parasites.  So when it's muddy and there's a lot of earthworms coming to the surface where the poultry can get them, that's when you should worm.  For me it's a couple of times a year in the spring and fall.  Ivomec will keep the cecal worms from settling in for at least 10 days, it's not like you have to do this every day.  On the other hand, once the blackhead organism is in the liver and causing yellow poop, you have to treat for it for 14 days straight per my local avian vet.

They get blackhead like this:  the blackhead organism is a parasite of the cecal worm. The cecal worm is a parasite of earthworms.  The turkey eats the earthworms when it's rainy and the earthworms come to the surface to keep from drowning.  If you get rid of the cecal worms with a wormer, you'll never get to the point where your turkeys actually have the blackhead organisms in their livers.

Are you in the US?  Both ronidazole and dimetridazole are readily available by internet mail order in pills sized for birds from pigeon supply businesses like Pigeon Supplies Plus.  They have them in 30 mg. and 12.5 mg. tablets.  Dosage is 12.5 mg per kg (2.2 lbs) bodyweight once a day for 14 days.

How long is the withdrawal period?

 

[casportpony]

Yes it can reoccur as it's a parasite; they can get reinfested with it.  Like coccidia, the adults do develop some resistance to it, but not like say, you've had measles so you can't ever get it again. So if a bird accumulates a heavy infestation a second or third time, it can still have liver damage to the point that it dies.  Think of it like an intestinal parasite rather than a bacterial or viral disease.  If your turkeys are eating a lot of earthworms in an area where the parasites are present, you should follow a worming program like a horse owner would worm for intestinal parasites.  So when it's muddy and there's a lot of earthworms coming to the surface where the poultry can get them, that's when you should worm.  For me it's a couple of times a year in the spring and fall.  Ivomec will keep the cecal worms from settling in for at least 10 days, it's not like you have to do this every day.  On the other hand, once the blackhead organism is in the liver and causing yellow poop, you have to treat for it for 14 days straight per my local avian vet.

They get blackhead like this:  the blackhead organism is a parasite of the cecal worm. The cecal worm is a parasite of earthworms.  The turkey eats the earthworms when it's rainy and the earthworms come to the surface to keep from drowning.  If you get rid of the cecal worms with a wormer, you'll never get to the point where your turkeys actually have the blackhead organisms in their livers.

Are you in the US?  Both ronidazole and dimetridazole are readily available by internet mail order in pills sized for birds from pigeon supply businesses like Pigeon Supplies Plus.  They have them in 30 mg. and 12.5 mg. tablets.  Dosage is 12.5 mg per kg (2.2 lbs) bodyweight once a day for 14 days.

How long is the withdrawal period?

I think ronidazole, dimetridazole and metronidazole are banned for for use in food animals in most countries, so they don't have an official withdrawal, but I think most people wait 14-30 days.

-Kathy