Disease.. any ideas what it is?

[jak2002003]

I have been loosing a lot of young birds to a disease.. but don't know what it is. So far around 10 birds.

I have several breeds housed in the same coop.. but its only affecting one breed. Its been going on for several months now.

Here is what typically happens.....

1. Parents raise their squabs well.. squabs fat and healthy and leave the nest.

2. Young become independent and do well at first.

3. Several weeks after independence the young bird will suddenly die!

I can tell when one is going to die because it will become less active a day or 2 before... and it stops eating and drinking.

There are no crop problems and the birds were a good weight up till a few days before they die. The dropping are normal.. but once they stop eating they become small and green and there is a slight amount of green staining around the vent feathers.. but its a very small amount.

I have also lost 2 squabs in different nest... one day they are healthy.. the next day they were dead with lots of yellow poop stuck around their bottoms.

Where I live I can not get any medications for birds from the vets.. but can get some poultry medications from a animal feed place... so if anyone can help me ID the disease I can get the right antibiotics etc.

 

[jak2002003]

Just to add..

No breathing problems
No discharge
No spots or stuff in the mouth
No fluffed up or shivering

they just kind of give up and stand there and die.

 

[casportpony]

Can you find some Baytril?

-Kathy

 

[jak2002003]

Yes... I have seen that in the shop.

Treat the entire loft or just sick birds?

 

[laughingdog]

I forget name, but you have to stop young from Contact with droppings and soil. And keep water n feed clean of fecal and feather dust. Use probiotics and acv (or vet Rx, or fresh garlic) instead of antibiotics as can hurt rather than help in long run, as tried every type of bird antibiotic and made mine sicker. Use dawn dish soap to spray them n everything down on warm day, before start probiotics etc.. Pluck vent feathers cafully if they're getting soiled, as that just puts more disease in them again as they preen soiled feathers (partly why I at first use dawn of hen later spray with cheap vinager), and you want to let them build up immunity to diseases in system (its a combo of a few things I cannot remember). Layer seems to pep them up or just provides extra nutrition. A few families of birds would seasonally get at stress times and: layer feed, poultry bits, and vet Rx, worked to stop prob temp to permanently and bring back from deaths door (I had to put layer pellets down facing left side of throat at first at that stage), till I just culled sick ones that got third time, or didnt perk up in week to month first time. Keeping on wire and adding probiotics to feed with acv to water, before or at start of stress times (moulting breeding flying etc), stopped prob. Keep separate sick showing ones warm.
There probably are better ways, maybe cap full of bleach per gallon of drinking water, like old time racers used, but I've never tried. It seems to get in soil, and carried by mainly songbirds, but parrots etc can carry also, as well as rodents and bugs (pigeons eat the rodent "pellets" and insects).

 

[casportpony]

http://www.pigeonracingpigeon.com/m...eight-most-common-health-problems-in-pigeons/

-Kathy

 

[jak2002003]

That's great advise from you all... thanks for that good link too...

Looking at all those diseases I am pretty certain that my birds have the Adeno Coli Syndrome.

The other breeds must have immunity or resistance to it.. as its only affecting my Old Dutch Capuchines.

I have cleaned out the coop, feeders and water containers.

I have added ACV to the drinking water.

Nothing more I can do really?

Now I have no sick birds.. all seem healthy.... but I know that if the Old Dutch Capuchines breed again I am going to looses most of their young.

Do you think I should treat the flock with the Baytril antibiotics... or will that do more harm than good... perhaps just treat any sick ones I get in the future?