What should I do?

[Quacking Pigeon]

So, I need to sell most of my pigeons as I have far to many. But some of them have been a bit sick every now and then (not that often). Also, should I consider vaccinating my birds before selling them? Though the problem is I don’t know where to get vaccines.

First I need to figure out if this illness my pigeons have. I don’t know if I should take a few suspicious birds to Uni vet to get tested. Then get medication from that and treat the whole loft if possible. It really depends on how much it will cost.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[CCUK]

So, I need to sell most of my pigeons as I have far to many. But some of them have been a bit sick every now and then (not that often). Also, should I consider vaccinating my birds before selling them? Though the problem is I don’t know where to get vaccines.

First I need to figure out if this illness my pigeons have. I don’t know if I should take a few suspicious birds to Uni vet to get tested. Then get medication from that and treat the whole loft if possible. It really depends on how much it will cost.

Any help is appreciated.

Did you find out what illness that caused your chickens to die? Pigeon rota virus is fairly common amongst pigeon keepers in Australia. And canker can also cause high death rates in pigeon squabs. If you can afford too I'd strongly advise taking some samples to either a vet or your uni vet to see exactly what is going on. Then you can deal exactly with what the problem is. I hope you can resolve this quickly.

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

Did you find out what illness that caused your chickens to die? Pigeon rota virus is fairly common amongst pigeon keepers in Australia. And canker can also cause high death rates in pigeon squabs. If you can afford too I'd strongly advise taking some samples to either a vet or your uni vet to see exactly what is going on. Then you can deal exactly with what the problem is. I hope you can resolve this quickly.

The chickens have a respiratory infection, which the pigeons can’t catch. I only know that since sometimes they fly into the chicken enclosures and eat things in there but they are perfectly fine.

My birds definitely don’t have pigeon rota virus as they would have already shown symptoms and they would have dropped in large numbers. A adult bird in my loft is pretty rare to die, but I do have the odd bird once or twice a year.

I will have to check for canker, also I have a feeling my pigeons just always aren’t the best parents so that could also add onto why.

I will ask my Mum if I can take something to the vet to get my birds checked out.

 

[CCUK]

If you can it would be worthwhile trying to separate the birds you know are ok from the suspect ones. I'd also not let the ones that are perhaps not the best parents have any more squabs, or if you do keep them completely separate so they don't have any distractions whilst caring for the youngsters. Have you tried a 4in1 treatment? It is good for canker, cocci, worms and lice/mites. If they don't have any of this is won't harm them.

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

If you can it would be worthwhile trying to separate the birds you know are ok from the suspect ones. I'd also not let the ones that are perhaps not the best parents have any more squabs, or if you do keep them completely separate so they don't have any distractions whilst caring for the youngsters. Have you tried a 4in1 treatment? It is good for canker, cocci, worms and lice/mites. If they don't have any of this is won't harm them.

Where can you get a 4 in 1 treatment?

 

[CCUK]

Where can you get a 4 in 1 treatment?

I got mine from a pigeon supply store online. You may be able to get it from ebay and amazon. It wasn't expensive, about £12 for a bottle. I'm not sure what the $ exchange is.
This is what I have. There are different brands.

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

I got mine from a pigeon supply store online. You may be able to get it from ebay and amazon. It wasn't expensive, about £12 for a bottle. I'm not sure what the $ exchange is.
This is what I have. There are different brands. View attachment 1652055

I’ll have to have a look.

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

I just thought that I should add that all my birds are quite healthy at the moment. They are all quite active. I do have some birds that sleep on the ground probably because of overcrowding and territorial birds.

Whenever a bird gets sick it’s just sudden. They usually spend a lot of time on the ground fluffed up, and they are very light. I take out these birds and separate them. My last sick bird was a few months ago. He was my one-legged pigeon (he got his leg taken by a rat). When I was going to lock up my ducks for the night I just noticed him on the ground so I put him back in with the other pigeons. The next few days he couldn’t walk, and he wasn’t eating so I seprated him. He had very watery droppings. After a few days he died. My other birds that were near him in the days I had him in the loft are still fine. This seems to be the one symptom that’s keeps coming up at the moment.

The bird before him that showed a similar thing to him is still alive, and she just couldn’t walk for a day. She was still eating and drinking and her droppings looked much better compared to his. It makes me question if this is something they get from eating something outside or if they catch it from the wild birds.

 

[CCUK]

I just thought that I should add that all my birds are quite healthy at the moment. They are all quite active. I do have some birds that sleep on the ground probably because of overcrowding and territorial birds.

Whenever a bird gets sick it’s just sudden. They usually spend a lot of time on the ground fluffed up, and they are very light. I take out these birds and separate them. My last sick bird was a few months ago. He was my one-legged pigeon (he got his leg taken by a rat). When I was going to lock up my ducks for the night I just noticed him on the ground so I put him back in with the other pigeons. The next few days he couldn’t walk, and he wasn’t eating so I seprated him. He had very watery droppings. After a few days he died. My other birds that were near him in the days I had him in the loft are still fine. This seems to be the one symptom that’s keeps coming up at the moment.

The bird before him that showed a similar thing to him is still alive, and she just couldn’t walk for a day. She was still eating and drinking and her droppings looked much better compared to his. It makes me question if this is something they get from eating something outside or if they catch it from the wild birds.

Overcrowding isn't very good for them. It can cause alot of stress especially if there is any bullying or territorial birds. Normally the cockbirds. Stress can cause a weakened immune system so they can be more prone to falling ill. Cocci can cause loose watery bright green droppings. If they are overcrowded then this can be more prevalent. Some immune booster or probiotics could help but you need to provide them more space and enough perches so they're not on the floor.

 

[jak2002003]

I recommend you don't take your birds to a vet unless you have a problem with them. I say this because its normal for pigeons to carry the common various, parasites and bacteria / germs in their bodies at very low levels and not get sick. Only when they get stressed or run down will they get sick as their immune system can't cope.

If you get the birds tested by a vet they will, therefore, find all sorts of things wrong with them and put them on unnecessary treatments and cost you a lot of money for nothing.

However, if you currently have a disease outbreak in your coop then you will need to get them seen ASAP as take appropriate action with their housing and care.

In your situation I would collect up the birds you want to sell, house them separately and give them the 4 in 1 stuff to make sure they are in the best health (as moving to a new loft can cause them stress and diseases might flare up). If they all still are healthy after a few weeks then they are good to go.

When a buyer is interested in your birds be honest with them.. make sure the birds you sell are healthy and a good weight. Tell the buyer that the birds are not vaccinated (so then its up to the new owner if he/she wants to do that, because many people who just keep the birds for pets or fun don't vaccinate anyway.

PS The symptoms that some of your birds have shows sound like a viral infection, with flared up from the overcrowding situation and maybe less than clean conditions they were living in.