Diarrhea in pigeons is a frequent phenomenon, and it is observed both in young animals and in adult birds. This disorder is provoked by both infectious and non-infectious factors, but in any case leads to a weakening of the bird's organism, against which their immune system malfunctions and various disorders develop. Why does it arise, how it manifests itself and is treated, we will examine further.
Reasons for the appearance
Diarrhea or liquid droppings in pigeons is a sign of digestive upset in birds. This is not an independent disease, but a consequence of various pathological disorders that may be infectious or non-infectious in nature. What are the causes of diarrhea in pigeons, it is worth considering separately.
Monotonous and malnutrition
When breeders feed the birds with only one type of grain, the birds do not receive enough nutrients. This leads to disruptions in the activity of their body, disrupts metabolic processes and the digestive system, which becomes the cause of diarrhea.
The deficiency of which vitamins is especially acute for the organism of individuals, is presented in the table:
Vitamin Name | Consequences of failure |
A | Its lack causes damage to the mucous membranes and inflammation of the goiter. Since goiter is part of the gastrointestinal tract, its inflammation can trigger diarrhea. |
B | The lack of B vitamins causes hypovitaminosis B, which manifests itself in the form of diarrhea, lowering body temperature, confused breathing, inflammation of the mucous membranes. In addition, the bird can lag behind in development and suffer from failures in the nervous system, which provoke trembling of the wings and paws, as well as their paralysis. |
E | If the bird’s organism lacks it, then this may affect the health of its cardiac, nervous or digestive systems. A similar condition is manifested by the fact that the muscle tone and coordination of movements are disturbed in the bird, it has loose stools. In addition, paralysis can affect the bird. |
K | Reducing blood coagulation and vascular damage are frequent consequences of a lack of vitamin K. They often provoke an outpouring of blood into the intestines, so blood impurities can be observed in the litter. |
Parasite infection
Parasites enter the body of pigeons through poor-quality food and water, as well as from the environment when the breeder does not comply with all hygiene standards.
After penetration into the body, pathogenic microflora provokes infectious diseases of a bacterial, fungal, viral or parasitic nature. All of them provoke loose stools, which may contain an admixture of blood or mucus, have a green or yellow color, give off the fetid smell of bird droppings.
Sick pigeons can infect the entire population. Moreover, they are dangerous even for people. To prevent the negative consequences and death of the bird, it is necessary to relocate the sick individuals in a separate cage and seek the advice of a veterinarian. Only he will be able to prescribe the correct treatment, given the stage of the disease and the age of the bird.
Inflammatory goiter diseases
Goiter in birds is one of the organs of the digestive system. It accumulates food and is exposed to special enzymes. If the bird receives poor-quality food, consumes mainly cereals or absorbs toxic substances together with food and water, then inflammatory processes can begin in the goiter, which will lead to digestion and diarrhea.
Regardless of the cause of diarrhea, if the bird is not treated promptly, the disease can turn into a chronic neglected form, which will provoke digestive system dysfunction and systematic weakening of the immune system.
Diarrhea as a sign of another disease
With diarrhea, droppings in pigeons can be yellow or green, and in some cases it contains particles of blood. Depending on its characteristics, you can determine the disease that triggered this disorder. So, you should consider certain types of diarrhea, as well as diseases that can provoke them.
We also recommend reading an article about what diseases doves have.
Watery stool
It is observed with pathologies such as:
- Paramyxovirus infection (vertichata). This disease is dangerous for pigeons, as it is still unknown how to treat it. It is transmitted by airborne droplets and with dust, and insects, rodents and the sick pigeons themselves become its peddlers. When infected, the bird secretes droppings of liquid consistency of white, and sometimes green. In addition, she weakens, stops drinking and eating, she has cramps, her head throws back, coordination is disturbed.
- Capillariosis. Caused by parasites that affect the small intestine. An inflammatory process occurs in it, which leads to disruption of activity and the release of liquid droppings.
- Streptococcosis. This microbe causes a pigeon's depressive state, mucus secretion from the nose, frequent sneezing, cramps and loose bowel movements in the form of diarrhea. As a result of the frequent discharge of stool, the bird's body is dehydrated and depleted.
- Ascariasis. Often helminths - roundworms, which cause ascariasis, enter the body of the bird. They wind up in the small intestine and affect it. The bird loses weight, the stool becomes loose.
- Aspergillosis. This is a fungal disease. Pathogenic microflora appears in grain, bedding from straw and hay, especially during periods of high humidity. The fungus secretes spores that are dangerous to the health of pigeons and provoke aspergillosis. The symptom of the disease is the turning blue of the beak and legs of pigeons, as they develop heart failure. The droppings become watery, fluid is released from the nose, feathers fall out, breathing is difficult.
The fungus is immune to many disinfectants, so it is very difficult to get rid of it. As a rule, it can only be destroyed by exposure to heat. So, the room will need to be disinfected with fire and formaldehyde gas.
Green droppings
Often with various diseases, green droppings appear. The reason for its formation is:
- Gastroenteritis. It develops with inflammation of the intestinal mucosa and stomach. The disease can occur when a bird receives dirty water, poor-quality feed like moldy wheat or eats mineral fertilizers on a bed that are not covered by soil. In addition, helminths, viruses and fungi provoke the disease. In any case, it manifests itself in the form of diarrhea. Litter turns yellow or green and may contain gas bubbles. Very often, undigested food is present in the secretions.
- Trichomoniasis (Trichomonas diphtheria). It is provoked by a virus that can be found in dirty water, poor-quality feed or droppings of sick birds. The disease develops at a slow pace, so it carries a danger, since it cannot be diagnosed right away. The virus destroys the mucous membranes of the oral cavity and pharynx, and also leads to the formation of pale yellow nodules. Then the virus enters the intestines, due to which the abdomen in the bird increases, putrefactive loose stools occur.
Trichomoniasis is a fairly common disease, especially in young animals, which is associated with their weak immune system.
Bloody diarrhea
It occurs with diseases such as:
- Coccidiosis. It is provoked by the simplest coccidia, which contribute to the development of pathologies of vital organs - the intestinal mucosa, kidneys and liver. With the development of the disease, the color of the droppings changes: at the first stage, it acquires a yellow-green color, and then becomes dark brown due to the presence of blood in it. Leads to a weakened state of pigeons.
- Salmonellosis. The disease occurs due to the Salmonella virus. Pigeons become infected with them if the litter of a sick bird enters food, water. With this pathology, the litter acquires a green color and a liquid consistency with air bubbles. The bowel movements have such a color due to the presence of bile, which cannot be completely processed, as pigeons lose their appetite. In the later stages, the bird cannot fly, it loses weight, and blood droplets appear in the litter. Her joints and nervous system are affected, her head throws back.
Salmonella virus is very well preserved, so the disease quickly spreads to the entire population.
Symptoms of Poultry Disease
Diseases in pigeons begin with common symptoms, and from them it can be understood that the bird is sick. In this regard, every morning birds should be examined, observe their behavior and how they peck grain.
Characteristic symptoms of the illness of pigeons:
- the bird sits choked, does not come to the feeder;
- feathers fall out;
- heavy breathing, the bird keeps its beak open;
- coordination is broken;
- liquid droppings are released.
If these symptoms are noticed, then the bird must be immediately separated from the flock, moving to a separate cage. In order to prevent the spread of the disease, a quality disinfection of the room should also be carried out.
Pigeon treatment
In order to get rid of diarrhea in pigeons, you first need to determine the cause that provoked it. For proper diagnosis, you will need to pass the litter to the laboratory and consult a veterinarian. What includes complex therapy, and what drugs are most often given to birds, we will find out below.
General recommendations for therapy
The treatment of diarrhea in pigeons requires special attention to such aspects as:
- Watering. Birds can only be given fresh boiled water, which must be changed every few hours. It is worth adding a few drops of potassium permanganate to it, so that it becomes slightly pink. Such a measure will help to disinfect the gastrointestinal tract of an individual, remove toxic substances. In addition, to protect the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, dove should be given a rice decoction or decoction of flax seeds. These products have an enveloping property and protect against irritations.
To stop the loss of fluid in the body, the bird should be given electrolytes.
- Feeding. Individuals need to be given 20-30 g of feed, 40% of which is barley or pearl barley, 30% is wheat, 10% is millet. Vitamins A, B, E and K should be added to the feed, and sometimes - mineral top dressing. In the diet, you can also enter legumes, corn, seeds, table salt. Birds should not be given greens, as it weakens the stomach.
- Disinfection of enclosures and equipment. Pigeons should be cleaned every day, preventive disinfection once a month, and forced (during outbreaks) once every 5-7 days. For disinfection of cells, feeders and drinking bowls, you can use a solution of chloramine (2%), bleach (3-4%), paraform (2%), slaked lime (3%) or Deutran. For high-quality treatment with gaseous disinfectants, the room must be fully sealed and the temperature must be at least 15 degrees.
The person who carries out the disinfection must follow safety precautions and wear a protective suit, mask and gloves.
Drug therapy
Special treatment can only be prescribed by a doctor based on the results of tests.
With the infectious nature of diarrhea, the doctor prescribes antibiotics:
- Tetracycline. A broad-spectrum drug used to combat many germs and parasites. It must be given 2 times a day with food at the rate of 20 mg per 1 kg of weight. The course of treatment is 7 days.
- Streptomycin. It is used for various pathologies of birds - starting from the common cold and injection of complex infectious diseases. Intramuscularly injected every 12 hours at the rate of 50 thousand IE per 1 kg of mass. The course takes several days (until complete recovery).
With a fungal infection, apply:
- Nystatin. Effective in aspergillosis and candidiasis. You need to give food. Doses are prescribed by a specialist and can range from 25 to 50 mg per 1 kg of weight. Therapy is carried out within 6-10 days.
- Oxytetracycline. Effective in coccidiosis, salmonellosis, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. It is administered intramuscularly at a dose of 10 thousand IE or given to a pigeon with food at the rate of 6-10 mg per 1 kg of individual weight.
With helminthiasis, diarrhea is prescribed piperazine. The drug has a paralyzing effect on parasites, disrupting the activity of their neuromuscular system. It must be added to the drinking water of pigeons, after specifying the dosage at the doctor's office.
In the presence of inflammation of the intestines and stomach, it is necessary to rinse the goiter of the bird by dripping oil in its beak:
- sunflower;
- petroleum jelly;
- castor.
If droppings with blood droplets are found, as a rule, Koktsidin and Furagin are prescribed to the bird.
In order to increase the protective properties of the bird's organism, over 5 days they can add Aminalon or another drug to the water to activate immunity.
The drugs are used only as part of complex vitamin therapy, which involves taking trivitamin or fish oil. The dosage and duration of treatment is prescribed by the veterinarian.
Prevention
To prevent the development of pigeons of various violations, you should adhere to preventive measures:
- Observe the hygiene standards of rooms and equipment. Regularly carry out general cleaning, and treat the floor with antiseptics once a month. To disinfect, use preparations containing chlorine. Effectively, and Deutran, which can handle the aviary, even in the presence of pigeons.
- To control the optimum temperature and humidity in the dovecote.
- Keep the water clean. If specks or part of the feed gets into it, it must be changed to a new one.
- Follow all nutritional guidelines. The composition of grain mixtures should include: barley or barley, wheat and millet. The bird menu should also include corn, sunflower seeds, peas and beans, salt. In addition, it is important to add vitamins to the diet. Many experienced breeders use veterinary yeast for this purpose. Attention must be paid to the quality of the feed. It should only be bought from trusted suppliers.
- Carry out anthelmintic measures and do not neglect vaccination of pigeons.
- Periodically take the analysis of pigeon droppings to the laboratory.
It’s difficult to treat diarrhea in birds, so it’s better to take all the measures that will protect pigeons from this scourge in time. If diarrhea appears, you must immediately seek the help of a professional, because this disorder can be a symptom of many dangerous diseases.