It's been a while since I've written about respiratory illnesses. But I want to report on it now. This is because some customers have peculiarities related to the respiratory system. Could it be due to a change in the weather or is there another explanation, such as illness? An examination often quickly shows where the problem lies.

Respiratory diseases, together with the adeno-coli complex, represent the greatest threat to the health of pigeons during the racing season.
A major eruption of the ornithosis complex can put an end to many illusions in a short period of time. When it comes to respiratory diseases in pigeons, a distinction can be made between different syndromes and the causes of the symptoms. Theoretically this is interesting, but for a practical approach to the problem of respiratory diseases it is better to speak of the “ornithosis complex”.

By the ornithosis complex in pigeons we mean the interaction of diseases of the upper respiratory tract and the heads in (young) pigeons. Pure infections caused by certain pathogens certainly also occur, but it is usually a combination of one or more pathogens in combination with other factors that causes the symptoms.
I would like to go into this interaction of factors in more detail later.

Causes and Symptoms

A variety of pathogens causing respiratory infections in pigeons can be distinguished. Many of these pathogens often cause similar disease symptoms. We can distinguish between viral, bacterial, protozoan and also infections with mycoplasma and chlamydia.
We usually see the familiar upper respiratory symptoms, which range from wet eyes, swollen ears, rattling breath, frequent sneezing, coughing with slight pressure on the trachea, scratching of the ears, and wiping of the eyes on their feathers.
Frequent yawning can also indicate respiratory problems and of course mucus in the throat.
In short, there are a variety of symptoms that indicate respiratory infections.
Sometimes some of these symptoms are quite specific to a pathogen, for example eye inflammation is often purely ornithosis due to a chlamydia infection.
Diphtheric plaques in the throat and trachea usually indicate a herpes infection.
But in most cases, the symptoms can indicate a variety of possible pathogens.
Further investigation to determine the cause is often desirable.

examination

Numerous pathogens can be identified through subsequent swabs from the eyes and/or cloaca.
In other cases, bacteriological research should provide a solution. It may take a few days for this result to appear. The results of autopsies are often only available after a few days, as further bacteriological tests often have to be carried out.
In this context, it is also important to determine ‘t Geel using a throat swab. In practice, pigeons with yellow infection seem to react significantly more sensitively to other respiratory diseases.

Interplay of factors

As already mentioned, in some cases the symptoms in pigeons are very characteristic. As can be the case with a herpes infection, for example. And I say emphatically that this may be the case. An infection with the herpes virus does not always cause visible symptoms. It has been shown that 60% of pigeons are so-called “serologically positive” for antibodies against the herpes virus. This means that 60% of the pigeons came into contact with the virus and developed antibodies against it. However, not all pigeons get this infection.
The same applies to an infection with chlamydia. More than 50% of pigeons have antibodies against it in their blood. Here too, many pigeons become infected without becoming ill. The same applies to a number of other respiratory pathogens such as mycoplasma and staphylococci.
However, the viruses present in a number of young pigeons aged 1.5 to 2 months do not always cause clinical disease.
We can therefore say that many pigeons carry pathogens without becoming ill. Whether a disease breaks out or not depends on several factors. I would like to review some of them here.

If many pigeons are kept in a small space, i.e. H. If overcrowding occurs, there is a higher risk of pigeons becoming ill than if fewer pigeons are kept in the loft.
The stress caused by overcrowding makes animals more sensitive to the pathogens that are silently present. This also applies to transport. In addition to the fact that many pigeons live close to each other, the transport itself is less natural for the animals and therefore causes stress.

Apart from the stress

In the case of overpopulation and other causes, the strength of the pathogen is of course also important. For example, strong pathogens are more likely to cause symptoms of illness than mild variants. Therefore, it is important that if drugs need to be administered to combat these pathogens, they are administered in sufficiently high doses and that the drugs are administered for a sufficient period of time.
(Many medications available on the market contain only 5% active ingredients. The risk of underdosing is more than likely when using these products.)

Another important factor in whether a disease breaks out or not is field conditions. It is known that the cage must be dry, warm and draft-free. Drafts are disastrous for pigeons and contribute significantly to the outbreak of disease. Moisture in the attic contributes to the formation of mold. And mushrooms help to further weaken the pigeons' defenses.

So there are several factors that play a role in whether pigeons get sick or not. The most important factor in whether a pigeon gets sick or not is its own defenses. This is a factor that is often neglected.
Every pigeon fancier should ensure that the pigeons have the highest possible resistance.
Pigeons with higher resistance are less susceptible to all other factors that play a role in the development of clinical respiratory infections.
It is therefore important to ensure that young pigeons grow up with the best possible resistance.
This prevents clinical signs of illness from occurring during the racing season, especially in young pigeons, which show clinical symptoms even at the lowest level of infection pressure.
Many enthusiasts are trying to overcome the lack of resistance through the use of medication. Although it is difficult these days to practice pigeon racing completely without medication, it would be good if the use of medication could be limited.
To achieve this, preventive measures must be taken early. The foundation for this must be laid during cultivation. If one assumes that more than 50% of pigeons are carriers of chlamydia, then it is clear that there is a high probability that the young pigeons will become infected with these parasites in their feed.
Since it is now ensured that breeding is carried out optimally, the likelihood that the young animals will be infected very early in their lives is reduced.
Of course, the same applies to breeding. Young pigeons have to go through “teething problems”, so to speak, in order to build up their immune system. But it is important that they are well equipped for this. In short, their own resistance is high enough.
If we have to take extensive medication when raising the young animals, that is certainly no guarantee that we will get good young animals that perform well.

Good luck,

Peter Boskamp

Buy BONYFARMA products here…(click)