Diarrheoa/ Green Faeces

STREPTOCOCCUS

Streptococcus is a group of bacteria which can be found in the normal gut bacteria of many healthy birds.

However, in instances of poor health, such as decrease immune function, some strains of streptococcus can cause disease.

Symptoms

Can affects all ages of pigeon.

Usually sporadic, loft wide outbreaks are not often seen.

• Causes general septicaemia.
• Sudden death.
• Weight loss and unwillingness to eat.
• Arthritic changes to joints resulting in lameness, stiffness and the inability to fly.

Diagnostics

Post-mortem: congestion and swelling of the spleen, liver and kidneys with joint infections.
Bacterial culture of swab from the affected organs.

Treatment

Treating using the results from a culture and sensitivity to determine the antibiotic with the best activity against the pathogen.

Prevention

Cleaning and disinfection of bird living areas.
The streptococcus bacteria is present in birds as a normal gut bacteria and only causes disease sporadically, therefore ensuring the loft has a good health status will be key in reducing mortalities arising from this pathogen.

Herpesvirus

Symptoms

Affects all ages of pigeon. Although clinical diseases tends to occur when birds are one to six months.

Birds may carry this disease without any symptoms, excrete it intermittently then spread it to those not infected.

• Eye and nasal discharge.
• Yellow/white debris in mouth.
• Difficulty breathing.
• Green watery droppings.
• Decreased breeding performance.
• Mortality within two days of symptoms is possible in up to 15% of loft.

Diagnostics

A PCR test is available to test faeces for the virus.

Treatment

Supportive: give electrolytes in water.
Secondary disease, such as bacterial disease, canker or yeast, may cause problems. Look for and treat according to symptoms.

Prevention

Quarantine of incoming stock.
Remove sources of bird stress (other disease, predators, overcrowding).
Routine cleaning and disinfection of entire loft.

PARAMYXOVIRUS

This is a notifiable disease (meaning it must be reported to the APHA).

It is a variant strain of the PMV-1, Newcastle disease (NDv) virus, which is also a notifiable disease. It has been known to spread from pigeons to domestic poultry and gamebird flocks where it causes the NDv syndrome. It targets the kidney and nervous systems.

Symptoms

It can take anywhere from five days to six weeks before birds start to show symptoms after initial infection.

• Diarrhoea/green faeces.
• Loss of balance, leg/wing paralysis, circling.
• Inability to pick up feed.
• Twisted neck (torticollis).
• Medium-high mortality, especially in younger birds.
• Reduced fertility.
• Recovery if showing mild signs takes three to eight weeks.

Diagnostics

Serum antibody levels from live birds to check for exposure if birds aren’t vaccinated.
Viral isolation from tissues taken from birds at post-mortem.
However, these can sometimes not give a definite result.

Treatment

Notify APHA of outbreak (through vet), birds will have to be quarantined for at least two months.
Support birds through the outbreak: electrolytes in water, assisted feeding to prevent starvation for the birds who can’t eat.
Cull severely affected birds on welfare grounds.
Clean and disinfectant all surfaces.

Prevention

Vaccination is required in all UK races. Some outbreaks can still occur despite vaccination.
First vaccine at three to four weeks old.
Adults should be vaccinated each year afterwards before the start of the breeding, showing and racing season.
Injected by sub-cutaneous method at the base of the neck, ensure to clean the needle between birds.
Follow advice on label of the vaccine, most vaccines will deteriorate within one day of being open despite being kept in the fridge rendering them useless.
Colombovac and Nobilis are licensed pigeon vaccines in the UK.

INTESTINAL WORMS

There are a couple of species of intestinal worm that can cause a problem in pigeons:

Capillaria lives in all areas of a bird’s intestinal tract including crop, small intestine and caeca.
Ascaridia (roundworm) lives within the small intestines.

Symptoms

• Poor performance.
• Weight loss.
• Vomiting and internal haemorrhage with sudden death can be seen with Capillaria.

Diagnostics

Faecal egg count.

Treatment

Treatment is with levamisole products for three days.

Prevention

Worm eggs are very difficult to destroy with normal disinfectants. Routine cleaning and disinfection will be required to keep worm egg numbers low within your loft.

CHLAMYDIA

This disease is a zoonosis. It can cause fever, headaches, pneumonia, meningitis and sometimes even death in humans.

Take extra precautions when handling birds positive for chlamydia, such as wearing gloves, overalls and facemasks. If you have any concerns about your health please contact your GP.

Symptoms

• Affects all ages of birds but clinical disease is worst in young birds.
• Conjunctivitis: Wet eyes, swollen eyelids and sometimes third eyelid protrusion.
• Nasal discharge.
• Gaping/noisy breathing.
• Poor performance.
• Diarrhoea/green faeces.
• Excessive drinking.
• Reduced fertility.

Diagnostics

PCR on pooled sample of faeces.

Treatment

Five-day course of doxycycline. However course may need to be repeated if symptoms persist.
Routine testing is advised after treatment to identify if infection is still present.

Prevention

Healthy birds can carry and spread the disease. Contact between birds of unknown disease status and your own birds is a risk.
Ensure stress factors are kept to a minimum, the following must be looked at:

• A thorough cleaning and disinfection protocol to reduce disease pressure
• Stocking density: is your loft overcrowded?
• Environment: is your ventilation adequate? As a rule, you shouldn’t have cobwebs forming if you having a good throughput of air. Does the loft smell of ammonia? Is it overly dusty?
• Disease control: ensuring absence of other disease such as trichomonas and paramyxovirus will allow birds immune systems to fight off incoming chlamydia more easily.

SALMONELLA

This disease is zoonotic – this means it can cause disease in people.

Should you experience any vomiting, diarrhoea or abdominal pain please contact your local GP.

Symptoms

There are many different types of salmonella, with the most common in pigeons being Salmonella Typhimurium.

Healthy birds can carry this bacterium and shed it intermittently in their droppings.

Affects all ages of bird.

• Decreased appetite.
• Green diarrhoea.
• Increased loft mortality.
• Weight loss.
• Reduced reproductive performance/increased ‘dead in shells’.
• Swollen joints, lameness, drooped wings and difficulty flying.
• Loss of balance, circling and reluctance to move.
• Increased number of dead in shells.

Diagnostics

Three to five days pooled faecal sample for salmonella culture.
As the bacteria is shed intermittently by the birds then samples are sometimes required to be submitted on multiple weeks.
Cull or dead bird submitted for post-mortem.

Treatment

Treat according to culture and sensitivity.

Prevention

Regular cleaning and disinfection of the whole loft.
Avoid stress in the birds (overcrowding, other disease).
Vaccination is also available, but is unlicensed in pigeons.

ADENOVIRUS

There are two strains of adenovirus that are of importance in pigeons.

Symptoms

Classical’/ Adenovirus type 1 strain:

• Birds under one year old.
• Outbreaks seen a few days after racing usually.
• Green droppings.
• Increased water intake.
• Failure of the crop to empty.
• Loss of body condition in birds that have secondary yeast complications.
• Recovery in five to six days if uncomplicated.

Adenovirus Type 2 strain:

• All ages of bird.
• Outbreaks usually seen after racing.
• Causes necrotising hepatitis.
• Birds are severely depressed and die within two days.
• Yellow diarrhoea.
• Loft mortality can be 30+% of birds.

Diagnostics

Will require a post-mortem examination.
PCR test on faeces is available.

Treatment

Supportive treatment: Electrolytes in water.
Test and treat for any other diseases that may hinder bird recovery (coccidia, canker etc.)
Cider apple vinegar in the water (15ml/L) will help to prevent yeast infections in the crop.

Prevention

Keep bird stress as low as possible:

Make sure birds are not overcrowded.

Performing regular testing to monitor flock health status.

Vaccination to prevent outbreak of other diseases (PPMV).