Coccidiosis

    Coccidiosis is an intestinal disease which is widely distributed among all pigeons. Nearly all pigeons are coccidia carriers and excrete oocysts (the permanent stages of the pathogen) in their droppings without suffering from the disease. Coccidiosis is an insidious condition which is more like a stress factor than an actual disease. Since coccidiosis opens the door to other diseases like paratyphoid, canker or paramyxovirus, appropriate treatment should be carried out within reasonable limits.

    Coccidia are monocellular organisms (protozoa) which live as parasites in the intestine. They invade the cells of the intestine where they multiply and destroy the intestinal wall. The result is an inflammation of the bowels with diarrhea. The pathogens form permanent stages (oocysts) which become infective after maturing in the environment. Their resistant shell makes the oocysts relatively intensive to environmental factors. Adult pigeons are coccidia carriers without visible being affected, and constantly excrete oocysts. As a result of the profuse multiplication of the coccidia in the cells of the small intestine, a large part of the cells of the intestinal wall are destroyed. This causes severe digestive disorder which manifests itself in diarrhea with the acute form of the disease. The destroyed intestinal wall  enables bacteria to spread very easily. Coccidiosis, like paratyphoid, thus opens the door to other bacterial infections.

    There are two forms of coccidiosis:

• Subclinical Or Asymptomatic Form: This form is seen in almost all pigeons. They do not show any symptoms of the disease. Through the regular ingestion of oocysts, the defenses of the pigeon body are continually stimulated, thus gradually producing immunity to infection. In this situation the pigeon lives in some kind of equilibrium with the pathogens. It serves little purpose to treat birds with such low grade infestation, since the balance in favor of the pigeons body is temporarily disturbed and natural immunity to infection is reduced for a while.

• Actual Coccidiosis Taking An Acute Course: This form of the disease very rarely occurs in young susceptible birds from the third week of life, which have not yet been able to build up immunity to infection. Stress factors like the change over from crop milk to grain feed reduce the natural résistance of young pigeons and allow the rapid spread of coccidia, even if only few oocysts are taken up.  Symptoms of severe intestinal disease appear, such as digestive disorders with muco-aqueous and, in some cases bloody diarrhea. Emaciation, listlessness and debility are also observed. As a result, such pigeons die either of weakness or of secondary infections. If affected birds are treated in time, the prospects of a cure are favorable, since the damaged intestinal wall recovers comparatively quickly.

   The medications of choice is: Corid (Amprolium) The drug of choice by many against coccidiosis, it is highly effective and can be mixed with other drugs.

• 1 Teaspoon per gallon of water for 3 to 5 days.

• Mites and Ticks

• Ornithosis

• Paramyxovirus

• Pox

• Salmonellosis (Paratyphoid)

• Trichomoniasis (Canker)

• Worms

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