Content
The most common disease in pigeons that causes damage to the nervous system and cannot be treated is Newcastle disease. The disease is popularly called “whirlwind” due to the movement patterns of a pigeon affected by the disease. Rotating pigeons can destroy all young animals and severely damage adult birds.
What is a pigeon fly
Newcastle disease is of Asian origin. It is endemic to some Asian countries. The Europeans “met” her on the island of Java. In the mid-twentieth century, the disease spread throughout the world. All birds, including pigeons, are susceptible to Asian plague. In cities, there are even sometimes outbreaks of epizootics among pigeons.
The name “pigeon twirler” exists only among Russian-speaking pigeon fanciers. They aptly noticed one of the most striking symptoms in the last stage of the disease: the movement of a pigeon in a circle. Because of this name, one might think that this is a specific disease of pigeons that is not found in other birds. But Newcastle disease is known to all poultry farmers.Less “famous” are other names for this disease:
- pseudoplague;
- Filaret's disease;
- Asian bird plague;
- Renikhet disease;
- NB.
Pseudoplague is caused by viruses that affect the respiratory, digestive and central nervous systems. Chickens are most often affected by Newcastle disease. There is a version that pigeon whirlwind and chicken Newcastle disease are caused by different strains of viruses of the Paramyxoviridae family, and chickens rarely become infected from pigeons.
Large poultry farms located near cities, upon news of an outbreak of an epizootic among urban pigeons, immediately vaccinate their entire flock. Or they do it preventively, if the farm is breeding.
Causes of Newcastle disease in pigeons
If we take a broad approach to this issue, then the reasons for infection with the whirligig are the uncleanliness of pigeons. Theoretically, these birds are believed to be granivores, but pigeons are little aware of human opinion. Unlike a chicken, a pigeon cannot peck at fresh carrion, but in rotting corpses the virus remains active for 3 weeks. During this time, only feathers and bones remain from the corpse of another bird. Accordingly, already 2-3 days after the death of a relative, a pigeon can taste contaminated meat. This is one way of infection.
Virus infection also occurs:
- upon contact with a sick bird;
- directly through the droppings of a sick individual: pigeons are not very aware of where they are stepping;
- through water and food contaminated with droppings;
- intrauterine infection.
The latter is possible if the dove is sick. The virus remains in the egg until the baby pigeon hatches. And such a chick is doomed.
Current of the pigeon whirlpool
There are 3 types of disease and 2 forms of the disease in whirlwind. The form can be typical, that is, with the manifestation of clinical signs, and atypical: hidden. Atypical whirligig is possible in a flock of different ages, where birds have different levels of immunity. Strictly speaking, in this case no one will notice the disease. Mostly young pigeons are affected.
The course of a typical form can be hyperacute, subacute and acute.
Symptoms of Newcastle disease in pigeons
The incubation period is 3-12 days, for chicks it can be 18 hours. The duration of the latent period depends on the strength of the pigeon's immunity.
In the ultra-acute form, the whirlwind affects the entire population of the pigeon house within 1-3 days. Clinical signs among unvaccinated pigeons with the hyperacute form are clearly pronounced.
Few people measure the temperature of birds, so fever in the acute form is unlikely to be noticed.
The remaining signs are difficult to ignore, especially if the entire dovecote is infected:
- apathy;
- decreased appetite;
- suffocation in 40-70% of birds;
- diarrhea in 88% of sick pigeons;
- stringy saliva from the mouth;
- conjunctivitis;
- sneezing.
Often pigeons lie with their beaks on the floor. The presence of suffocation can be determined by the way the pigeon stretches its neck and opens its beak, making movements similar to swallowing. Fecal matter contains a high percentage of uric acid (white diarrhea). If the whirlpool has affected the kidneys, diarrhea will occur with a large amount of water. In the acute form, fatalities can reach 90%.
The subacute course of vertigo is exactly what is usually shown on video: damage to the central nervous system. Signs of subacute course:
- increased excitability;
- impaired coordination of movements;
- unsteady gait;
- paralysis;
- neck twisting;
- drooping wings and tail;
- limb damage.
The virus has no preference and affects all organs. With different courses of the disease, certain symptoms are only more pronounced, so nervous phenomena do not automatically mean the elimination of damage to the lungs and intestines. It will all be together, but some will be expressed more strongly, some less.
In the atypical form, the symptoms are hidden until the central nervous system is damaged. The disease is noticed when the pigeon's head is already turned 180° or thrown back on its back.
Diagnostics
Symptoms of pigeon whirligig are similar to those of almost all specific avian diseases. Therefore, pseudoplague must be differentiated from other diseases:
- flu;
- laryngotracheitis;
- spirochetosis;
- infections mixed with pasteurellosis, smallpox, respiratory mycoplasmosis, colisepticemia and others;
- poisoning
Diagnostics are carried out in the laboratory. To isolate the virus use:
- liver;
- spleen;
- trachea;
- brain;
- blood serum.
Allantoic fluid is taken from dead embryos.
How and with what to treat pigeon whirligig
Pigeon worm cannot be treated due to the highly contagious nature of the disease. But there is one point. When pigeons become sick, they die not so much from the virus as from dehydration and exhaustion. Infected kidneys begin to “expel” water from the body. It is for this reason that there is a lot of clear liquid in the droppings of sick pigeons.
Due to the curled neck and impaired coordination of movements, the pigeon can neither eat nor drink. Usually, sick birds are destroyed even in milder forms of whirligig. But if the pigeon owner has nothing to lose or the pigeons are very expensive, you can try to help them recover.
But it is possible to alleviate the pigeon’s condition. It’s just not clear why. The surviving pigeons will stop laying eggs and will remain virus carriers for the rest of their lives.
At an advanced stage, when the pigeon has already broken its neck and is paralyzed, it is useless to take any measures. At earlier stages, sick birds are isolated from apparently healthy ones. All livestock are given an immunostimulant injection. Still healthy birds are vaccinated with Newcastle disease vaccine for pigeons.
The rest of the “treatment” comes down to keeping the pigeon alive. To do this, the bird is force-fed and watered. For feeding, you can use a mixture of coarsely ground barley, wheat and milk. The grain should not be ground into flour. The grain mixture is diluted with milk to a liquid state.
The pigeon should be fed in portions of 4-5 ml every 1-2 hours. Water should be given according to the same standards. The duration of such “treatment” of Newcastle disease in pigeons will depend on the strength of the bird’s immunity.
How to treat a dovecote after turning
The virus that causes whirlwind in pigeons is very stable in the external environment. In boiling water the virus is inactivated after a few seconds, in water with a temperature of 90-95 ° C - after 40 minutes, so there is no point in “scalding” the dovecote. By the time the boiling water reaches the wall, it will have time to cool down.
Formaldehyde vapor will take effect after an hour, a 0.5% sodium hydroxide solution will take effect after 20 minutes, and bleach with 1% active chlorine will take 10 minutes. Based on these data, it is most advisable to use bleach.
But before using a disinfectant solution, all droppings must be removed and burned from the dovecote.You also need to remember to move the pigeons to another place during processing. It is better to “drown” removable equipment in a bleach solution. Spray the walls and nest boxes with lime solution. It is better not to skimp on the liquid and spray until the surfaces become wet. After this, the solution should be allowed to dry naturally. The equipment is removed from the solution and thoroughly washed with clean water.
There is a method for sterilizing a dovecote using gaseous disinfectants. The advantage of this method is that the gas can penetrate everywhere. Disadvantage: it is difficult to ensure the necessary sealing of the dovecote and the air temperature must be at least + 15 °C. Especially when you consider that usually at least half of this structure is occupied by a mesh enclosure.
For gas disinfection, a mixture of dry iodine and aluminum powder is used. The norm is 0.1 g of iodine and 0.03 g of aluminum per 1 m³. Mix the mixture thoroughly, pour onto a saucer and add a drop of hot water.
After half an hour, the dovecote must be thoroughly ventilated.
A similar procedure can be carried out with chlorine. To do this, take 1 g of fresh bleach with an activity of 36% and mix it with 0.1 ml of turpentine. 15 minutes are enough for processing. After the procedure, the room is ventilated.
Since the whirligig is very contagious and even after isolating obviously sick pigeons, new sick ones will appear, the dovecote is disinfected every 4-7 days. Treatments are stopped 30 days after recovery or death of the last sick pigeon.
Is the pigeon fly dangerous for people?
The pigeon worm is not dangerous to humans, although humans are susceptible to the virus.But usually a person infected with pseudoplague does not understand this, mistaking the disease for a cold or flu.
Preventive actions
The main preventive measure, as with most other infectious diseases, is compliance with sanitary standards. A nutritious diet also reduces the likelihood of pigeons becoming sick with whirligig. Healthy pigeons have higher body resistance.
The vaccine against whirligig for pigeons is used if there are no individuals in the flock with obvious clinical signs of the disease. Since vertigo is caused by several strains of varying degrees of “viciousness,” several types of vaccines have been created. Some can only be used on adult pigeons. They are not suitable for young animals. Other vaccines are suitable for both young and adult pigeons.
General points also exist: a pigeon develops immunity within 4 weeks after vaccination. Pigeons must be vaccinated annually.
The number of doses in one bottle can also vary: from 2 to 50.
Conclusion
Flight in pigeons is one of the most dangerous and common diseases. Poultry can become infected with it from wild relatives. To prevent the extinction of the entire flock, it is necessary to comply with the timing of vaccination of pigeons and disinfection of the dovecote.
