Contents
The most common disease in pigeons that causes damage to the nervous system and cannot be treated is Newcastle disease. Among the people, the disease was called “whirlwind” because of the peculiarities of the movement of a pigeon affected by the disease. Pigeon whirlpool can destroy all young birds and severely damage adult birds.
What is a pigeon twirl
Newcastle disease is of Asian origin. It is endemic in some Asian countries. Europeans “met” her on the island of Java. In the middle of the twentieth century, the disease spread throughout the world. All birds, including pigeons, are susceptible to Asian plague. In cities, even epizootic outbreaks among pigeons sometimes occur.
The name “pigeon swivel” exists only among -speaking pigeon breeders. They aptly noticed one of the most striking symptoms in the last stage of the development of the disease: the movement of a dove in a circle. Because of this name, it can be decided 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” other names for this disease:
- pseudo-plague;
- Philaret’s disease;
- Asian bird plague;
- Renikhet disease;
- NB.
Pseudo-plague is caused by viruses that affect the respiratory, digestive, and central nervous systems. Newcastle disease is most common in chickens. There is a version that different strains of viruses of the Paramyxoviridae family cause chicken pigeons and Newcastle disease, 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 population. Or they do it preventively, if the farm is tribal.
Causes of Newcastle disease in pigeons
If you take a broad approach to this issue, then the causes of infection with a whirlpool are in the uncleanliness of pigeons. Theoretically, these birds are considered granivorous, but pigeons are little aware of the opinions of people. 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 infected meat. This is one route of infection.
The virus also spreads:
- in contact with a sick bird;
- directly through the droppings of a sick individual: pigeons do not really understand where they are stepping;
- through litter-contaminated water and feed;
- intrauterine infection.
The latter is possible if the dove is sick. The virus remains in the egg until the dove hatches. And such a chick is doomed.
Pigeon current
There are 3 types of flow and 2 forms of the disease in the verticula. The form can be typical, that is, with the manifestation of clinical signs, and atypical: hidden. An atypical whirlwind is possible in a flock of different ages, where birds have different levels of immunity. Strictly speaking, no one will notice the disease in this case. Mostly young pigeons are sick.
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, in chicks it can be 18 hours. The duration of the latent period depends on the strength of the pigeon’s immunity.
With a super-acute form, the whirlwind affects the entire population of the dovecote within 1-3 days. Clinical signs among unvaccinated pigeons with a hyperacute form are pronounced.
Few people measure the temperature of birds, so fever in an acute form is unlikely to be noticed.
The remaining signs are already difficult to ignore, especially if the entire dovecote is infected:
- apathy;
- decreased appetite;
- suffocation in 40-70% of birds;
- diarrhea in 88% of affected pigeons;
- viscous saliva from the mouth;
- conjunctivitis;
- sneezing.
Often doves lie with their beaks on the floor. The presence of suffocation can be determined by how the pigeon stretches its neck and opens its beak, making movements similar to swallowing. In the fecal masses, a large percentage of uric acid (white diarrhea). If the whirlpool hit the kidneys, diarrhea will be with a lot of water. In the acute form, deaths can reach 90%.
The subacute course of torticollis is just what is usually shown on the video: damage to the central nervous system. Signs of a subacute course:
- increased excitability;
- violation of coordination of movements;
- wobbly gait;
- paralyzes;
- twisting of the neck;
- sagging wings and tail;
- limb damage.
The virus has no preferences and infects all organs. With different courses of the disease, certain symptoms are only more pronounced, so nervous phenomena do not automatically cancel the damage to the lungs and intestines. Everything will be together, but something will be expressed stronger, something weaker.
In the atypical form, the symptoms are hidden until the CNS is damaged. The disease is noticed when the pigeon’s head is already turned 180 ° or thrown back.
Diagnostics
The symptoms of pigeon whirlpool are similar to those of almost all specific avian diseases. Therefore, pseudoplague must be differentiated from other diseases:
- influenza;
- laryngotracheitis;
- spirochetosis;
- infections mixed with pasteurellosis, smallpox, respiratory mycoplasmosis, colisepticemia and others;
- poisoning.
Diagnosis is 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 how to treat a pigeon twirl
Pigeon whirlwind is not treatable due to the high contagiousness of the disease. But there is one point. Pigeons with a twist 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 litter of sick pigeons.
Due to the twisted neck and impaired coordination of movements, the pigeon cannot eat or drink. Usually, sick birds are also destroyed with milder forms of whirling. But if the pigeon has nothing to lose or the pigeons are very expensive, you can try to help them recover.
But you can alleviate the condition of the dove. It is not clear why. Surviving pigeons will stop laying and remain virus carriers for the rest of their lives.
At an advanced stage, when the pigeon’s neck has already been twisted and paralyzed, it is useless to take any measures. In earlier stages, sick birds are isolated from apparently healthy ones. The whole livestock is pierced with an immunostimulator. Still healthy birds are vaccinated with the 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, a mixture of coarsely ground barley, wheat and milk can be used. Grain should not be ground into flour. With milk, the grain mixture is diluted to a liquid state.
You need to feed the pigeon in portions of 4-5 ml every 1-2 hours. According to the same standards, you need to give water. The duration of such a “treatment” for Newcastle disease in pigeons will depend on the strength of the bird’s immunity.
How to process a dovecote after a windmill
The virus that causes 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.
Vapors of formaldehyde will act after an hour, a solution of caustic soda 0,5% after 20 minutes, bleach with 1% active chlorine will take 10 minutes. Based on these data, it is best to use bleach.
But before using a disinfectant solution, all droppings must be removed from the dovecote and burned. You also need to remember to move the pigeons to another place for the duration of processing. Removable inventory is better to “drown” in a solution of bleach. Spray walls, nest boxes with lime solution. It is better not to spare the liquid and spray until the surfaces become wet. After that, the solution should be allowed to dry naturally. The inventory is removed from the solution and thoroughly washed with clean water.
There is a method of sterilizing a dovecote using gaseous disinfectants. The advantage of this method is that the gas can penetrate everywhere. Minus: it is difficult to provide 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 on a saucer and drip 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 is enough for processing. After the procedure, the room is ventilated.
Since the pigeon is very contagious, and even after the isolation of obviously sick pigeons, new cases will appear, the dovecote is disinfected every 4-7 days. Stop processing 30 days after the recovery or death of the last sick pigeon.
Is Pigeon Waving Dangerous for Humans?
For humans, the pigeon whirlwind does not pose a danger, although people are susceptible to the virus. But usually a person infected with pseudo-plague does not understand this, mistaking the disease for a cold or flu.
Preventive measures
The main preventive measure, as with most other infectious diseases, is the observance of sanitary standards. A nutritious diet also reduces the chance of pigeons getting swirled. Healthy pigeons have higher body resistance.
Pigeon vaccine for pigeons is used if there are no individuals in the flock with obvious clinical signs of the disease. Since several strains of varying degrees of “malice” cause the worm, several types of vaccines have been created. Some can only be used on adult pigeons. They are not suitable for youngsters. Other vaccines are suitable for both young and adult pigeons.
There are also common points: immunity in a pigeon is developed within 4 weeks after vaccination. Pigeons must be vaccinated annually.
The number of doses in one bottle can also be different: from 2 to 50.
Conclusion
Pigeon whirlpool is one of the most dangerous and common diseases. Domestic birds can become infected with it from wild relatives. To prevent the extinction of the entire flock, it is necessary to observe the terms of vaccination of pigeons and disinfection of the dovecote.