What are the symptoms of trichomoniasis in pigeons?

Trichomonads are one of the common diseases of pigeons; they mainly harm the health of young pigeons, with an extremely high mortality rate. What exactly are the symptoms of such a highly harmful disease? How should it be prevented? Let's take a look together:

What is pigeon trichomoniasis

Trichomonads are protozoan single-celled flagellates. The body is pear-shaped or oblong, with 4 anterior flagella at the front end; the body is covered on the outside by an undulating membrane extending backward along the edge of the body and an axostyle protruding from the end of the body. With the above organs, the body moves in a spiral fashion in body fluids and reproduces by division, multiplying one generation in about 4 h. Its resistance to the outside environment is not strong; in physiological saline at 20-30 °C it dies after 3-4 h.

Transmission routes of pigeon trichomonads

Outside the pigeon's body, trichomonads are very fragile and can survive only a few minutes. Unlike other diseases or internal parasites, they do not infect in the pigeon loft or directly through the environment. Trichomonads are spread through saliva and pigeon milk. When a pigeon drinks water, the trichomonads swim out from the beak into the water, and when other pigeons drink the water, they also drink in the trichomonads. When pigeons pick at grain, the grain that falls also contains a small amount of saliva; beak-kissing during courtship by adult pigeons and brooding are also routes of infection. Infection can also occur through the umbilical opening and wounds.

Symptoms of pigeon trichomonads

Many young pigeons obtain maternal antibodies from carrier mother pigeons and are protected, surviving healthily for the first few days. The acute form usually occurs in young pigeons 6-15 days old, with death about 10 days after infection. After infection, squabs and young pigeons show listlessness, ruffled feathers, reduced appetite, and digestive disturbances, leading to diarrhea and emaciation, large water intake, and increased and viscous oral secretions that are pale yellow. Breathing is obstructed, with a slight "gurgling" sound. Sometimes a bulge can be seen on the lower jaw area, and on palpation a hard object the size of a soybean can be felt. Severely infected young pigeons quickly become emaciated and die within 4-8 days. According to the symptoms of this disease, it can be divided into the pharyngeal type, visceral type, umbilical type, and wound infection type, etc.

1. Pharyngeal type: the most common and also the most harmful type. Because intake of large amounts of sharp grain and rather coarse sand damages the mucosa, this promotes pathogen invasion of the mucosa and causes disease. After onset, the sick pigeon discharges greenish saliva from the mouth, the crop is collapsed and shrunken, the neck is stretched in a swallowing posture, and a foul odor is emitted from the mouth. Pale yellow secretions can be seen in the pharynx of the pigeon, or there may be clearly demarcated button-sized or soybean-sized caseous deposits; in some sick pigeons the entire nasopharyngeal mucosa is evenly scattered with pinpoint lesions, which to varying degrees hinder the pigeon's feeding, drinking, and breathing. Sick pigeons often open the mouth and shake the head, vigorously flinging out blockage material from the oral cavity - pale red mucosal pieces or yellow mucosal pieces, like commonly used glue, continuously flinging them out until both eyes are moist and tearing, unbearable.

2. Visceral type: pigeons are infected by eating contaminated feed and water. They often show depression, ruffled feathers, reduced appetite, increased drinking, and yellow viscous watery diarrhea (sulfur-yellow, with foam), a keel like a knife, and weight loss. As the disease develops, trichomonads also invade the pigeon's internal tissues and organs. On necropsy, in the upper digestive tract, there are small white nodules in the crop and esophagus containing caseous material, and fluid accumulates in the crop. On the surface of the liver and spleen, small grayish-white, clearly demarcated nodules can also be seen. In the liver parenchyma there are grayish-white or deep yellow round lesions. However, the throat lesions of diphtheritic (mucosal) type pigeon pox and pigeon candidiasis are similar to this disease. The liver and spleen nodules of pigeon salmonellosis and pigeon tuberculosis are also similar to this disease and should be clearly distinguished.

3. Umbilical type: mostly occurs in squabs; there are no obvious changes in the oral cavity and internal organs, only lesions are seen at and around the umbilicus. In the early stage there is a relatively firm swelling; after incision, yellowish-white caseous material can be seen. As the disease develops, the swelling gradually softens, and after incision it appears as pale yellow mucus.

4. Wound infection type: after the wound is infected by the parasite, the wound becomes red, swollen, and inflamed; the course is relatively long, and the wound forms yellow scabs.

Causes triggering pigeon trichomonads

1. Stress. Poorly designed pigeon loft;

2. Crowding. Incubating eggs and brooding;

3. Molting;

4. Training and racing of homing pigeons;

5. Lack of vitamin A and B complex, accompanied by concurrent diseases, especially upper respiratory tract diseases.

How to treat pigeon trichomonads

1. Symptoms of internal worms: eating normally but losing weight for no reason.

Treatment method: for internal deworming, use one tablet of the pigeon medicine Changchongjing or levamisole hydrochloride (1/4 tablet), feed on an empty stomach in the evening, clean thoroughly early the next morning, and avoid reinfection;

2. Symptoms of coccidiosis: bloody droppings, watery droppings (bamboo-joint shaped), drinking a lot and eating little, vomiting for no reason, emaciation, soft flesh, dirty vent, listlessness.

Treatment method: to clear coccidia, use the pigeon medicine Qiuchong Shaxing, one pill each in the morning and evening, or penicillin 1/4 tablet, twice a day, for 3-5 consecutive days;

3. Symptoms of trichomonads: yellow plaques in the oral cavity, white spots in the throat, strong mouth odor, flushed cere, stringy phlegm, emaciation, watery droppings, flinging food, tiring easily in flight, ruffled feathers, yellow-green droppings.

Treatment method: to clear trichomonads, use the pigeon medicine Disha or metronidazole 1/4 tablet, twice a day, for 3-5 consecutive days;

4. Respiratory symptoms: red and swollen throat, coughing or noisy breathing, stringy phlegm, runny nose, flushed cere or black nose tip, tearing from both eyes.

Treatment method: to clear the respiratory tract, use the pigeon medicine Huchang or erythromycin 1/4 tablet, twice a day, for 3-5 consecutive days;

5. Intestinal infections caused by various pathogens: listlessness, ruffled down, drooping wings, shrunken head and neck, closed eyes and drowsiness, aversion to cold, diarrhea or thin paste-like droppings, down around the vent contaminated by droppings, and in some cases dried droppings sealing around the vent and affecting defecation.. Reduced appetite, then cessation of eating, with most showing symptoms of soft crop.

Treatment method: to clear the intestines, use the pigeon medicine Wenliting or norfloxacin 1/4 capsule, twice a day, for 3-5 consecutive days;

Note: after each treatment, give plain water for one day, then use liver extract or multivitamin electrolytes for 2-3 days of conditioning; each vaccination must be spaced about 2 weeks apart, and other drugs must not be used, so as not to affect the vaccination effect

Pigeon trichomoniasis is a parasitic disease with great harm. If a pigeon suffers from this disease severely, it generally loses its life within a week. Therefore, when it is found that a pigeon has contracted trichomoniasis, treatment must be given promptly to save the pigeon's health and life. Adopt correct methods and approaches to reduce losses to the minimum as much as possible. The above analysis is hoped to be useful to everyone and is for reference only; of course, if a pigeon becomes ill, the best approach is still to find a professional institution for consultation and medication, and not to decide based solely on online information.