We have an outbreak of canker!!!!

Charis - I should have kept my mouth shut yesterday regarding the canker - I am always punished for saying these kinds of things - it was too much defying the gods apparently.

We hade this terrible weather change from nearly springlike temperatures to far below zero again with snow and everything and the poor pigeons have to pay for it aain:

Today I saw Winnie vomitting a bit on the balcony so I checked her when she came in for feeding. This is the great blessing again when your ferals are trained to come in for food - so I can check them out quite easily. When I looked into Winnie's mouth there was a perfideous leasion at the side of her mouth - no yellow deposits though to be seen - which was addiditionally quite red - so I treated her immediately with Spartrix. Then I waited for Charly - her new mate - to come in and checked him also. He had no lesions but his mouth was a bit too red also - so I gave him a pill as well.

And of course this was not enough - Pina started to vomit this afternoon - so she was treated as well. I have watched her these days eating a lot of grit and already thought that this is a bit strange. As I could not see anything worrying in her mouth yet I thought it should be okay but as she started to vomit today - that was it. I assume that Pina tried to clean her crop with the grit or her intestines - I don't know. She has not bad odour, her poops are perfect and she has a good appetite. I also weighed her this morning and she has a good 368 gr which is perfect for her as well. So I think I just caught her on time before the canker gets more of her...

Rudi will get a pill tonight as well - just in case. I am not fiddling around when it comes to canker. A terrible desease!!!!

Petra...
Spartix may not be enough. If you can, try to find flagyl because you may need to use both.
years ago, when I first saw canker, I mistakenly thought that one pill of canker was a cure and so did my vet Deb. Long story short, the birds did not recover and that was also well before we understood that canker can affect more of the pigeon than just the mouth and throat. Many pigeons were euthanized needlessly because the one pill didn't work and we didn't understand that they needed to be treated for 5 days or longer.
Since then, canker, world wide, has become resistant to spartrix and often metronidazol and the other canker drugs too but in combination, the canker can be brought under control.

If you can find a liquid metronidazol, it mixes well with water and you can treat the others in their drinking water. For the birds that have obvious symptoms, individual treatment is best.

I am so sorry to hear what's going on, Petra.
I'm sending my best wishes and positive thoughts that you are able to get a handle on this and all the pijjies recovery without incident.

Please keep us posted.

Charis, i am going to continue with the treatment of course. Spartrix has proven to be very effective here so far. Remember I treated Pina and Peppi 1 1/2 years ago very successfully. I have enough pills still. I also have metronidazole pills if necessary. Thank you!!!!

AZWhitefeather wrote:

I am so sorry to hear what's going on, Petra.
I'm sending my best wishes and positive thoughts that you are able to get a handle on this and all the pijjies recovery without incident.

Please keep us posted.

Thank you so much Cindy - I think I caught them on time before anything worse happened.

You understand the importance of treating them all...yes?

I woke up in the night,thinking of this and wanted to ask you, Petra...do you suppose...that when your vet said that all feral pigeons have the PMV virus...that she actually meant to say that all feral pigeons have parasite that causes canker? That does make more sense to me.

pigeonwriter wrote:

Charis, i am going to continue with the treatment of course.

Spartrix has proven to be very effective here so far. Remember I treated Pina and Peppi 1 1/2 years ago very successfully.

I have enough pills still. I also have metronidazole pills if necessary. Thank you!!!!

Spartrix is all I have ever used and the results have been very successful.

AZWhitefeather wrote:

pigeonwriter wrote:

Charis, i am going to continue with the treatment of course.

Spartrix has proven to be very effective here so far. Remember I treated Pina and Peppi 1 1/2 years ago very successfully.

I have enough pills still. I also have metronidazole pills if necessary. Thank you!!!!

Spartrix is all I have ever used and the results have been very successful.

Sadly, Cindy...many of us have found that canker has become more resistant to Spartrix or metronidazole alone but the two together work well. Jim, in Tucson has had good results using both and so have I. Others have had a similar experience.

Charis, do you remember my little Delilah? She had canker so bad at 2 weeks old, that the vet didn't think she would make it. Her throat was almost completely blocked off, and she had a lump on the side of her neck. I had to feed her with very thin formula. I treated her with Spartrix for 3 days, but with absolutely no results. That's when I took her to the vet, who gave me the liquid Flagyl. The lump on her throat went away fairly quickly with the Flagyl, but it took like 14 days to clear up her throat. I know it depends on the strain of canker, and what that strain might be resistant to, but I'd go with the Flagyl (Metronidazole), and if need be, I'd give both the Spartrix and the Flagyl. Most seem to have better luck with the Flagyl.
Hope the birds get better soon.

That's right Jay. I had forgotten about her. That was frightening because it took so long to clear up. You were lucky that you were able to see the canker rather than have the internal kind, that you can't see.

Matilda wrote:

AZWhitefeather wrote:

pigeonwriter wrote:

Charis, i am going to continue with the treatment of course.

Spartrix has proven to be very effective here so far. Remember I treated Pina and Peppi 1 1/2 years ago very successfully.

I have enough pills still. I also have metronidazole pills if necessary. Thank you!!!!

Spartrix is all I have ever used and the results have been very successful.

Sadly, Cindy...many of us have found that canker has become more resistant to Spartrix or metronidazole alone but the two together work well. Jim, in Tucson has had good results using both and so have I. Others have had a similar experience.

Yes, I'm aware of that, Charis.

I was just posting my experience with Spartrix, which was successful by itself.

A little update:

Pina had no vomiting today any more - she is in good mood

Rudi - has been treated - no symptoms

Winnie - vomitted several times this morning but stopped after miday - slightly lighter mouth

Charly - has been treated - no symptoms besides still a reddish mouth

Jimi - has been treated - absolutely no symptoms at all

Pete - vomited a bit today - treated as well although he had not even a reddish mouth

Emma - treated - no symptoms besides a bit reddish mouth

All of them don't have bad odours, nor bad poops, nor lumps. This is soooo tricky! So I really hope that I have caught this before it's getting bad.

Looking for signs of the others on the balcony - none so far. Please pray that this is it!!!
I don't want another bunch of sick pigeons - had enough!!!

Sending healing prayers your way!!!!

I'm glad to hear things are improving, Petra.
Will continue think positive thoughts.

Glad they are doing better.

I'm very relieved to hear they're doing better, Petra.
At the end of summer I was hoping that was the end of that terrible few months of serious, often fatal canker, and it's very worrying and disappointing to see it's still going on, even in cold weather.

Best wishes for your patients! If you need any meds for them that I can get for you, just let me know.

Cindy, Robin, Jay - thank you all so much. Your prayers must have helped!
Teresa - at the moment I have everything I need - thank you so much as well!

Today all the pijjies seemed in good mood and no-one vomitted - despite the on-going terrible weather. All had good appetite again - even Pete - who was feeling not good yesterday as I could see - was his old self again. I am not saying it BUT .......

Only Rudi was limping again so he received a warm foot bath and a pain treatment again. I really don't know why he is limping. There is absolutely nothing to be seen on his soles. And his feet are completely clean. Nothing that has been growing into his flesh. I thoroughly checked his gaps (from the threads) where there could be poop or other dirt but they are completely clean. Could it be that the cold weather has a bad influence - let's say something like rheuma or fibro???? Not that he has rheuma but you understand what I mean?