Canker is a serious disease that affects pigeons. If not treated properly, it can cause the death of your bird. It is one of the most common diseases of pigeons. About 80% of pigeons develop trichomoniasis (also known as canker).
How does a canker look like? How to treat it at home? Also feeding your pigeon is difficult, how to do that? Stick to the article for a detailed overview..
Contents
What is canker?
Cankers are small yellow creamy-like material developed in the mouth. These lesions are formed by a microorganism called Trichomonas gallinae. This disease occurs mostly in warm weather. Although it can occur all the year.
It can be spread from one pigeon to other. When a parent with an infection goes for feeding his squab, the chances are, baby pigeon will be infected too. If a small number of protozoa will transfer, there are chances that he will develop immunity against it.
What does canker do to pigeons?
Every disease of pigeon is harmful though But in the case of canker, if it is left untreated there are huge chances that your pigeon will die slowly. Chances of sudden death are low. Your pigeon will be weakened. He will be stressed. Pigeon will not eat. It can affect his stomach. When the stomach is disturbed, the pigeon will do watery poopings.
There are two types of canker ,I see in pigeons. The one is in the stomach and the other is in the mouth. Both are very dangerous. Pigeon will live less than 10-14 days without treatment. He will die of hunger.
Symptoms of canker in pigeons
Without knowing the proper symptoms you cannot treat the disease. Whenever you go to your loft, the first symptom you will see the open mouth. Your bird will not eat anything because the lesions are hurting him. If the disease is in the mouth, you will see clear yellow material by opening his mouth.
The most difficult to know canker is in the digestive system. You can’t accurately suggest. So, how to know this? In this situation, your pigeon is lazy and will not eat anything, He will poop out green watery diarrhea. Other symptoms include
- Watery eyes
- Only drinking water
- Green poop
- Watery poop
- Mouth open
- White or yellow lesions in the Oral cavity
- Lesions may locate around the eyes
- Swallowing movements
- Diarrhea
- Weakness
Causes
Canker is caused by a parasite. It takes nutrients from the pigeons and in return, harms the pigeon.
- When a pigeon drinks dirty water, contaminated with poops, there are high chances that he will develop a parasite.
- When your pigeon eats contaminated grains or grains infected with pesticides, there are chances canker will develop.
- It can also spread through carrier pigeons. If an infected pigeon feed the squab, he can also get this disease .
By knowing the causes, you can save your pigeon from this harmful infection.
Treatment
If Trichomoniasis is left untreated in pigeons, it will surely weaken your pigeon and ultimately cause death. There are certain remedies to treat. Here you see the best ones and tested medicines.
For crop canker:
Crop canker is easily detectable. You can clearly see the yellow lesions in the mouth. In this situation, the pigeon’s tube, through which food passes, is blocked. The pigeon failed to eat anything . If he tries to eat he got pain. He just relies on the water.
What to do? In the first step, we have to remove the canker from the pigeon’s mouth. For this, you can use any available tool like cotton buds or a long nail or anything so you can put the yellow lesions out.
It is difficult to do but to save his life we have to take these measurements
Required medicine: Metronidazole salt 100 mg, 2 drops of nystatin 2 times a day for 5 days
You have to give this medicine after cleaning the mouth. If you don’t give him the medicine he will die soon
For the digestive or roundabout area canker
It is difficult to know when canker is internal. You can only diagnose if your pigeon is not eating any food and he is popping out watery and green diarrhea. In this situation, you have to give the same medicine with the same amount.
Canker tablets for pigeons
There are many tablets for this disease. Here I Will elaborate on some of these
Spartrix tablets (Janssen/Elanco) for racing pigeons (Carnidazolum)
This tablet is specially made for canker in pigeons. It is also very effective and can treat in just 3 days. This drug targets the Trichomonas columbae – a parasite.
How to use it? For proper benefit, it is recommended to treat the whole loft at once, Give this before feeding them. 1 (10mg) tablet for adults and half (5mg) for the squabs. YOu should give the tablet directly into the mouth by hand.
4 in 1 tablet for pigeons
This tablet can treat 4 diseases of pigeons Coccidiosis, Canker, wormer, and mite. The single tablet has the ability for treatment. It is recommended not to gove this in molting season. This product is only available in the UK.
Metronidazole (Flagyl) for pigeon canker
Metronidazole is an antibiotic that is very effective for preventing and treating trichomonas. The dosage for 1kg of bird weight should be 50mg of medicine( (62.6mg for adult pigeon is recommended) once daily for 5-7 days and 30 mg for squabs.
Natural Treatment for Canker
Cinnamon powder
Cinnamon is very effective in treating bird diseases like a canker. To use it You need cinnamon powder, lemon, and corn with mixed grains. First, mix the half lemon in the pigeon’s grains in a bowl and then add one tablespoon of cinnamon to it.
If you have never tasted cinnamon to your birds then mix only half a table spoon. After that let it dry for 10 minutes. You can also mix it with the food your pigeons like the most.
Take 1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder and mix it with a small amount of water so just it gets wet and easily molds in shape. Now take a grain of corn and paste over it. Just make sure it sticks over the grain. You have to give this medicine 3 times a day for three days before the canker goes away.
It is effective against canker. YOu can feed it to your bird as a preventive measure also twice a week. Just open his mouth and hand-feed this natural home remedy. It is the very helpful and best treatment for canker.
Apple cider vinegar for pigeon canker
Apple cider vinegar can kill bacteria. It is mostly used as a disinfectant. You can treat E.coli and canker in pigeons. Use 1 tablespoon in 1kg of food. You can also use 1 tablespoon in 1 liter of water. The main purpose is to feed your bird apple cider vinegar. It is recommended to give it to your pigeon along with the cinnamon for more effectiveness.
YOu can use 200ml in 20 liters of water for giving your pigeon bath. It will not only kill bacteria inside but also the parasites on the feathers. It can kill lice and feathers became very shiny.
YOu can also give it your baby pigeon . Add some honey in this regard..
Pigeon canker prevention
YOu can stop canker in pigeons by providing them clean environment. Canker as discussed earlier spreads through drinking contaminated water. Always make sure there is no poop in the water.
Provide your bird fresh water. YOu can add apple cider vinegar to the drinking water. It is because it will make your water acidic and there is no chance of the growth of harmful bacteria that can cause disease in your pigeon.
As prevention add cinnamon powder to their diet as I told you earlier how to make tablets that are effective in treating and preventing canker.
Related questions
How do you feed a pigeon with a canker?
In mouth and crop, the cheesy canker blocks the passage of food. In the stomach, it hurts the pigeon when food enters there. That’s why pigeons mostly rely on water and don’t eat anything. This thing is the cause of the death.
You can feed the pigeon by removing the canker from the mouth by cotton bud or nail. After removing, give him medicine as I recommended earlier. Then feed him grains by hand if he is not eating still.
Do wood pigeons get canker?
Wood pigeons can also get canker if they drink contaminated water. There are chances that it can be spread through any other pigeon if they drink water from the same pot.
Can canker kill pigeons?
Canker can kill your pigeon if you don’t treat this disease earlier. You should always keep an eye on your loft. Look for a lazy pigeon who is not eating and pooping green diarrhea. If the poop is light green, it is the beginning of the disease but if it is dark green, it is a serious concern. Give him medicine immediately. PIgeon survives only between 7-14 days without treatment.
Is canker in pigeons contagious? When infected parents feed their young squab there are chances that this disease affects them. Usually, they can develop immunity but it can be contagious.