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By Mick Freakley (Freakley & Ainley) Approximately 18 months ago, we discovered a discharge from the nostrils of a number of our budgerigars, although this was difficult to detect in it's early stages, we soon became very adept at spotting this infection. Initial symptoms seem to be a difference in the nostril size, it was noted that in most cases infection was only in one nostril, the affected one appears smaller than the unaffected one, if gentle pressure with the finger nail is applied to the cere, it is possible to detect a fluid/mucus in the nasal passage. In hens the cere is the normal hen colour on the unaffected side but the infected side is of a lighter colour, grey/ blue, again by applying pressure to the cere the fluid/mucus is evident, the cere tissue appears softer. In more severe cases the fluid discharges from the nostril and dries as a crust, in all cases the birds have laboured breathing. The third and most disturbing symptom is the forming of a lump above the cere; this can be the size of a pea, the feathers on the head stop growing where the lump is evident, the lump is Granulation tissue and can appear very quickly, birds in this advanced stage of infection may die if not treated. Advice was sought, an appointment was made with both mine and Ian's local vet, certain products were recommended and tried at much expense, but with negative results. We were told of a product from Australia that other breeders had tried with some success, unfortunately this product had little effect on our birds; homeopathy treatments were also tried, again with no effect. Eventually we contacted Kevin Eatwell a veterinary and fellow budgerigar breeder, an appointment was made at the practice where Kevin works, he was very helpful and recommended a course of treatment. The treatment involved nasal flushing, this process required applying 0.1mm of Baytrill mixed with 2mm of saline solution in a syringe, the needle was broken off to allow the end of the syringe to sit nicely on the nostril, the fluid was then flushed through the nasal passages of infected birds until it came out of the mouth, both nostrils were treated, it is important the bird is held upside down whilst this operation takes place to avoid drowning, 0.1 mm of Baytrill oral 2.5% was also administered directly into the crop using a crop tube, culture samples had been taken from our infected birds and we were awaiting the results. We felt for the first time we now had a treatment that had a chance of working. Unfortunately the flushing process proved too stressful for some of the birds, and we were advised by Kevin not to continue this method on birds showing signs of stress, obviously not wanting to lose birds through the stress of treatment we refrained from using this method on some of the birds, a shame as improvement in the treated birds was evident. By this time the results of the culture samples were available, these showed that the infection was caused by a combination of two very virulent bacteria called Pseudmonus and Klebsiella It is believed that very good results have been achieved treating other problems by using a product called F10, this product is an anti bacterial/anti viriadal disinfectant, and it was suggested that we Nebulise the birds with F10 at the rate of 1:250. twice a day for a minimum period of half hour per day, for a 2-week period. This process is easily achieved by placing the birds to be treated in a show cage, the outlet to the nebuliser is then wedged between the bars of the cage, place a cover over the cage and switch on the nebuliser, this operation is totally stress free, for both the birds and the fancier. I would point out at this stage we have only 10 effected birds out of a stud of approximately 220, but as this infection is contagious, it was decided to isolate these from the main stud, as should be the practise with any birds showing signs of infection/illness of any kind. It was suggested to us that it was very likely that the initial infection was contracted during a show, this is why we have decided to publish this problem, to try to highlight the fact that at this time more than ever, with the virus etc, we all need to be on the ball with how we manage our studs, try to spot problems early, and treat ill/infected birds as soon as possible. We must not leave that sick bird in the corner of the bird room until the inevitable happens, chances are it will not recover, and in our experience those that look as though they have recovered inevitably fall ill again, and have very little chance of breeding anyway, if you don't want to dispose of it, isolate it from your main bird room, don't risk infecting all your birds for the sake of one. As far as F10 is concerned we now spray the bird rooms twice a day, once in the morning after doing the nest box check etc, and again in the evening just before lights out. This process is to keep any bacteria/virus infections down to a minimum, we have also just purchased a fogging unit, this we will use as a preventative once a month, or more frequently if we feel the need, our aviaries will be fogged using F10 at the required rate 1:500. It should be noted that neither birds nor food/water need to be removed during this operation The fogging units are available from Aviary Hygiene they can be contacted on 01233 860440 Aviary Scrub is used for all our cleaning and washing of dishes etc, and hand sterilliser is used between nest box inspection and after handling birds to avoid any cross infection, both these excellent products are also available from Aviary hygiene. The benefits of fogging are that all parts of the bird room will get treated; every nook and cranny, there will be no escape for the little blighters. You may feel that this is a little extreme, but we decided we wanted to have total control over our bird rooms and keep bacterial/viral levels as low as possible. We believe the benefit far out weigh the initial outlay and can only reduce future losses. The treated birds we are pleased to say are now showing signs of recovery, we have found that infected birds that are treated immediately the symptoms appear, make a full recovery and are cured of the infection, the lumps are treated with an anti inflammatory product and disappear in around a week. It is possible to breed with infected stock as long as it takes place in a separate room from the main stud, but the eggs will need to be fostered to other nests before hatching, this will avoid the infected parent birds passing the infection onto their off spring. We have created a quarantine area in the new extension to my bird room; it is completely self-contained and has its own heating/lighting system. We would urge you to have a careful look at your stock, since we have been involved with this nasal problem, we have been surprised at the amount of fanciers who have admitted having birds with the same symptoms. There is no shame in having a problem in your stock; the only shame in our opinion is if on discovery, you chose to do nothing about it. NB: the only thing I would add, having a bit more experience with it since writing this article, is that they cant be cured. Those that make a recovery show the syptoms decribed again as soon as they are put under pressure. Copyright © Mick Freakley http://www.fa1-stud.co.uk/. All Rights Reserved This article may not be reproduced in any way, shape or form without the express permission of Mick Freakley. |
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