Preventative medications

[Soren]

What are some good medications that are used to prevent illness and other parasites? My birds are all healthy now but I would like to find something I can add to their water to keep them as healthy as possible. If all products are thought to be ineffective and unnecessary it would be good to know so I don't buy them.

Thanks

[Bella_F]

Hi Soren!

You might consider worming them regularly, if you think worms are an issue. I have really good results with Moxidectin, but there are others you can use in water too eg levimisole, ivermectin, Pyrantel pamoate. Moxidectin kills external parasites too and doesn't make them feel sick, so I usually use that one for water dosing. It seems to work very well for my birds.

Regarding medicating your birds generally, they say that its best to let your younger birds try to fend off most illness themselves, because it builds up their natural immunity. So unless a youngster is sick, its probably best to help them build a good immune system with providing good food, Apple cidar vinegar in the water, greens etc.

If your loft hygiene isn't so good and there is a lot of dampness, there is a preventative for coccidia called amprolium. You could give them that once a month until you can provide better conditions for your birds...happens sometimes when people find their lofts suddenly overcrowded or they are in the process of building one (or you become incapacitated etc)

[spirit wings]

Originally Posted by Soren

What are some good medications that are used to prevent illness and other parasites? My birds are all healthy now but I would like to find something I can add to their water to keep them as healthy as possible. If all products are thought to be ineffective and unnecessary it would be good to know so I don't buy them.

Thanks

I would keep on hand a broad spectrum antibiotic and canker medications and only use them if or when you need too . do not use the 4 n 1's or other blended ones as they only can cause resistances and do not cure well if at all if one is sick.

preventatives would be the use of ACV in the water and vitamins/mineral suppliment, deworming meds done twice a year if you do not fecal check them.. some deworm after a hard frost or before breeding and then again in mid spring, keeping the droppings up and out of water and feed and don't overbreed or overcrowd the birds, qauantine any new birds and keep check on their droppings, medicate them(new birds) if need be, and you should have little problems.

[whytwings]

I like to keep an antibiotic such as Baytril handy .....for my own birds and any rescues that come my way so that I can start treatment immediately and without delay . I always keep an eye out for friends that are discarding antibiotics such as Amoxyclav , they can be out of date ( expiry date ) and still work just fine .

[Alamo]

SOREN......Just in case YOU might get one of these health problems every day,take these and be safe !!!

Asprins:You MIGHT get a headache.....
Tums: You might get a upset stomach....
Cough medicine....You might get you know what...
ETC...ETC...ETC....

Do you get my point ??? YOU do not take any med`s UNLESS there is a problem....Likie the other guys have said,keep some med`s on hand JUST IN CASE,the birds come down with something...If you DID give them med`s everyday,their system,and any germs will get used to the med`s,and when you would HAVE to medicate the birds,the med`s would be useless...if the birds are healthy,leave them alone.....Alamo

[Bella_F]

I just wanted to reinforce what Spirit Wings mentioned too, about antibiotic use. . Antibiotics are extremely important medicines for our birds, but bacteria in birds are capable of building up resistance to them. That's means if your birds gets very sick one day and you've been using antibiotics as `preventatives' , you may encounter bacteria that is resistant, and your bird may not get well again. So like the others mentioned, keep antibiotics on hand, but use them carefully. I would recommend that you keep a sulfa antibiotic on hand, like Sulmet, Albion, Sulfa trim. Also, a canker medicine such as Metronidazole or ronidazole. But only use when sick...

[minimonkey]

I'm a big fan of apple cider vinegar, garlic, and probiotics as general health boosters.

I keep baytril and doxycycline antibiotics on hand always, and also spartrix for canker. I don't use those unless there is a sick bird, or I get in a new rescue that needs treatment.

I do treat preventively for canker and coccidiosis with the Dr. Pigeon's formulas, using their suggested preventive schedule, since I have several birds with weak immune systems (rescues who were very, very ill at one time) who are quite canker prone -- I have found this helpful, though I am sure others might disagree with whether it is a good idea or not.

[Soren]

I wasn't talking about giving antibiotics on a regular basis but I guess I couldn't really explain what I meant. I'm looking for more of what minimonkey said about the apple cider vinegar and garlic. I guess you would call it probiotics?

Thanks for all the responses!

[MaryOfExeter]

What you should have said was you're looking for preventative supplements not medications

Alternating apple cider vinegar and probiotics in the water should keep them healthy. A little garlic in the feed every now and then.

[Soren]

Yea that was my fault for the misunderstanding. Sorry about that.

Where can I get some good probiotics?

Thanks

[Bella_F]

Soren, Just so you know, Apple cidar vinegar & garlic are not probiotics, but are very useful. Probiotics are a specific type of supplement and can purchased at online pigeon stores like Jedd's and Foy's. They are usually expensive for regular use, and so most people use them after antibiotic treatments.

[Soren]

Originally Posted by Bella_F

Soren, Just so you know, Apple cidar vinegar & garlic are not probiotics, but are very useful. Probiotics are a specific type of supplement and can purchased at online pigeon stores like Jedd's and Foy's. They are usually expensive for regular use, and so most people use them after antibiotic treatments.

That's great to know, thank you!

[MaryOfExeter]

Originally Posted by Soren

Yea that was my fault for the misunderstanding. Sorry about that.

Where can I get some good probiotics?

Thanks

Is there a Tractor Supply nearby? They sell Probios, which is a brand of probiotics. I just bought a huge tub of it for $50. Of course I have a lot of birds and put it in the water a lot so it was a good investment. They sell much smaller and much cheaper tubs but they were out when I went so I can't say for sure how much it is. But if all else fails you can always order probiotics online from one of the pigeon supply stores.


I just looked and my tub is 5lbs. But you only need to use 1 teaspoon per gallon for pigeons/birds, dogs, and other small animals. So it lasts a long time. But has a shelf life of 2 years if kept in a cool dry place (I keep mine in the fridge).

[Soren]

Yes I do have a tractor supply nearby. Is the product specific for pigeons or will it say it's for different types of animals?

Ill go by there on Thursday.

Thanks

[MaryOfExeter]

Originally Posted by Soren

Yes I do have a tractor supply nearby. Is the product specific for pigeons or will it say it's for different types of animals?

Ill go by there on Thursday.

Thanks

It's for all animals They have dosages from horses down to reptiles on the back. It contains pretty much every good bacteria I've heard of so it covers all the bases I think.