Most years I have some hens laying 8 days after pairing up. This year the birds were a bit slower, the first egg was laid 10 days after pairing. We checked the loft every evening after supper to see how many had laid. Most evenings only two or three pairs had deposited a new egg in the bowl. Only 10% laying each day, it looked like it would take a while, it did.
After two weeks only half of the 33 pairs had laid. A week later, all the birds were down on eggs except for two pairs. Two yearling cocks, each one being way to aggressive towards the hen, practically chasing the hen out of the nest box instead of quietly calling from the nest bow. They are now finally paired and we are waiting for the hens to lay.
I believe that the reason for the slower breeding season so far can be blamed on two factors. One is the cold weather that set in shortly after pairing up the birds, one morning the thermometer sat on -28 C. This is the area on the temperature scale where Celsius and Fahrenheit meet. Whatever the thermometer says becomes irrelevant at these temperatures. It’s just plain cold. I am sure these extreme temperatures slowed the pairing process down by several days. The other factor I put down to the fact that over half of the birds are yearlings and they are just slower than the old birds.
In another day or so I will float the eggs from the 10 pairs of breeders under the lesser quality racers. One cock the “Yonge Grijse” in the breeding loft is being paired to two hens. There are 4 pairs of feeders in the breeding loft and they will be used to hatch and raise the youngsters. Last year he and a daughter out of “Gretha” produced the very best young bird I have ever flown. The young hen 08 CU TD 1833 only raced six weeks. She flew combine 24th, 5th, 5th, 5th, 2nd and 1st. She was the Best Young Bird in the club, won the CRPU Ontario Provincial Award and earned the most points in the history of the CRPU Award of Excellence using either the new or old system of calculating points. What was most impressive about her performance was the last race she flew. It was an Open race from Smiths Falls, a 300 miler where the birds hit a weather front and they had to race the last 100 km into rain. It didn’t hold her back, she flew 27 minutes ahead. She was immediately stopped and moved to the breeding loft. I have a full sister to her mother and both she and 1833’s mother will be paired rotationally to him. I hope to get 8 or more youngsters that I can race out of these 3 birds. One set of eggs has already been moved and the “Yonge Grijse” is now paired to the other sister.
Since the racers are all on eggs but for the one yearling cock, the lights have been turned off and they are now on natural day length.
I took delivery of 1,000 lbs of breeding mix last week. Jack a friend took 250 lbs, which should leave me with enough to last the breeding season. More on the breeding mix in my next post.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Fungal Meningitis
I wrote the material below several years ago. I feel it is still relevant. I have reworked the original and am posting it for your information.
Nicko
A while back there was some correspondence on the internet that caught my eye. A fancier had a problem with weight loss, lassitude and loss of coordination in his pigeons and he was looking for answers.
Leo Turley (Australia) was one of the respondents to the request for help. It seems Leo has had a similar problem in the past and Dr. Rob Marshall (Australia) came up with a diagnosis that I had not heard of before. Fungal Meningitis caused by mycotoxins on the grain fed to the pigeons.
The grain we feed to our birds can have mycotoxins on it. These mycotoxins which are produced by fungi and mould are poisonous to the pigeons and can cause a variety of problems. I read extensively and have not seen the subject of Mycotoxins addressed in the pigeon press. After some research and reading on the subject myself, I have come to the conclusion that it is largely an unrecognized source of health problems in our birds.
We all have had those years where no matter what we do we cannot get the birds to perform as they should. We worm them; treat them for coccidiosis, canker, and every other imaginable health problem we can dream up and nothing helps. The problem may lie with a fungal infection of the feed. Not all fungal or mould infection in our grains is obvious. Most of them cannot be detected with the naked eye. Growing conditions while the grain is maturing and the moisture at which it is stored largely determines whether or not the crop will become infected. Infected grain does not have to look bad to our eye or smell musty or mouldy. It can seem perfectly healthy and still present a problem. A very low level of mycotoxin infection of the grain can be harmful to the birds.
Leo offers his experience on the subject in his own words.
"In the past I have had two cases broadly similar to this, although not directly from feeding youngsters. Dr Rob Marshall diagnosed fungal meningitis, in my cases, after analysing the feed. Has anyone else had experience with the effects of fungal toxins arising from exposed feed and more particularly its triggering affect on the dormant/resident diseases of pigeons and ultimately on racing performance? Loss of co-ordination, particularly the effect of falling backwards onto the tail, is typical. Eventual loss of weight has occurred in my instances from poor coordination when trying to pick up grain.
I have only had a small number showing the meningeal effect in a loft of 50 birds which were diagnosed as equally affected with fungal toxin. Mark, it is probably not so in your case, but worth a thought.
There is a layman's crude way of testing the quality of grains (in similar fashion to the regular sprouting test). We have found that Sorghum (dari, milo et al) and maize are prime candidates for fungal infection and consequential carriers of toxic residue. Isolate your feed grains into individual handful lots and place them into separate sterile jars capable of being airtight sealed. Cover the grain with sterile water and re-seal allowing to soak for 24 hours. At the end of 24 hours drain off the water and quickly re-seal and allow to stand in an airy light situation for three days, or more.
Any grain showing signs of mould formation in the first 24 hours after draining off the water and re-sealing are likely to be fungal toxin affected. Any other grain forming a fungal deposit in two to three days needs to be looked at quite closely in terms of continuing on with its use in a racing situation. It is my own limited experience with this crude testing, that good (unaffected) grains survive for more than 3 days, before succumbing, in some cases, to mild mould formation. We are aware of the ubiquitous nature of fungal spores and the likely contamination of test grains from exposure to the atmosphere, although it is very obvious, in testing, that mould formation in the first 24 hours arises from mould affected grain.
Without going into great detail at this stage, the basic and normal progression of ingested fungal toxin is gastric upsets, lassitude, loss of 'form' and combined with racing stress, opens the way for the more serious mycoplasma's and the other usuals such as Trichomoniasis etc.
I have a feeling that this is a fairly new area of health in maintaining racing condition on our pigeons. At least it is my understanding that Dr Rob Marshall has been working independent of other possible similar studies of fungal infection of grain and its affects on pigeon health. It has only been of recent time that Dr. Marshall has sanctioned this fairly loose testing method as described above for home testing. Previously, we needed to send our grain samples to Rob for testing in more clinical conditions, and being almost 5,000 km (3000 miles) away we were losing time receiving a diagnosis. It is probably worthy of mention that both my cases of fungal meningitis were 'cured' after treatment with Gentian Violet crystals (Rob's trade name GV11) in their water over 5 days and went on to race quite well. GV11 is typically anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anthelmintic. It is possible some birds (like my two and possibly Mark's) are more susceptable to the meningeal effect. Beyond this I am getting out of my depth and Dr Marshall would need to explain further.
As I have mentioned in the past, we have Animal Welfare issues to deal with and it is my own personal opinion that we have come to grips with a lot of our latent health problems here in WA concerning our racing pigeon through identifying the more insidious affects of poor grain shipments."
Leo Turley
The following information is contained in a feed manufacturing bulletin produced by the
“Department Of Grain Science and Industry, - Kansas State University, U.S.A." called" Mycotoxins in Feed Grains and Ingredients" MF-2061.
“Aflatoxins are the most notorious mycotoxins due to their early discovery and the abundant amount of research information available compared to other mycotoxins. The toxins were isolated and identified in 1961, following a 1960 incident in which 100,000 turkey poults in the British Isles died from eating feed containing contaminated peanut meal. Aflatoxin may occur in the field and in storage."
"Droughts and accompanying high temperatures during grain fill are conducive to fungal invasion and mycotoxin production in corn. Notable epidemics in corn during the past decade include 1993 in the south-eastern U.S. and in 1988 in the corn belt, both accompanied by droughts and high summer temperatures."
"Producers and feed manufacturers may be less familiar with other mycotoxins such as ochratoxin, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, T-2, and fumonisin. Each of these mycotoxins is produced by one of several species of fungi when conditions are favourable for growth and toxin production."
"Feed manufacturers who incorporate mycotoxin contaminated grain or feed in their product may encounter livestock health problems or poor animal performance."
To give you an idea of the low levels of contamination required to cause major health concerns they go on to say:
"Decreased growth rate and a lower feed efficiency are seen when Aflatoxin is consumed in feed at levels between 100 ppb and 400ppb (That's Parts per Billion) ………….. Liver damage, bleeding disorders and death may occur when Aflatoxin levels exceed 400ppb. At these levels sows may abort or farrow dead pigs."
"Aflatoxins may increase stress susceptibility and compromise growth efficiency. Chronic symptoms include liver damage, reduced growth, decreased feed efficiency, kidney damage, anemia, interference with the immune system, greater susceptibility to bruising, and interference with normal protein and fat metabolism. Signs of acute aflatoxicosis include depression, nervousness, abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal prolapse and death".
Now that we have had all the bad news it is time to present some recommendations that will decrease the chances that you may be feeding contaminated grain.If you are buying your grain direct from the farm make sure the grain is dried down to the proper moisture content, usually 15% or less. At this moisture content there is minimal chance that the feed will produce fungi or mould in storage. Store your grains where it is absolutely dry. The temperatures should be low. Optimum temperature for mycotoxin growth is 25 C to 32 C (77 F to 90 F) and 85% relative humidity in the storage bin. Buy dust free grains. Most of the mycotoxin growth takes place on the outer shell or hull of the grain. Buy grain that has been double cleaned and is as free as possible of dust and hulls. Treat the grain with a proprionic acid preparation. Proprionic acid added to the grain before storage will help slow down mycotoxin production if conditions favour it. It is important to know that proprionic acid preparations will not make infected feeds safe, they can only be used as a preventive on clean grains. Most farm dealers should be able to help you with this product. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. J.E.D.D.'S in California handle a product called MONOPROP in a 500 gm container that can be added to the feed (1-800-659-5928), and in Australia Dr. Rob Marshall sells a product called Protonic. Leo Turley says it is a brown organic looking substance with a very pungent odour. Protonic is prescribed for storage purposes at one teaspoonful to 5 kilograms. It is used as a safety measure after having first tested the grain. If you want to be safe use the testing method Leo prescribes above. If any mould can be seen be careful. It may still be safe to feed (mouldy feed does not necessarily have mycotoxins), but I would not take the chance. Feed may look fine but still smell musty. Be very careful with musty smelling feeds.
Some researchers have reported that Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) added to the diet of poultry helped them fight the effects of mycotoxins. This may also be true of pigeons and is worth considering.
Although mycotoxins can be very harmful, remember that most of the grain on the market is not contaminated and is perfectly safe to use. Most of the larger companies now test their grains for mycotoxins; they cannot afford to sell contaminated feed as they may be held liable for any damages incurred. Many of the pigeon feed retailers in this country (Canada) and I imagine everywhere except Europe, are of a small size. I know from personal experience that not all of them test their grains. Not because they can't afford it, (the tests are inexpensive) but, through a lack of knowledge. It is when you buy from them, direct from the grower or when your feed has been stored to long that problems may pop up. Keep your eyes open when buying grain. Test it before purchase if possible, treat it with a proprionic acid preparation, store it properly, and the possibility that you may be feeding contaminated feed should be very minimal.
Nicko
Nicko
A while back there was some correspondence on the internet that caught my eye. A fancier had a problem with weight loss, lassitude and loss of coordination in his pigeons and he was looking for answers.
Leo Turley (Australia) was one of the respondents to the request for help. It seems Leo has had a similar problem in the past and Dr. Rob Marshall (Australia) came up with a diagnosis that I had not heard of before. Fungal Meningitis caused by mycotoxins on the grain fed to the pigeons.
The grain we feed to our birds can have mycotoxins on it. These mycotoxins which are produced by fungi and mould are poisonous to the pigeons and can cause a variety of problems. I read extensively and have not seen the subject of Mycotoxins addressed in the pigeon press. After some research and reading on the subject myself, I have come to the conclusion that it is largely an unrecognized source of health problems in our birds.
We all have had those years where no matter what we do we cannot get the birds to perform as they should. We worm them; treat them for coccidiosis, canker, and every other imaginable health problem we can dream up and nothing helps. The problem may lie with a fungal infection of the feed. Not all fungal or mould infection in our grains is obvious. Most of them cannot be detected with the naked eye. Growing conditions while the grain is maturing and the moisture at which it is stored largely determines whether or not the crop will become infected. Infected grain does not have to look bad to our eye or smell musty or mouldy. It can seem perfectly healthy and still present a problem. A very low level of mycotoxin infection of the grain can be harmful to the birds.
Leo offers his experience on the subject in his own words.
"In the past I have had two cases broadly similar to this, although not directly from feeding youngsters. Dr Rob Marshall diagnosed fungal meningitis, in my cases, after analysing the feed. Has anyone else had experience with the effects of fungal toxins arising from exposed feed and more particularly its triggering affect on the dormant/resident diseases of pigeons and ultimately on racing performance? Loss of co-ordination, particularly the effect of falling backwards onto the tail, is typical. Eventual loss of weight has occurred in my instances from poor coordination when trying to pick up grain.
I have only had a small number showing the meningeal effect in a loft of 50 birds which were diagnosed as equally affected with fungal toxin. Mark, it is probably not so in your case, but worth a thought.
There is a layman's crude way of testing the quality of grains (in similar fashion to the regular sprouting test). We have found that Sorghum (dari, milo et al) and maize are prime candidates for fungal infection and consequential carriers of toxic residue. Isolate your feed grains into individual handful lots and place them into separate sterile jars capable of being airtight sealed. Cover the grain with sterile water and re-seal allowing to soak for 24 hours. At the end of 24 hours drain off the water and quickly re-seal and allow to stand in an airy light situation for three days, or more.
Any grain showing signs of mould formation in the first 24 hours after draining off the water and re-sealing are likely to be fungal toxin affected. Any other grain forming a fungal deposit in two to three days needs to be looked at quite closely in terms of continuing on with its use in a racing situation. It is my own limited experience with this crude testing, that good (unaffected) grains survive for more than 3 days, before succumbing, in some cases, to mild mould formation. We are aware of the ubiquitous nature of fungal spores and the likely contamination of test grains from exposure to the atmosphere, although it is very obvious, in testing, that mould formation in the first 24 hours arises from mould affected grain.
Without going into great detail at this stage, the basic and normal progression of ingested fungal toxin is gastric upsets, lassitude, loss of 'form' and combined with racing stress, opens the way for the more serious mycoplasma's and the other usuals such as Trichomoniasis etc.
I have a feeling that this is a fairly new area of health in maintaining racing condition on our pigeons. At least it is my understanding that Dr Rob Marshall has been working independent of other possible similar studies of fungal infection of grain and its affects on pigeon health. It has only been of recent time that Dr. Marshall has sanctioned this fairly loose testing method as described above for home testing. Previously, we needed to send our grain samples to Rob for testing in more clinical conditions, and being almost 5,000 km (3000 miles) away we were losing time receiving a diagnosis. It is probably worthy of mention that both my cases of fungal meningitis were 'cured' after treatment with Gentian Violet crystals (Rob's trade name GV11) in their water over 5 days and went on to race quite well. GV11 is typically anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anthelmintic. It is possible some birds (like my two and possibly Mark's) are more susceptable to the meningeal effect. Beyond this I am getting out of my depth and Dr Marshall would need to explain further.
As I have mentioned in the past, we have Animal Welfare issues to deal with and it is my own personal opinion that we have come to grips with a lot of our latent health problems here in WA concerning our racing pigeon through identifying the more insidious affects of poor grain shipments."
Leo Turley
The following information is contained in a feed manufacturing bulletin produced by the
“Department Of Grain Science and Industry, - Kansas State University, U.S.A." called" Mycotoxins in Feed Grains and Ingredients" MF-2061.
“Aflatoxins are the most notorious mycotoxins due to their early discovery and the abundant amount of research information available compared to other mycotoxins. The toxins were isolated and identified in 1961, following a 1960 incident in which 100,000 turkey poults in the British Isles died from eating feed containing contaminated peanut meal. Aflatoxin may occur in the field and in storage."
"Droughts and accompanying high temperatures during grain fill are conducive to fungal invasion and mycotoxin production in corn. Notable epidemics in corn during the past decade include 1993 in the south-eastern U.S. and in 1988 in the corn belt, both accompanied by droughts and high summer temperatures."
"Producers and feed manufacturers may be less familiar with other mycotoxins such as ochratoxin, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, T-2, and fumonisin. Each of these mycotoxins is produced by one of several species of fungi when conditions are favourable for growth and toxin production."
"Feed manufacturers who incorporate mycotoxin contaminated grain or feed in their product may encounter livestock health problems or poor animal performance."
To give you an idea of the low levels of contamination required to cause major health concerns they go on to say:
"Decreased growth rate and a lower feed efficiency are seen when Aflatoxin is consumed in feed at levels between 100 ppb and 400ppb (That's Parts per Billion) ………….. Liver damage, bleeding disorders and death may occur when Aflatoxin levels exceed 400ppb. At these levels sows may abort or farrow dead pigs."
"Aflatoxins may increase stress susceptibility and compromise growth efficiency. Chronic symptoms include liver damage, reduced growth, decreased feed efficiency, kidney damage, anemia, interference with the immune system, greater susceptibility to bruising, and interference with normal protein and fat metabolism. Signs of acute aflatoxicosis include depression, nervousness, abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal prolapse and death".
Now that we have had all the bad news it is time to present some recommendations that will decrease the chances that you may be feeding contaminated grain.If you are buying your grain direct from the farm make sure the grain is dried down to the proper moisture content, usually 15% or less. At this moisture content there is minimal chance that the feed will produce fungi or mould in storage. Store your grains where it is absolutely dry. The temperatures should be low. Optimum temperature for mycotoxin growth is 25 C to 32 C (77 F to 90 F) and 85% relative humidity in the storage bin. Buy dust free grains. Most of the mycotoxin growth takes place on the outer shell or hull of the grain. Buy grain that has been double cleaned and is as free as possible of dust and hulls. Treat the grain with a proprionic acid preparation. Proprionic acid added to the grain before storage will help slow down mycotoxin production if conditions favour it. It is important to know that proprionic acid preparations will not make infected feeds safe, they can only be used as a preventive on clean grains. Most farm dealers should be able to help you with this product. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. J.E.D.D.'S in California handle a product called MONOPROP in a 500 gm container that can be added to the feed (1-800-659-5928), and in Australia Dr. Rob Marshall sells a product called Protonic. Leo Turley says it is a brown organic looking substance with a very pungent odour. Protonic is prescribed for storage purposes at one teaspoonful to 5 kilograms. It is used as a safety measure after having first tested the grain. If you want to be safe use the testing method Leo prescribes above. If any mould can be seen be careful. It may still be safe to feed (mouldy feed does not necessarily have mycotoxins), but I would not take the chance. Feed may look fine but still smell musty. Be very careful with musty smelling feeds.
Some researchers have reported that Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) added to the diet of poultry helped them fight the effects of mycotoxins. This may also be true of pigeons and is worth considering.
Although mycotoxins can be very harmful, remember that most of the grain on the market is not contaminated and is perfectly safe to use. Most of the larger companies now test their grains for mycotoxins; they cannot afford to sell contaminated feed as they may be held liable for any damages incurred. Many of the pigeon feed retailers in this country (Canada) and I imagine everywhere except Europe, are of a small size. I know from personal experience that not all of them test their grains. Not because they can't afford it, (the tests are inexpensive) but, through a lack of knowledge. It is when you buy from them, direct from the grower or when your feed has been stored to long that problems may pop up. Keep your eyes open when buying grain. Test it before purchase if possible, treat it with a proprionic acid preparation, store it properly, and the possibility that you may be feeding contaminated feed should be very minimal.
Nicko
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
