Has anyone had an outbreak of Coccidia in their loft? Did recognize the signs or did it seem like a bad case of worms?

By Roly on Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 05:16 am: Edit

Sad looking, feeling sorry for themselves is a sign. Their wieght loss is the second.
You Know on of the MOST important habit to get use to doing, whether , as it should becomes subconscience or not, is to note what bird perches where. Then automatically every time one enters the loft a note of the droppings is made.
This isn't even time consuming but very important.... The droppings, though late... will tell you if anything is a miss.
And always Note what was fed previous day, or what they have been able to get at!
Looking through the side at them... and me personally Note more the day before the droppings from watching them roofing!

By Makmike on Monday, July 22, 2002 - 09:51 pm: Edit

Hi Tom M,

Here is what my problem was just before O.B's started my Y.B's started to get really wet droppings loose etc. I started to cull those that showed any other symptoms as I have always done in the past with sick or weak birds.

The only sickness I ever experienced was when I was 14 back in Hawaii my dad I, our birds contracted pox.

Anyway I had gotten in about, a lot of O.O.A. birds along with my own about 87 Y.B's I was waiting till I got all of my Y.B's in before vaccinating. Well my Y.B's started to come down with PMV. Lucky I guess for me I would cull them before they showed any serious signs or symptoms.
I ended culling 28 or 30 Y.B's.

I can tell you all that I have never ever seen or had to cull so many birds which really destroyed me mentally this was to be a building year for my race team O.B's that is. But I ended up having to cull many of my favorites or hopefuls that my partner Jim had bred off of some of the very best blood around.

Never again as soon as they are weaned or as soon as I receive them from the O.O.A. breeder they are now vaccinated before being place in the loft.

What I am thankful to Billy T for guy's is his willingness to truly help. It was more reinforcement I guess for me from Billy in away.

I emailed Billy asking if he would help an old dog learn some new tricks because I was down an out because of this devastating sickness.

In the past had only vaccinated once maybe twice and in 2001 Y.B's the only Y.B. I had that was vac was an O.O.A. bird that had been vac before I got it. And I had a SUPER Y.B. SEASON IN 2001 DISPITE NOT VAC MY BIRDS.

Guy's Billy emailed me back no problem. He explained what he does medication, supplements ECT his system basically of what he does.

Many of which is what I use to use or do med's ECT before I got out in 1995. Different brand, or product for same reason.

But for Billy or someone to do this without batting an EYE.

Billy Taylor THANK YOU AGAIN FOR HELPPING WITHOUT HESITATION.

Mike Makaimoku.

By Tommakowecki on Monday, July 22, 2002 - 11:50 pm: Edit

Thanks Mike....there goes BillyT being a "fraud" again.....acting like he does - when really he is a nice guy.....

By Billytaylor on Tuesday, July 23, 2002 - 02:45 pm: Edit

MikeMak Thanks. Sending you a bird quaranteed to have all the illness known to pigeons. Will clear out all the pigeons in a 30 mile area, including all your competition. Keep the faith. I guarantee you will be back on top, starting with this YB season. Lets race. Bye BillyT

By Roly (62.253.32.8 - 62.253.32.8) on Sunday, February 26, 2006 - 08:23 am: Edit

Well Billy looks like we could be in the money yet lol

http://www.msn.co.uk/health/medicalartefacts/Default.asp?MSPSA=1

Leeches
They may be revolting, but leeches are versatile little critters. The first clinical use of medicinal leeches (leech jar, left) occurred over 2000 years ago, and in 19th century medicine they were considered indispensable for treating a number of conditions (a fact brilliantly parodied in ‘Blackadder the Third’ when Rowan Atkinson’s eponymous character is given them because he has fallen in love with a boy) but were mainly used as another method of bleeding. The use of leeches was largely abandoned as medicine began to make great strides, but has recently undergone a massive revival in modern medicine. There are leech farms providing pharmacies and hospitals with the small invertebrates, which are particularly valuable in plastic and reconstructive surgery. The leeches produce three substances when they bite which make them special in the world of medicine; one which helps blood to clot, one to open up blood vessels and another that works as a local anaesthetic, meaning that the application of leeches, though unattractive to some squeamish patients, is nevertheless painless.

Looking at all the weird and wonderful medical objects on display at London's Science Museum, it’s easy to marvel at how far medicine has come in the hundreds of years since these objects were used. But has it? In fact, many (but thankfully not all) of these apparently old-fashioned treatments are either still being used or, particularly due to the resurgence of interest in alternative medicines, are making a comeback. Leeches anyone?

Cupping
Despite never being proven to work in clinical trials, the traditional Chinese medical technique cupping (left) has undergone a recent high profile revival. Soppy actress Gwyneth Paltrow kicked up a right storm when she turned up at a film premiere with mysterious circular bruises on her back, like huge Chris Martin love-bites. In fact, the markings were the result of cupping, which has been practiced for thousands of years to treat aches and pains, disease, and relieve stress. Focusing on the movement of blood and energy - known as qi - and bodily fluids, practitioners of cupping say that it stimulates the flow of these elements to the injured or diseased parts of the body. Advocates of the treatment believe that the stagnation of these elements is the cause of the patient's illness. To carry out the treatment, a small glass receptacle is heated over a naked flame and then pressed on to the body to stimulate movement of these elements in the body. The skin is sucked up into the glass, which is the cause of the bruising. Many people doubt its efficacy, but it remains extremely popular.

Bleeding
Often known as blood-letting, the practice of bleeding goes back thousands of years, and was incredibly popular in 19th century medicine. Doctors believed that blood-letting allowed poisons or excess blood to be removed from the body. This they believed restored the balance of the ‘four humours’, blood phlegm, black bile and yellow bile (derived from the four classical Greek elements of earth, air, fire and water). Illness was thought to be a result of these humours being out of balance, and patients would ask their doctor to slice into a vein with a scalpel and drain blood into a bowl to restore order in the body. Another method of bleeding involved using a small, metal box with spring-loaded blades to cut into the body. Often blood-letting led to the death of patients who would otherwise have survived. However, some modern researchers believe that bleeding may be effective in treating some ailments, as infection-spreading bacteria requires iron to spread and cause disease, so depriving them of red blood cells may halt this process.

By Roly (62.253.32.8 - 62.253.32.8) on Sunday, February 26, 2006 - 08:24 am: Edit

Tobacco
You would think the last thing you would want to treat any illness would be a minging cigarette, but before the true extent of the health dangers of smoking were understood, tobacco was believed to be beneficial in treating a number of illnesses and conditions. Tobacco was also recommended for conditions as varied as toothache, halitosis, lockjaw (though how would you smoke?) and, ridiculously, cancer. Tobacco enemas (tobacco resuscitator, right) were also popular in the 17th to the early 19th century, and involved using a bellows to blow smoke up the rectum or into the lungs through the nose or mouth to revive a patient at death’s door. Despite how ridiculous this sounds, doctors today believe there may be something to it, and argue that tobacco’s stimulant qualities and the effect it has on nerves may be effective in treating a number of diseases.

Cocaine
It’s hard to imagine, but up until 1916 you could stroll into Harrods and buy cocaine. In fact, during the First World War you could purchase a set labelled ‘A welcome present for friends at the front’, which was made up of, frighteningly, cocaine, morphine, needles and syringes. The drug had been widely used in South America for centuries before, and was favoured by Inca royalty. But the most famous misuse of what is now a class A drug was by John Stith Pemberton, whose feverish obsession with combining a drink with medicine to create the ultimate beverage led to the invention of the multi-billion pound brand Coca-Cola. The drink was marketed as “a valuable brain tonic and cure for all nervous afflictions”, offering the “virtues of coca without the vices of alcohol”. and was - quite literally - an instant hit. Coca-Cola was sold containing small amounts of cocaine until early in the 20th century and, thankfully, the days when cocaine was served as a soft drink shall never be seen again. Towards the end of his life Pemberton, not surprisingly, had a raging drug habit. Mind you, he must have done to sell the rights to his drink just before his death.

By Roly (62.253.32.8 - 62.253.32.8) on Sunday, February 26, 2006 - 08:25 am: Edit

Maggots
Using maggots to treat an injury may, like the application of blood-sucking leeches, sounds like something out of a horror movie, but fly larvae are also widely used and are even available on prescription. The health benefits of using maggots to treat an infected wound have been known for some time. During World War Two, soldiers witnessed the Burmese people placing maggots on a wound then covering it with mud and grass. In Central America, Mayans exposed dressings of beef blood to the sun before applying them to wounds. After a few days, the dressing would be crawling with maggots. The American Civil War, not unaccustomed to the odd horrific injury here and there, also saw maggots being used by surgeons to treat gangrenous wounds. The reason is simple – maggots will only eat dead or decayed tissue and the bacteria which infects it, leaving the healthy tissue as it is, meaning this method is one of the best ways to clean an infected wound – a small price to pay for keeping your leg. So trusted is this method, it even has its own name – biosurgery.

You can visit the Science Museum on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 2DD. For general enquiries, call 0870 870 4868. The Science Museum is open seven days a week and admission is free. To visit the Science Museum's website click here.

By Billytaylor (66.239.212.15 - 66.239.212.15) on Monday, February 27, 2006 - 06:06 pm: Edit

Roly you have moved medicine back into the barn yard. Like I told Connie, Tumble bugs ( dung beetles) are best eyes to look at inorder to prove the world class blather of the short South African. Costs less too. Mike V take notice. Lets race. Bye BillyT