Ivermectin Pigeons, parasites and Possibly more!

Probably all fanciers have heard of One Spot to treat lice, mites and worms in our bird’s and it’s chemical ingredient Ivermectin. Here's a little background on the origin of Ivermectin I found whilst I was researching it because of its recent popularity in the media and scientific press as a preventative anti-viral and treatment for covid 19 in humans. Evidence has been put forward from trials from numerous countries which has now been taken up by Oxford university in the form of a meta-analysis which means in layman’s terms they take all the trials already completed and compare them to see if it proves overall viability of the drug for this particular purpose, so time will tell!

We already know that Ivermectin has been in use for both human and animal use since the late 70s after being discovered by William Campbell a graduate from Trinity college Dublin who became a biologist and parasitologist later winning a Nobel prize in 2015 for his work in discovering Ivermectin which improved billions of lives. So you say that’s all fine and dandy but what about our pigeons? Well I’ll be honest with you there’s a lot of ifs and buts and this is just me thinking outside the box but what if it is proven to be an effective anti-viral for humans and we should find out that soon and plus we already know it’s safe for our bird’s! Here’s the point I’m making I would say that we, the pigeon fraternity are in need of an anti-viral drug for preventing or treating the many viruses that make up young bird sickness, one thing I think that all fanciers will agree is that some lofts get it some don’t all at different degrees of severity. What if the reason for this is that fanciers are already using an anti-viral drug unbeknown to us that one of the reasons why some do and some don’t at varying degrees is down to fanciers using Ivermectin for mites and worms and the timing of the treatment coincides with the trajectory of the viruses for young bird sickness. As I say I have no evidence to prove this but it would be interesting to see if this was the case as it would then give a reason for the varying levels and why some fanciers get it and some don’t! Of course this is just a thought but may stimulate debate which leads to something positive to address this awful situation with our pigeons.

Please note: I am not a medical professional or a veterinarian so please discuss any changes with your health professional before your implement any changes on yourself.

I am though passionate about racing pigeons and have been all my life and endeavor to share my knowledge with like minded others. It is totally your choice should you wish to implement any of my findings.

Yours in sport

Dave Bunker Brierley 2021