Types of parrot trichomoniasis and corresponding clinical symptoms
The incubation period of trichomoniasis in parrot birds is 4 to 14 days. The diseased birds develop on the 4th day of infection at the earliest. The disease course usually lasts from a few days to 3 weeks. Whether the sick bird will show clinical symptoms or die depends on the virulence and quantity of the worms in the sick bird and the resistance of the bird’s own body. Under normal circumstances, chicks are more likely to develop clinical symptoms and die after being infected, while adult birds are mostly asymptomatic carriers when they are infected.
The main types of parrot trichomoniasis are as follows: pharyngeal, cloacal, umbilical and visceral.
1. Pharyngeal type: Pharyngeal type is the most common type of parrot trichomoniasis, and it is also the most harmful disease type. This type of disease has a shorter duration and the sick bird usually dies within a few days of infection. The disease is mainly caused by the ingestion of rough grains or sharp grains or coarse sand by sick birds, which causes damage to their oral mucosa, and Trichomonas takes advantage of this. Most parrots will have difficulty in eating, drinking and breathing difficulties, depression, loose feathers, loss of appetite, digestive disorders, collapsed taste sacs, etc. Oral secretions increased and thickened, bad breath, diarrhea, etc. When the disease is severe, the sick bird will lose weight rapidly, and may die within 4-8 days of the disease.
2. Cloacal type: This type mostly occurs in female birds who have just started giving birth. After the mother bird is sick, the cloacal canal will be narrowed, the excretion will be difficult, and the feces will accumulate in the cloaca, the feces are foul smelling, and sometimes the feces are bloody and other symptoms. The feathers around the anus of the sick bird are stained with thin dung, and the body is often penguin-shaped, gradually losing weight, and eventually the parrot dies due to exhaustion.
3. Umbilical type: This type of parrot trichomoniasis is relatively rare. Many chicks can be protected by maternal antibodies in the body of the worm-carrying mother. Days can survive healthy, but if the breeding box and litter are heavily contaminated with Trichomonas, these worms can invade through the unhealed umbilicus of the chicks and cause infection. Sick birds infected with this disease will manifest as mental sluggishness, loss of appetite, fluffy feathers, weight loss and other symptoms. In addition, the sick birds will frequently raise their heads and stretch their necks, and show difficulty in walking, weak singing, difficulty in drinking water and feeding, and death in severe cases.
4. Visceral type: This type of disease is often developed from other types, and may also be infected by eating a lot of feed or drinking water contaminated with Trichomonas. After being infected, parrots usually have symptoms such as lack of energy, loose feathers, decreased appetite, increased appetite, diarrhea, yellow stools, foamy, and progressive weight loss. If the parasite invades the intestinal tract of the sick bird,
the sick bird will also lose its diet, expel light yellow mushy dung, lose weight rapidly, and die soon.
