Chickens are domestic birds that cannot fly. The scientific name of the chicken is Gallus domesticus

In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a grouping in the classification of living organisms having one or more related and morphologically similar species. In the common nomenclature, the name of an organism is composed of two parts: its genus (always capitalized) and a species modifier. An example is Homo sapiens, the name for the human species which belongs to the genus Homo.

Subfamily Columbinae Columba
Feral Pigeon.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Genus
Columba

The large bird genus Columba comprises a group of medium to large stout-bodied pigeons, often referred to as the typical pigeons. As with other genera in the family, the terms dove and pigeon are used interchangeably, although smaller species are more likely to be called doves. The species commonly referred to just as the "pigeon" is the feral Rock Dove.

I try not to use the word "I cannot." Those words are negative. I can understand not wanting to stand up and fight for your rights. It can be a very costly fight and exhaustive. Not only financially but physically. But when one person stands down it is a domino effect though. We in the fancy & sport need to stand together and fight the hysteria people have about pigeons and animals in general. Zoological diseases are here to stay. They have been here for thousands of years and are not going anywhere. If nothing else they are becoming stronger due to the ignorance (lack of knowledge) and fear of disease. We first need to educate those who are ignorant of the issues, then to fight for the right to keep our animals. We have National Organizations in the forefront of our fight. We pay a nominal member fee compared to some clubs /organizations but believe me they have everything we need for our fight and they use the money very wisely. There are many articles on the issues of raising, feeding and keeping pigeons/doves.
http://pigeon.org/news/news.php
http://www.ifpigeon.com/
http://www.npausa.com

Please I am here to ask all of you not to give up, but to be informed and get the help you need. Our clubs and organizations can work together if there is the support in the hobby. Below are some articles that can be very important and keep informed of.

West Nile Virus & Avian Influenza and where pigeons stand in the face of these problems. I am enclosing the following in the hopes that we may all be well informed of where Pigeons stand in the problems here in the US. As Fanciers & Flyers we have the responsibility to inform those around us that Pigeons are not vectors in either disease and that the testing is ongoing. If for any reason you should need more information on either of these diseases. Please contact those in authoritative positions.

AU West Nile Virus
Strike Force Update
by Tommy E. Erskine
American Racing Pigeon Union, Inc.
AU West Nile Virus Strike Force
AU Atlantic Zone Director
For those of you who may not have heard about it, there is a potential threat to our pigeon racing-pigeon keeping and raising, in fact, that arose out of the blue along the Atlantic seaboard, and it may possibly spread further, to other regions. To date, however, there has not been any instance of this disease being detected in other places in the U.S.-in particular, the Southeastern U.S. and along the Gulf Coast.

The West Nile Virus is a disease that is carried by mosquitoes. Indeed, worldwide, 43 different species can carry it. It had never been detected in the United States before late last summer (actually, August, 1999). At that time, veterinarians at zoos in New York had noticed that some of their captive birds were dying. At the same time, people were reporting finding other dead birds-thousands of crows-in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey and later, in Maryland. In New Jersey, some racing pigeons were reported as acting "odd" and after a check, it was found that they had antibodies to the West Nile Virus. In New York and New Jersey, some horses were found to have the disease and many of them were subsequently "put down."

Having antibodies does not mean an animal (or a human) has had a particular disease. It only means that they have been exposed to the virus or bacteria that causes the disease and that their immune systems developed the specific cells to fight it off. Having antibodies does not mean, either, that the animal or person cannot get the disease if exposed to it again-they may not be immune, even if they have been exposed and do have antibodies.

Dying birds and horses is one thing, but soon, people were reporting to emergency rooms with mild, flu-like symptoms, and even though the illness did not seem to be so severe, it was reported (and confirmed) that six people died-and this, of course, was very serious. Unfortunately, there is currently no vaccine available against the West Nile Virus for man or animal.

Immediately, everyone was trying to determine in their own way what was happening, how this developed and where it came from. And then, some very creative medical detective work revealed that the same virus that was killing crows and infecting horses was responsible for causing the illness being seen in some humans, so the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was notified, and an alert about the virus was issued.

Most state agricultural agencies were notified and local health departments where the virus was suspected to be active started monitoring reports of dead birds or incidents of birds acting unusual. They set up testing for suspected birds and found that 17 species of birds tested positive for antibodies to it or actually carried the virus. Unfortunately, they found that some pigeons showed antibodies to the virus. In New Jersey, where the racing pigeon fanciers had been working with the state veterinarians, the pigeon racing community was asked to stop shipping birds until the first killing frost. Rightly or wrongly, they had associated racing pigeons with migratory species of birds.
In other parts of the world, migratory birds have been implicated in the spread of the West Nile Virus. It was suggested that if that were the case here, stopping the movement (shipping) of any birds across state lines might hinder any movement of the virus. In other words, if there were any chance that racing pigeons could carry the disease, this could help halt the spread. One veterinarian commented that as far as their contributing to the spread of WNV as a migrating species, stopping the shipping of racing pigeons was no more a factor than one cup of water contributed to the salinity (or freshness) of the water in the Atlantic Ocean.

This may be an apt analogy, and the birds probably do not contribute to the virus' spread, but no one knew for sure at the time. And, nevertheless, as we would expect, our racing pigeon clubs were more than happy to assist state authorities and one New Jersey club called off release of at least one futurity race. As luck would have it, by the weekend after the State's announcement and request, a cold night along the East Coast had provided the natural chill needed to kill off the mosquitoes-or send them into their winter's hibernation. The race did get off on the weekend it was supposed to, albeit a day late.

The West Nile Virus is related to several other diseases that are caused by arboviruses or flaviviruses-Kunjin, St. Louis Encephalitis, Japan B and Murray Valley Fever are all related to it. It is an arthropod-borne virus-mosquitoes, ticks, spiders, lice, or other insects in the family of arthropods-insects with segmented bodies and jointed legs. Insects in this order also have bodies with shells that are made up of chitin (very much like shrimp have and they molt their shells, again, like shrimp).

WNV is spread by mosquitoes. And, you must be bitten by an infected mosquito to be exposed to it. Exposure to the virus can cause a form of encephalitis that begins with mild, flu-like symptoms, but it can develop into something far worse. Some people, and some animals, are very sensitive to the virus and the potential encephalitis, and it can cause death! Please take note that humans cannot catch West Nile Virus from handling a bird or touching a person or a horse that has it, or that has been exposed to it. It is believed that mosquitoes are the most common vector-again, you must be bitten by a mosquito that is carrying the virus in order to be exposed to the virus. Many outbreaks of West Nile and related viruses occur in isolated pockets-the virus can pop up for a season, then disappear, leaving a bewildered population trying to figure out how and why. This could well be the case with West Nile Virus here in the United States-we may never see it again-or it could recur and expand to take in more victims and a wider area this next Spring.

After the initial outbreak, and over the winter of 1999-2000 the Centers for Disease Control and many state and local departments of agriculture put their laboratories and staffs on alert and began testing different birds and animals for antibodies or exposure to the pathogen that causes the West Nile Virus. The CDC in Fort Collins, Colorado, the USGS Wildlife Research Lab in Wisconsin, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Lab at Plum Island in New York, and numerous other agencies set up research programs and put in place networks to monitor the movement of birds, reports of dead birds and any other cases of West Nile Virus-in horses, crows, in pigeons or in humans. The focus of all this effort, of course, is to monitor any report of the virus and keep track of any potential for a recurrence of the disease resulting from the movement of any bird species this spring.

These authorities also want to keep track of mosquito populations this spring, test and monitor them for any appearance of the virus early in the season-to see if the virus wintered over in the hibernating insects. They will also want to test wildlife and captive animals for the presence of the virus, to see if perhaps it wintered over within any particular species. In this way, if the virus does appear again, we may have a step up on it and can move to develop a defense strategy. Much of this may seem like conjecture and "What if?" But everyone is working to be ready, in case WNV shows up again. One strategy may be to implement more stringent programs to abate mosquito populations in the Atlantic seaboard area. Regardless, with widespread monitoring, if the virus should appear in the Gulf Coast or Southeastern U.S. we will know immediately and may be able to intervene and abate the problem there.

What has the pigeon community done during this whole affair? The AU certainly has not set on the sidelines and watched things roll by. The two national racing pigeon organizations have agreed to work with authorities on ANY level to assist or advise them on any matter pertaining to our racing birds. The AU has taken a very proactive role in monitoring the situation and making sure that those agencies involved know of its interest and its willingness to assist them.

On learning that racing pigeons (among other animals) may be in the cycle of the transmission of the disease, the American Racing Pigeon Union, Inc. contacted Centers for Disease Control and state, local and private officials to let them know that our members and Board of Directors stand ready to do whatever they need to assist them in their efforts. The AU immediately set about to establish a West Nile Virus Strike Force to contact whomever was necessary to monitor any information on the virus and closely analyze any reports-positive or negative-with respect to racing pigeons. This Committee, headed by Bob Phillips, is actively keeping in contact with a multitude of agencies, maintaining an active effort to collect, analyze and disseminate any information on the virus and our birds, and working to get reliable information about West Nile Virus and any developments related to it to the pigeon fancy in general, as quickly as possible.

The exact role that our racing pigeons may play in the West Nile Virus cycle is not clear at this time. First, there are really so few racing birds compared to wild pigeons and doves, and their movements are controlled and very restricted, as a rule, unlike the wild flocks. It does appear, in fact, that the virus is not viable in pigeons for more than a few days-meaning that even if a mosquito bit an infected pigeon, it may not pick up enough virus from the bird's blood to transmit it to another animal-be it bird or human.

There is no documented evidence of any symptoms that pigeons exhibit when or if they have or are carrying West Nile Virus, so any suggestion that that this "mysterious" disease has afflicted any particular bird, flock or loft is total conjecture at this stage.
One point that is worth repeating, though, and that is that you cannot get West Nile Virus from a pigeon...or a dog...or a cat-a mosquito that is actively carrying the virus must get a blood meal from you-not just bite you.

At the time of this report, the CDC was doing a study on pigeons with West Nile Virus, to observe symptoms, reactions and other things with the birds. There are ongoing experiments being done with WNV in many other labs across the country, too. Various animals are being exposed and infected and their reaction to the virus is being monitored and recorded.
While no one knows how the West Nile Virus jumped the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans and appeared here in the United States, this outbreak has proven to be a wake-up call for everyone involved-we are not isolated from these things by what have been our own natural geographical barriers. And some scientists believe the appearance of the virus is just another manifestation of the effects of global warming-these mosquitoes need a more tropical climate-or at least a warmer climate-rather than the typically temperate climate found in the Atlantic seaboard region of the U.S. Global warming and La Nina has shifted weather patterns and migration paths of birds have shifted accordingly.

And many people in the poultry industry are watching the outcome of these experiments very closely, although experiments carried out in other countries have shown that chickens and turkeys cannot get the disease without the mosquito vector. This again suggests that the best prevention may be simple mosquito control-netting, insecticides and pool and puddle abatement-getting rid of old tires, old cans and bottles full of water, or drain any place with standing water.

Our members must also be very careful to make sure that anything negative relating pigeons to West Nile Virus in the press, on radio or on television gets corrected as quickly as possible. This is not an easy effort. Every day, more detailed, very technical reports appear-and more will become available in the near future. Each report has to be gone through line by line and analyzed in light of what impact, if any, it may have on our sport and hobby-but it is critical that we not let the media get half the story and give the public the wrong impression via television and the printed press-in the event these false reports start, we must be very active and immediately get the truth out.

Although the West Nile Virus has never been seen before in this hemisphere, it is a serious problem, because it is potentially deadly to man. It is a challenge that the pigeon racing community must meet head on-and we must do all we can to assist our government in its effort to learn more about his disease. The government is working to monitor this spring, and we would ask that if you are approached to provide information, birds or give them access to your loft and race teams, please do so.

It serves all our interests to watch this threat very closely and be ready to do whatever our neighbors need us to do.

Tejano Loft
113 Meadow Ln.
Hickory Creek, TX 75065
940-321-4407

Avian Influenza
IN PIGEONS

Due to the recent outbreak of Avian Influenza in Belgium and its disastrous consequences for the poultry-breeding industry, very strict prevention measures were taken. Because pigeons too legally belong to this category, these severe measures apply to them as well.

However, without criticizing the responsible authorities since it is not an easy problem to solve, these strict rules are not reasonable for homing pigeons. It is the first time that Belgium is confronted with an IA outbreak like this. In the twenties there were outbreaks of classical fowl plague worldwide. Since that time there were no more large scale economical losses due to the outbreak of classical fowl plague, with the exception of an outbreak in the early eighties in the USA (Pennsylvania 1983) and in Ireland in 1984 (reference course for industrial poultry diseases by Professor Dr R Ducatelle). There was another outbreak in the USA in 1993. This however does not keep us from learning from the American situations and draw the necessary conclusions from them. In the introduction, AI is briefly explained. This is necessary to comprehend the rest of the file.

Introduction:
The avian influenza virus belongs to the family of the orthomyxoviridae. This name contains the word myxa = mucus. These viruses mainly target mucoproteins in the mucosa of the bronchial tubes. This family consists of the influenza viruses. There is only one genus: the Genus Influenzavirus. This family is subdivided in three sero-types; A, B and C.

Influenza A viruses infect humans, horses, pigs and fowl (ducks, chicken, turkeys, guinea fowl and several other wild birds). It is the Influenza A virus that causes avian influenza with chickens. Interspecies transfer of the virus from humans on to pigs frequently occurs, the opposite is less frequent (virology, Professor Dr Pensaert, State University of Ghent Belgium). Especially influenza with waterfowl is of important epidemiological meaning. Wild ducks are believed to be particularly important virus reservoirs. In the pathogenesis humans could be an important passive carrier in the spread of the virus (by means of contaminated clothing or shoes). Animals infect each other via airborne contact or via their excreta (faeces). Infection is systematic and the virus is usually spread through respiratory secretions (industrial poultry diseases by Professor Dr R Ducatelle). The most obvious symptoms in a clinical outbreak are respiratory or nervous system diseases and a high mortality rate. Furthermore a drop in egg production may occur. The virus can be diagnosed in several ways: First of all there will be the autopsy, because the virus causes injuries like pin-point haemorrhages in the bronchial tubes, stomach and intestines.

Secondly there is an ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay) test, virus isolation using a swab is possible, or an immunofluorescent test can be carried out. Serological diagnosis through blood samples and the determination of antibody titre are also possibilities. In this last test at least two blood samples should be used (industrial poultry diseases by Prof Dr R Ducatelle, State University of Ghent Belgium).

Pigeons susceptible to AI?
A lot of scientific research has been carried out to test the susceptibility of homing pigeons to A.I. (Panigraphy, Senne Pedersen; Shafer Pearson, May 1995). The outcome of this research in literal translation: The research indicated that pigeons inoculated with both the highly pathogenic as well as the low pathogenic strain of the avian influenza virus through the eyes, nose and straight into the blood stream stayed healthy, did not shed virus nor did they develop a detectable antibody titre to AI. It was therefore decided that pigeons under the research conditions are RESISTANT to an infection with avian influenza.
This study however is not the only one. Pathogenity of highly pathogenic avian influenza strain H5N1 of Hong Kong origin was also tested on pigeons by Perkins and Swayne in January 2002. Here too the conclusion was that pigeons were non-susceptible, even to this highly pathogenic strain. It is important to mention that researchers also tried to infect pigeons, with the highly pathogenic H5N2 influenza virus that caused major problems in Pennsylvania, but without results (M Burgh M A, C W Breard USDA, Athens Georgia). Furthermore blood samples of as much as 160 pigeons from the quarantine zone were taken during the '93 outbreak in the U.S.A. None of them tested positive. Even in 1968 Wilson and Lange already did some experiments to try to infect pigeons with the AI virus, however also without success. In 1969 Narayan et al (Canada) tested on pigeons. He too tried to infect pigeons with the virus without result.

Pigeons spreading the AI virus?
To verify whether free flying pigeons could possibly play a role in he spread of the virus, it is important to check the possible ways of transmission.

1. Pigeons have the disease and spread it: As explained above and proved by numerous scientific studies, pigeons are non-susceptible to the virus and so they cannot spread it in such a way.

2. Pigeons are carriers and secrete the virus without being ill, and they spread the virus in such a way: In the study 'Susceptibility of pigeons to avian influenza' it has been clearly proved that pigeons, who were contaminated with as much as 100.000 viruses without causing disease, did not produce the virus. This was tested 7, 14 and 21 days after the
inoculation. Pigeons therefore do not secrete the virus and cannot spread the disease in this manner. A very interesting study was carried out by Narayan in Canada already in 1969. Pigeons were infected with the virus through the blood and the nose and then placed in lofts together with turkeys. Not only the pigeons stayed healthy, also the turkeys did not show any symptom of the disease. There clearly was no transmission from the pigeons to the turkeys.

3. Pigeons acting as a vector in the outbreak: When we look at the possible vectors in the outbreak of influenza viruses, there is a number of possibilities. Humans, vermin (flies, mosquitos), air, vehicles, birds (including pigeons) etc. As described above already, humans are considered to be the largest vector (through contaminated hands and shoes) in the spread of influenza (Professor Ducatelle, industrial poultry diseases). The research on the role of wild birds and rodents in the spread of the A.I. virus has been of great value. This study was carried out in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, where as much as 4,132 birds and rodents from the buffer zone were caught and tested for the virus. Among them 473 pigeons. None of the tested animals proved to be infected by the virus.

These are convincing figures. A similar study was done in Virginia, where 313 birds from the immediate vicinity of contaminated companies were caught and tested. Here too 50 pigeons were among the tested birds, and all of them tested negative (enclosure D page 4). The same trend can be seen in the results of a test that was done in the USA in '93, where 160 pigeons from a buffer zone were all negative. Referring to the above-mentioned test by Narayan from Canada, who inoculated pigeons with the virus and put them in the same room with turkeys, it can be concluded that these pigeons must have certainly been a vector and nevertheless none of the turkeys became ill!!! I think it is obvious that it has been proved by all these tests that the role of pigeons as a vector in the spread of the AI virus is very little, if not non-existing!

Conclusion: When we look at all these studies and evaluate them thoroughly, it is obvious that pigeons play no significant role in the avian influenza disease or even in the spread of it. It is therefore morally and scientifically unjustified to impose such heavy sanctions on this sector. As far as avian influenza is concerned, pigeons clearly do not belong to the poultry category, and all these restrictions are absolutely useless. To me it seems obvious that, following the American example, pigeons should be taken out of this category and freed from the restrictions.
I would like to inform you of the situation and warn you for the fact that this problem could occur in your country tomorrow. It is therefore important that your pigeon Unions discusses these problems with the government now, to be prepared for the future.

Rudi Hendrikx, Veterinarian
Stationstraat 182
3620 Lanaken
Belgium
Phone +32-(0)89-715555
Mobile +32-(0)475-642510

West Nile Virus, Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) and Pigeons

Gordon A Chalmers, DVM
Lethbridge, Alberta
Email: gacdvm@telus.net
February, 2004

Fanciers are often concerned about West Nile Virus (WNV) and
recently, Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) in pigeons. However, although
pigeons may become infected with WNV, the level of virus in their
bloodstream isn't high enough to infect a mosquito that might bite
them. They do become solidly immune after they are exposed to the
virus. Because of these facts, pigeons DO NOT spread WNV. Crows,
magpies, blue jays and the ordinary English sparrow develop high
levels of virus in their bloodstream and as a result, they can
readily spread WNV through mosquitoes to other birds. See article in
the CU Yearbook for 2002.

Regarding Bird Flu, it's still true that 1)pigeons aren't infected
(or very rarely) with this virus, and 2) they don't spread it. Many
studies have been done both over the years and recently as well, and
there is convincing evidence that pigeons are not a danger to
themselves or other birds when they are exposed to this virus. I
have a number of scientific studies in my files, and if anyone is
interested in the science behind these claims, I can certainly
provide them. Fanciers should not worry about pigeons and Bird Flu.