Hexamitiasis In Pigeons

Although it might not seem like the most common disease that can affect pigeons, Hexamitiasis can still happen, and there is no vaccine against it, so diagnosis by a vet and good loft hygiene matter a lot.

In today’s article, we’re looking at how Hexamitiasis affects pigeons, its symptoms, diagnosis, and if there are any ways to prevent it.

What Causes Hexamitiasis In Pigeons?

In game birds and poultry, a related condition is caused by a protozoan called Spironucleus meleagridis, which affects species from turkeys and pheasants to partridges and quail.

Pigeons get the disease from a different, host-specific species, Spironucleus columbae (also called Hexamita columbae).

Although less common in North American countries such as Canada and the United States, this infectious disease is reported more often elsewhere, for example in Europe, including the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Pigeons can become infected with the pathogen by coming in contact with other birds’ feces.

This is what makes preventing and treating Hexamitiasis so challenging — even if you practice excellent hygiene, wear gloves, and regularly clean your pigeons’ living enclosures, when they go out and fly, they can still come in contact with other infected birds.

And once one of your pigeons becomes sick, it can effectively spread the condition to any of the other pigeons they live close to.

The birds inadvertently come in contact with their own feces and can infect food and water, which are two other possible ways they become infected — by essentially ingesting the pathogen.

Clinical signs

Any of the birds that might have become infected with this pathogen might initially show a number of symptoms that aren’t necessarily specific to the disease, such as the following:

Depression
Lack of appetite
Weight loss
Ruffled feathers

Shortly after the pigeons begin showing these general clinical signs, they start to have watery, green diarrhea and dehydrate.

Sick-looking pigeon with fluffed, dishevelled feathers

Considering that they also lose their appetite for both food and water, it goes without saying that if they do not receive immediate treatment, they can show additional symptoms, such as convulsions.

They can also die in a matter of several days after the initial signs become noticeable.

What Pigeons Does Hexamitiasis Affect?

Adults can be carriers without showing any clinical signs, and that’s thanks to a fully developed immune system.

However, the category of pigeons that this disease tends to affect the most are young ones, especially those younger than 12 weeks of age.

Because they are far more sensitive to any pigeon disease compared to adults, young pigeons tend to develop much more severe symptoms compared to their older counterparts.

For this reason, Hexamitiasis can be a life-threatening condition for them.

The same rule applies for pigeons that were recently carried to competitions as they had to be transported in close proximity to other birds and they might have also become stressed.

This means that their immune system is less capable of handling the abuse of the pathogen.

Diagnosis of Hexamitiasis In Pigeons

People who love and keep pigeons might be tempted to think that they can use just any type of medication against the symptoms that the disease causes. Unfortunately, this is not true.

Protozoal infections are quite different from regular bacterial ones, which means that your vet needs to prescribe specific medication to alleviate the clinical signs.

The veterinarian can also advise you on what you are supposed to do to limit the spread of the disease between your pigeons.

In any case, the diagnosis of Hexamitiasis usually involves examining fresh droppings.

A fresh cloacal swab can be quite revealing in this sense, but veterinary professionals can use other diagnostic methods such as wet mount cytology and Giemsa staining used on the samples they have collected.

However, since the protozoan doesn’t have good survival times in the outdoors, if one of your pigeons has died, you might have to take it to the animal clinic so that the vet can perform intestinal scraping, whether of the jejunal or duodenal mucosa.

Moreover, a differential diagnosis (especially based on the clinical findings) must be performed between hexamitiasis and other diseases, such as the following:

Histomoniasis
Trichomoniasis
Paratyphoid

Can Hexamitiasis Be Treated?

In the United Kingdom, Spironucleus in game birds used to be controlled with Emtryl, an in-feed dimetridazole medication.

Dimetridazole has since been withdrawn because of residue and safety concerns, and it should not be used.

Today, vets usually treat pigeon hexamitiasis with a nitroimidazole drug such as ronidazole or metronidazole; carnidazole (Spartrix) is licensed for canker rather than hexamitiasis.

Veterinary references describe a course of about seven days, and the dose should always come from your vet, as overdosing can be toxic.

Ronidazole is also used against other protozoal conditions, such as trichomoniasis.

Besides these synthetic medications, some pigeon keepers also use herbal supplements sold for pigeons.

These products often contain plant extracts such as echinacea, licorice, and garlic (Allium sativum), sometimes with added vitamins.

Supplements like these cannot treat hexamitiasis, and there is little evidence that they prevent it, so they should never replace treatment prescribed by a vet.

In severe cases, a vet may also prescribe antibiotics for secondary bacterial infections, alongside fluids and electrolytes for dehydrated birds.

This is because the damage the parasite causes to the gut can let harmful bacteria take hold.

Prevention

This protozoan parasite is common and can be carried by pigeons and other wild birds, which means that preventing the infection can be extremely challenging.

However, practicing excellent hygiene and making sure that you separate the birds that begin showing any symptoms from the rest of the pigeon population can be beneficial.

It’s also worth adding that Hexamitiasis tends to affect pigeons during specific periods.

If you have young pigeons and care for them, separating their families from the rest can prevent them from becoming infected.

Also, when the cold season starts, it is a good idea to make sure that your birds have access to hygienic feed and water supplies.

Using heating systems and making sure that your pigeons never get cold can make it possible for their immune systems to better cope with any potential infections, including those with Spironucleus columbae.

Another note we must make with regard to this pigeon disease is that the protozoan tends to survive better in wet environments.

For this reason, we suggest avoiding any wet areas around the drinkers or feeders as these are the two places where pigeons can become easily infected.

While this might mean that you have to check on these areas every day or even several times throughout the day, it is perhaps the best way of preventing Hexamitiasis.

Whenever introducing new pigeons into your population, make sure that you quarantine them for a week or two to make sure that they do not start showing any symptoms. Otherwise, you risk infecting all of the other birds, too.

Summary

Hexamitiasis is a protozoal disease that affects a variety of bird species, including pigeons.

Adults can be carriers of the protozoan without showing any specific symptom, although they can shed large amounts of the pathogen through their droppings.

The disease is especially dangerous for young and stressed pigeons. Talk to your vet about how you can prevent and treat this condition.

Sources:

This guide is general information. If a bird is injured or seriously ill, contact an avian vet or a wildlife rescue as soon as you can.

Last updated 30 October 2026 · Health