Evaluation of sulfadimidine, amprolium and triquen to treat coccidiosis in wild pigeons.

Coccidiosis remains one of the major problems in poultry all over the world. Very limited data on anticoccidial drugs in wild pigeons is available. The current study was aimed to understand the comparative efficacy of sulfadimidine, amprolium and triquen in wild pigeons of Dir district, Pakistan suffering from coccidiosis. The faecal matter of wild pigeons were purchased from the local market for coccidian infection. Results revealed that 88.8% (16/18) were found infected with Eimeria spp. Three positive groups were treated with sulfadimidine (0.2mg/L), amprolium (25mg/L) and triquen. Sulfadimidine was most effective (45%) followed by amprolium (44.6%) while triquen (24.0%) showed less effectiveness against coccidiosis in pigeons. Number of oocysts were 79, 81 and 80 before treatment and 60, 44 and 44 after treatment with sulfadimidine, amprolium and triquen respectively. This study showed that sulphadimidine, amprolium and triquen could not significantly reduce the coccidiosis in pigeons. Further studies are required to clear the mechanism of anti-coccidial drugs in wild pigeons.