Peregrine Virus

In the summer a couple of years ago I was given a seven year old imprint tiercel from Switzerland that was very nearly dead, it's feathers looked bleached and brittle with almost no markings and very pale grey. Its moulted feathers were stunted and shorter than the older ones. It's mutes were splashy and had large amounts of red fleshy material in them. He would cast his crop frequently, flick his food about, was too weak to fly, eyes were slitty and his feet/ nares very pale cream. He weighed 520 grams.

I sent four sets of mute samples to Forbes with no result. Initially I wormed him with Appertex, Spartacon and then Panacur. There was little improvement but he was alive. I noticed that when fed chicks or quail the red fleshy stuff (which I later learned was gut lining) was abundant in his mutes, when I fed him other meat it was not and mutes were slightly better.

I recalled Nick Wilkinson's discussions about Merlins and cocci dosing with Appertex and so started a new regime. No chicks, no quail and a new diet of chicken legs from Sainsburys (they don't like Tescos!) racing pigeons, steel shot wood pigeons, hare, rabbit, ox heart, venison, moorhens, partridge, pheasant. At the same time I gave him one Appertex tablet per day for four days, fourteen day break, repeat one Appertex per day for four days - then each time he showed any symptom I gave him another course of Appertex - this went on for a few weeks and I decided to fly him for exercise. At first he could not do 50 yards and after about two weeks he managed a couple of circuits at about five feet off the ground. After a couple of months he could do several circuits up to about 100ft at best. After six months his weight was still increasing and he was up to about 650 grams and doing about 300 ft. After 18 months he weighed 710 grams and was waiting on normally at about 800 ft but was not bothered about killing. Reducing his weight to about 680 changed his attitude but he became too keen and only waited on at about 600.

During all this time he was redosed with Appertex and then Coxitabs which replaced Appertex each time he showed any sign of change in behaviour, attitude, mutes.

Today he is back to being normal, has moulted perfectly and today has a large scrape in the nest and is almost ready to donate semen voluntarily! No symptoms and still no chicks or quail.

I forgot to mention another female peregrine who seemed prematurely ageing and with similar sensitivity to chicks and quail. In all I decided to apply this regime to eight peregrines and a jerkin.

The main point that has struck me in my experience over the past year, apart from the cure it has provided to this tiercel and female, is the effect this regime has on healthy fit birds, hawks that are flying well and appear in good health. The effect was so dramatic that I am still shocked. Female peregrines that had been flying very well at 1020 grams who after dosing and changed diet raised their weights to 1120+ and performance with increased pitch, waiting on with unceasing dynamic flight, no loafing or soaring, for anything up to an hour! I have a tiercel who had never been over 735 grams in his life but who then went up to 850!!! Admittedly he was just fat but I did then fly him well at about 800.

Something is happening. As well as the medication the change of diet with exclusion of chick and quail seems very significant to me. It has transformed eight peregrines and a jerkin, two of the peregrines facing certain death. Some friends of mine have tried it and report similar transformations in otherwise normal flying birds.