FOUR of the peachicks at Pittencrieff Park have been diagnosed with Canker, a microscopic protozoan parasite. 

Canker causes plaque-like lesions on the bird's digestive tract and makes it difficult for them to breathe or swallow- thankfully it is treatable and the little peachicks are already receiving antibiotics. 

Carlyn Cane, one of the volunteers with the peacocks, told the Press: "It’s very common in pigeons, 80 per cent of pigeons are carriers of this.  It’s treatable with antibiotics and they’re getting better.  

"They get it from, say pigeons that have gone past and they had food in their mouths and they’ve had food in their mouths and they’ve dropped it and our birds have picked it up.  

"Where we actually think it has come from is, that we had a cover on the enclosure that we had removed because it was far too dark. The top of it was really dirty with a lot of leaves and a lot of dirty water, so we’re not sure if it came from something that was up there.  

"It's passed through food and contaminated water so we reckon it's probably been food that's been up there that's been dropped by a pigeon into the enclosure. It can be spread quite easily but the minute we realised there was something up, they were segregated so none of the rest of them have got it.  

"They've been treated with antibiotics that they're getting daily and we're just making sure that they're extremely clean.

"We’ve got them a sand pit and we've ordered a whole load of different supplements and things for them and they'll be on the antibiotics, probably for the rest of the week, but they are making an improvement."