My Peacock died from tapeworms? Please help on saving the peahens

[chickenwes]

HI, I have some peafowl that randomly started getting weak, droopy feathers and lost a lot of weight. I was figuring that they had worms. I wormed them with Wazine but have found no worms in their poop and have been giving them chicken nutri-drench in their water hoping to boost their spirits. They are all around 2 years old.

2 of the peahens are still weak but eating and drinking but the peacock died last night. Now the only thing I can think of from reading online is that they have tapeworms and the Wazine does not work on them. I have read on multiple fourms that "there is only 1 wormer that takes care of tapeworms" but no one actually puts in the post what wormer that is.

Im hoping for some help on if you think tapeworms are the problem and if so how they may have gotten them, and what the wormer is that I need to rid my peafowl of them.

Any help would be awesome.

Thanks a lot

 

[Frosty]

First, I would like to say welcome to BYC, though I am sorry for your loss!

I am not the most experienced with peafowl (I do have 3 of them) but I would say that without doing a necropsy, you really don't know for sure that it was tapeworms. My understanding is that Wazine isn't a very effective wormer. SafeGuard for goats would probably be a better choice (and might be one that kills tapeworms). Is there anyway that you can open the one that you lost and see if anything looks off? Other than that, are there any other symptoms? How does the poop look (color and consistency). You need to rule out other things like coccidiosis and Blackhead (Histomoniasis). What are you feeding them, how is their appetite, and are they drinking? I hope you can find for sure what the problem is and take care of it...

 

[featherhead]

I'm so sorry you lost your male. Are you SURE it was tapeworm?

Tapeworms are visible to the eye. They look like flat grains of rice, and they will move ("wave at you") from the poo. Wazine is probably the least effective wormer on the market, IMO. Most people will use Safeguard for goats or Valbazen.

Your birds could have another type of worm, or possibly coccidia. These other intestinal parasites are not visible to the eye and can only be seen under a microscope. Wormers do not kill coccidia; only a coccidiostat like Sulmet or Corid will get coccidia. Because coccidia is worldwide, and cannot be killed by extreme heat or cold, it lives in the ground everywhere. Like Frosty, I'd suggest that you have a necropsy done to know the cause of death. Every state has a lab where you can have this done for a nominal fee. And the information you get in return is an education in itself. If you can't have a necropsy done, have a fecal analysis done on the male. That will give you almost the same information. You can also have a fecal done on the girls to see what issues they might have.

The sooner you know what killed your male, the easier it will be to save your girls. Because it's not advisable to give 2 medications to a sick bird at the same time (coccidiostat and wormer), it would be best to know what killed your male and treat the girls with that medicine.

Good luck, and let us know how your girls do.

 

[chickenzoo]

If they are 2 years old and have only been wormed with Wazine ( kills only round worms), then it is highly possible that they have another type of worm other than tapes, as tapes are not as likely. I worm with Safeguard liquid goat wormer at 1cc down the throat of adult peafowl (10lbs) . If they are really bad off I would start with 1/4 - 1/2 cc, wait 5 days then give the other as large worm die off at once can kill the bird. Ivomectrian applied to the skin at 1/2 - 1 cc per adult is also used 6 months after the Safeguard, but I would not use it on a very sick bird as in your case now. Blackhead as stated above is possible, you would see increased thirst, pecking at food but not eating, loss of weight and bright mustard poo. A fish med called Fishzole given for 5 days at 250mg 2x daily is the cure if caught in time.

 

[Exotics R Us]

Wazine don't work on Peafowl just like giving them water, Too worm peafowl you should use Safe Guard for Goats or Panacur 3 to 4cc to 1 gallon of water for 3 to 4 days changing water everyday.

If Coccidia then use Corid 3cc to 1 gallon of water for 3 to 4 days changing water everyday.

Ricky

 

[Yoda]

Worm them with safeguard, you can put 3 cc or ml into a gallon of water for 3 days changing the water each day. I would use the currid first 1 teaspoon per gallon again changing it out daily. Be sure when using either one the birds can only drink that treated water and that water only. Good Luck and

 

[chickenwes]

Thanks, first time registering I have read a ton of useful information on here in the past.

The poop for the most part seams to be a dark black diareah type. I did find worms today but only in 1 of 8 or so droppings, and they looked more like rounded worms and very short. There was what could have been flat worms but they weren't moving so could just have been particles in the poo from the feed or something. I feed them scratch, layer crumbles, and cracked corn. The hens do eat and drink, but the male didnt seem to.

I had thought of coccidia as well but them being 2 years old can they still get it or is it just something that younger birds get?

The biggest part that has me confused is that the hens are from a lot of 5 (2 peacocks and 3 hens) that I got from an auction 1 month ago and they are kept seperate from the peacock that just passed. Him ive had for a year and gets next to and on top of their pen but not directly in contact with them. 2 of the newer peahens are acting weak (and they started acting weak before me peacock did but he passed first) but the other hen and 2 peacocks that they came with are acting fine.

To try a different wormer is it ok to do now since I used Wazine just a week ago or do I need to wait.

I did find where to get a necrospy done on him and am leaving now to drop him off but just wanted to get this post up to see if yall had any more thought on the new information I have added before I go.

Thanks so much

 

[Bigcreekpeafowl]

Getting a necropsy done is a excellent idea. Find out what you are dealing with. Poop samples would help too.

Sounds like worms. They can also get secondary infections to the worm infestation that kill them. Does not sound like blackhead since the poo is black. Towards the end with blackhead the stools get a horrid sulphur smell and turn yellow in color.

Getting birds from a auction you really have no idea what you are buying most of the time. And the worm eggs and oocysts from coccidiosis all can be spread from the bottom of your shoes.

Cecal and capillary worms are deadly to peafowl. Wazine does not kill them.
Safeguard is mentioned in above posts and it is one of the best for peafowl.
Birds that are so infested they are dying need individual dosing for best results. Putting into the water is fine most of the time. However a sick bird is apt to eat or drink less than half it's normal intake. So your just guessing and hoping they get enough.

Dosage of safeguard 10% suspension for goats is 1 mL per adult bird orally for 3 days. Repeat in 10 days.

You have to be careful when dosing down the throat to safely bypass the trachea. Craig Hopkins had a good article on his website about dosing oral meds it had photos to guide you which is helpful if you are not yet experienced.


Using a coccistat like in Corid would not be a bad idea. But unless the birds are already compromised by something else coccidiosis alone does not typically bring down a otherwise healthy adult. Hopefully you get your necropsy results back in a hurry and go from there. But worming is always one of the first priorities.

Hope you find out soon what is going on. Reminds me in a way of how we started. With sick peafowl.

 

[Exotics R Us]

Quote:
I did find where to get a necrospy done on him and am leaving now to drop him off but just wanted to get this post up to see if yall had any more thought on the new information I have added before I go.

Thanks so much

No, you don't have to wait like was said before Wazine don't work on Peafowl so get some Safe Guard for Goats about 1/2cc in a small syringe (no needle) goto one side of throat past trachea, I would do this once a day for 3 days. The Corid I would just put in the water.


Ricky

 

[chickenzoo]

If her peahens are in a very weak state I would be cautious about giving a full dose at first. I have had better luck with very weak birds by giving Safeguard 1/4 -1/2 the dose then working up.
To use any wormer you should have an idea what worms you are dealing with and what the wormer treats. Wazine only treats round worms, so if your birds don't have round worms, it won't help. Ivomec treats many types of worms, but not tapes, and it also treats mites and lice. Safeguard treats many types of worms but not mites or lice...... etc...