adcarstens
Hatching
- May 10, 2023
- 5
- 1
- 7
Apologies, this is a really long post as I’m hoping to provide as much info as I can for those who might be able to help:
I have a group flight pen that houses about 8 young adult (1.5-2.5 year old) peafowl. All have been healthy until a couple months ago. One of my 1.5 yr old males seemed lethargic, still eating but thin and holding his neck in a tucked up fashion. No upper respiratory signs and still eating, pecking around and social with the other birds. He didn’t roost but slept on the ground, which is what I noticed at first.
I regularly deworm but went ahead and dewormed the whole group again with Safeguard. He continued to decline so I separated him, dewormed with ivermectin injection, and did Baytril injections IM. I also did SQ fluids (I am a professor at a veterinary technology school but I don’t specialize in exotics, so birds are not something I’ve treated much before). I did run a fecal which was negative for parasites.
He perked up a lot after a few days of treatment. Kept him apart from the group and he was doing great for about 3 weeks, so he went back to the pen. Continued to thrive, gain weight, eating voraciously and no further issues. Repeated fecal, still negative. All seemed well.
Just noticed over the weekend he was hanging out in the coop a lot and had resumed his “tucked up” stance, and a 2.5 yr old hen in the same pen also looked a little quieter than usual. Pulled them both out and separated from the group - both felt underweight despite witnessing them eating regularly.
Started both on Ivermectin injection and a Baytril injection, did some SQ fluids on each of them. She was much more reactive to treatment than he was, and she seems pretty strong yet.
This morning I found him passed. She is still quiet but alert, and is still eating. I am keeping her separate. All the other birds from that pen are at a healthy weight and seem bright, alert and active.
Some quick history: No chickens, ducks or geese in the pen or on the property. No free ranging birds and all have been with the same groups for at least 1 year. A trio of peach pheasants shares this 40x60 flight pen with the 8 young adult peafowl. All have been healthy. No new birds introduced to the pen or property in over a year. All are fed Kalmbach 20% feed granules. Rotational deworming, all got Safeguard in August before molting and Ivermectin at the end of October.
We also have around 20 other adult peas and 15 pheasants who are split into groups in 6 breeding pens. All the breeding pens are separated from this pen by a privacy panel and a 3-foot aisle way, and no other birds are sick. We try to practice biosecurity by not going from pen-to-pen and minimizing direct contact between enclosures as much as possible.
The birds have a fully enclosed coop that they use voluntarily when the weather is bad. We are in Michigan, and the fall has been rainy but not terribly cold. The initial onset of illness was during late summer. No diarrhea or respiratory signs, and affected birds were seen eating with the group regularly. All get along well - no bullying from other birds.
I have consulted members of my veterinary community but most are only somewhat proficient in avian medicine (particularly peafowl), and we all agree that often the best source can be the people who work with them directly - breeders and those who have a lot of hands on experience.
I have 40 peachicks as well as a newly growing breeding operation, and this is our first real health scare so I am very concerned about something contagious hitting my flock
Any advice from seasoned peafowl experts that might guide me to curbing this? I have not buried him yet - anything to look for on necropsy that might offer a clue?
I have a group flight pen that houses about 8 young adult (1.5-2.5 year old) peafowl. All have been healthy until a couple months ago. One of my 1.5 yr old males seemed lethargic, still eating but thin and holding his neck in a tucked up fashion. No upper respiratory signs and still eating, pecking around and social with the other birds. He didn’t roost but slept on the ground, which is what I noticed at first.
I regularly deworm but went ahead and dewormed the whole group again with Safeguard. He continued to decline so I separated him, dewormed with ivermectin injection, and did Baytril injections IM. I also did SQ fluids (I am a professor at a veterinary technology school but I don’t specialize in exotics, so birds are not something I’ve treated much before). I did run a fecal which was negative for parasites.
He perked up a lot after a few days of treatment. Kept him apart from the group and he was doing great for about 3 weeks, so he went back to the pen. Continued to thrive, gain weight, eating voraciously and no further issues. Repeated fecal, still negative. All seemed well.
Just noticed over the weekend he was hanging out in the coop a lot and had resumed his “tucked up” stance, and a 2.5 yr old hen in the same pen also looked a little quieter than usual. Pulled them both out and separated from the group - both felt underweight despite witnessing them eating regularly.
Started both on Ivermectin injection and a Baytril injection, did some SQ fluids on each of them. She was much more reactive to treatment than he was, and she seems pretty strong yet.
This morning I found him passed. She is still quiet but alert, and is still eating. I am keeping her separate. All the other birds from that pen are at a healthy weight and seem bright, alert and active.
Some quick history: No chickens, ducks or geese in the pen or on the property. No free ranging birds and all have been with the same groups for at least 1 year. A trio of peach pheasants shares this 40x60 flight pen with the 8 young adult peafowl. All have been healthy. No new birds introduced to the pen or property in over a year. All are fed Kalmbach 20% feed granules. Rotational deworming, all got Safeguard in August before molting and Ivermectin at the end of October.
We also have around 20 other adult peas and 15 pheasants who are split into groups in 6 breeding pens. All the breeding pens are separated from this pen by a privacy panel and a 3-foot aisle way, and no other birds are sick. We try to practice biosecurity by not going from pen-to-pen and minimizing direct contact between enclosures as much as possible.
The birds have a fully enclosed coop that they use voluntarily when the weather is bad. We are in Michigan, and the fall has been rainy but not terribly cold. The initial onset of illness was during late summer. No diarrhea or respiratory signs, and affected birds were seen eating with the group regularly. All get along well - no bullying from other birds.
I have consulted members of my veterinary community but most are only somewhat proficient in avian medicine (particularly peafowl), and we all agree that often the best source can be the people who work with them directly - breeders and those who have a lot of hands on experience.
I have 40 peachicks as well as a newly growing breeding operation, and this is our first real health scare so I am very concerned about something contagious hitting my flock
Any advice from seasoned peafowl experts that might guide me to curbing this? I have not buried him yet - anything to look for on necropsy that might offer a clue?
Very frustrating this sounds!
