Frustrated with our Peacock family!

[Frank Rudolph]

I do not know what I am doing for sure, but we have been trying to get a Peacock family started for about 3 years and have had very bad luck. We purchased two hens and a cock from a ad in the paper and we had them with our chickens but that did not work at all and they both died. So we built a separate large pen and barn for the peacocks and bought three more from two separate places. This seemed to work great for about 6 months then one of the hens got like a breathing problem and we spent 309.00 at the vet who got it well with antibiotics, but about two weeks ago our male got the same thing and we went looking all over and found BYC site and started reading the responses from other raisers and so far have learned that we are dumb. We never wormed the peacocks and we think that this is probably what killed them. If anyone could give us information on what to do we would be very appreciative.

 

[Resolution]

We worm our peafowl 3-4 times a year.
I also regularly do stool analysis about once a month on our various pens/areas.
Parasites ARE the most common killer of peafowl. They are brought down by the infestation and a respiratory (or whatever) infection can set in. But it is SECONDARY to the PRIMARY, which is parasites.
Do I think t hat a wormer can be detrimental to peafowl who is ill with something else such as renal disease which has been mentioned here? Yes I do think it could. The answer to that is have a fecal analysis run and know for sure.
But there are many things that can cause renal failure such as viral, bacterial, fungal infections, coccidiosis, mycotoxins, IBV infection, the list is long. And is it acute or chronic renal failure? That is easy enough to diagnosis as well. Have the vet draw the blood or get a purple top tube for the CBC with 1 mL of blood and a red top (tube for spinning down the blood to serum) and a mL in it. And take it to your vet and have them run a CBC and chem panel to check kidney function (BUN and creatinine), calcium, phosphorus. It will reveal their liver function, any anemia. Infection will be detected, CBC can tell much about your bird.
You can also have uric acid levels checked which can reveal gout or kidney disease.
There is a lot to be learned from diagnostic testing on peafowl. And you can save their life by early detection and by knowing what you are dealing with so you can treat appropriately.
Stool analysis is about $15-20, the bloodwork about $75.
Some people can learn the stool analysis themselves. But it is a cheap test and worth it.
I have no problem with boosting immune systems and being cautious about worming.
However I am a realist and I know often times parasites are always ready to take hold and they will kill peafowl.

 

[Frank Rudolph]

I can see that I have alot to learn about Peafowl and taking care of them. I am going to the vet tomorrow and talk with him abouit samples and how to take care of them. Thanks for the advice

 

[Doctor T]

Welcome to the club, Frank!

We're all learning about these fabulous birds! This is a great place for information, and sharing, both successes and failures. We all benefit from the experience of others.

$309 dollars is quite a vet bill!!

 

[Frank Rudolph]

Yes this is a high vet bill and is only about a third of what it cost so far, but I am not giving up. We will learn all what we need yet and that is all we can try. I do like the info I get from this site as it is very encouraging and inlightening. Thank you