Need help.. Sick & lethargic

[kuntrygirl]

VERY nice looking coop. Good Job! Keep up the good work.

 

[zazouse]

loosing babies is so hard KG

 

[Bigcreekpeafowl]

I do not believe all the info on this site is "golden". Sad to say some of the advice I see here regarding health and medications is not valid.

Baytril is not a last resort antibiotic, it is one of the best for fowl. Don't take my word for it this comes from my vet who has been a vet with the zoo for 30 year and two vets from Purdue. I use it often and it is great. Many people are put off since it requires a script. So they buy tylan and use it for most everything.

And if Emtryl would have not been taken off the market 6 years or so we would not be dealing flagyl to this extent which really is a second rate substitute for blackhead. In fowl flagyl is better for a preventative in blackhead, but is weak as treatment.
Best way to prevent blackhead is to control parasites, cecal worms is the primary carrier. And then try to rid the area of earthworms.

If you have a sick bird get a fecal done. It's not expensive and it will tell you if and what parasites your bird has. Then you know what you are dealing with. Unfortunately there is only necropsy to determine blackhead.
And if you have ever smelled blackhead droppings it is nasty. A smell you will not easily forget.

 

[zazouse]

Waht do the droppings smell like? in comparison? i guess if i smell something stinky i will know to look for something but so far my poo don't stink in all these years of having fowl.

 

[Bigcreekpeafowl]

It does have a over powering sulphur odor. If in a closed area with it you will want to run.
That is in the last stage of the disease.

 

[casportpony]

It does have a over powering sulphur odor. If in a closed area with it you will want to run.
That is in the last stage of the disease.

My four that died didn't have that smell, but three that the feed store lost to coccidiosis did have a very foul smelling poop.

 

[Bigcreekpeafowl]

If they are young or died from a secondary infection to blackhead the odor had not become to the final stage which is where the foul odor comes in.
As some Peafowl are lost due to secondary infections.

 

[casportpony]

If they are young or died from a secondary infection to blackhead the odor had not become to the final stage which is where the foul odor comes in.
As some Peafowl are lost due to secondary infections.

Okay, I'm confused. How does blackhead actually kill a bird? Is a septic infection due to necrotic ceca considered to be a secondary bacterial infection?

 

[casportpony]

If you have a sick bird get a fecal done. It's not expensive and it will tell you if and what parasites your bird has. Then you know what you are dealing with. Unfortunately there is only necropsy to determine blackhead.

I've been told that fecals are not reliable and that false negatives are quite common. On the other hand, I've been told that sometimes fecals can detect blackhead, the same way they can for coccidiosis.

 

[AugeredIn]

Okay, I'm confused. How does blackhead actually kill a bird? Is a septic infection due to necrotic ceca considered to be a secondary bacterial infection?

It is not quite that simple. The parasite that causes blackhead can affect many parts of poultry. The parasite causes various degrees of damage which can become infected. Here is a simplified example. Think of it like having a parasite that starts eating your skin. The process of eating your skin does not kill you unless a lot of skin gets eaten. It is much more likely that you get an infection in the area from the open wound that causes death or secondary damage to your system. The batter you treat the infections, the more skin you can lose before you die. The same is true internally in peafowl. The ceca and the liver are the primary targets. As they are damaged they is a much greater risk of infection from the damage than death from the damage. If you can fight those infections, it gives you time to kill the parasite.

Edited to remove double definition of infection.