coughing peacock..?

[pheasant24]

I bought a 2 year old peacock at a swap and when I brought it in the car, I heard it coughing ad sneezing.. when it coughs it sounds like a flemmy cough and it has its mouth open a lot. Any ideas what could be wrong??? he doesn't look happy at all....

 

[zazouse]

I have read this is a sign of respiratory infection, some one with more experience should be here soon that can help you.
I would keep him completely away from the other birds if you have any cause this could be contagious.
Hope he gets to feeling better soon.

 

[Kedreeva]

Has he been wormed?

edit: also, was this at the recent Imlay swap in Michigan? There were several peacocks there that were not in the best of shape.

 

[6littlechickies]

Couple of items pop into mind to look at for the bird. Catch him and feel his weight. He should have a little meat on his breast.

1. If you have not wormed him or don't know the care history, do worm them.
2. Look for obstructions in the throat, stick, string etc.
3. Check to see if there is a cheesy looking material in the mouth or throat. This could be an infection such as canker which is more common in pigeons but can be found throughout bird populations including peafowl.
4. Shine a light down the throat to look for Gape worm. They exist in the throat area and are visible at times. They can grow and divide up to be big enough to block the throat. (Worming with the correct wormer would help with this also)
5. If these do not appear as the problem, keep a close eye on him to monitor for sinus infection. This is usually visible as discharge from the sinus, bubbles in the corner of the eyes, or swollen areas just below the eyes.

Good luck in nursing him back to health.

 

[Yoda]

I agree, I would worm him ASAP. I usually use safeguard (3ml to gallon water) first then after 14 days I use ivermectin (1cc) pour on for cattle. If he has gape worms in his throat then use the ivermectin first as safeguard does not kill gape worms. Safeguard is added to the water and the other is squirted on the skin at the base of the neck. Like stated above keep an eye out for infections. It is good to keep a bottle of Tylan 200 on hand for any respiratory infections.

 

[pheasant24]

yah i did worm him as soon as i got home with safe guard. I got him at Imlay too. and what are the worms that are in the throat??
and squirting the safe guard, on the inside or outside?

 

[6littlechickies]

Gapeworm is the worm in the throat. The safeguard is given in the water as stated in Yoda's post or it can be given 1-1.5 mL orally down the throat. Make sure to bypass the windpipe when administering in this manner.

 

[Bigcreekpeafowl]

Capillary worms are another deadly parasite which peafowl often mimic gapeworm type symptoms.
You mentioned you wormed him but I would catch him and dose him down the throat for 3 days. Then repeat in 10-14 days. And keep him isolated from other birds.
Capillary worms infest the crop and the esophagus of the bird and they will gape, yawn, stretch their necks, wipe their beaks often, cough, and can develop a raspy type wheeze. They will quickly develop inflammation in the esophagus and have mucous secretions.
Poor appetite, rapid weight loss, unthrifty appearance, and anemia.

Not saying your bird does not have gapeworm, but it may be capillary worms.
A fecal will tell you for sure.

Treatment is different, as Yoda mentioned safeguard does not work well at all for gapeworm, but is best for capillary worms.
Gapeworm is best treated with Ivomec and Valbazen is also used.
If it is gapeworm ivomec given orally for peafowl over 6 months at .5 or 1/2 mL as a drench down the throat will work within 24 hours. It works fast on gapeworm as a drench.

If you do have Valbazen on hand you could use it and it will kill both gapeworm and capillary worms. A little slower for gape than ivomwc, but it will work. For a adult male we use 1 mL as a drench one time a day for 3 days.

 

[Shay1Bear]

I had been posting in *help with sick peachick* and my peachick is doing alot better, we are finished with the Tylan 50 and with the safeguard but she is still sneezing! A couple of weeks ago she was breathing with her beak wide open and he chest sounded really weezy and that has cleared up. He poo is really watery and almost clear and sometimes it a dark green and solid. Any ideas on what causing the sneezing and watery poo's and what I should do next? My husband claims he seen her eat a feather a few weeks ago and he said it wasn't really big but he couldn't get it out of her beak quick enuf. I thought maybe thats what was causing her to not breath right but the Tylan 50 got rid of all of that. Still a struggle!

 

[DylansMom]

I had been posting in *help with sick peachick* and my peachick is doing alot better, we are finished with the Tylan 50 and with the safeguard but she is still sneezing! A couple of weeks ago she was breathing with her beak wide open and he chest sounded really weezy and that has cleared up. He poo is really watery and almost clear and sometimes it a dark green and solid. Any ideas on what causing the sneezing and watery poo's and what I should do next? My husband claims he seen her eat a feather a few weeks ago and he said it wasn't really big but he couldn't get it out of her beak quick enuf. I thought maybe thats what was causing her to not breath right but the Tylan 50 got rid of all of that. Still a struggle!

Hi there, some of my chicks have grabbed and swallowed big feathers before I could get them away from them, never caused a problem. I think as long as they've got grit in the crop to grind it up they will be fine. Two things spring to mind since you have used a Tylan and safeguard already. Have you given any corid for cocci? Also maybe some probiotics are in order since the antibiotic could have killed off the good bacteria in her gut. This can cause diarrhea. Glad to hear the breathing has improved.