Do Guinea's Cough?

[crittercarepets]

My dad recently purchased 4 Guinea Keets for me (I think about 8 weeks old) and we've noticed that one of them coughs occasionally. Is this normal? It's the biggest out of the 4 and may be a male. I'm guessing at their age, but you can just make out a lump on their head where it's just started rising. They are still brown headed with lighter brown stripes on top.

Thanks for any help with this.

Bobbie

 

[PeepsCA]

Might wanna check for gape worms in the bird's throat/crop (open the beak and look down the throat). Coughing Guineas is not normal in my flocks, an occasional sneeze yah, but coughing, no.

And a bigger casque on the head doesn't necessarily mean it's a male, that's more of an indication as to who is the oldest keet in the flock when they are young other than anything else. Does it ever make the 2 syllable buckwheat call? Males do not make the buckwheat call, ever. Does it stand up tall, wings lifted over it's back a little and charge at the other birds a lot? If so then that would be a male Guinea.

 

[Leghornmum]

If it has Gape worms, it will probably stretch its neck out periodically and hold it there for several seconds with its beak open. And also, the females are normally bigger than the males if its coughing, you might want to try adding a bit of vinegar to its water (you'll have to look up how much to give per cup of water)

 

[crittercarepets]

I will be doing the q-tip test with the help of my husband when he gets home this afternoon. Then we will separate it from the rest of the flock. We just put it in with 5 chicks of the same size to get acclimated.

I will go to tractor supply and see if they have valbazen for sale? Or does anyone else know what I can buy at TS to treat it?

I don't know how old the keets are and was giving the starting lump on its head as an idea for someone to gauge who is knowledgeable with keets. Since I am definitely not. I have heard the buck wheat sound so I know at least one of them is a girl!

Thanks!

 

[PeepsCA]

If you can't find Valbazen locally, you can order it from First State Veterinary Supply - Valbazen

 

[PeepsCA]

And also, the females are normally bigger than the males

Do you mean the females are bigger than the males as keets, or as adults? My female keets are usually the smallest keets in the clutches and all of my adult males always outweigh my Hens by at least 1/2 lb, (unless they are from my small flock that has some of the Jumbo genes in their background... then I do end up with a few bigger keets/adults, both female and male tho).

 

[crittercarepets]

Okay, yesterday AFTER ordering the gape worm stuff, we went out and tried to stick a q tip down the guinea's throat. Couldn't do it but heard the sound and it sounds more like congestion vs. coughing. Does that make sense? I am so confused right now! If it was congestion, what kind of antibiotic should I give it?

Any help with this would be GREATLY appreciated! I feel bad for it as it sounds like a really bad smoker lol.

Thanks!

 

[PeepsCA]

If you ordered the Valbazen... it's a very effective broad spectrum wormer, not just for gape worms. IMO, all poultry keepers should have it in their parasite arsenal. I would not give him the Valbazen if you are positive there's a respiratory issue going on tho, wormers can be hard on a birds system, especially when they are already compromised by some other issue.

Since your birds sounds congested you might want to isolate it, just in case it has something contagious that can spread thru the rest of your flock. Clean and disinfect the coop, and all feeders and waterers etc. It could be something as simple as too much dust/pollen in it's environment, but it could also be the start of something viral that can infect every bird on your property. For starters I would eliminate the dust possibility, add poultry vitamins to it's water and apple cider vinegar (2 TBS per gallon of water), feed it lots of greens and some high protein treats, and make sure it's eating and acting well/healthy otherwise.

There are a lot of different antibiotics used to battle respiratory problems, but not all are effective against every disease/illness (and antibiotics are not always needed for the bird to recover). If you can find it locally and quickly there's a product called VetRx (it's like a general poultry remedy, used for multiple issues) that may help your bird fight off the cough. If the bird is coughing up mucous out of it's mouth or nostrils... then ideally you'd want to take the bird to a vet and have them diagnose exactly what the bird has, and go from there. I can't tell you exactly what your bird has or which antibiotic to use, but if you just start dosing the bird with antibiotics that aren't going to help clear up the problem that could end up making things a lot worse.

There's a lot of threads about respiratory issues in the Emergencies / Diseases section here on BYC, maybe you can get more help from reading thru the threads or posting about your bird's cough there.

Good luck, hope your bird improves and it's nothing contagious/infectious.

 

[crittercarepets]

Thanks for the helpful info Peeps! We brought them home 2 weeks ago. They have only ever stayed in our chicken tractor which is outside so I don't think dust is an issue. I don't know what he was kept in before, but it couldn't have been very sanitary.

I will try adding the vitamins to their water and get them some more greens. I feel that if I separate it from the other 3 keets he just might freak out. They are thick as thieves those 4.

I will de worm him when I get the meds and then see if the coughing goes away. If not, I will look into meds or find a vet to take him to.

Thanks again!