Help! My peachicks are dying!

[harriet3]

Help!

We are having trouble keeping our peachicks alive. I live on a hobby farm and our peahens hatch their chicks in the henhouse. By about 2 weeks old, the peachicks start to display signs of illness: lack of appetite, weakness, droopy wings. It almost looks like blackhead, but they continue to eat and drink (not robustly though). The symptoms seem to last a few days, then they die. I do notice slight diarrhea as well. Can anybody help?

 

[chickenzoo]

I have adult peacocks one the same property with my chickens, but I do not house them in the same area. They sleep in a different pen. From now on I would take any chicks and remove them from the chicken coop because peafowl chicks can be sensitive to chicken dieases. I keep all my chicks off the ground until they get to big to keep in the house, but they need leg room, they can develope leg problems if kept cramped up. I have never had black head in my flock but the UPA has some good info. I worm them when I worm the chickens and even more so, to keep their risk down. Could it be anything respitory, do you hear any weezing/crackeling noises when you press your ear to their lungs? They catch it easily. Tylan works good. I believe they use sulfar meds for blackhead, double check on that. Hope they start doing better.....

"Histomoniasis, commonly called "Blackhead" is an infectious intestinal disease caused by the protozoa Histomonas meleagridis. Birds are most susceptible between 6 and 14 weeks of age. Symptoms are watery, sulfur-colored droppings, drowsiness, and weakness. The causative agent is shed in the feces of the infected birds and then contracted by susceptible birds as they feed from the floor and litter. Histomoniasis can be controlled by specific medication of a bird or flock at the onset of an outbreak or prevented with the use of a histomonastat, drug specific from Histomoniasis, in the feed. Presently there are no FDA approved Histomonastats. Currently, Metronidazole (Flagyl), copper sulfate, and Histostat are the medications used for the treatment of Blackhead" - from the UPA website

 

[Heidina]

A neighbor of mine has lost about half of his flock of 30. He cut some of the dead ones open and found that their gut was green. Could this be Histomoniasis?