Help! My Silver Pheasant male is sick!

[Game Bird Guy]

Hi. I have a 2 year old male silver pheasant. Lately he has not been eating and is lethargic. I am able to pick him up without much struggling which is not normal for him. He also has yellowy green liquid in his feces which I have not seen before. Can anyone help me find out what is wrong with him? Thank you in advance. Kramer

 

[deserthotwings]

If you could add a little more info it would be helpful. Has he been wormed recently ? What other birds does he have contact with, other pheasants, chickens, etc.? What have you been feeding him ? How long has he been showing signs of sickness ?

 

[Game Bird Guy]

If you could add a little more info it would be helpful. Has he been wormed recently ? What other birds does he have contact with, other pheasants, chickens, etc.? What have you been feeding him ? How long has he been showing signs of sickness ?

Hi. I'm sorry I didn't have morte detail when I posted. I was really worried. He has been showing signs of sickness for 3 or 4 days. He is now sounding like he has a liquid in his nose. His vocalisations sound odd. He has not been wormed recently. He lives with 2 guinea fowl, and 2 IB peafowl.He is fed 16% layer pellets, cracked and whole corn, 26% gamebird feed, lots of bread, vegatables and fruit as well. He has an electrolyte and vitamin suppliment added to his water one weekly. If there is anything els eyou need to know, please ask. Thanks for your help. Kramer

 

[Resolution]

Sounds like he has a respiratory infection. Get yourself to the pharmacy and pick up the following materials.

Cranberry gel capsules- these are for people with urinary tract infections.
Omega Red or a similar krill oil- for people.
Multi Purpose Contact Lens Solution- it should clean, disinfect AND rinse- ask the pharmacist if you can put it directly in your eye.

Look for marjoram oil- that's oregano oil if you can find any- that would be in a health store.

Tuck a whole clove of garlic down his gullet. And inject the contact lens solution into his sinus cavity.
Are you familiar with the avian respiratory system? Do you have baytril at hand?
For many people expensive antibiotics are out of the question. Using the wrong antibiotic- one that is not effective in treating respiratory infections- mycoplasma- is not helpful- indeed it can prove harmful.

So- tuck him with some garlic -raw ginger if you have it and inject his sinus cavity with multi purpose solution- the one that can put directly in the eye.

If you can afford these two gel capsules use them -once every other day - they'll help boost his immune system.

You'll also need to tuck some almonds down his gullet or walnuts, pecans- peanuts- brazil nuts- some whole unsalted nut- if it's salted rinse it off. A table spoon of nuts is about what he'll need for energy/protein while you nurse him back to health.

If you have baytril or can get hold of some put a cc into three ccs of lens solution- and inject this into the sinus cavity.
Oregano oil in this solution is incredibly helpful as well.
Injecting the bird in the breast with baytril could also prove helpful if the infection has infected his entire body.
Regardless, get him out of the aviary- where the guineas have been pestering him and into a dog crate in the garage or some place where temperatures are fairly static.

 

[kartking22]

Sounds to me to be gape worm. Before resorting to drastic expensive measures, Treat all of your birds with a wormer. Take away all of the fresh water and put out ONLY water treated with the worm medication for two days. This will ensure that all of your birds will get the medication whether or not they actually need it. It will not hurt your healthy birds.
A gape worm infestation of your birds, you will see either sneezing or a hard time breathing. This is due to the fact that the gape worms inbed themself in the throat of the birds and they are trying to get rid of this discomfort. They will eventually kill the bird by blocking off thier air way if not treated. I am almost sure that this is your problem with the evidence that you tell.

 

[Resolution]

It's a common mistake to not help boost a bird's immune system before, during and after treatment. When you end up at the doctor's office or hospital your physician works overtime to help your body kick into gear as it is your own immune system that is most needed in any situation. With aviculture there is a tendency to run for a cure without adequately planning for recovery. Green droppings suggests a respiratory infection. Green=bile. Elevations in bile acids are associated with reduced hepatic function
The B vitamin Choline is felt to be one, which if deficient, will allow for fatty infiltrates into the liver.
Nutritional support is critical.

Worming is hard on a bird's system. It's toxic of course, a poison used to kill parasites. Sometimes parasite infestation is so heavy that deworming actually leads to internal hemorraging leading to more problems and even death. First off you need to remove the bird into a dog carrier where he can be treated and away from guineafowl- as they are becoming increasingly volatile this time of year. Then you've got to help him boost his immune system. If you worm or use antibiotics you need to have a plan for the bird's recovery.

 

[Game Bird Guy]

Hi. I am posting to update that my Silver male is now feeding and behaving normally. He is still being fed the same feed and is in the same cage. I will keep posting until he is better. Kramer

 

[deserthotwings]

Glad to hear it. Did you do any special treatment for him ? Please keep us posted.

 

[Game Bird Guy]

I did not treat him with anything too special. I just gave him medicated gamebird feed versus his normal non-medicated feed. I am still going to try and get some of the stuff that resolution suggested though.

 

[Game Bird Guy]

Good news all . . . my male Silver is all better! He is behaving 100% normally and I gave him a physical exam that he aced. He isn't making any odd sounds, so he went home today. I appreciate all the help I received and the techniques suggested worked great. I gave him the contact lense solution. I also useda saline nasal spray that I sometimers use and it really helped him. Thanks again everyone! Kramer