HELP!!! My young peafowl are dying

[SusanP4]

I have three peafowl left out of five that I hatched here at home.
Two have died and one is dying.

They were born at the end of April so they are about 4 months old. We have had an adult male peacock for three years and have never had any health problems with him.

We wanted him to have some company, hence we got these peacock eggs and hatched and are trying to raise them. They are all housed together.

The only symptoms that I have seen is that they become less energetic and have loose brown stools. I feed them medicated game bird scratch with occasional rice, noodles, etc from the house. Lat seek I gave them dried mealworms for the first time;

The first one died about a month ago, the second on about 10 days ago and the third starting showing symptoms last night.
I have been putting Tetracycline in their water for the past 6 days. I don't know what to do. Any ideas on saving the last two?? I am new to this and feel just awful that these birds have been suffering.

I have researched for the last month on the internet and there is so much information that I am not sure which is correct and which is not. Please help me if you can!

Thank you

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Hello Susan,
Others here have much more experience and are likely to be able to give you advice.
But I wonder, are there any vets in your area that will look at peas?
The best thing would be to have someone who knows birds actually look at your peas...

 

[Yoda]

Sounds like Coccidia or worms. Have you wormed them? Are they on the ground? Here is what I would do:
I would get Corid powder and mix it 1 teaspoon per gallon of water for 3 days and see if they improve. If no improvement then I will do wormer cause they will need it anyways. I use safeguard for goats liquid and add 3cc or ML to a gallon of water for 3 days. Good luck and I am sorry about your loss

 

[SusanP4]

We have been worming them with Wazine. Yes, they are on the ground.
I will get the Curid powder and try that. I will get the SAFEGUARD wormer as well.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

 

[SusanP4]

I have checked and none of the vets know anything about peacocks.
Thank you

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Just in case, this thread lists a few TN vets that may look at peas:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/200108/list-of-vets

Good luck, and please let us know how your guys are.

 

[Yoda]

You should be able to get the corid where you get your feed. While there you should also pick up Ivemectn pour on for cattle. I use safe guard first then 14 days later I squirt 1 cc/ml (no needle, just syringe) of Ivemectn directly onto the skin at base of neck. I lift the feathers the best I can and yes some will be absorbed in the feathers but most will get into the skin. The pour on will work for 30 days that is why I do it last. Being on the ground tells me it is Coccidia. My babies do not see the ground till spring LOL When they out grow the large wire dog create the go into the peacock shed. I have a large pen I built onto the back wall. They don't touch the floor till they out grow that pen. Once they out grow it they are released into the shed with the others, but for some reason the young ones really do not venture outside till they are ready to but the door is always open and they choose to stay in. By this time they have a strong immune system. 4 months to me is not stong enough yet. Keep us posted and I hope you save the little one!

 

[De Wet]

You should be able to get the currid where you get your feed. While there you should also pick up Ivemectn pour on for cattle. I use safe guard first then 14 days later I squirt 1 cc/ml (no needle, just syringe) of Ivemectn directly onto the skin at base of neck. I lift the feathers the best I can and yes some will be absorbed in the feathers but most will get into the skin. The pour on will work for 30 days that is why I do it last. Being on the ground tells me it is Coccidia. My babies do not see the ground till spring LOL When they out grow the large wire dog create the go into the peacock shed. I have a large pen I built onto the back wall. They don't touch the floor till they out grow that pen. Once they out grow it they are released into the shed with the others, but for some reason the young ones really do not venture outside till they are ready to but the door is always open and they choose to stay in. By this time they have a strong immune system. 4 months to me is not stong enough yet. Keep us posted and I hope you save the little one!

so far as i know you use sulfa for coccidia

 

[featherhead]

Corid is a brand name for amprolium (the active ingredient that kills coccidia). You can get it at any farm store. Use 5cc per gallon of drinking water for 5 days. You can give this mix orally if you choose. SusanP, it sounds like your birds have coccidia. Dark brown, liquid droppings often contain blood and this is caused by this intestinal parasite. It perforates the intestines and the tissue dies. Birds can die very quickly from coccidia, often within 24 hours of showing symptoms. The younger the babies are, the faster this gets them. Starter feeds can contain amprolium, and this is the only chick starter feed I buy. It helps the wee ones ward off coccidia as their immune systems are developing. which takes from 4-6 months. If you have a local vet that will examine a fecal sample for you, that will help. This coccidia can be seen with a microscope, but it's very small and can be difficult to spot. It's the same parasite that can affect dogs, cats and wildlife. The vet can also verify if there are blood cells in the stool.

If these were my birds, I'd treat with Corid first, wait 24 hours and then worm them. Using both meds at the same time can be very hard on a sick bird. Good luck to you and your babies. I hope everything comes out okay.

 

[Yoda]

featherhead I did not tell her to use both at the same time read post number 3. I cannot believe I spelled corid wrong twice LMAO!