HELP!!! Sick guinea!!

[BritinMO]

Dear all - sorry for not being on here recently - but now I need help for one of my babies! I have a very poorly youngster, noticed it was a bit bla compared to the rest this morning and now its really acting sick. They all free range during the day, this one let me catch it easily when I was feeding them just now, I've brought it in the house and put it in a pet cage on a bed of hay, its not fussed at all - not interested in food, but not injured - any brilliant ideas what I can do? Its just sitting there blinking its eyes, I'm very worried!

Thanks for any help!!!

 

[BritinMO]

I've just read in another post about a sick guinea stretching its neck out - this one is doing just that, stretches it out to the side a couple of times, then stops.

 

[PeepsCA]

Uh oh... check the crop for impaction, add electrolytes to it's water (you might need to dip his beak a few times a day to get him to take a few swallows), offer it some scrambled egg or boiled egg yolk mixed with it's normal feed, maybe give himn a little yogurt with probiotics in it and keep him warm... that's about all you can do without rushing it to a vet. Is his poop ok/normal, no messy bottom or anything? How does his breast area feel, is it thin?

It's not really showing much in the way of outwardly symptoms, so it's anybody's guess at this point. Wish I had a better answer for ya

Good luck with him, maybesome extra TLC and warmth will help him pull thru

 

[BritinMO]

Hey Peeps!!! Thanks for the advice, it seems better this morning, so its back out in the coop with its budies, but I'm keeping a very close eye in it especially as its raining, I just let them out and they are all huddled underneath the truck keeping dry!

I'm getting more people around here interested in guineas - and I always tell them how many you hatched out this year!

I'm not totally sure how many I have now, they don't stay still long enough for me to count them - but I think all my babies survived, I dread to think how overun I might be next year with them!

Hope your flock is doing well!

 

[PeepsCA]

Glad he's doin' a little better! Hope he recovers 100% so you can stop worrying about him. Glad all your babies made it, bet you have a super gorgeous flock now! You should post some pics!

My flocks are doing great, 200+ birds and going strong, lol. I just got 2 new Peafowl tho, so I think I found my newest passion/obsession! Gonna weed thru all my Guineas and keep only the prettiest/perfect birds that I absolutely cannot part with (maybe I'll just keep about 75 after all, LOL).

Great to see ya back on the forum again! Missed ya

 

[Jchantecler]

Also, guineas will crane their necks often to get a better look at the world. They do this when sitting down or looking around corners.

 

[BarbaraNH]

It sounds like he may have eaten something that didn't agree with him. Neck stretching can mean there is something stuck in its throat, sometimes worms (gapeworms or capillary worms, which are serious) but often just something that needs to work its way down, like a large beetle or grasshopper. Sometimes guineas just stretch out their necks as part of a grooming ritual. Mine do that most often when they are feeling warm and comfortable while under a heat lamp.

I think one of my guineas once had a piece of pine shaving stuck to the roof of her mouth. Might have been a large sunflower shell, but I think it was a pine shaving. It would click whenever she opened her beak until it finally dislodged itself after a couple of days. She really couldn't eat during that time, and I was worried about her. After the pine shaving was gone, she starting eating with gusto again.

Happy to hear your guinea is feeling better today. Hope he continues to do well!

 

[BritinMO]

The sick one didn't make it, had one more that got sick and died, I put the rest of the guinea flock and the chickens on antibiotics and fingers crossed, and everything else crossed, they are all doing fine.

Its quite silly how much my 30 or so Guineas bring me such pleasure, they really are so funny, I guess I am lucky that mine are really quite tame, I spend insane amounts of time with them around our place when I am outside and in the barn doing my horsey chores - they follow me around in one big herd, its really amusing and entertaining!

 

[PeepsCA]

Oh no

Sorry to hear about your losses, especially after things were starting to look up. Hope the antibiotics do the trick! Keep us posted

 

[ozguineafowl]

Sorry you lost 2 in the end but in the future if you ever get a sick guinea fowl or any bird for that matter keep it isolated for a few days at least not just 1 day and if your treating it make sure you go the full treatment no matter how good the fowl seems after just half the time. I hope the rest are fine

Good luck