How to med a peafowl?

[wildpeafowllady]

hi everyone!

i'm rehabbing / treating an injured wild peafowl. he's been prescribed pilled antibiotics, and a liquid antibiotic for an infection and im having trouble getting meds in him. at first rolling it into bread was doing the trick, then he caught on. now im opening the capsule, mixing it into mealworms and that's working for now but in case he catches onto that - ANY tips? would love to know how any of you have successfully gotten meds in your peafowls.

 

[Waterfaery]

You can direct dose with a syringe down the throat but it is absolutely vital to know how to do that correctly so it goes in the right place and doesn't aspirate them. There are detailed posts with photos on here if you want to search for them or I can try to find one later if you want to go that way.

I almost never do that with a bird that's still eating and since he's wild, it would probably be incredibly stressful. The easiest way is what you're doing. Just mix it into small treats and watch to make sure he eats it all. You may have to keep switching treats but it sounds like the mealworms are working.

Scrambled egg never fails for me in case you need a backup idea. If it did fail, I would try berries or chopped fruit next or maybe some shrimp. Make sure you test the treat first before wasting the medication in it. It needs to be something he loves.

Doing it first thing before giving other food may help too, since he'll be hungry.