I have a peafowl puzzle ~ can anyone help?

[Lovethefarm]

Over the summer I have incubated and hatched several peafowl eggs. Each hatch rate was almost 100%, each time peachicks were great, until about at the 4 week mark. From one day to the next one would die, then a few days later another would die. Maybe a week would pass then another one just become very inactive, pretty much lifeless and fall over dead in a matter of hours, no visible symptoms at all, none. One day good next day dead. I have wormed, keep fresh water and daily fed fresh medicated starter have sufficient heat source, everything I read about never fits my problem, so I don't know how to solve. I purchased eggs from another source, hatched those eggs and we begin again, loosing one by one, same exact way dying at different ages, so older than others! I don't know what else to do, I don't want to give up but starting to get very very bummed over the loss especially when I attach to them so easily. If anyone has any advice at all, I would appreciate it.

 

[mirandaleecon]

I'm sorry, I can't really tell you what is wrong but the next time it happens, if you send one in for a necropsy, that should be able to tell you what they are dying of and how to treat/prevent it. If you do a search for necropsy on here, a thread will show up telling you how to send them off and has several examples of labs.

I have a few questions though. Are you keeping them in an indoor brooder? If so, you really shouldn't need to worm them since they would not have really had exposure to any worms.
Also, are you using the same brooder as the first time? Did you disinfect it before putting new chicks in?
Do you have outside birds that you regularly interact with? They could be carriers of something that the chicks can't fight off.
What kind of bedding are you using? Have you been checking their crops? Are they full when they die?
Any wheezing, clicking, or other noises when they breathe?
Are their droppings normal?

Just trying to think of anything that could possibly explain it. There is another section on this site under "other poultry" that has a specific forum for peafowl, you might have better luck there...