I think I have a girl with a parasite

[SuperPeacockman]

I have a hen who has been acting really sluggish for at least two weeks now she lets her wings droop and scrunches up her neck too. I think she must have a parasite that's leaching her of her energy but I don't know what, some kind of worm? Any advice would be appreciated!

She didn't even move away from me today she was so lethargic, also there is feather loss on the back of the head but that could be breeding.

 

[zazouse]

how is her appetite?
I use safeguard for goats and i add it to scrambled eggs now that all my peas are free ranged, they don't seem to notice it in the eggs so you could try to worm her this way instead of relying on her water intake cause honestly peas just don't drink that much from what i have seen.
Is she with a male? Is she laying age? if so has she layed this season yet?

 

[MinxFox]

A few years ago when my peahen Ice was acting like that and did not seem to be eating (also I felt her and she was very thin) I caught her and we squirted some safe guard down her throat. That cured her. I would say by the next day I noticed her eating again and in the next few days she was totally back to normal. We used this great oral dosing article by Hopkin's Livestock to learn how to correctly give her the meds.
http://www.hopkinslivestock.com/oral_dosing_article.htm

I am not sure if the safe guard would cure yours but that is just what my experiance has been. I hope someone else has some good stuff to tell you so that your sweet little peahen can start feeling better.

 

[SuperPeacockman]

She eats a lot age always seems to be the first one eating.. Yes she is with males zaz! I'll have to get some safeguard!

 

[casportpony]

Whenever I have one that looks or act off, worming with Safeguard (fenbendazole 10%) at 50mg/kg ( .5ml/kg) *orally* is the first thing I do *after* I weigh them. In ten days I repeat the process.

I also like the Hopkins article, but it mentions using a 3cc/ml syringe and the pictures show them using a 1cc/ml syringe. Just for grins, I tried using the bigger one, but decided it was too wide to dose safely.

I also wrote something about oral dosing:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/745210/how-to-safely-worm-your-peafowl-orally

 

[casportpony]

This is a good article on worming:
http://www.peafowl.org/ARTICLES/21/

FYI, the article mentions Panacur, which is the same as Safeguard (fenbendazole 10%).

 

[casportpony]

Just had a couple of thoughts... You might want to treat her for lice and mites and check her beak to make sure she can eat properly. I have one that I have to trim because the top grows too long and that makes it harder for her to eat.

 

[casportpony]

Just had another thought... Maybe she's getting ready to lay or has new feather growth and needs more protein? I know nothing about peafowl nutrition, but I had a couple of chicken hens that were losing weight, molting and looking off. I ignored the molting warning, wormed them and added a higher protein crumble to their feed and now they're both doing better.

 

[SuperPeacockman]

Okay wouldn't they all be unhealthy then?

 

[casportpony]

Okay wouldn't they all be unhealthy then?

No, not necessarily.

When mine get sick, this is what I do:

• Thorough exam check for cuts, bruising lumps etc.
• Look and smell inside mouth.
• Palpate crop - Is it full, empty, squishy, hard, etc.
• Dust for mites/lice with poultry dust even if I cannot see any. DE does not work.
• Weigh on digital kitchen scale (see avatar), record weight and weigh daily. any weight loss is bad.
• Place bird in a warm, quiet place on towel with food and water that it can't drown in.
• De-worm with Safeguard or Panacur, liquid or paste 50mg/kg by mouth and repeat in 10 days. Warning - Safeguard/Panacur (fenbendazole should not be used during a molt).
• Once warm, if not drinking, and crop is empty, hydrate with warmed Pedialyte or lactated ringers with a feeding tube - 30ml/kg every 6-8 hours.
• If not eating after 24 hours and crop is empty, tube feed baby bird food mixed with Pedialyte
• Inspect poop for 24 hours.
• If I suspect a stuck egg, treat for egg binding.
• If I suspect a bacterial infection, treat with oral or injectable antibiotics like Clavamox, Amoxicillin or Baytril.
• If I suspect a fungal infection, treat with oral antifungal like Nystatin.
• If I suspect blackhead (Histomoniasis), treat with metronidazole 30mg/kg for five days.
• If I suspect canker (Trichomoniasis), treat with metronidazole 30mg/kg for five days.
• If I suspect coccidiosis, treat with Corid.

http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/cam/07_emergency_and_critical_care.pdf​