Its another peacock health question

[new 2 pfowl]

Hello peapeople,
I have another peacock health question, although I am realizing how very difficult it is for people to give advice about a bird they can't actually look at. I'm sure you experts could let me know what/if this guy has a problem right away if you could see him.

But I'll give it a try anyways.

I wrote earlier about getting some rescued peacocks to join the free range flock I live with. I received the first two guys a while ago, and the people who were holding them finally caught the peahen who had escaped (long story) and I went to pick it up two weeks ago..it turned out to be a peacock, not a peahen, about 1 year old.

This little guy has some kind of physical problem that I can't identify. I have now gotten used to the fact that peacocks sometimes limp; maybe they step on something or who knows what, but they seem to get over it. His problem appears to be in his hip? He walks with a hitch. The way he navigates makes me think it is either a congenital problem or maybe an old injury. He can walk and run (a bit slowly), fly and roost. Perhaps someone knows what this problem might be?

I thought he was doing fine despite this problem, except for getting picked on a bit by the gang. But now he seems to be ailing. He stands and dozes, he looks a bit droopy, and he picks at the seed I give him but doesn't really seem to eat. Perhaps he is still adjusting to the new environment and companions. He actually seems depressed.

When I searched his symptoms on here, of course, I found the worst case scenario, the dreaded blackhead. This is very worrisome because there are a dozen free ranging birds here and there is no possible way I could catch them all.
I'm wondering, are there some other blackhead signs to look for?
Do these symptoms suggest any other ailment?
Do birds sometimes get depressed in a new environment?

I welcome any thoughts about this. After only two weeks, I'm really attached to this little guy.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Hello again,
Sorry to be a pest, but I wonder if there is any way to administer medication to this guy without catching him?
He's been through so much stress that I don't think stressing him more will be very helpful to his health.

I have water out that the peacocks, other wild birds, rabbits, etc. drink from, and I hesitate to put something like metranodizole into this water. Is there some clever way to medicate free range birds?

 

[zazouse]

Does he like grapes or raisins? if so you can take a syringe with a needle and inject it into that.
Also if he has blackhead i would treat the entire flock and not wait for others to come down with it.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

I wonder if his "limp" was caused by the people before having to catch him? I don't know why you believe or are used to the fact peafowl sometimes limps,as none of my birds exhibit any problem walking.I purchased several new adult Peas a few weeks ago and one Opal B/S adult seemd to be great once he was put into his new pen,but then for a few days afterwards he seemed "slow" and just not as energetic as the others,I contributed this to shipping,being inside a small box for several days and then a new home,but he is doing great now.
I would catch this male again,preferably in the evening and put him in a smaller pen,or large sized dog crate.Isolate him from everyone else and be careful when catching him,so he doesn't twist a leg,or pull any muscles or tendons in his legs.Even tho he was free ranged before, by getting used to being handled by a person will calm him down in time,I don't make pets our of my Peas here,but they all recognize me and come up very close to me for treats-ect!

 

[zazouse]

I agree with frenchblackcopper,

I have witnessed my birds land wrong and limped for a good while and i have seen the fly into things and hurt themselves and act mopey for days cause they are hurt.
There is no avian vet anywhere near my area so i am left with the wait and see what happens most of the time.
I have a pea hen right now that got spooked and flew into a tree and land wrong coming down , the very next day she was mopey and after a few days she was fine, i did have to hand feed her as she was hurting to bad to get up on the feeding platforms.
Had i not seen her fly off i would have thought she had something else.

Thery could have injured him by holding him by his leggs too.

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Thank you both for the responses.
Frenchblackcopper: the reason that I said that about peas limping is that there have been two cases of guys here that were limping enough to get me worried (and asking people here about it!), but they stopped limping on their own. So although I don't think limping is normal, I am coming to realize that it isn't always something serious.

I do think it's possible he was injured when he was caught; he has been caught several times now (not by me) in the course of being rescued and kept in various places. But his "hitch" is just something I haven't seen before. He seems to have knock knees from whatever his problem is, and he hunches his shoulders a bit, maybe to help him keep his balance?

I'm tending to agree with you fbc, that he may still be recovering from being caught and transported, and you also zazouse, that he may be mopey from whatever his possible injury is.
I will give him time and keep an eye on him.
In the meantime I'm watching out for him to poop, if I see it I'll take it in to get tested.

I really appreciate your both taking the time to share your thoughts about this.

 

[zazouse]

Your welcome, has he been eating ok?

 

[new 2 pfowl]

That's a very good question! Well, since they're free range peas, its a bit hard for me to tell how much he is really eating.
When I put out seed he doesn't eat enthusiastically, but I don't see him for hours at a time...

I did just find out that when he was first rescued (from where these three were free ranging on an old citrus orchard that was being bulldozed), he didn't have any injury. It seems he was injured when he escaped from the people who were keeping him, or when he was caught again.

Thank you again for your response, zazouse!

 

[zazouse]

You are welcome,
Offer him some bananas and make him some scrambled eggs, just feed him some when ever you think about it this weekend these treats are high in protein and carbohydrates and will help give him more strength if he is having trouble foraging , this is what i do for mine.
Easer to observe him once he comes to get his treat.
Is he able to roost with the others or is he having trouble getting up there with them?

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Great idea, I'm going to try giving him some scrambled eggs tomorrow.
I'll just have to figure out how to sneak them to him without the other birds noticing, or they'll run him off (he is definitely at the bottom of the pecking order here).

I actually don't know where he's roosting. I've seen him get off of the ground, but not all the way up into a tree.
I was assuming he had found somewhere he liked to roost, even if not with the gang - there are a lot of good roosting trees here.
Maybe I'll try following him this evening...

BYC is so wonderful...I don't know where else I'd be able to turn for advice from experienced peapeople!