large male found dead

[crazygoatlady]

No idea what happened. Just found him dead this morning…yesterday was a healthy eating bird and its not that cold right now.
Do peacocks have to be wormed monthly? Showed no signs of illness whatsoever. The guy I bought him from said they were just wormed when I brought him home about 2 months ago. He's housed with a hen and another young pair on straw bedding in a covered kennel with large dog houses for extra warmth lined with straw. Diet includes a game maintenance, kitten chow and sunflower seeds and daily meal worms. grit also kept in pen.

 

[KsKingBee]

Injury? He may have spooked and broke his neck. It is recommended by most people to preventively worm twice per year, but it does need to be done correctly to be effective. However if it was worms you would have noticed yesterday that he was 'off'.

 

[zazouse]

Sorry for your loss

Where are you located mabe someone can help you find another male if you need one. You do not have to put exact town the general area will due, like i put southeast Texas.

I agree with KsKingBee

When peas are spooked they jump straight up in the air, it is a reflex for escaping danger , when peas are in a natural setting they will jump straight up then fly outwards when threatened kinda like a helicopter taking off, they do run and take off sometimes .
How big is your pen and how high are your roost?

What did the previous owner worm him with?
When i have taken in new birds in the past i wait a couple weeks and worm them myself , worming done with the wrong thing will not kill all the worms peafowl are know to get and not doing it right when you have a good wormer over time can cause worms to become resistant and you will need to find a different wormer to use if there is one.
How much protein is in that game bird feed?

 

[KsKingBee]

Yes, PLEASE complete your profile with location.

How many sunflower seeds are you feeding? Also look for a lot of feathers in the pen, there may have been fighting involved.

 

[casportpony]

No idea what happened. Just found him dead this morning…yesterday was a healthy eating bird and its not that cold right now.
Do peacocks have to be wormed monthly? Showed no signs of illness whatsoever. The guy I bought him from said they were just wormed when I brought him home about 2 months ago. He's housed with a hen and another young pair on straw bedding in a covered kennel with large dog houses for extra warmth lined with straw. Diet includes a game maintenance, kitten chow and sunflower seeds and daily meal worms. grit also kept in pen.

In October you posted that you had lost 4 of 7 peafowl, so between then and now what have you done with them? Exactly how much wormer did you give? How many days? What type of wormer was it?

-Kathy

Edited to add:
Worming them regardless of what an owner says they did is a good idea, and because wormers are so safe, there is no reason to wait to worm them again.

 

[Garden Peas]

In October you posted that you had lost 4 of 7 peafowl, so between then and now what have you done with them? Exactly how much wormer did you give? How many days? What type of wormer was it?

-Kathy

Edited to add:
Worming them regardless of what an owner says they did is a good idea, and because wormers are so safe, there is no reason to wait to worm them again.

I just went and read that other thread -- a LOT of good info got posted after I had quit following it.

Two thoughts:

#1, if those birds are still stuffed into a 10x10 dog pen, @KsKingBee and @zazouse may be right, the poor thing may have broken its neck on the top of the pen, or even a side post.

#2, if you are still feeding a lot of sunflower seeds and all that other coarse stuff, the bird may have died from an impaction.

@casportpony 's signature block has a link to instructions on sending a bird for necropsy. If you have now lost 5 out of 7 birds, I can't suggest strongly enough that you send this one off ASAP, so perhaps you can save the other two.

 

[casportpony]

State vets


Labs listed by state


This is how I send mine:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/799747/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures

And if you can't send him off, do one yourself:
http://borlaug.tamu.edu/files/2012/03/Poultry-necropsy-Manual.pdf

-Kathy

 

[Garden Peas]

.... He's housed with a hen and another young pair on straw bedding in a covered kennel with large dog houses for extra warmth lined with straw. Diet includes a game maintenance, kitten chow and sunflower seeds and daily meal worms. grit also kept in pen.

I just reread your post from this morning... you must have bought more birds since the last ones died? I thought you were down to three, in October?

Trying to house this many peafowl in a 10x10 pen is too crowded, and will increase the chances of the birds getting hurt or killed by spooking into the fencing.

edited to add: if I am doing the math right, does this mean you have now lost 6 out of 9 birds?

And also: what kind of grit are you giving the peas?

 

[casportpony]

Quote: X2... Anytime one loses that large a number it's time to get serious and find the problem(s). @crazygoatlady I mean this in the nicest way possible, but if you lost the same number of goats, wouldn't you be calling a vet?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

I don't know the exact numbers, but I believe the amount of salt in dry cat food exceeds what poultry, gamebirds and waterfowl should have. I'm not saying not to feed it, just beware that it can have way too much salt in it and that it should be fed in moderation.

-Kathy