Lazy Peachick

[casportpony]

Quote: Must be fresh... did you take the bird with you?

-Kathy

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

Must be fresh... did you take the bird with you?

-Kathy

No i didn't, because i wasn't going home after that, i took fresh poop with me but only from one bird, the second bird who still acting sick didn't poop today so i took his old poop.

 

[casportpony]

@rbaker0345 , is online now, I hope maybe they can come comment on fecals, fecal floats, etc..

-Kathy

 

[rbaker0345]

I'm here, I'm just reading to catch up.

 

[casportpony]

I'm here, I'm just reading to catch up.

Thank you! I'm curious as to the difference between direct fecal smears (is that what they're called?) and floats, even the different types of floats and why one might expect to get false negatives.

-Kathy

 

[KsKingBee]

Me too, I want to make sure I have that right.

 

[casportpony]

Me too, I want to make sure I have that right.

@rbaker0345 is the only BYC'er that I know (and trust) that can answer such questions.

-Kathy

 

[rbaker0345]

Direct fecal smears are less accurate and less likely to show eggs if they have a low level infestation because, unles there is fecal matter right there in the mouth of the rectal sphincter, all you are getting is residue which has been smeared across the wall of the rectum. However, if you do a direct smear and you find eggs- you know you've got yourself a problem. Each species of worms lays a different number of eggs or oocytes. For example, if you do a fecal on an adult bird and you find one or two coccidia oocysts per frame, you need not treat for coccidia because each adult produces hundreds (that's not an exact number, I'm just pulling that out of my rear) of "eggs". On the other hand, if you find one capillaria egg on an entire slide, then you definitely have to start treatment for capillaria (whipworms). This is because the female whipworm only lays a few eggs at a time. But if you do a direct smear and find any of these, you should treat.


A fecal floatation comes from the cecum- a lump of poo and it will place nearly every parasite egg from that lump (and anything else with a similar specific gravity) onto the slide so if you find a handful of coccidia in an adult bird- no problem (unless the bird is already immune compromised, i.e. mareks disease). But, again, if you find even one capillaria- you treat. I treat if I find one of anything but coccidia and this is where we get into false negatives.

Parasites all live and grow in a predictable cycle. Depending on the parasite and their host tissue/organ of choice, they are either making themselves comfy, encysted in the cells of their host or they are laying eggs (that's a really simplified lifecycle but it narrows it down to the two most important stages).


It is best to use fresh poo, most eggs break down after a certqin number of hours.

 

[casportpony]

@rbaker0345 , after a thorough worming for whatever worm egg is found, how many days before one can expect to see no eggs? For example, float finds capillary eggs, bird is treated for five days with proper amount of Safeguard, then another fecal is done on day six or seven and still eggs... not as many, but they are still there.

-Kathy

 

[rbaker0345]

Can Peafowl get mareks? Mareks birds will become absolutely infested with worms of all kinds and will bounce back after treatment but then go downhill again as the illness progresses. I had a turkey come down with mareks, so I'm assuming that peafowl are the same- they usually don't get it but they can. the yellow fecal reminds me of liver damage from mareks and the black might be indicative or pancreatic issues. or the bird might just have worms. Lets not forget about tapes. Fenbendazole and albendazole are great for just about everything else, but praziquantel is still the only sure thing with those nasty helminths.


After reading the thread so far, I would have gone with sulfadimethoxazine and fenbendazole first. Then if no improvement, I would have gone with baytril but baytril should only be given to birds orally, the acidity in the stomach helps to increase its activity.

I would make sure that your vet is rotating dewormers. Giving the same dewormer- especially if its ivermectin- creates resistance in the parasite population.

My favorite treatments for coccidia are toltrazuril and sulfadimethoxazine- as far as I'm concerned, giving them amprolium is like giving them sugar water.