My peachicks are dying!

[ShellP]

I started with 6 peachicks that I hatched from a neighbor's eggs, and now I'm down to 2. They are dying, one at a time, over the past 2 or 3 weeks. I had given 2 back to my neighbor after the 1st one dies, and since then both of those have died, 1 that I kept died and now one of the last two is "fluffing up" and acts like it doesn't feel good. I've been looking in this forum to see if I can get an idea of what's happening - and most importantly, what I can do about it - and I've seen that they shouldn't be kept or around chickens. I have had them with chickens for the past 2 months or so, which now seems not so much of a coincidence! All of the chickens are fine, so it hadn't dawned on me that they might be the problem. SOOO, now I've separated them, but what do I ned to do to save the 2 I have left? They are approximately 4 month old (I believe they were born in early-mid June).

 

[new 2 pfowl]

I'm sure someone here with more pea ailment experience will give you advice (sorry, I don't have enough experience for that).
However, it will certainly help them advise you if you can provide more information.
What are their symptoms? Are they eating and drinking? If so, what and how much?
Are they pooping?
Do they have other symptoms like coughing, sneezing, gaping (opening their beak like a baby bird)?
The more information you can give, the better!

Good luck with the little guys.

 

[AugeredIn]

Have they been fed medicated feed? I would treat them for coccidosis not knowing anything else.

 

[ShellP]

They really don't seem to have anymore symptoms that fluffing their feathers and acting somewhat listless, then when we check in the morning they are dead. It's like they're fine then dead! No gasping or anything like that. I'm separating them now so I'll know about the poop situation soon. They have had medicated feed when they were younger but not recently (until tonight). I'm going to give some vitamins and electrolytes too. Hope that will help. Oh, and they are still eating and drinking fine.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Look at their rear ends,if the chick has white poo it has coccidosis,,their rear end opening actually becomes stuck shut and they cannot poop.Are their wings hanging down by their sides? Do they look "hunched' up as if cold? If their rear ends have white poo surrounding it you will need to soften up the hardened stools and make sure their vent is open.Best way is to turn on a faucet with warm body temp water and hold the birds rear ends under the slow small stream of water,softening up the stool,use your fingers to slowly break it away,,if it feels grainy like sand and has an odd smell,,it's for sure coccidosus.You will need to work all hardened up poo out of the vent. Corid should be given to clear this up ASAP,or a sulfa drug.

 

[ShellP]

Yes, the wings kinda hang a bit in addition to the fluffiness. Wouldn't my chickens get that too - in other words, do I need to treat everybody? I have the peachicks separated from the chickens now and giving electrolytes, vitamins, etc. I don't have Corid. Where can I get that quickly? Does TSC have it? Thank you YOU MUCH for your help!!!

 

[casportpony]

Yes, the wings kinda hang a bit in addition to the fluffiness.  Wouldn't my chickens get that too - in other words, do I need to treat everybody?  I have the peachicks separated from the chickens now and giving electrolytes, vitamins, etc.   I don't have Corid.  Where can I get that quickly?  Does TSC have it?  Thank you YOU MUCH for your help!!!

What a UC Davis pathologist told me was that chickens get many types of coccidiosis, at least eleven, I think, but peafowl, turkeys, dogs, cats, etc all get different types of it. So no, you don't need to treat your chickens.

TSC should have Corid, I know the one near me sells the powder, but not the liquid, which is what I prefer.

You might want to start weighing them daily. Any weight loss from day to day is a bad sign. FYI, mine are about the same age as yours and put on an average of 10-30 grams a day. The two that survived my histomoniasis (blackhead) ordeal were born June 23 and weigh about 1300 grams right now.

Have you seen any poop yet? Poop is usually smelly, lol, but coccidiosis smells really bad. Let us know what it looks like.

-Kathy

 

[frenchblackcopper]

If you use the Meyers Hatchery link on the right side of the page here,they sell it in 16oz bottles for about $10,,thats the lowest price I can find for it but it may take a few days to get it to you and that can be too late.

 

[6littlechickies]

Best bet and one thing Deerman taught me was to keep them off the ground for several months. This helps prevent disease and there is no need to worm. Put the birds in a smaller pen with hardware cloth bottom. They are not exposed to their droppings now. Feed medicated starter also.

Keep the birds dry too. If they get wet and it gets chilled overnight it can be a problem. Your in Georgia so I imagine this is not the case here

 

[ShellP]

Well, the poop looks ok, no vents are stopped up. They are both still alive, but I just don't know how much of this medicine they are getting. How much do the need? Should I give them some from a dropper or just trust they are drinking enough on their own. Now my little dutch bantam hen is sick too. I feel so helpless right now - and stupid. I feel stupid. I have these animals and it's my job to protect them keep them safe and they are dying!