Peacock emergency

[manybirds]

our peacock was looking Down and out the last few days and scratching at his face so I caught him and looked in his mouth. He has a huge infected dying flesh growth that smells on the roof of his mouth. I think it goes up through his sinus and the whole side of his face is swollen. I believe he was eating and maybe got something stuck in there that turned into a raging infection. I believe he will die soon without vet help but all vets are closed today for one, and I don't think there are any local vets that will do anything for a peacock, we don't have any vets that will look at a goat I can't imagine what they'd say if I brought him in. Is there anything I can do? What's the best poultry antibiotic, I can't get it until tomorrow but I will asap. Should I do anything to it? Should I dig around until I find what caused the infection? It's really hard to work inside a birds mouth without causing harm. It's so big he can't close his mouth and therefore can't drink without assistance. I know, shame on us for not noticing it earlier but he free roams and is very wild and very hard to get to close to when healthy so we couldn't get him until yesterday. I will post pictures later.

 

[Birdrain92]

Looking at it it might be a little before the joint or on it. I realize he may not be able to fly, but it shouldn't be a huge problem

Make sure he has access to something high in calcium to promote proper bone recovery.

 

[casportpony]

FYI, the yellow stuff is pus, not flesh. Bird pus is not like mammal pus, it's more like a firm cheese. Mammal pus is a liquid. Dead flesh is black.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

I got most of the pus off of it, all the flesh underneath is swollen up. They area under the eye is swollen up all the way down to his nostril and I think there's pussbin there because of how it feels but I can't push it out

You might want to read this:
http://connerhills.com/sinus_infection_removal.html

Do you want to learn how to tube feed? If he were mine I would start by tubing some fluids to him, then I'd tube fluids and Kaytee Baby Bird Food. Can you take him to a vet on Monday?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Another possibility is canker. Canker is common in pigeons, but not as common in poultry. Treatment for canker is metronidazole or something similar. Really would be best to consult with a vet. Whatever it is, it's likely to need drugs that one can't get at a feed store.

-Kathy

 

[KsKingBee]

I have seen pox (in pictures), usually on the outside of a bird, but do they ever appear on the inside like this? Pox is supposed to run its course in a week or two.

 

[KsKingBee]

That is not necessarily true, as long as it is soft and mushy it can be squeezed out through the eye. Use your fingers, the index under the roof of the mouth, and the thumb under the sinus on the outside and push it up to the eye, the pus will squirt out the eye socket. The pus will be a thick yellowish cream cheese like substance.

 

[barkerg]

That is not necessarily true, as long as it is soft and mushy it can be squeezed out through the eye. Use your fingers, the index under the roof of the mouth, and the thumb under the sinus on the outside and push it up to the eye, the pus will squirt out the eye socket. The pus will be a thick yellowish cream cheese like substance.

Kingbee is correct, it looks almost impossible but if you work it right it should require no cutting. Very tedious and messy but, probably the best way if you catch it early as it seems you have. Keep us posted. Gerald Barker

 

[Birdrain92]

They will bleed expect that much. Bleeding can sometimes help with the healing process. Yes it is a scary thing when they are bleeding, I get that. http://connerhills.com/sinus_infection_removal.html. Maybe this can help. You can see the peacock is bleeding. You can't make an omelet without breaking a couple eggs. Sorry, it was the only expression I could think of to try and enlighten things. There's no way you can make an incision to help him without bleeding no matter if you are or are not a vet.

 

[Birdrain92]

I messaged a friend about bird vets and she referred me to one so I drove almost two hours yesterday, the vet walked in poked the roof of his mouth with a q-tip and said it was much to firm of a growth to be any kind of abcess or infection. He said what he had was almost like a cancer, it was caused by an bacteria that comes off of the feet of livestock and cows horses and chickens can also get the bacteria but it effects them all different. He said the bulge on the side of the face was most likely a blocked duct caused by the growth. He gave me an antibiotic and said he has about a 10% chance of survival because the growth will inhibit is ability to eat and not go away probably and left. It makes sense with the growth but I only 50% believe him. Why would a growth caused by bacteria get puss all over it? Not to mention he spent 5 seconds looking at him and touched it with a q tip and left. He was only in the room for 5 minutes. So do I believe him and just give him the antibiotics and syringe feed him for a week while he dies or try getting the crap out of the side of his face and keep picking the puss off of his growth? I'm stumped and not sure who's advice to follow

I'm in the same boat as you about the vet. Pus can form from any infection. Usually why there is pus if there is bacteria in there. The only thing that I can think of from horses and cows is hoof rot but I believe that's a fungus. If not than bacteria but chickens don't have hooves and I don't think horses and cows get bumble foot. I can't really think of a disease they all share off the top of my head. What did he do with the q-tip? If he threw it away right a way I would probably call him on it. Cancer is do to abnormal cellular growth. Wonder what he meant by duct. I would give him the antibiotic, really like nothing bad could come from the antibiotic right now. Syringe feed him and maybe give him some electrolytes in his water. I honestly don't know what else you could try. Electrolytes might give him some energy to try to fight the infection with the antibiotic. In all honesty though I would call the vet on his stuff. Antibiotics wouldn't really help with cancer. Antibiotics are more for bacteria or a virus. Also this vet must have never worked with a cow with an abscess. They can be as hard as a rock and smell terrible and can be a little gross when you rupture them. Also I can't think of a foot bacteria that comes from both livestock and poultry off the top of my head. This vet sets off a few red flags in my opinion.