Peacock emergency

[Ersika]

The Bird wandered onto our farm almost 9 years ago. He goes where he wants and has managed to survive winter ice storms, hurricanes and several German Shepherds who share his adopted space. He eats with the sheep and roosts each night high in a pine tree next to our house.
Except last night, we were at the barn late and he roosted down fairly low in a pine tree nearby. He stayed in the tree late this morning with his head drooped. Pic #1


I kept checking in on him and once when I called to him he threw his head up and his whole body flopped on the branch, like convulsing. He flopped his head around several times and I got a video I will try to post. On my last trip he was laying lengthwise on the branch for more security I suppose. Pic #2


The poo on the branch under him appears normal and white. I saw him poop once this morning and it was a long and very loose stream. I think I can reach him with a ladder if there is something to be done for him. He trusts me but I have never tried to catch him. If there are no ideas I don’t want to stress him any more by catching & confining him. It is pouring rain but at least it is 66 degrees. There are thunderstorms coming this afternoon and I hate him being sickout in the elements. I am anxiously awaiting your thoughts. Thank you.

 

[Trefoil]

If you can catch him, get him to a vet. Keep him warm and dry. Good luck, hope he makes it.

 

[DylansMom]

If you can catch him, get him to a vet. Keep him warm and dry. Good luck, hope he makes it.

Agreed, if you do not get him out of that tree he is a goner. He could drown in a heavy downpour if he doesn't tuck his head under his wing, and judging by the pictures he's not going to bother tucking. He is a very sick bird, because they simply do not lay like that. As trefoil said... warmth, dryness, and a vet if you can find one. If he seems really underweight for his size he may have worms really bad, safeguard is the go-to wormer, 2-3 cc/ml depending on his weight. Tylan or Baytril if you have either are good antibiotics if his weight seems okay. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[casportpony]

OMG, he looks very ill!

-Kathy

 

[Ersika]

Thanks for your replies. He came down/or fell from the tree and I was able to catch him even though he did try to run. I am warming him up in the barn now.I have texted our dog vet but have not had a reply.I have ivermectin & prohibit on hand, no safeguard so I will have to run out for that and tylan. it seems like he should have fluids, can birds get sub q fluids? do you think I could get Gatorade into him? his weight doesn't seem bad and he has been very healthy up until yesterday but he has never been dewormed.

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

Maybe he got attacked? Did he used to have a train? At this time of year he should have a long train, also he doesn't have any crest feathers, did he have it before?

 

[DylansMom]

Thanks for your replies. He came down/or fell from the tree and I was able to catch him even though he did try to run. I am warming him up in the barn now.I have texted our dog vet but have not had a reply.I have ivermectin & prohibit on hand, no safeguard so I will have to run out for that and tylan. it seems like he should have fluids, can birds get sub q fluids? do you think I could get Gatorade into him? his weight doesn't seem bad and he has been very healthy up until yesterday but he has never been dewormed.

@casportpony is our resident expert in emergency medical care, hopefully she will chime in. I have never done sub q fluids, but I've used a crop needle to tube fluid orally and yes he may need to be rehydrated. I'm not familiar with prohibit and I know ivermectin can be ineffective due to resistance, which is why we usually recommend safeguard, however if he had worms really bad, he would probably be underweight. With a syringe(minus the needle) you can probably get fluids and tylan into him. This link will show you how to use the syringe correctly so you don't cause him to aspirate, sounds scary, but it's actually pretty easy.

http://www.hopkinslivestock.com/oral_dosing_article.htm

 

[casportpony]

Thanks for your replies. He came down/or fell from the tree and I was able to catch him even though he did try to run. I am warming him up in the barn now.I have texted our dog vet but have not had a reply.I have ivermectin & prohibit on hand, no safeguard so I will have to run out for that and tylan. it seems like he should have fluids, can birds get sub q fluids? do you think I could get Gatorade into him? his weight doesn't seem bad and he has been very healthy up until yesterday but he has never been dewormed.

If he were mine I would get him in a warm room (80-85 degrees is ideal) and once warmed I would work on getting him hydrated. Can he hold his head up? I so, I would tube 60 ml warmed Gatorade or Pedialyte and repeat in 60-90 minutes. Birds can get sub-q fluids, but they are a little tricky because of the location of their air sacs.

Note that sub-q fluids don't work very well in a severely dehydrated bird, so tubing is really your best option, though handling him to do either could stress him enough to kill him/. Tuff call.

Here are some pictures that show how I do them:



Enough syringes to give whatever amout you choose to give


Pre-filled syringes with warmed fluids and new 18 gauge needle.






Insert needle and watch that it doesn't poke back out or you will get wet, lol. Slowly depress plunger and look for leaks. If no leaks, give fluids.






This was the size of the bubble after 75ml.






Here you can see how it's spread under the skin.


Wet area with rubbing alcohol, this will allow better viewing of the injection site.






Some people might be tempted to give fluids and shots closer to the neck, but I don't because there is a risk of puncturing the air sacs.

From: http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/birdrespiration.html



From: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1829&aid=2721

 

[casportpony]

I would not give ivermectin or Prohibit, and I would only give Safeguard after fluid therapy.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Crop feeding videos

These are using a crop needle, not a plastic tube.




This one uses a tube like I use​

-Kathy