Peacock with possible gapeworms

[chocolateeggs]

I have a peacock that is stretching his mouth open and acting like he is having trouble taking a breath. I looked it up and it sounds like gapeworms, however he is also losing his blue neck feathers and I don't know what that is from. I gave him .5cc of ivermectin on dog food and he ate it up, how long until it takes effect? Also, does anyone know what could be causing the feather loss on the neck?

 

[pedda munnangi]

I gave Enrofloxyn 10% solution 1cc diluted with 1 cc water for 7days orally to my sick peafowl with similar symptoms, Gasping for air and shaking head non-stop. and achieved complete cure.. Just sharing my experiences. Thanks.

 

[casportpony]

He could have mites/lice. He might also have a bacterial or fungal throat infection, or maybe an obstruction that he's scratching at. Have you checked for blockages in his throat and esophagus?

These are chickens, but peas are the same, just larger.

 

[casportpony]

I gave Enrofloxyn 10% solution 1cc diluted with 1 cc water for 7days orally to my sick peafowl with similar symptoms, Gasping for air and shaking head non-stop. and achieved complete cure.. Just sharing my experiences. Thanks.

Just curious, why did you give it diluted with water? The vet told be to do the same when I gave it subcutaneously due to the injection site issues that are common with Baytril (enrofloxyn).

Edited to add: Not trying to pick a fight, I really am just curious and have also thought about doing it the same way.

 

[casportpony]

I have a peacock that is stretching his mouth open and acting like he is having trouble taking a breath. I looked it up and it sounds like gapeworms, however he is also losing his blue neck feathers and I don't know what that is from. I gave him .5cc of ivermectin on dog food and he ate it up, how long until it takes effect? Also, does anyone know what could be causing the feather loss on the neck?

I think that ivermectin will kill most worms in 24 hours, but I'm not sure if it gets gapes that fast.

 

[pedda munnangi]

Hi, It is only a precaution. "not to scar or burn the tissues or cells in the throat on its way into the stomach ' if at all it ever does, since Enrofloxyn 10% is a concentrated one. But please make sure that you DO NOT feed into the breathing hole located in the middle of its tongue Go in from sideThanks

 

[casportpony]

Pedda, I am the queen of tube feeding, you need not worry about me putting it in the wrong hole! Thanks for the reply...

 

[chocolateeggs]

I can't check for any obstruction without stressing him too much he is really wild. I put Ivermectin on dog food and that was the only way I could get him to ingest it. I have seen all these posts about putting it down their throat with water ect... he would die before he let me do that! Also, will the ivermectin ingested internally kill external parasites once it is in the blood stream?

 

[casportpony]

I can't check for any obstruction without stressing him too much he is really wild. I put Ivermectin on dog food and that was the only way I could get him to ingest it. I have seen all these posts about putting it down their throat with water ect... he would die before he let me do that! Also, will the ivermectin ingested internally kill external parasites once it is in the blood stream?

I know it does on horses, for sure, but I have seen some stuff about it's use on poultry where it says that it doesn't. The fact that he is still acting so wild is a good sign, IMHO. This is what I have read on BYC about gapes:

• Gapes in poultry are rare
• Gapes kill fast
• Gapes are hard to treat

Keep in mind that the I have nothing to back up anything about gapes, nor any personal experience with them, and just my personal experience treating horses that had lice. The horses that had lice were cured after one treatment of ivermectin when given per the label.

Edited to add:
I have no clue as to how to treat a gapeworm infestation.

 

[Yoda]

It should start working in a couple days if it is gapeworms but Ivermectin will kill them. I had a pea that was gasping but unfortunately we never figured out why. It did not have worms, no infection just kept gasping. I still believe that one or two of the adults flew down from the top of the shed and must've landed on her. She did end up dying on me about a 3-4 months later. Here's the link to that thread. In it it tells what doses to give for gape worms and antibiotics:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/447080/is-my-little-pea-going-to-be-ok-please-help

Can you post pictures of the neck? The bird could be scratching at it's neck and that is how the feathers are missing. Either way the Ivermectin will also kill external critters too!