Peafowl Poop - Normal and Abnormal - Lots of poop pictures

[Waterfaery]

I really need help with these poo pictures please. They are from a 6 year old peahen. She currently has ten 2 week old chicks with her and another peahen who are all pooing normally. I have a thread about it here.

I found three solid black poos yesterday and no more since then. The thing is, I don't know which peahen did them so I don't know if they are even related to the runny ones.

I've been observing closely since then and I'm certain now that only one peahen is doing the runny poos. I haven't seen her doing any normal poos at all since before yesterday.

Both peahens and all chicks are acting normally. I don't want to medicate if there is no illness but if there is something wrong I want to act quickly. My peahen is so special to me and also I want to ensure the little chicks don't pick anything up from her.

KsKingBee said the black poo may indicate a bacterial infection. I haven't seen any more of these. Her poos are all consistently runny now. Can any other poo experts please help? @casportpony?

 

[Waterfaery]

Update: Now both peahens have done some loose droppings and one dropping each that was a bit more solid. I had my hopes up when I saw the more solid ones but when I inspected them I saw a worm in one.

I am collecting some Fenbendazole from my vet today but they have warned me not to dose the peachicks as they say they are too young. I am concerned that the chicks have most definitely been exposed to the worms now. Would you advise to treat them this young? If so, can anyone please advise about the dosage?

 

[KsKingBee]

Update: Now both peahens have done some loose droppings and one dropping each that was a bit more solid. I had my hopes up when I saw the more solid ones but when I inspected them I saw a worm in one.

I am collecting some Fenbendazole from my vet today but they have warned me not to dose the peachicks as they say they are too young. I am concerned that the chicks have most definitely been exposed to the worms now. Would you advise to treat them this young? If so, can anyone please advise about the dosage?

Fenbendazole, (Safeguard), is great if you are going to orally dose or put it in their feed. It will not harm the chicks, we have given it to chicks for years before changing over to Albendazole (Valbazen) Valbazen is water-soluble so we like to either mix 25 ml per gallon or give the correct amount per weight of the bird mixed into a wet mash that they will consume within a days time. You can see a detailed post on that on Spring Creek Peafowl on FB.

 

[Waterfaery]

Fenbendazole, (Safeguard), is great if you are going to orally dose or put it in their feed. It will not harm the chicks, we have given it to chicks for years before changing over to Albendazole (Valbazen) Valbazen is water-soluble so we like to either mix 25 ml per gallon or give the correct amount per weight of the bird mixed into a wet mash that they will consume within a days time. You can see a detailed post on that on Spring Creek Peafowl on FB.

Thanks. I can't get Albendazole but I'm going to keep trying to source it because it's a pain trying to get the Fenbendazole into them. The brand I have is not Safeguard it's Parazol, but it is Fenbendazole 10%, 100mg/ml. Would that still be just as safe with it being the same active ingredient?

Also, what is the dosing? The vet said 0.3ml per kg of body weight but I've read in other threads that Casportpony recommends 0.23ml per lb which would be closer to 0.5ml per kg. I'm inclined to go with the higher amount but I'm a bit nervous.

Also, how much would I mix into the food for the chicks? How would I know how much each is getting? And the peahens share the food so if I'm dosing them separately they'll end up getting even more then through the food. Can you advise what I should do about this?

And thanks so much, I will check out your FB page.

 

[Waterfaery]

Sorry, that's Parazole, not Parazol. This is the exact product.

 

[KsKingBee]

Fenbendazole is very safe, if you mix 2ml per hen and mix it into a wet mash they can consume within a short time it will be safe for all of them. The chicks will consume very little but will get enough to treat them too.

 

[Waterfaery]

Fenbendazole is very safe, if you mix 2ml per hen and mix it into a wet mash they can consume within a short time it will be safe for all of them. The chicks will consume very little but will get enough to treat them too.

Thank you so much. You've been so helpful.

I've already given the two hens 2 doses each so they have 3 more to go. Will 3 days of it be ok for the peachicks?

Do you have any idea when I might see an improvement? I had a mix of poos today. There were more normal ones than yesterday but the runny ones were worse than before and quite watery. Is that a good sign or a bad sign?

 

[KsKingBee]

A five day treatment will kill all types of worms but not the eggs so you are going to need to re-treat again in 14 days to kill the hatching worms.

Worms cause damage to the organs and organs are slow to heal, you will see improvement in the bird but the damage will take time to heal.

 

[Waterfaery]

A five day treatment will kill all types of worms but not the eggs so you are going to need to re-treat again in 14 days to kill the hatching worms.

Worms cause damage to the organs and organs are slow to heal, you will see improvement in the bird but the damage will take time to heal.

Thanks. Sorry, I should have said I was going to do 5 days of treatment, 10 days off and then another 5 days of treatment. I had read that in other threads on here. Does that sound right?

There has still been no more black poo since those ones a couple of days ago. Do you think I can rule out a bacterial infection at this stage? I'm just concerned that the diarrhea was even more watery today after starting the Fenbendazole. I don't know if either
- it's a side effect of the Fenbendazole
- I won't see the effects of the Fenbendazole that quickly
- or there is something else going on that needs antibiotics or something else

There is another complication now. One of my chickens is suddenly ill. She has diarrhea as well but it's a lot worse than the peahens. She's off her food and not looking great. The chickens are separate but the peachicks did accidentally get into the chicken area once or twice in their first couple of days. That would be over two weeks ago now. I have isolated the sick chicken and hope the worming will perk her up but if not, I need to be ready to treat everyone for something else.

I'm going to get the Toltrazuril. Can I give that at the same time as the Fenbendazole or do I need to wait? I was also wondering if I should get an antibiotic or something as well, just in case? I will need to get everything asap because my vet closes for the weekend at midday and I don't want to be stuck waiting until Monday.

 

[KsKingBee]

Five on, ten off, and five on is a good regiment to get all types of worms. The discolored poo could also be from a change of feed, perhaps she got into something that resulted in a dark stool. The hens do not look sick so a normal de-worming should take care of what is bothering them. It is not likely the hens have cocci unless they were stressed and it is still rare that a grown pea comes down with cocci.

You only have another day of worming so I would wait and give the toltrazuril between the worming treatments. It is the chicks that are in need of it so I wouldn't put it off any longer than you have to.

Antibiotics are good to have on hand, just make sure it is needed before giving it. It does more harm than good to give antibiotics as a preventative.