Please Help my bird

[msheets]

I have 2 peacocks around 4-5 months old, they've been in this new enclosure about 2 weeks now, it's never housed anything other than a dog before & years ago. They've always been completely healthy & I raised them from day olds.

My india blue male has lost motor function in his legs/wings all of a sudden today. There's no sigh of injury & his mental state is alert. He still has feeling in his legs but his toes stay curled & he lays on this side unable to keep his balance even after I stand him up.

What in the world could be going on? I didnt think coccidiosis because their poop is good & he hasn't been exposed to anything. Please any help is appreciated, I'd hate to lose him!

 

[msheets]

Also my white peafowl is perfectly fine & roosting.

 

[new 2 pfowl]

How big is their new pen?
I have seen stories here about peas getting spooked, flying up and hitting the beams in the ceiling of their pen, injuring themselves.

*The reason I mention this is because if he hit his back it might account for this kind of symptom.

 

[msheets]

In a 7x10x6 dog kennel for now

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Is the ceiling chain link? Do you think he might have gotten spooked and flown into it?

I know we have some peapeople here who have experienced this kind of injury (if that's what it is), so hopefully they can give you some advice.

* I notice this entry in the Peafowl Stickies:

The Roof
The roof of your pen could be constructed of various materials. A lot of people use netting because their peafowl occasionally "flush"- meaning they shoot straight up into the air intending to fly away, and instead they hit the roof. This is particularly a hazard at night if you enter their pen or they are startled by something else on your property. A peafowl flushing into a solid roof runs the risk of injuring themselves. Netting will give if they hit it, most other roofing will not. For this reason, your pen should be as tall as you can reasonably make it if you are not using netting.

 

[msheets]

Thank you for your reply, I was wondering that. The roof is also chain link & I guess technically it is still new to them both. It makes sense as he doesn't show signs of an illness nor does the other one that's perfectly fine.

I'm hoping he's just sort of stunned & will regain his motor functions, he may have been like this since last night. I looked out my window & he was laying there, which I didn't think much of until my fiancé brought it to my attention that he too saw him in the same spot. Sure enough when I checked on him he was in distress.

Should I change the roofing material?

 

[new 2 pfowl]

I am absolutely no pen expert, our gang free ranges.
A lot of people here seem to put netting over their pens, I think.
When I had to keep my boy Peggy in a temporary chain link pen, I put a tarp over the top.
Tarps, however, can be problematic if you have a lot of rain (I learned this the hard way).

Anyone with advice here?

 

[new 2 pfowl]

At last I found this, from AugeredIn:

"My experience. Welded wire on top of ten foot tall pen = one dead four figure peach pied male within 6 months. Netting on 15 pens for 4 years = ZERO dead birds from broken necks. I will admit however that the NPIP inspector and I caused a spalding opal black shoulder to fly up and knock himself out on a cross beam during last years inspection. He could not walk for a couple of days but eventually recovered."

So this is encouraging that your boy may just need a little time to recover.
This quote is from a thread about pen roofing that may be helpful:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/912465/the-best-aviary-top

Maybe someone can give you advice about how to help your boy out...

 

[MinxFox]

I think you should change the top to netting. I read this just today on a peafowl breeder's site:

Quote from www.Texaspeafowl.com :

I think I recall at least one story of this happening to someone's bird. After a few days he got better. If he isn't better by tomorrow you will probably have to put food and water right next to him. Hopefully he will be okay, and you are really lucky he is not dead.

 

[msheets]

Thank you all for the replies, the info is encouraging! Looks like I'll be taking a peacock to work with me today...