Flygirl1987
Chirping
- Jun 6, 2023
- 35
- 37
- 54
Hi there! I am happy to be on this forum. I have been reading for months but am now writing my first post. I am new to birds, but have had every other animal possible I believe except large cats. I had a pet house raccoon who lived to be 18. I have shown Great Danes and now Great Pyrenees in AKC and gave three champions and have had both a dog and a bitch with Grand Champion Brinze titles. But that is not why I am here. I bought some Peafowl early in the year after my husband passed away unexpectedly. I grew up around Peafowl in Texas and have always wanted one or more. Now I have 26 adults and 16 from the 2023 hatch — some I bought from breeders and the others I hatched myself. I was told my birds were juvenile and would be producing any chicks. But the hens started laying and I purchased a cabinet incubator and even with all of my newbie mistakes hatched close to 20.
I have spent tens of thousands of dollars on buying Peafowl and having infrastructure and pens erected. I even have a 28 x 28 x 14 Geodosic dome for growing out yearlings. I read before I purchased the birds, and read a couple of hours a day either online or from books. I wormed all my birds with Panacur when I got them. I was told by the breeders to worm with Panacur once a year and Ivermectin once a year. I will also add that I did wildlife rehab for two years at a large sanctuary in NJ before moving to SC. I am also well versed in hygiene and cross contamination from my wildlife rehab training.
So all of my babies and juveniles are on medicated food, and when a stool sample came back positive for Coccidia I immediately started Corid in their water and as their only source of water. About two months ago I lost one peachick, and I didn’t know why. A week later I lost another chick. The stool tested positive for Coccidia so I immediately gave a dose of Corid by mouth to the peafowls only, then put it in everyone’s water daily and still am.
This week I lost an older chick and an adult breeder. I do have a good bird vet in town and hospitalized my purple male breeder and he is ok. But then this week some of the hens started having ruffled feathers, drooping feathers, lethargy, not flying to roosts, and I immediately thought Blackhead disease. One white hen could barely stand up so I took her to my vet and she passed later that day and was coughing up blood. Two days prior I read and proactively ordered metronidazole overnighted since the vet wouldn’t give it to me. He told me he technically could end up in federal court because he had prescribed one of the seven black box warnings not to give to meat birds. Keep in mind I am not giving it to my chickens nor am I eating them. Much less the Peafowl… I dosed them with too low a dose of the metronidazole yesterday, but today gave them all a 250 mg tablet and will continue to in hopes they will improve. I have also overnighted Baytril as well. Most of my Peafowl are in breeder pens — 2 in 10 x 10 pens, and if there are a trio they are in either a 10 x 20 or 10 x 40 or 50. The yearling chicks are in the Geodosic dome that gets plenty of sunshine, which is what I was told by my vet is the only thing that will kill Coccidia and Blackhead disease. My chicken pens and I have two are 12’ x 26’ and I had a breeding pair of Spalding in one with the chickens and a breeder pair of Indian blue in the other chicken coop. Ironically these four birds show no symptoms of Blackhead disease. I use strict protocol when going from pen to pen changing gloves and using bleach and water to disinfect shoes between going in pens.
From what I have read Blackhead disease is 80% to 100% fatal. Is there any chance my birds will survive by using Corid in the water, and giving metronidazole and Baytril? Everything I read online says they won’t survive.
Can anyone here with experience please tell me what they have experienced and if my birds may survive? I will say that the fecal I did yesterday came back negative for coccidia and the cecal worm Heterakis gallinarum. Also I haven’t seen any yellow stool or droppings...
Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated. This has been a particularly difficult year losing my husband and now this. And I also am about to have to put down my oldest Great Pyrenees.
Thank you in advance.
I have spent tens of thousands of dollars on buying Peafowl and having infrastructure and pens erected. I even have a 28 x 28 x 14 Geodosic dome for growing out yearlings. I read before I purchased the birds, and read a couple of hours a day either online or from books. I wormed all my birds with Panacur when I got them. I was told by the breeders to worm with Panacur once a year and Ivermectin once a year. I will also add that I did wildlife rehab for two years at a large sanctuary in NJ before moving to SC. I am also well versed in hygiene and cross contamination from my wildlife rehab training.
So all of my babies and juveniles are on medicated food, and when a stool sample came back positive for Coccidia I immediately started Corid in their water and as their only source of water. About two months ago I lost one peachick, and I didn’t know why. A week later I lost another chick. The stool tested positive for Coccidia so I immediately gave a dose of Corid by mouth to the peafowls only, then put it in everyone’s water daily and still am.
This week I lost an older chick and an adult breeder. I do have a good bird vet in town and hospitalized my purple male breeder and he is ok. But then this week some of the hens started having ruffled feathers, drooping feathers, lethargy, not flying to roosts, and I immediately thought Blackhead disease. One white hen could barely stand up so I took her to my vet and she passed later that day and was coughing up blood. Two days prior I read and proactively ordered metronidazole overnighted since the vet wouldn’t give it to me. He told me he technically could end up in federal court because he had prescribed one of the seven black box warnings not to give to meat birds. Keep in mind I am not giving it to my chickens nor am I eating them. Much less the Peafowl… I dosed them with too low a dose of the metronidazole yesterday, but today gave them all a 250 mg tablet and will continue to in hopes they will improve. I have also overnighted Baytril as well. Most of my Peafowl are in breeder pens — 2 in 10 x 10 pens, and if there are a trio they are in either a 10 x 20 or 10 x 40 or 50. The yearling chicks are in the Geodosic dome that gets plenty of sunshine, which is what I was told by my vet is the only thing that will kill Coccidia and Blackhead disease. My chicken pens and I have two are 12’ x 26’ and I had a breeding pair of Spalding in one with the chickens and a breeder pair of Indian blue in the other chicken coop. Ironically these four birds show no symptoms of Blackhead disease. I use strict protocol when going from pen to pen changing gloves and using bleach and water to disinfect shoes between going in pens.
From what I have read Blackhead disease is 80% to 100% fatal. Is there any chance my birds will survive by using Corid in the water, and giving metronidazole and Baytril? Everything I read online says they won’t survive.
Can anyone here with experience please tell me what they have experienced and if my birds may survive? I will say that the fecal I did yesterday came back negative for coccidia and the cecal worm Heterakis gallinarum. Also I haven’t seen any yellow stool or droppings...
Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated. This has been a particularly difficult year losing my husband and now this. And I also am about to have to put down my oldest Great Pyrenees.
Thank you in advance.
. Blackhead (histomoniasis) can be treated. My vet recommends:
