Sick guinea

naturespace

Songster
8 Years
Dec 8, 2011
609
28
146
Shenandoah Valley, VA
We just brought 6 Guineas home on Friday. They are 4-7 months old. We do not have any other birds on the property yet. They have a coop, feeder, water and run that is brand new. (so no old viruses)

Once they settled in, I noticed one that was very lathargic. She stands with her head tucked under her wing in the sun. When she does move around she is slow and has her head tucked into her body. (I think it looks vulture- like.) I saw her drink some water and she ate some millet and mealworms, but not with the same exuberance as the others. She has no interest in the feed which is 19% protien grower chicken feed. She is not being picked on by the others. They just ignore her.

- Should I isolate her or will it be more stressful to be away from her flock?
- It's going to be much colder the next few days, (20 F during the day) Today it is 55F. I have space in the basement that I could put a brooder light on her to keep her warm in a dog crate.
- We replaced their water with some pedialyte (electrolytes).

Any advice is appreciated.
 
Have you checked her droppings? Can you put in an open dog crate where she can see the others and not stress and still see her droppings? If she is very lethargic, she won't stress much about being separated and you can bring her in (this is all relative though. Any bird alone is stressed, but sometimes that is better than cold and stressed). If you do put her inside, you can give her a small mirror or two (make sure it is secure and won't fall on her) for company. Also make sure she can get away from the heat, like when brooding babies.

Is she thin? Hydrated? Look at the skin and compare it to the others. If it is more than a little dry/paper-y and wrinkled, she is dehydrated.

At some point the other birds will pick on her. Since they are in a new home, they are playing nice for now.

Other than that, it's hard to say what's going on. Studying the droppings will help check how her GI track is doing...
 
I agree with Fenika, whatever her stools look like can be helpful in figuring out what's going on with her... and taking a sample (or the bird) to a vet may be the only way to really figure out what's going on with her for sure. I think I'd try bringing her into the basement and keeping her warm for a night and see how she does... (and if she's got something contagious that will help contain the nasties too, so hopefully the other 5 birds don't come down with the same thing.) Tucking her head under a wing, plus being lethargic are typical signs that she's not making enough body heat, (for whatever reason). If her stools are normal and she perks up and starts fussing about being separated from the others then she may be better off confined to a cage or crate in the coop, with the heat lamp shining towards her, but make sure not to over heat her. I'd also keep feeding/offering her the meal worms and maybe some scrambled egg (in addition to the grower feed) just to make sure she's getting some protein into her to hopefully get her feeling better and give her a little energy boost. She may benefit from some plain yogurt and/or probiotics too. And if you do not see her drinking on her own I'd dip her beak into the water with electrolytes in it a few times a day, making sure she at least gets a few swallows each time. Sometimes handling a bird so much makes things worse, so just watch her and do what you feel is necessary. She needs warmth, nutrients and fluids tho, regardless... or she won't improve.

If there's no improvement within a day or 2... your only other option to help her may be to take her to a vet... which can be costly.

Wish I had more/better advice to offer, but her symptoms aren't really clueing us in to anything specific
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They were so cute whe I went to grab her. All 6 of them were cuddling in the corner on the floor. I hope I grab the right one. The two smaller ones look very similar, plus when they are all groggy, it hard to tell the difference. I'll see how she is in the morning.
 
LOL hope you grabbed the right one too! If not, that Guinea you did grab gets a little special attention and deluxe accommodations for a night.. lol.

If you did grab the right one, you might want to put a ziptie on her leg (loose enough to move freely on the lower leg but tight enough so it does not slip off over the foot or up over the hock), so you know which one she is so that if/when you put her back with the others and you can easily ID her and monitor her as she matures more. Some Guineas just have unexplained health issues and never thrive... so with your age range difference of the 6, it's hard to know if she's a younger or an older bird. So IMO it'll be a good idea to keep track of her if you can.

Good luck with her
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The ziptie is a great idea. I was going to take close photos of both sides of her head so I could tell by the coloring of the wattle, but thought that might only be good for a short time. She is a small guinea, so I'm guessing she is closer to 4 months old. The bump, not sure what it's really call, and wattles are still small too. Her legs are pinkish. Is that the right color?
 
She doesn't seem to be any better today. I dont think she eat anything. I gave her millet, scrambled egg, dried mealworms, cooked grains and regular feed. I'm not sure if she is drinking either. She is spending time in from of the brooder lamp. The basement isn't really warm, but it's warmer than outside.

The poo looks fine. Not runny, not miss colored (although I'm only going by what normal chicken poo looks like) and there seems to be plenty of it, so she must have eaten something.

I noticed that she is missing a toe nail. The toe itself looks ok, not swollen or bloody. She doesn't seem to favor the foot either.

I'll give her a few more days of TLC and see how it goes.
 
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I was hoping to see you had posted that she was eating and drinking well and doing better
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Keep us posted
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Update: I think she is feeling better. If knocking over her water multiple times is any indicator...
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She is still favoring being near the heat lamp, but seems a little more feisty. When I need to change the water or clean up, she charges me trying to escape. She has eaten mealworms and millet for sure.

I think one more day of confinement and then I'll let her back in with the flock. I hope she doesn't get picked on too much when bringing her back. Maybe I should put the dog crate in the run or near the others for a few hours? It's going to be a little warmer out by Friday, so I think it would be good timing.


Here she is: You can see her toenail is growing back on her right foot. it's a little black nail.
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