Sick Peacock-Need help

[algae75]

My bird, Mr. Peacock is a 9(ish) year old IB male. On Dec. 29th I noticed he was not on the roost and had his head tucked under his wing. We live on an island in Northern Michigan so my access to a bird vet is nonexistent. At this time is was also very cold. We brought him into the heated garage and set up a pen for him. He pooped when I brought him in so I took that to the vet for a fecal. Mr. Peacock tested positive for capillary worms. I started treating with 1.5cc of Safeguard for goats and 1 27mg tablet of Baytril. I did this for 5 days. He perked up for a day or two then slowly went downhill again. On Jan 12th (he's been in the garage this whole time) he was really weak, didn't know what it could be but just in case I started him on Flagyl. I didn't have a good way to weigh him so I guessed his weight at 7lbs. I had a 500mg Flagyl tablet so I divided it into fifths. I gave him the Flagyl once a day for 5 days. I also noticed mites on his head so a put some Ivermectin on the back of his neck. Two days later, Jan 14th, was the 10th day from when I started the Safeguard, so I wormed him again...this time with .8cc of Valbazan. Again he started perking up and again he has gone downhill. He did have a day or two of good poop but now it is watery and he as whole pieces of sunflower seeds/cracked corn in it. He has also started dropping his tail feathers. I have some Kaytee Exact High Fat baby bird formula that I could start feeding him with and I do have more Flagyl/Baytril. I'm just afraid to give him anything else.

Laura

 

[cmohlin89]

Look him over well for more mites/lice, if they're feasting on him he could have low iron. The feather loss further makes me think his iron is low. If he is anemic for too long he may become hypoxic which becomes harder to treat. See if he's interested in some raw red meat, that will help get his iron levels back up.

 

[hhn2002]

Him losing his tail feathers and the fact that he recently experienced extreme cold leads me to believe his body was triggered to molt by the cold and also that maybe his body is in a kind of temperature shock like how our bodies can experience shock from dramatic and sudden trauma or a heavy infection. This could be a poultry's version of hypothermia. And since he isnt digesting that well tube feeding him with the formula would be good. If you have even just a regular body scale you can weigh yourself and then weigh yourself holding him then subtract to get an idea of his weight and tube feed him according to his weight. I would Keep him warm, finish out the worming routine, and just see if he can pull through as it seems you're doing just about everything you can do.
Is he cold to the touch?

 

[moving coops]

Also try some raw apple cider vinegar in water!

 

[Trefoil]

Are you keeping your garage warm? (75?). If not I would give him access to a heat lamp or some other kind of auxiliary heat. I also would add apple cider vinegar to his water when you aren't giving him wormer.

 

[algae75]

Thank you for the replies everyone, it is appreciated! The garage is heated, he is warm. I started tube feeding him.

 

[Birdrain92]

My bird, Mr. Peacock is a 9(ish) year old IB male. On Dec. 29th I noticed he was not on the roost and had his head tucked under his wing. We live on an island in Northern Michigan so my access to a bird vet is nonexistent. At this time is was also very cold. We brought him into the heated garage and set up a pen for him. He pooped when I brought him in so I took that to the vet for a fecal. Mr. Peacock tested positive for capillary worms. I started treating with 1.5cc of Safeguard for goats and 1 27mg tablet of Baytril. I did this for 5 days. He perked up for a day or two then slowly went downhill again. On Jan 12th (he's been in the garage this whole time) he was really weak, didn't know what it could be but just in case I started him on Flagyl. I didn't have a good way to weigh him so I guessed his weight at 7lbs. I had a 500mg Flagyl tablet so I divided it into fifths. I gave him the Flagyl once a day for 5 days. I also noticed mites on his head so a put some Ivermectin on the back of his neck. Two days later, Jan 14th, was the 10th day from when I started the Safeguard, so I wormed him again...this time with .8cc of Valbazan. Again he started perking up and again he has gone downhill. He did have a day or two of good poop but now it is watery and he as whole pieces of sunflower seeds/cracked corn in it. He has also started dropping his tail feathers. I have some Kaytee Exact High Fat baby bird formula that I could start feeding him with and I do have more Flagyl/Baytril. I'm just afraid to give him anything else.

Laura

Safeguard dosage is 1 cc per 4 lbs. Most adult Indian peacocks weigh 12 lbs. He needs about 3 cc directly into the mouth for 5 days, take 10 day break, then 5 days again. You don't change the dosage from one worming period to the next. He probably perked up from a couple worms dying, then went downhill because there were some remaining. Hopefully they didn't get a resistance to fenbendazole or albendazole. Those are two of the best wormers for an infestation. Under dosing can give a resistance. Flagyl is an antibiotic, it will have no effect on worms or any parasites. Baytril is also an antibiotic, it will not effect parasites either. Antibiotics will only effect bacteria, nothing else. The fact that you're getting whole pieces of sunflower seeds and cracked corn can mean he doesn't have grit in his gizzard, the villi in his small intestine are damaged, so he can't absorb nutrients properly, the bacteria in the ceca are no longer there, antibiotics could've done this, can't get nutrition from plant feed as well, large intestine isn't absorbing the water. I would suggest using a probiotic. Probiotics help promote the growth of bacteria in the digestive tract. If he can absorb nutrients, he may have a better chance at bouncing back. No guarantee but better than nothing.