Sick peahen--what to do?

[amsunshine]

Hello everyone, I have a peahen who is sick. She doesn't have any nasal discharge, but she's breathing mostly through her mouth and sounds terribly congested in the lungs. Her energy seems good. She roosts in the rafters, eats and drinks. I've had her on a round of antibiotics (she's penned by herself in an infirmary pen) and have a heat lamp available if she wants to spend time under it, which she does sometimes. Do you know what she might have, and is there anything else I can do for her?

 

[pedda munnangi]

HI, BAYTRYL''''''''BAYTRYL.............BAYTRYL 1cc of 10% solution orally for 7 days successively cures successfully. Dilute with 1cc of water to avoid caustic effects of baytryl if any as a precaution.

 

[casportpony]

HI, BAYTRYL''''''''BAYTRYL.............BAYTRYL 1cc of 10% solution orally for 7 days successively cures successfully. Dilute with 1cc of water to avoid caustic effects of baytryl if any as a precaution.

Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of Baytril, but it will only work if a bird has a bacterial infection that is sensivite to it. If it is a fungal infection, it could make it worse.

 

[casportpony]

Hello everyone, I have a peahen who is sick. She doesn't have any nasal discharge, but she's breathing mostly through her mouth and sounds terribly congested in the lungs. Her energy seems good. She roosts in the rafters, eats and drinks. I've had her on a round of antibiotics (she's penned by herself in an infirmary pen) and have a heat lamp available if she wants to spend time under it, which she does sometimes. Do you know what she might have, and is there anything else I can do for her?

This is what I do with mine:

• Thorough exam - look in mouth, throat, check all over for lumps, cuts, bruising etc.
• Dust for bugs even if I cannot see any.
• Weigh and record weight daily. Any weight loss is very serious!
• De-worm with Safeguard for Goats/Cattle or Safeguard/Panacur paste 50mg/kg by mouth.
• Bring inside where it's warm. If you can't bring her in, make sure she has a heat source above her roost.
• Inspect poop.
• Offer scrambled eggs, mealworms or crumbles mixed with warm water.
• Depending on what I observe, I might choose a medication.
• If they are losing weight, tube feed baby bird food mixed with Pedialyte.

Giving antibiotics in water only works if the animal is drinking a normal amount, so giving it orally is the only way to ensure proper dosing.

How old is your hen?

 

[new 2 pfowl]

As Casportpony notes, it's important to have a good idea about what your girl's problem is before you decide how to medicate her.
However, I have to say from my own experience that my boy Peggy was extremely ill with pneumonia, and Baytril worked like magic on him.
Is there any chance you can take her to a vet for a diagnosis and to make sure you can give her the correct dosage of medication?

 

[casportpony]

New 2 pfowl is right... A visit to the vet would be the best a good thing to do, and probably what I would do. Often they can see things that we can't and getting the correct dose of the appropriate medication is very important. If you decide to go to a vet, ask lots of questions about dosing and the different types of of wormers, antibiotics, anti-fungals, tube feeding and subcutaneous fluids.

Again, I am a big fan of Baytril, and IMHO, a wonder drug, I just think it should be used with caution.

 

[casportpony]

Baytril info from Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook:

 

[casportpony]

Most of this stuff I don't understand, but I have found some very useful info in many of the chapters:
http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/cam.html
http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/chapters.html

For example, page 13 http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/ampa/ind.pdf
has hematology and blood chemistry info that some vets might not know.

 

[zazouse]

Amsunshine,
how is your hen doing?

 

[Yoda]

Pedda is correct. It is most likely 99% respiratory infection. You can give her Baytril but most likely you have to order it. You can give it Tylan 200 same dose as Pedda said. Just inject it at the base of the neck just under the skin between the 2 shoulder blades. Gently pull the feathers upward til you see skin and insert the needle til it enters the skin and inject the tylan. You need an antibiotic ASAP. You do not have to inject it into the breast for Tylan to work, it will still work in the spot I mentioned just will not cause any damage as it would in the breast. Remeber the lungs are part of the respiratory system same as the nasel area. Most infections start in the lungs and go from there.