I do not know where to start but I have been dealing with sick peahens and am at my wits end trying to figure out what is wrong. The problems first started in late August/early September when I noticed one of the hens in my big pen had deteriorating feather quality, as if she wasn't preening herself at all. At first I assumed she was getting picked on by other hens or the males so I was very careful to watch when I was feeding them to make sure she wasn't getting bullied or chased away from food. However, I have never noticed any bullying at all during all of these observations and often she was not very interested in food when it was presented. I began to think she was sick. She looks underweight but she is also missing many tail feathers so it may be an illusion. Additionally, and more perplexingly, she behaves very erratically when spooked, when feeding or interacting with other peas. She will run in circles, sometimes jump up and down, and generally act crazy as if she is delirious.
At the same time as I started noticing the first hens problems another hen in a different pen started acting lethargically. After laying season ended she never raised her wings up from the drooped laying position and when I entered the pen to feed them she barely reacted at all and was not very interested in food. I may have noticed this late because she was always a more docile hen compared to my typically flighty bunch. I entered one morning to feed her she was lying on her back at the base of the pen door. I thought she was dead and rushed to look at her but I noticed her head was moving, when I turned her over she regained consciousness and began wandering around the pen. I watched her throughout the day when I could and her condition seemed to improve. Sadly, the next morning I entered and found her dead on the ground. This may sound odd but I did not immediately connect her lethargy and her death, her behavior seemed similar to birds I have found on the ground after flying into windows, and a rooster I once had to punt after her gashed my leg open so I thought she must have flown into the wooden pen door for some reason and was suffering from a head injury.
A lethargic bird that collapsed and died seems like a parasite case but what confused me is the first bird. Both birds shared some symptoms (lack of interest in food, slowly declining health) but I have never heard of a parasite that causes random jumping and running in circles, that seems more like a nervous system issue. At first I was very worried that I had mareks on my hands but that does not seem to be the case, the crazy hen has actually improved slightly (eating normally now) and none of the other peacocks, chickens or guineas have any symptoms. I am not sure if the two cases are related but I am worried that they are because I have never experienced anything like this. I feel terrible that I have never wormed, my family has raised birds since before I was born and we have never had to but I am figuring out how to worm to protect the rest of the flock incase that is the cause of the problem. I do not think worms explain the surviving hens crazy behavior though, if anyone has experienced something like this before or has any theories or tips they would be greatly appreciated.
At the same time as I started noticing the first hens problems another hen in a different pen started acting lethargically. After laying season ended she never raised her wings up from the drooped laying position and when I entered the pen to feed them she barely reacted at all and was not very interested in food. I may have noticed this late because she was always a more docile hen compared to my typically flighty bunch. I entered one morning to feed her she was lying on her back at the base of the pen door. I thought she was dead and rushed to look at her but I noticed her head was moving, when I turned her over she regained consciousness and began wandering around the pen. I watched her throughout the day when I could and her condition seemed to improve. Sadly, the next morning I entered and found her dead on the ground. This may sound odd but I did not immediately connect her lethargy and her death, her behavior seemed similar to birds I have found on the ground after flying into windows, and a rooster I once had to punt after her gashed my leg open so I thought she must have flown into the wooden pen door for some reason and was suffering from a head injury.
A lethargic bird that collapsed and died seems like a parasite case but what confused me is the first bird. Both birds shared some symptoms (lack of interest in food, slowly declining health) but I have never heard of a parasite that causes random jumping and running in circles, that seems more like a nervous system issue. At first I was very worried that I had mareks on my hands but that does not seem to be the case, the crazy hen has actually improved slightly (eating normally now) and none of the other peacocks, chickens or guineas have any symptoms. I am not sure if the two cases are related but I am worried that they are because I have never experienced anything like this. I feel terrible that I have never wormed, my family has raised birds since before I was born and we have never had to but I am figuring out how to worm to protect the rest of the flock incase that is the cause of the problem. I do not think worms explain the surviving hens crazy behavior though, if anyone has experienced something like this before or has any theories or tips they would be greatly appreciated.
