Sick peas

[KsKingBee]

It seems that I have a bit of an outbreak in the pea pen. I need some help in identifying this ailment, so far I have given the three peas an injection of Agrimycin and have started treating the water with Durmycin (Tetracycline hydrochloride) soluble powder. One possibly two have a cough, although not necessarily the ones with the swollen and frothy eyes. I was thinking it might be respiratory however I don't see any nasal discharge on any of them.

Silly birds have a coop they stay in all day then roost out in the pen all night in sub zero weather.

 

[DylansMom]

Even though you haven't seen nasal discharge, I am still thinking sinuses must be involved due to the cough and eye involvement. The tetracycline may help, but if you can get ahold of some Baytril or tylan I would do so and try those, both are very good for sinus issues. Hopkin's alternative livestock has a whole page devoted to Peafowl medications and you can get the dosing instructions off of that. I am not sure which you will end up using or what form(powder, liquid, injectable,etc.....) so it will be easier for you to just look up dosages once you have it. Good luck.

 

[casportpony]

It seems that I have a bit of an outbreak in the pea pen. I need some help in identifying this ailment, so far I have given the three peas an injection of Agrimycin and have started treating the water with Durmycin (Tetracycline hydrochloride) soluble powder. One possibly two have a cough, although not necessarily the ones with the swollen and frothy eyes. I was thinking it might be respiratory however I don't see any nasal discharge on any of them.

Silly birds have a coop they stay in all day then roost out in the pen all night in sub zero weather.

If they don't respond to the Agrimycin (oxytetracycline) and Duramycin (tetracycline) I would weigh them and treat with Baytril at 15-20mg/kg once a day for five days *or* 10mg/kg twice a day for five days.

In case you don't have the dosing info for Duramycin 10 it's:

• 400 mg dose = 1/2 tablespoon per US gallon
• 800 mg dose = 1 tablespoon per US gallon

Those are the mfg recommended amounts from here:
http://www.durvet.com/dl/Durvet-Poultry-Brochure.pdf

Keep a close eye on their food and water intake as this could end badly if they don't eat and drink enough.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Even though you haven't seen nasal discharge, I am still thinking sinuses must be involved due to the cough and eye involvement. The tetracycline may help, but if you can get ahold of some Baytril or tylan I would do so and try those, both are very good for sinus issues. Hopkin's alternative livestock has a whole page devoted to Peafowl medications and you can get the dosing instructions off of that. I am not sure which you will end up using or what form(powder, liquid, injectable,etc.....) so it will be easier for you to just look up dosages once you have it. Good luck.

Baytril is what I usually reach for and it can be given orally. I also have a whole bottle of Tylan, but haven't used it yet, but that's what the feedstore used when there 28 peas had something similar and after two days they were looking better.

-Kathy

 

[KsKingBee]

Thanks DM and Kathy for the replies. We have 21 peas in that pen, I am hoping that we can get a handle on them with medicated water, catching and injecting them all every day for a week would be a monumental task for us.

We noticed that their food consumption had been going down for the last few days and they have never been thirsty birds, they hardly drink even when they were healthy. With all the snow it will be hard to get medicated water in them.

They are hard to figure, they hang out inside the coop all day then come out in the evening to roost outside all night, even in sub zero weather. We are going to town in a bit to get more feed and we will stop at the local vet, he hadn't been any help before with the chickens but maybe he has some baytril or tylan on hand.

Thanks again!

 

[casportpony]

You can get Tylan at most feedstores, you'll find it in the cattle section. Some places will have Tylan 50 (50mg tylosin per ml) and Tylan 200 (200mg tylosin per ml) either will work, you just give more volume of one (the 50) or less of the other (the 200).

Most vets will not sell Baytril if they haven't seen the bird and some won't at all because it's banned for use in food animals, but it is very easy to buy online without a prescription. Let me know if you need a source.

-Kathy

 

[KsKingBee]

You can get Tylan at most feedstores, you'll find it in the cattle section. Some places will have Tylan 50 (50mg tylosin per ml) and Tylan 200 (200mg tylosin per ml) either will work, you just give more volume of one (the 50) or less of the other (the 200).

Most vets will not sell Baytril if they haven't seen the bird and some won't at all because it's banned for use in food animals, but it is very easy to buy online without a prescription. Let me know if you need a source.

-Kathy

Went to town and checked both vets for drugs, one had nothing and the other did have a couple of things but they said that the tetracycline should work for our problem and suggested we up the dosage a little. They had Baytril and would have sold it to us, she said she wouldn't 'turn us in' for using it for our birds and looked up dosing for us. When we got home we placed an order at Valley Vet and got Tylan on the way and a few other things for just in case.

We made up a special dinner for the peas this afternoon. DW sliced up some celery, kale, scrambled up some eggs in bacon grease, added some sugar, then topped off with Durmycin powder mixed in. We made enough for every pea to get at least a third of a cup, boy howdy did they lap that up! The Tylan won't be here until Friday or Monday so we think we will do this everyday until it gets here and see how they are doing then. It was really encouraging to see them eat with such enthusiasm.

 

[Yoda]

Hi your bird in the picture has a respiratory infection. Treat with Tylan 200 injectable. You want to inject 1cc/ml directly under the skin at the base of neck between the wings/shoulders. Gently pull a few of the feathers upward til you can see the skin at the feather's ends and just insert needle tip into skin and squeeze do NOT push the entire needle into the skin just the tip and yes you can feel the tip when it goes in. Usually one injection will knock it out but you might have to give it another in a day or two. Baytril can be purchased at allbirdproducts.com. Please get the Tylan 200 first and try that one. Baytril is a very strong drug and should be used as a last resort situation because it kills the bad bacteria and also kills the good bacteria in the bird. Baytril cannot be use on birds for meat or egg consumption cause eating those will make you sick. Treat all the sick birds in your flock. Check the birds who are gaping by opening the beak and look to see if anything is stuck in the throat. If the Tylan doesn't help the gaping birds try giving them 1cc/ml (no needle syringe) of Ivermectin pour on for cattle. You will lift up the feathers at the base of the neck and squirt it directly onto the skin. Do it the best you can and don't get worried if it gets on the feathers cause about half will get on them and the other half will get absorbed into the skin.

 

[KsKingBee]

Thank you Yoda for taking the time to add to my knowledge base. The Tylan is on it's way and we will treat the peas when it gets here. After reading your info on the Baytril we will only use it as a last resort.

What are the dangers of getting the Ivermectin on our skin while applying it to the birds? I assume that we should wear rubber gloves?

 

[casportpony]

Thank you Yoda for taking the time to add to my knowledge base. The Tylan is on it's way and we will treat the peas when it gets here. After reading your info on the Baytril we will only use it as a last resort.

What are the dangers of getting the Ivermectin on our skin while applying it to the birds? I assume that we should wear rubber gloves?

Did you order the Tylan 50 or Tylan 200? Either way, call your vet and ask what dose of Tylan your peas should get. My book says the dose should be one of these:

• 40mg/kg
• 10-40mg/kg 2-3 times a day
• 30mg/kg every 12 hours

-Kathy