Something is wrong with Bob

[melroseladi]

Bob is a one year old pearl gray. When I went to let them out this morning I noticed he was not acting normal. He was walking slowly, sluggish, no limping. I tried checking him, but he really doesn't cooperate. I don't see any visible signs of injury, blood, or unsettled feathers. He seems to be keeping his head pulled in instead of the normal outstretched neck when walking or standing.

I locked them back up in the coop to see if he was eating. I gave them all some broken up bread and soaked a piece with vitamins which he did eat. I have not been able to catch him pooping yet so not sure how those look. He is pretty much resting up on the roost.

There is no wheezing or drainage from nose or eyes.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[StevenW.]

I would try to catch him and look him over really close for injurys, but you do not want to stress him since it could just make things worse.
Hope you find out what is wrong with Bob!

 

[melroseladi]

I got Bob caged now so I can monitor him. I fixed him some scrambled eggs with a dash of electrolytes and a dose of doxycycline 100 in it. I did see him peck at it but not sure if he is actually eating it. I gave him a dose of polyvisol earlier today and added some electrolytes to his water. I have not seen him drink anything as of yet. I have a bowl of water as well as a water bottle on the cage.

He is not happy about being caged, at all and attacks my hand when I try to do anything with him or inside the cage. From what I can see there aren't any visible injuries. I am hoping he didn't get snake bit. We have been having a real problem with snakes since the colder weather has come in.

 

[StevenW.]

Hmmm. I would start looking at his eyes then. I would check to see if they are cloudy. The one thing that I always have done with animals is I move my hand back and forth close to their eyes to see if they move along with my hand. He could be blind in one eye. Hopeing PeepsCa will get on soon since she knows more about guineas than I do.

 

[StevenW.]

How is Bob today?

 

[melroseladi]

I kept Bob caged but he was really stressing. I was able to get a little more vitamins in him on a piece of bread but got nothing else in him, and I did not see him drink anything. The rest of the guineas did not help matters by calling to him, running in and out of the coop, jumping up and down off of his cage, trying to bust him out.

I decided to let him out this afternoon. He immediately ran to their outside waterer and drank then took off pecking at the ground. He still was wobbly but he wasn't as hunched over as he was. Yesterday he was walking like a hen with his neck tucked in. When I went to feed and lock them up, they ran in, grabbed a few bites of food, then took off into the big oak tree.

I guess they are sending me a message, lol.

I have done all I can do for him, I guess. I am hoping he doesn't get wobbly and fall out of the tree. He was pecking at the leaves so I know he has eaten at least that much.

I am not sure what is wrong with him but he is definitely not the way he should be.

 

[perchie.girl]

I cant help you here sorry but I am going to hang around to see how it goes....

I did have a female that acted this way but she had a patch of skin wounded on the back of her neck.... possibly raccoon damage. You would have seen that in Bob though.

 

[PeepsCA]

In the tree huh? Hmm, probably not a good place for Bob until he is back up to par. He'll be the one the owl gets

Did you have a drastic drop in your daytime/night time temps? Maybe he's just cold. Also if their water is really cold, Guineas sometimes will not drink enough, so he may have been uncomfortable with a full crop of dry food... and with all the fussing in the cage he finally worked it down, so he perked up a little.

I'd coop/pen the whole flock until you know for sure he is eating enough and see how his poop looks. And I'd see if you can get some yogurt and/or extra probiotics in him while you have him corralled in the coop. No need to cage him if he is not hurt/wounded or being picked on, but I'd definitely keep him(them) confined to the coop at least. I'd also provide a heat lamp that he can use if he needs it. A Guinea that's not feeling well has a harder time regulating body temp. Adding electrolytes to the water for the whole flock to drink won't hurt, and if you have any fresh garlic, you could add a crushed clove or 2 to their waterer also.

Taking away their feed, or shutting the coop during the day so they do not have free access to food all day helps make them more willing to come in and eat when you need/want them to come in.

Hope he improves

 

[melroseladi]

Bob and the others flew down at 7:30 this morning. I tried getting them back in the coop but they are having no part of it. Maybe I can get them in there this afternoon.

The temps have gotten colder but since we are in Florida it hasn't gotten to freezing. The coop stays about 10 degrees higher then the outside temps.

The evening before I had noticed Bob not being well, I heard them all alerting out in the woods. When I went out to check on them they all came flying back through the woods back to the coop area. I am not sure if something may have jumped him or what. I thought maybe snake bit but I don't think he would still be alive if that were the case.

Since they free range all day withholding their food really doesn't work with them. They normally will coop up when I put their treats in the coop before dusk. Last night they ran in as usual but as soon as they saw me coming to close the door they bolted out and flew into the tree.

The first day he was walking like the hens do, low to the ground, but he had his head pulled in, not standing up tall or walking with his neck outstretched. When I let him out yesterday that behavior was not as bad. He was walking with his neck out and was flapping his wings on occasion.

I will try to get another dose of polyvisol in him today. There are still no signs of discharge from nose or beak, no sneezing, eyes are clear and focusing, no wheezing. One thing I did notice is when he is walking his tail is not centered, he is carrying his tail more to his left side. Not sure if that means anything or not but thought I would add it in just in case it is something important.

 

[melroseladi]

Today I went out and walked the woods with the guineas. They like when I do that with them and I wanted to get a closer view to make sure Bob was eating. He was foraging and eating good. When he pooped it was a smaller amount then normal and all though the color looked normal it did seem drier then normal.

I was able to get them to follow me back into the coop so they have been locked since this afternoon, unhappily. Bob seems to be less wobbly and I haven't seen him topple over like he did on the first day. I moved their favorite waterer into the coop with them and added some polyvisol to the water. His tail is still off center though and he still isn't walking at his full speed.