Treatment for Peahen with possible infection

[CrazyBirdLady7]

I have a two and a half year old peahen, Paisley, who lives indoors. Several weeks ago, I noticed that her poo was unusually stinky. I didn't think much of it until a couple weeks ago as every poo was very watery. Her eating/drinking and activity level were normal up until last week. I also noticed that she was eating more than she was pooping, i.e. more was going in than was coming out. Paisley had a fungal infection a few months ago and had displayed similar behavior as she is now, so I started the same treatment plan that had healed her last time; oil of oregano w/ olive oil and concentrated garlic liquid with a little greek yogurt, very small amounts injected orally 4-5 times a day. When she had the fungal infection, this method seemed to do the trick. This time around it has not been as effective. During all of this, I had attempted to start her routine deworming and was using Levasole (which I hadn't used in the past). Her poops kept getting more and more watery so I stopped that after a couple days. That's when I started the natural remedies. Up until this week, we noticed that her food wasn't digesting properly, as we would see pieces of greens and seeds pass through. I assumed this was the result of a sour crop, however, her crop doesn't seem any different than normal. She feels like she's a bit on the skinny side but other than that, nothing feels abnormal. Like she did toward the end of her fungal infection, she's been holding her tail up higher than normal, like something's bothering her vent, but upon inspection, all seems to be fine. She has been drinking excessively and today has only wanted to eat wax worms. After she ate a bunch of wax worms, she started milling around kind of picking at her but not really eating anything. Her poos today have been almost all watery liquid with no substance until she ate the wax worms (which perked her up quite a bit). I have attached some poo pics and a pic of her stance. The poo pic on the carpet was mostly water but had more too it than this morning. Shortly after that, she had two very stinky cecal poos. Kinda strange as far as timing as normally her cecal poos are like clockwork, 8-9am and 5-6pm. I started her back on Fenbendezole today in her water and haven't given her any of the oregano/garlic concoction since this morning.
I know my story is very detailed but does anyone have any suggestions other than going to the vet? I seem to know more about peafowl than any vet in my area and tend to get more help from backyard chickens than anywhere else. I have an antibiotic, duramyacin-10. Should I try that or get something else? Please help my poor little Paisley! She is my whole world!

 

[CrazyBirdLady7]

Doesn't look like the wax worms are digesting properly.

 

[Garden Peas]

Well, I'm not going to guarantee there isn't anything medically wrong -- check w/ @casportpony . I'll try to reread your post tonight, too. But my first thought here is that she looks as though she's getting ready to lay. Did she lay last summer at all? Have you checked for an egg?

I agree, the poops don't look normal.

What on earth is a "wax worm"??? If you mean something like dried mealworms, I wouldn't give a lot of those to a bird that wasn't feeling well. I think they can get impacted.

You said she lives indoors... does she get grit? What does she eat?

How did you know it was a fungal infection last time?

 

[thndrdancr]

While I am all for oregano oil, several times a day seems a bit excessive. I do use it but no more than once time a day and usually only once every 3 months or so.
It can be hard of the liver if done too frequently.

Now that being said, I agree with Garden Peas. She looks like she is ready to lay or might be eggboundmaybe. Are you making sure she gets plenty of calcium for egg production? It definitely looks like she should be eating more. Watery poops are not good. I usually just feed mine chicken crumbles supplemented with a lot of protein, fruits and veggies. She also needs grit, if she is inside is she getting enough grit to grind her food up?

Sorry she is ill, those are the things right off top of my head.

 

[casportpony]

Poop is not normal. Would be best to have it checked by a vet for worm eggs, coccidia, bacteria and yeast. You said she had a fungal infection before. Was this confirmed by a vet? Get basleline weight on her, then weigh her at the same time every morning.

FYI, fenbendazole in the water won't treat all worms. Best to give her Safeguard liquid or paste at 0.23 ml per pound orally for *5* consecutive days. IMO, Duramycin 10 (tetracycline) is junk, better to treat with something like Baytril.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

FWIW, I took my hen to the dog/cat vet, who knows *zero* about poultry or peafowl, but he was a good sport and looked at the poop for me. My hen had poop that looked a lot like your hen's poop, was passing undigested seed, and had a crop that wasn't emptying. In her poop he found lots of flagellates and a few clostridia. He suggested that I treat with metronidazole, Baytril, give fluids and tube feed.

-Kathy

 

[Trefoil]

Poop is not normal. Would be best to have it checked by a vet for worm eggs, coccidia, bacteria and yeast. You said she had a fungal infection before. Was this confirmed by a vet? Get basleline weight on her, then weigh her at the same time every morning.

FYI, fenbendazole in the water won't treat all worms. Best to give her Safeguard liquid or paste at 0.23 ml per pound orally for *5* consecutive days. IMO, Duramycin 10 (tetracycline) is junk, better to treat with something like Baytril.

-Kathy

Safeguard is fenbendazole.. If this is a house pea, and has been wormed, it is unlikely that worms will be the problem. Not saying that she doesn't ever need to be wormed. What are you feeding her aside from wax worms? She needs grit and a calcium source. Grapes, cut up shrimp/seafood,nuts, and greens are good treats. If you are concerned that she may not be getting the vits she needs, give her vionate in her feed a couple of times a week. A couple of teaspoons of ACV per quart of drinking water when not medicating will help her digestion and condition. If you are into natural herbs, give her free choice of the healthy herbs.

 

[casportpony]

Quote:

Quote: The OP wrote:

I started her back on Fenbendezole today in her water and haven't given her any of the oregano/garlic concoction since this morning.

And I replied that fenbendazole in the water is won't treat all worms. If she's a house pea that's never been outside, then I agree, it's probably not worms.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

How to Check for a Stuck Egg

Put on a glove and water based lube and very gently insert you finger in the vent. If an egg is there you will feel it at about an inch in. Here are some pictures to help you visualize where the egg should be:





If you find a stuck egg and the hen is still pooping, tube warmed fluids at 10 ml per pound, wait 60-90 minutes, then tube more fluids and give calcium gluconate at 50mg per pound. Place hen in a steam filled bathroom and let the fluids and calcium do their magic.

-Kathy

 

[barkerg]

How to Check for a Stuck Egg

[COLOR=333333]Put on a glove and water based lube and very gently insert you finger in the vent. If an egg is there you will feel it at about an inch in. Here are some pictures to help you visualize where the egg should be:[/COLOR] [COLOR=333333] [/COLOR] [COLOR=333333][COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR][/COLOR] [COLOR=333333][COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR][/COLOR] [COLOR=333333]If you find a stuck egg and the hen is still pooping, tube warmed fluids at 10 ml per pound, wait 60-90 minutes, then tube more fluids and give calcium gluconate at 50mg per pound. Place hen in a steam filled bathroom and let the fluids and calcium do their magic.[/COLOR] [COLOR=333333]-Kathy[/COLOR]

Perfect advice,

. Gerald Barker