What's the most likely reason all 4 of my year old peafowl died

[oldguy]

I've been keeping birds 25 years and have good success with most of them.

Last year i hatched me off some peafowl and came up with 2 pairs. I decided to keep them up so i could find eggs once they began to lay.

Over about a 4 month period, they all slowly died. They looked good and i turned the last hen out when my male died. She stayed around about a week and then died too.

Possible problems:

1) i kept oyster shell in the pen and it seems to work well on most all kinds of birds
2) could have been a lack of worming, but i raise all other kinds of game birds without it

Thanks for your advice

 

[chickenzoo]

Worming or Black head disease could be the problem if you saw no other symptoms. If you have a variety of different species of birds it may require you to worm more often. Black head can be carried by chickens and they do not show symptoms, but to the other fowl that may come in contact with their droppings, can become infected. Most noticeable signs are loss of appetite, loss of weight, very yellow droppings, drinking more water than eating, fluffed up unthrifty appearance and a darkening about the face due to poor circulation. Turkey & Peafowl are more prone to it it seems.

 

[ruth]

It's my understanding that peafowl kept in pens, especially with other types of birds around, need to be on a regular worming schedule. However, that said, my peafowl are two years old and have lived with my free roaming chickens (hundreds of them), ducks, geese, and guineas the whole time and I've never wormed them - but then they have never been penned either. I'm so sorry you lost your birds, that had to be heart breaking.

 

[oldguy]

thanks for those replies guys, yep i hated to lose em

they were in about a 8' x 36' pen built onto the end of the barn and pigeons came and went out the gable, plus i had 2 game hens that would fly up to the gable and go in there to nest and raise

I will try again and use wormer this time

 

[deerman]

Yes for sure worm them, worms can be host to other parasites and also blackhead.....birds not wormed will never be in top health. Doesn't cost that much to worm them 3 times a year.


PREVENTION LOT EASIER THAN TREATMENTS