Peafowl Worms
		Worms: Worms account for the most deaths in peafowl. Several times peafowl are treated for being sick, and all that is wrong is that they have worms. Peafowl with worms will show several signs like weight loss, weak or droopy, diarrhea, gasping for air and coughing are a few signs. These symptoms can easily be mistaken for the bird having another illness. Resulting in the bird being treated for being sick and it ends up dying due to worms. When Ifirst started raising peafowl i lost birds due to worms. I was like many others treating my birds for other illnesses and they never got better, resulting in the birds dying, a very costly loss. This is how I take care of my birds for worms. I use a feed wormer from Co-op, safe guard hog wormer. Number of feed is 95073. It looks just like crumble feed. I feed the peafowl the safe guard wormer for 3 days in a row, with no other source of feed. I will have a couple of peafowl a year that will still show signs of worms after feeding the wormer. I have some panicure wormer that I got from the vet. I separate the bird to itself and worm that bird for three days with panicure orally to make sure the bird get the right amount of wormer. I also lightly salt my pens. Salt will drive away worms that are in the ground. It does not take much at all. If the ground is dry i will sprinkle water over the salt so it will soak in the ground. Make sure that there is not any holes in the ground that will hold water. The birds do not need to drink water with salt in it. I have told people about salting my pens, and their question is will it hurt or kill trees that are in or close to the pens. I have a pecan tree that supplies shade to some of my pens, and is in one of my pens. It has had pecans on it for the past 10 years with no sign of harm from the salt. If you use to much salt it will kill trees. But remember you don't have to use very much at all. I also treat my peafowl with Ivmec pour on cattle wormer. Once in the fall and once in the spring about a month before breeding season. I put .5cc on the birds back directly to the skin between their shoulder blades. If you worm peafowl during breeding season the eggs will not be fertile for 7 to 10 days after worming. Here are some worms that can be found in peafowl.
	Capillary Worms: There are 6 species of these worms. Capillary worms are a thin hair like white worm. Some infect crop and esophagus and others infect the intestines. Birds will become droppy, weak, thin, and have diarrhea, and also stand with their head drawn close to their body. The Earthworm is the intermediate host for Capillary worms. The eggs will pass through the bird in droppings, then the earthworm will eat the eggs, and the bird will eat the worm. Gape Worms: This worm lives in the wind pipe of the bird causing the bird to yawn, cough and shake its head, because it is hard for them to breath. Gape worms grow very fast and if not treated it will block the wind pipe and the bird will suffocate. These worms are reddish in color and round. Gape worms can live earthworms for as long as 4 years. Birds will pass the worm through droppings. If other birds eat the droppings, they will become infected with Gape worms. Tape Worm: Tape worms are a flat worm with lines across it. Tape worms can break off and passed through the droppings. Round Worms: Round worms can be picked up through droppings, feed and water. Round worms are the most common and hardest to get rid of. The Round worm egg has a hard covering that resists chemicals, heat, and cold so the egg will live a long time in the ground. The eggs hatch in the small intestinal tract. Several days after they hatch they will enter the lining of the tract. They will live in the tract fot 10 days. If you worm during the 10 days that the worm is in the lining, the wormer will not work. So for this reason you need to wait 10 days after the first worming and worm the bird again. Cecal Worm: Birds get the Cecal worm from the droppings of other birds. Cecal worms are slender white worm about 1/2 inches long. Eye Worms: Eye worms are a small white worm that grows in the corner of the eye causing swelling.