pheasant problem

[magnumhntr]

I've got 200 ring necks out in the flight pen now, almost 8 weeks old. Last year, and this year I've noticed quite a few acting like they have a cold. Sneezing type sound, and also sounds as though they are congested. I caught some up last year, and it looked as though they had liquid in the nostrils. Is this something serious? Is there something pheasants are allergic to? Any ideas what could be causing this? Any help would be appreciated  :?

[stewaw]

The best advice I could offer is take one to a vet that treats birds.  Sounds like you have any variety of about 15 different respiratory viruses.  A dose of $20.00 antibotic prescribed by a vet would go a long way to saving your birds or at least making them more hardy.

David

[Pheasant Hollow Farm]

magnumhntr,

First I would like to make very clear, I am not a veterinarian, nor have I ever stated to be. It would behoove you to seek out medical advice on the conditions of your pheasants.

The symptoms that you describe sound to me that they may have CRD (Chronic Respiratory Disease).  It could be one of many, (Air-sac infection) (Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Escherichia coli). It could also be Infectious Synovitis( Mycoplasma synoviae), or it could be Coccidiosis.

I have found that the treatment that works best for me is either Agrimycin or Terramycin, which is a broad-spectrum antibiotic or Aureomycin (Chlorteracycline).

I use 600mg per 2 gallons of fresh water daily for my pheasants that are 7 weeks and older, and for younger then 7 weeks up to 5 weeks 400mg per 2 gallons of water. 3 week olds up to 5 weeks I will use 100mg per gallon of water. Chicks I will just use vitamins. All medication that I give is on a standard time frame of 7-14 days. When I move birds from one pen to another I will also treat the birds on a prevention cycle. I will also keep heat lamps on, inside of the sheltered area of the flight pen for extra warmth. Heavy rains, muddy conditions, extended damp situations, just add to the problem of preventing CRD.

I also use a medicated feed to help in the prevention of CRD on my pheasants, up to 8 weeks of age. I have noticed that the symptoms will show up anytime after 5 weeks of age.

As soon as you notice the problem of the sneezing and coughing isolate the bird(s) as soon as possible. This is highly contagious. You will lose at least 10% if not more of your pheasants due to CRD. Remove all dead birds at once, pheasants are cannibalistic and will pick up the disease from pecking the dead bird.

I have found a world of information from the Merck Vet Manual http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp

Although none of this treatment is guaranteed, it will help to some degree.  Sanitation in their food source and water pails cannot be stressed enough. Clean the water pails and troughs with a bleach solution. I use 2oz of bleach to a gallon of water for cleaning purposes. Use only plastic, if at all possible for feed and water.

I was also told that breeders that have CRD could transmit the disease through the egg.

I hope that some of the information will help, an wish you all the luck with your pheasants.


Steve
Pheasant Hollow Farm

[magnumhntr]

Thanks for the info! I'm going to send one of the birds to Michigan State University to see what is really going on here. Hopefully it's not too serious.
Again, thanks for the responces!!!

[magnumhntr]

Ok, so I've done some research this weekend, and am pretty sure I'm dealing with CRD. Although I'm still going to send a couple of birds off to MSU to find out for sure, I'm gonna start giving them antibiotics(Terramycin. ) tomorrow. So, if the tests come back positive for CRD, I've a few questions...

1. Has anyone dealt with CRD before?
2. Are the birds that recover safe for human consumption?
3. Are the birds that recover safe to use as breeder birds?
4. Do I have to medicate every so often, or is this something I'll have to do regularly?
5. And most importantly, how do I get rid of it permanently? I understand bleaching the obvious things like waterers, feeders, cages, brooders, etc. But how do I eliminate it from the soil/flight pens and keep it gone. My goal is to raise disease free birds, ones I can be proud to sell.

Thanks for any help that you can give!!!

[Pheasant Hollow Farm]

magnumhntr,

Ok, so I've done some research this weekend, and am pretty sure I'm dealing with CRD. Although I'm still going to send a couple of birds off to MSU to find out for sure, I'm gonna start giving them antibiotics(Terramycin. ) tomorrow. So, if the tests come back positive for CRD, I've a few questions...

1. Has anyone dealt with CRD before?
2. Are the birds that recover safe for human consumption?
3. Are the birds that recover safe to use as breeder birds?
4. Do I have to medicate every so often, or is this something I'll have to do regularly?
5. And most importantly, how do I get rid of it permanently? I understand bleaching the obvious things like waterers, feeders, cages, brooders, etc. But how do I eliminate it from the soil/flight pens and keep it gone. My goal is to raise disease free birds, ones I can be proud to sell.

Thanks for any help that you can give!!!

Some answers I might be able to help with, and again I want to stress the fact that I am not  a veterinarian, nor have I ever stated to be.


1. yes, I have. I lost a good number of birds. The treatment is not guaranteed . It will usually take up to 30 days for all symptoms to disappear after the 7-14 days of medication.
2. yes, as far as I know they are, 10 to 15 days after medication has ended on a preventive measure, longer on infected birds.
3. yes, to the best of my knowledge, the birds that survive CRD will have built up a resistance.
4. the only time to medicate is when symptoms occur. 7-14 days on medication. I also have found that this CRD usually shows up in the spring time, when the weather is wet and damp and cold.

4a. when introducing new adult pheasant or chicks to a different pen area    with your other pheasants, it is recommend to medicated as well for a prevention measure.

5. I do not know of any way to eliminate CDR if you are on a large scale, when raising pheasants. The birds have to be kept in an enclosed pen or shelter. The chances of these birds getting CRD are a 60/40 chance in my opinion.

Flight pens that are bigger then 100’x200’(20,000 sqft) to hold 667 adults(30 sqft per bird), that has enough ground cover will prevent or slow down the chances of CRD in most cases to the best of my knowledge. Flight pens with less ground cover, naturally will diminish and turn to a dirt pen.

Having adequate drainage to prevent mud puddles and sludge will also help in the prevention of CRD. Pheasants are a ground foraging bird, so if the ground in the pen has excess waste, stagnant water, and mud puddles, the birds will pick up any type of disease while looking for something to eat and drink.

I will usually till up the pens during the summer after the ground gets barren, at least 2 times a month, to freshen up the soil, and scatter either hay or straw in the flight pen area.

Keep us posted on the test results on the dead birds that you are going to submit to the MSU. I am interested in finding out your results and there recommendations.

Steve
Pheasant Hollow Farm

[magnumhntr]

UPDATE:

Initial prognosis from the vet is GAPEWORMS :shock:
Throught the local extension agency she prescribed Levamisol at a dosage of 1gm/gallon water for 1 day.

So the questions of the day are... if anyone else has dealt with gapeworms, what have you used and the doseges used?

And how long before the Levamisol is out of the birds system... or better yet how long from treatment until it is safe to eat the birds?

She (the vet) saw no signf of any other distress other than the gapeworms, and her fealing is that that is most, if not all my problem.

Thanks for all the help... as it is appreciated immensly  

[stewaw]

Glad to hear you got a diagnosis.  I've never dealt with gapeworms but I can only imagine that worming is a whole lot easier to control than any of the respiratory ailments.  So much for my "shade tree" diagnosis.....Like the saying goes, that's why they make the big $$$.  

David