AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

If you haven't been able to dip or treat your peafowl please be quick to do it, especially In Queensland, we haven't had that much rain and the ticks seem to be out a little earlier this season

My main man Huedini (who suffered badly one season from a paralysis tick ready story and remedy here... viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14736 )
Huedini just had another paralysis tick almost in the same position where he had it last time, just near his chin on his neck!
He hasn't got as sick which I believe he may have a bit of immunity to them now, however I still treated him with vitamin C & ivomec in diluted form for peafowl.
The tick has since dropped off, without any noticeable symptoms (i.e loss of voice and loss of use of legs and lack of perching.)
I have a few more peafowl free roaming and I find the ticks normally make their way to their neck. Sometimes the other hens and peacocks will preen them off one another, but most ticks make their way to their neck high up under their beak where they can't reach!
The ticks are prone to jumping onto their host especially as the fossick/ peck around on the ground !


BE aware they are out in full force this year! CHECK CHECK CHECK and if you are lucky enough to have babies as yet please be aware!

a good reminder to everyone

Thanks goddess for the remind I plum forgot about ticks

good to no that do we have those nasty ticks in nsw?

Yes they are in NSW

They are in all of australia aren't they I thought

Okay- My beautiful peahen presented with sitting down - I thought nesting closer inspection she would try to get up then get back down no roosting last night and found her today!
We caught her and brought into our enclosure (sick bay area) tried to feel for a tick but we came up with nothing. Perhaps it has dropped off and she is experiencing
paralysis effects, (which can happen) but no panting as yet, wings are stooped LOW..She is still quite alert and a fighter.
She is eating a little bit special things I give her.

I don't think it can be anything else as I have seen both of my peacocks have ticks underneath the beak area! We searched her there too and nothing!
The ticks are quick big once semi engorged and grayish in color.

YES- these nasties are found all over Australia and can use humans has a host usually along hair lines! There are over 75 species of ticks in Australia and Paralysis Ticks is one of them!

Treated all of them less than 1 week ago.
The treatment this time is as follows if anyone is interested (its similar to previous case)

1) Saw the hen watched her to determine what was wrong either nesting or sick No roosting night was the KEY sign for me.
2) Caught hen and placed in her own enclosure- still covered with light blanket for ease (less stress)
3) Felt her all over under wings as high up as we could to neck and legs etc to see if we could find the tick to remove - NO removal as we could not find tick
4) Sprayed her down with lice and mite spray because we had peahen close but didn't really need it but did as we checked for the tick
5) Left her in enclosure sitting on ground over night.
6) Prepped blueberries injected with Vitamin C serum (for animals) to place near here so she can eat them in the morning or whenever. This will help with removing the toxins from the tick.

I will check here early in the morning to see how she is going and determine then what to do!

Thats a great post P-G good info for everyone to know and they should be on the lookout for these little buggers

The paralysis tick is distributed over the east coast of Australia only over a 20 km + band inland.
It does not occur much west of Bairnsdale in Victoria, nor in SA or WA.
There are other tick species which can infect birds. However, these do not cause paralysis. They can cause anaemia and spread blood-borne parasites which can make the birds ill as well.

Most birds infected with paralysis ticks will recover with supportive care alone ie rest, keep the head elevated if they are lying flat; ensure they are hydrated; turn the birds from side to side if they are down for long periods etc.
Valuable birds can be treated with tick-antiserum.
The vitamin C issue raised by Pea-Goddess has also been promoted for fighting snake-bite.
There is no harm in using vitamin C, but please be aware its effectiveness in treating these conditions is totally anecdotal ie i I gave vitamin C and the dog/cat/bird got better therefore the vitamin C cured it. Of course, it may have gotten better without it too!
There is absolutely no scientific evidence that this works and to rely on this alone as a treatment is folly. I understand that not everyone is going to be able to afford to treat an affected bird with tick anti-serum etc. I'm just making the point that if you think that by giving vitamin C as your main treatment that this is as good as treatment gets that you may be sorely disappointed.
How badly a bird is affected by tick paralysis depends on the dose of the toxin injected by the tick, the toxicity of the toxin and the bird's ability to deal with the toxin.
Circulating tick toxin in the bloodstream can be inactivated by administering antitoxin, but once the toxin is absorbed by the body tissues then the anti-toxin is not effective. Then it is totally up to the bird. At this stage the vitamin C and other immune stimulants may be of value.

Regular inspection of birds is the best prevention. Spraying frontline spray may also help.
If you live in a paralysis tick area then keeping birds away from bushes and long grass can also help prevent infection. Of course, if they free range then this can be impossible.
Good luck everyone!

Thanks Parvo for your great information..
A far as paralaysis ticks ONLY the distribution maps that you find on google, indicate certain areas as Parvo mentioned BUT I have herd of actual people having paralysis ticks whom lived in WA which is not indicated on maps as paralysis tick area. My point simply being is watch out for them, they can and have popped up outside known areas! Checking all animals on occasion. If untreated PARALYSIS TICKS can kill a bird or cats, dogs, make cows and horses very sick too, making it a sad day for all!

To be clear I'm no way endorsing Vitamin C as go to treatment, for EVERY TICK situation or a stand alone treatment. ( I don't do that with my own peafowl)
Vitmain C is generally a vitamin serum that everyone has and its relatively easier to obtain after hours, rather than calling a vet with a tick serum etc. or finding a store with tick serum.
Obviously if you can be lucky enough to get the tick out FIRST, then a the bird can recover on its own with or without.
[b]Then of course if you are a vet or have a vet locally that is avian trained then that would be ideal to seek advice or treatment by your veterinarian
[/b]
I'm in no way advocating vitamin C treatment for cats and dogs as this is a poultry forum, and I personally haven't needed to use them on my cats.
Also my previous blogs about Ticks you will read I actually did recover my main peacock from paralysis tick by way of removal and vitamin C ( ivomec diluted for peafowl )

Indian blue peafowl are rather tough birds (according to my lovely vet) I treat all of my peafowl for worms and parasites with regularity.
Sorry if i have caused any confusion my information/ experience- I am in no way an expert but I have hands on experience.

Im yet to experience any white peafowl but I am led to believe that they have more sensitive immune system???? Or is that only in colder climates?