Thank you! I administered fenbendazole 15 mg/kg as instructed and it was administered orally as a one time dose. There was no evidence of worm infestation but with no really good place to keep him inside or penned up, I felt it would be good to worm him as a prophylactic since the pond he was on before was small and muddy and he had never been wormed before. He was easy to dose and then we turned him out on our pond. He is settling in beautifully, gliding around very relaxed and eating and just appears very happy. He's been to every corner of the pond and just doesn't seem stressed at all. He was actually pretty easy to handle, even taking the oral medication easily and I've dosed a lot of birds much smaller that were more difficult.

His previous owner simply put him out on their small pond and left him and his mate till she died. His wife is a veterinarian.....I felt awkward talking to them about him because I felt I had more knowledge, in general, than she showed. I understand that there is an experimental use of the vaccine for mink raised for furs that has been used and that clean, well aerated water is the most important. There are wild species (no swans) that have visited our pond. We have a place on a river for weekends about 30 minutes from home and last year there was a pair with 3 young cygnets on the river for a week or so. I had no idea that there were any wild swan populations in our area prior to that. Does this mean this male might attract a migratory swan to visit our pond?

It will take me a while to manage to bond with him in a way that will make it possible to pen him again. I am continuing to read about the swan and health issues and should be able to pen him and do whatever else needs done. For now, he's got a great appetite, bright eyed, active and the water is very clean and has a fresh water source and loads of aquatic plants.