Bloody Diarrhea in Gouldian-- Update 4/1 w/ Video

[B CAMP]

I use the red reptile heat lights don't seem to bother there sleeping at all will set right in front of light ,good luck

[Domenic]

Thank you for the red lamp tip.

Cindy, this sickness was caught from the female gouldian, so I doubt it's a tumor. His appetite is normal, though he is still a bit thin. The head motion is what has me worried, sometimes it looks like he is gagging or trying to cough something up. The video doesn't show the head bobbing very well, for some reason he wouldn't do it while I was filming.

[CandoAviary]

Poor little fellow. Yes...Heat and cover. Possibly remove the hen.
I would also provide probiotics. Since this affected his stools and overall well being then he may be suffering form yeast...possibly bacterial. Did you have him on any antibiotics recently?
Probiotics would not cause harm. There is a wonderful product that is called Gaurdian Angel by the bird care company. It is not a medicine so much as a support system for sick, stressed birds. I would put him on this as soon as possible. I have used this product for years and love it. The name of the product says it all.
http://www.birdcareco.com/English/Arts/ ... GA/ga.html

[Domenic]

Thank you Candace. I did not have him on anything. I am very new to bird sicknesses and birds in general and I was afraid mistreating him would stress him to the point of death. Can yeast be caught from another bird? Whatever the sickness is I am sure he caught it from the female gouldian because he was poofed up the day after I removed her.

[cindy]

Yeast can be caught from other birds, passed from parent to chick. I treated my owl (think I mentioned earlier in this thread about using probiotics) and he is doing well and very active for months now. Once the treatment was done he was like a different bird.

[CandoAviary]

Dominic,
Yeast is a natural culture in a finches body. Where you have problems is when it gets out of balance, growing rapidly and causing ailments. The guardian angel contains lectolytes, probiotics, vitamin C, and other stuff that helps promote a healthy immune system. A strong immune system will keep yeast in check.
Yeast infections are not caught from other birds. The stress from adding a new bird to the cage may have been enough to weaken you Judah to the point of his body getting imbalanced. Also food foods can cause problems. Here is a good article that may help you learn about this yeast problem
http://finchfiles.com/FinchFiles/Health ... andida.htm

Birds will many times try to regurgitate due to yeast irratation. Possibly the neck movements you referred to.
I would also treat for ASM. Early stages can cause shaking of the head...trying to expell the mites. Late symptoms of a more serious infestation is the clicking, sneezing, and coughing.

[Domenic]

I already have treated for air sac mites but did not have any success. Esther the female gouldian makes clicking noises directly after drinking but not during her regular activity. Judah's neck stretching has gotten much worse, he seems to do it frequently now. He's also very thin but doesn't spend his entire day eating. Do probiotics contain electrolytes Candace? What diseases generally cause neck stretching or neck irritation? Something is telling me this isn't yeast because two other birds got this illness and passed it pretty quickly, as did Esther the female gould.

I'm at a loss here. We're very tight on money so I can't buy 100 different medicines and see which works, I'm going to have to diagnose this the best I can and buy the one medicine that I think will work. That's why I've been trying to figure out exactly what this is.

[CandoAviary]

Probiotics do not contain electrolytes.
It is really hard to know exactly what is wrong. Do not feel alone, I have been keeping birds for many years and still guess at what is truly the problem. So many symptoms are the same for each diesease. I usually start with the least invasive and go from there. I usually would go natural first...probiotics, survive, guardian angle,flourish, etc. If the bird is still not up to par after a week or if syptoms are extreme to start with then I treat with an antibiotic...depending if I suspect a bacterial infection or fungal, or respiratory then I will select one suited for that problem.
I don't ever suspect viral really because I seldom bring new birds in my aviary and when I do I quarentine new birds. I would think that if they had a viral pathagen I would see symptoms within the quarentine period.
It is tough to know exactly what to do. I do not have an avian vet in this town so I do the best I can. I do have different meds on hand just in case..... but rarely do I treat any birds with them. Thank goodness. Though some birds I have lost because they showed symptoms and died before treament could be started. Puffed one day and put under heat. Put on guardian angel and within 48 hours died....not a lot you can do then and it always leaves me stumped. It can be 1 juvie in a flight of 10. All others do fine. I guess this is what is referred to as Failure to thrive.
Here is a site that sells a lot of meds and explains what they are for. Some will treat a multitude of things for the person who wants to treat for many ailments at one time. Remember though giving meds can in itself be hard on birds. Really wish I could be of more help.
http://www.allbirdproducts.com/bird_medication.html

[JohnBoy]

Domenic, Your choice will probably be slim at a pet store. I have successfully used ornacyn plus when nothing else was available. Its a 50-50 shot.

[cindy]

Domenic, try pm'ing Tiffany she sells medications. Maybe she can give you some advice.

[MLaRue]

Or me (I can send meds if I knew which one to send) or Laraine at www.ladygouldian.com or Kristen with www.mfgouldianfinches.com - Laraine is very knowledgeable with sick birds because so many people contact her privately so she has a lot of experience. Tiffany and I mostly have our own experiences to work from...

Sending Laraine and or Kristen the video and a picture of his poops might help her quicker too. I know Kristen will sometimes offer to do a fecal for you (just send her a poop sample) - because she is ever so curious to learn knew things. Kristen uses a microscope for most anything and everything.

You can tell Kristen and or Laraine I suggested you contact them - they both would help in a heartbeat.

[Domenic]

Johnboy-I'm planning on ordering the medication online. Petstores here have nothing but multivitamins..

Cindy-Tiffany is aware of the situation, she's already posted in this thread.

I've already PM'ed Misty, but I wanted everyone to know that I wrote a letter to both woman she suggested and am waiting for their replies. In the meantime does anyone know any online bird stores that have sales going on or something? I've been looking around and I don't think I'm going to find any. I may as well save as much as I can since I don't know which medicine I'm buying at the moment anyway.

[MLaRue]

Look at Laraine's site she offers discounts on her meds

[nixity]

Wait to find out what meds they suggest, too, because I'm pretty certain between the four of us we can send you (from our own supply) whatever you might need to treat this bird without you needing to purchase an entire bottle of something!

[CandoAviary]

Hope you hear back soon. for a remedy.