FINCHforum

My yellow gould male is sick, he was fine around 5 p.m. then about 8:30 p.m. i found him sitting on the botom of cage breathing hard.

Usually at 7 he goes into the nest so his wife can come eat, so now she hasnt come out to eat or anything either,

Any ideas what would cause the heavy breathing??

Ack! I don't have any experience with goulds or anything that may help though... Are you giving him some heat?

Have you been routinely treating them preventatively for air sac mites? Any time I read about breathing problems and Gouldians, the first thing I think of is air sac mites. You could put a clamp lamp on one end of the cage to provide him with some heat.

yes they are treated fo r hat, sadly he was dead in the hospital cage this morning.

That's so sad, I'm sorry you lost him .

Can you describe the color of his droppings?

Sean

I'm so sorry to hear you lost him, I hope you're doing okay considering.

droppings were pure white.

Im devastated we just invested ALOT of $ in these birds and supplies as i am just getting back into them and I cannot afford to go buy any new birds to replace him,
Im just sick at heart right now,

Pure white? Was there much liquid or just the white?

Sean

there was liquid almost to much

In an effort to help you figure this one out I'll need more information. It sounds like it could be a couple of different things, but they typically aren't related.

How long have you had this male?
Was he purchased from a local breeder, per store, or import?
Was he housed with other birds besides his mate?
How big is the cage?
Any changes in environment that could cause stress?
Any new birds introduced into your bird room or home?
If so what type and where did they come from a local breeder, per store, or import?
Was he very light like he had not been eating?
Did you see him eating?
Did he seem to be eating excesivley?

Answers to these questions should help.

Sean

ok lets see if i can answer and not leave any out.

I purchased him and 4 others in January ( last month) from a local very well respected breeder.

He was with his mate only who also came from the breeder and they are housed in a 30x18x18
thats my breeding cage standard size,

NO changes in the enviro since he arrived, OTHER than them arriving.
Prior to this NO BIRDS have come into my home in 2 years,
All other birds (4) came With him from same breeder.

His weight was great hadnt changed and he ha dbeen eating normally not less not excessivly. He did NOT eat that evening though.


Ok I think i got em all.

Thank You by the way

Always glad to try and help. The challenges are what keep us going as breeders ourselves.

Is the hen showing any signs of illness or the other birds you just purchased showing any signs of illness?

Did he do alot of sitting on the perch and twitching his wings or flapping them rapidly while sitting in place?

Have you contacted the breeder yet to let them know of your loss and ask if they had experienced any illness in their flock?

Sounds like you have an ideal size breeding cage for the pair.

If the male was sitting and flapping or twitching his wings alot, it would be another sign that he was feeling stressed. The heavy breathing and wet/white droppings make me think it was stress realted to the move he has gone through in January. This could have been compounded by the fact that this time of year is breeding season for many Goulds here in the states. Breeding season is very stressful by itslef. If none of your other birds show signs and the breeder has not had any losses I would say that he got stressed over time from the desire to breed and the move. Causing his immune system to get weak triggering the diarhea, and heavy breathing.

The thing with finches that makes such an event so difficult to understand for the owner is that it seems so sudden. In reality the bird had been dealing with the problem for some time and did not show it until it could no longer hide it. Finches do the same in the wild so as not to become a target for predators, or rivals.


Sean

Fancie Flight,

I had a similar thing happen to me too twice in the past. Purchased a perfectly healthy gouldian and after 1-2 months the gould just got sick and lay on the floor of the cage stumbling around and than died. I truely believe it's partly due to stress these birds go thru. From being moved from an enviroment they know to a new one and if you add the stress of breeding it may of been too much for it.

I've learnt that a lot of the time it's not disease that kills a gould but the stress it goes thru. Keeping things constant like the place you keep them, quietness, temperature, away from drafts and food offered plays a big part in their well being.

Finches never exhibit illness till it's too late so don't blame yourself. Hopefully if your hen is on eggs/chicks she will be able to care for them alone as you say he relieves her from her duties.

Chris