Sick Gouldian Hen :(

[Rox]

Hi everyone,

Rosie, my RH normal Gouldian hen is sick I noticed this morning that she was being very quiet, sleeping and just following the sun around the aviary. I was busy cleaning the aviary (usual Sunday routine) and keeping an eye on her, when I realised I hadn't heard her chicks yet today. Up until yesterday, they had been getting louder by the day. I found a nest full of dead chicks, with basically empty crops. 5 of them, 10 days old and well formed. Broke my heart

I cleaned out the nest turned around and Rosie was in the sun, on the feed table. I just went and gently picked her up and put her in the hospital cage. She didn't even try to fly away. She is in there with a heating pad. I have given her some liquid calcium and she has a vitamin mix in the water. I've seen her eating and drinking a bit but she is basically just sleeping on the bottom of the cage, at the edge of where the heating pad starts (the pad covers half of the cage bottom).

Any idea what could cause this or what other treatment I can give? I have no idea how old she is but based on the size of her chicks compared to my younger hen's first clutch, I don't think Rosie is a youngster (my younger hen's chicks are 1.5 times bigger and they are 2 weeks younger). I've had her and her mate for 7 months now with no signs of ill health. Everyone else in the aviary looks perfectly fine.

Diet consists of seed, fresh veggies/fruit in the morning, eggfood in the evening. Access to eggshells, cuttlefish bone, fresh millet spray given weekly. I also give safe plants out of my garden which is kept organic. I give a vitamin mix in their water twice a week. They are in an outdoor, planted aviary which is dry and wind proof and I worm every 3 months.

Thanks as always

Roxanne (who right now feels completely helpless )

[Lisa]

Roxanne, I'm so sorry to hear this. It's even more heartbreaking when the babies are that far along. My heart goes out to you. It sounds like you are doing everything you can for your hen - praying she gets well soon

[Rox]

Thanks Lisa, I appreciate it. It's just so frustrating not knowing exactly what is wrong I'm saying lots of prayers that she makes it through the night.

[ac12]

HEAT

Get a small table lamp and put a 40 or 60w incandecent bulb in it.
Put the lamp next to the cage so the bird can go close or farther from the bulb. This will allow the bird to get the amount of heat that it needs.
And run the lamp 24 hours a day. They can sleep with the light on. But they may not survive w/o the heat.

Because of the heat, make sure you provide enough water for the bird to drink, to prevent it from dehydrating.

[Ginene]

So sorry to hear about your hen and her babies. So sad...I will pray for her and have my son pray for her too. My mother always told me that God answers the preyers of children first.

[Ember]

Good luck for your bird! Hoping she will recover soon

[Bhatta]

Hi Rox, have you checked her poop? Are you applying any antibiotic? I pray for her.

[Rox]

Bhatta, I was planning on taking her to the vet this morning, but it was too late

I will be speaking to my vet though to see what meds I can keep on hand for a situation like this. I'm very wary of giving antibiotics unless prescribed by a vet.

I feel so useless. The sick cage is very warm with heating pad and light, water access on the floor. It was all so quick. Within 24 hours, she went from health mom to this...

Thanks for all of your support everyone. Any other suggestions or ideas of what I could be and how I can prevent this in future is appreciated.

[Bhatta]

Really very sad news! You can not apply any medicine unless the disease is diagnosed. However, in case of emergency you may apply Ronivet. Protozoa is a very common problem in captive birds. Ronivet can fight against wide range of protozoa and it is very safe. (Never apply it if you can access a Vet)

[Rox]

Thanks for the information Bhatta. Luckily I do have access to vets close by and I will ask about those meds in particular.

I can kick myself now. I wanted to phone take her in to the emergency vet yesterday (out vets close on Sundays) but I wasn't sure if I was completely overreacting or not...

[debbie276]

So sorry to hear about your hen Rosie and her chicks. Is the mate to Rosie showing any symptoms? I'm surprised the mate didn't keep feeding the chicks when Rosie got sick.
I'm sure Rosie passed on whatever she has to the chicks and their immature immune systems couldn't handle it. Very sad
Just to be safe I would stop feeding the plants from the garden till you figure out what it could be. Heat and fresh seed, water and hard boiled eggs will be enough protein and minerals till you get further instructions from the vet.
best of luck, sending good vibes

[Rox]

debbie276

Hi Debbie, I left work at 12 today to come home and examine all my birds and to then go speak to the vet. I came home to Pip dead (Rosie's underdeveloped chick from previous clutch) and her mate, Bandit looking puffy and not so bright-eyed. I immediately caught him and headed to our locally listed "avian vet". Turns out this vet occasionally deals with the odd parrot and broken wing. He gave me the number of a bird specialist and said that hopefully he will have what the specialist prescribes. I'm still waiting for the specialist to return my call...

I went to our local pet shop and they could supply me with a locally produced general medical tonic for caged birds. Treats a range of things, including bacterial infections. It's better than what the vet could give me. Neither vet or pet shop had heard of Ronivet or treatment for Protazoa. I will see if I can find it online.

Bandit is puffy, has runny droppings and his vent area looks "wet". He is in a way better condition than Rosie was though. He bit me when I was putting the drops on his beak but he happily swallowed down the meds. So Bandit is now in the sick cage for the night. I really hope he pulls through.

All I can say, is that it's been a horrible, horrible day

[Tammy]

Rox, I'm so sorry to hear about all of this. keep calling the vet. -good luck tammy

[debbie276]

oh my, what a terrible day your having
Hope you can get a handle on whats wrong
Sending good vibes for a speedy recovery

[Rox]

The specialist finally called back a short while ago and said I should treat for Coccidiosis. He said the pet shop should have meds available, as it's a common problem among caged birds. He also mentioned that the Gouldians may be feeling the temperature drops going into winter more than the other birds. I already put up a 150watt infra-red heat lamp 2 weeks ago in preparation for when the Cordon Bleu's come out of quarantine. I've been putting it on and the birds have been appreciating it. I will definitely be getting a second heating lamp.

So I'm praying that this is the problem. I will be treating all of the birds in the aviary.

I have a question though. My birds were due for deworming beginning June but in panic, I started them all on a 3-day course of de-wormer this morning. Can I treat for worms and Coccidiosis at the same time? I honestly didn't think to ask this when I had the specialist on the phone.

Thanks as always
Roxanne