Sick birds HELP!

agirlnamedrita · Post by **agirlnamedrita** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:33 am

My new gouldians are sick..one is just lying on the bottom...they were fine earlier today...I have been looking online and read that bird protectors are toxic?...is that true?...the woman at the pet store insisted I had to have one

agirlnamedrita · Post by **agirlnamedrita** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:18 am

he died just a few minutes ago now another cage mate is acting sick...the third one is acting ok so far..I put a heat lamp on one side of the cage...the one acting sick was trying to eat earlier but seems to be getting worse FAST....i am new to small birds and I don't know what to do

kittani79 · Post by **kittani79** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 10:51 am

So you got these guys yesterday?

You didn't put the bird protector inside the cage did you?

Do they have the exact same food they were eating at the store?

Fresh water?

What, if any, bedding did you put in there?

How's the temp?

Did you cook on teflon, use any perfumes, cleaner sprays, aerosols, anything smelly?

agirlnamedrita · Post by **agirlnamedrita** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:13 pm

I have had them since Monday....2 have dies now...I have one left....he is acting normal.......I put him in a larger cage....and there is NO bird protector...I am wondering if they could have eaten the Kay-Kob bedding...that is also OUT...just paper now....and i put a heat lamp to one side....maybe I can save the last one

Post by **Sally** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:39 pm

Be sure and contact the store where you bought them. Was there any kind of guarantee with them? Another thing to look at is the water dish. If birds are used to an open water dish, they may not use a tube-style waterer or water bottle, and they will die from lack of water.

For birds to sicken so soon after purchase, either they were sick when you bought them, or something environmental is going on. As kittani79 mentioned, teflon, chemicals, fumes--all can be toxic to our birds.

agirlnamedrita · Post by **agirlnamedrita** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 2:04 pm

I was at a pet store when i bought them...but i didn't buy them from the store...the store worker knew someone with them....I paid 150 for all 3 birds which i thought was a steal...when she brought them in the cage was filthy...when she was called i was told 150 for the birds AND the cage...the cage she brought them in was HUGE....but then she tells me if I want that one it would be 30 diollars more...but she really needed it for her other birds...so she went out to her care and brought in this itty bitty cage for me to take them home in...We bought the materials to build a flight cageso we could put the gouldians in with the societies.....but 2 of them died before we could get it built....i wonder if she had lost more birds and was just trying to get rid of these and make some money before they keeled over....I should have just gotten the quaker parrot at the pet store....150 with HUGE cage.....but she used the money she got from me to buy it herself...the remianing male seems to be doing fine....i put him with a society for comapnionship and they are talking to each other....I don;t want to give up on these birds...thier beauty is remarkable.....now i need to find a female for him...AFTER i make sure he is going to be ok...but in this rural area gouldians are almost IMPOSSIBLE to find...i was 2 hours out of town when i happened across these 3

Post by **Sally** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 2:22 pm

Well, you may have trouble getting any money back from this situation, but it would be worth pursuing it. If her cage was filthy, that would be a reason to not get the birds. I know that doesn't help you now, but for future reference, if the woman didn't even bother to clean up the cage she was bringing the birds in, makes you wonder what the rest of her place is like. Not that any cage has to be immaculate, you should see mine sometimes when I am busy, but they should not be filthy.

With this information, I am inclined to think the birds might have been sick when you bought them. Since you have already put a Society in with him for company, you could leave him there, but move their cage to another room. Don't get another LG for now. I would keep him quarantined for at least a month. It would be a good idea to treat him for air sac mites, just in case, and a wormer (not all at the same time). You can get these supplies at many online stores. I personally hesitate to treat with antibiotics unless I know what I am treating, otherwise you are stressing the bird with meds for no reason.

Listen to your LGs breathing; if it is labored, or you hear clicking sounds, then air sac mites are probably there. I'm suggesting a wormer because of the likelihood of filthy living conditions. With the birds that died, you didn't have them long enough to become familiar with what is normal for them, but did you see anything like wet, messy vents (their behind), feathers all puffed up, what did their poop look like?

agirlnamedrita · Post by **agirlnamedrita** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 2:33 pm

innoticed in the bottom of the cage that the poop was watery and clear....or watery and white...I put the remaining one in another cage and his poop is more solid with a little white and greenish

Post by **Sally** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 2:56 pm

The remaining bird's poop sounds normal, though without actually seeing it, it is hard to say. The others sound like too watery, which could be diarrhea. Google finch droppings to find some sites that have pictures of normal and abnormal droppings. One is www.finchaviary.com. If you have a probiotic, I would give that to the one remaining LG, and his Society companion. It is good for them, like how we eat yogurt to give us good bacteria.

kittani79 · Post by **kittani79** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 4:37 pm

Yeah now that there are details -- I would guess these birds were already not in the best of health, and the stress of transport did them in.

Sorry for your loss

.

Geordie · Post by **Geordie** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:45 pm

Considering what you said about the filthy cage, I would suspect that the 2 that died had mold, if I can take a guess I would say that they probably weren't eating and their eyes gradually closed withing a day of their passing.

I can't stress enough how important it is to keep their environment clean, I personally scrub the cage every 2 or 3 days, let the birds out for a bit of excercise while I am doing it. Once I went on holiday and had to put the squad in a pet hotel, when I got back I went to pick them up and they all looked sick and the cage that they were in was filthy, there was no care given to them whatsoever, got them back home, played with them for a couple of hours and they were happy again.

Unlike wives, birds don't complain much so you have to be vigilent.

Good luck with the other Gouldian, hope it is ok.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 11:58 am

Better watch the remarks. Lots of "wives" on this forum!

Post by **Hilary** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 9:57 pm

I noticed in your picture that you have a tube waterer in the cage. Couldn't tell if you also have an open cup. If they can't find/recognize water they'll die fairly quickly as well.

agirlnamedrita · Post by **agirlnamedrita** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 6:56 am

Since the other 2 passing i put a water cup in the cage...the remaining bird is doing fine and sings up a storm...gets along great with the society....but gouldians are VERY hard to find around here so I dunno when or if I will be able to find him a mate

JavaLover · Post by **JavaLover** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:15 am

Hi there,
I am glad to hear your little birdie is doing ok. I am so sorry to hear about the other 2. I forget how lucky I am living in Australia in a central area so many gouldians are available to me. These little cuties are so fragile when they get sick, I think you have done well to keep one of them alive by the sounds of it. I posted a topic before with a good website I found http://birdhealth.com.au/bird/birds.html I don't know if it will help but its worth a look. He is an Aussie Avian Vet so he knows his stuff. I always feed all of my birds vitamin supplements in their water which is good if they are sick or well.
I hope all goes well!