FINCHforum

Hi Guys,

couple of days ago i bought a gouldian male. I was not happy with that buddy and took him to the pet market to exchange with some other bird. There i found this beauty, though not in good health. Knowingly that he was doing not well, i took it home. He was so dirty at the pet shop and in such a pathetic condition that I was sure of his early death if left in the pet shop. He is now being quarantined at my place.

He is bit fluffy, has ragged feathers, signs of scaly face mites around the beak and a featherless patch at the back as you can see in the pics. The vent was dirty but not leaky and is almost half clean after he took a bath. He is eating, drinking and moving actively.

Appreciate your advises and suggestions to help this buddy in coming back to life again.

P.S. i have ordered scatt and liquid iodine. Already have some medicines including S-76, amoxicillin, ronidazole etc.

Aily,

I would de-worm him with Morning Bird's Worm Away and definitely SCATT him or treat him with S76 as well. He does look a little rough, so I would also provide a lamp on one corner of the quarantine cage, in case he needs the warmth.

I would also recommend that you provide him with an alternative perch. The current perch is too thick for his toes. Different perches of different widths allow the finches to exercise their small feet.

He is indeed beautiful. Congratulations on getting him. Wishing you the best of luck.

He sure does look sad doesn't he. Like bugaboo suggested I would add a heat source that he can sit under and/or get away from if he wants. There is no need to Scatt him if you already have S76, they are basically the same thing. Worming him after the S76 treatment would probably be a good idea. Other then that I would just watch for other symptoms before treating with anything else.
Best of luck

What a lovely bird! He definitely looks like he's getting into the seed, so a good appetite/nutrition will help with the feathers. I got a canary once who had had very poor nutrition (according to the vet when I took her for a check) and after a year of good feeding, her plumage was looking great..

I'd also offer plenty of eggfood and green vegetables. He may look ragged into his next molt, but then should recover nicely. My first Strawberry was a Petsmart rescue, she was in with Zebras and had been plucked to the point of no feathers on her head and back, and her tail was gone. She grew in all new feathers and looked normal again after a time.

I do offer egg food, boiled eggs and dried egg food too. Nobody is enticed, and the food always goes in the bin. I will add greens now. Started with S-76 today.

Thanks Zebrafincher.

Thanks bugaboo5 , this perch is just for the time being till he is in quarantine.

Aily , how are you providing/serving the egg? Are you grating it? Or serving it whole? Sometimes, if the finch(es) have never been given egg food (dry or fresh) before, they don't recognize it as food. Usually, if they see another finch eating it, only then do they see that the egg food is food. Good luck.

I do mesh the eggs. I tried giving it mixed with other foods also.

Bless his heart! He will be a stunner!

He sure does look sad doesn't he.

Yes Debbie. His eyes are not very bright and alert. His appearance improved recently but he stopped sounding, now he is quiet.

Glad to hear he's improved a bit. He will probably start singing again when he's feeling his best.
best of luck