FINCHforum

It's been a while since ive posted but i think today would be a good day to make this post.
firstly ive been to the vet and they suck eggs, they know nothing.
I have a male gouldian about 2.5 years old. diet has always been very good and was housed with many other birds who all seem more than happy. No other birds show any of the samew symptoms as this bird so it doesnt appear to be contageous or atleast there are no signs yet. he hasnt been well for about 5 - 6 months and everyday he seems to get a little worse.

I will list all the meds we have tried so far first.
Moxidectin
Ivermectin
Baytril
Virkon-S (diluted ratio of half level teaspoon per 1 gallon via drinking water for 7 days) followed by 7 days of electrolytes.

ok his symptoms are below:
slumped appearence where he appears to be holding in his tummy.
head bobbing as though he is struggling to breath.
occassional cough.
beak wiping quite often but not as much now after the Ivermectin.
scabby beak in the corners but seems to be clearing after the ivermectin.
stools appear normal.
drinking excessivly, always at the drinker.
eats normally.
Sleeps quite a lot though he never tucks his head in.
no longer vocal.
he is going through a looooong molt but only a few feathers here and there at a time.
no nasel discharge. eyes seem ok.
just has a hunched appearence but feathers are not raised into a ball.
he often is seen to be leaning forward as though he is pecking at his feet but not actually pecking his feet at all.
no tail bobbing can be seen.

there is definatly a respitory infection or something else going on in the respitory tract but cant see anything unusual. i will try and get a video of him a bit later so you can all see what i am referring too. he is housed with a hen only and she shows no signs of what he has at all. i am able to take samples if needd to look under a scope but first i need to know what im looking for. any tips would be much appreciated. thanks

I'm just guessing but it could be a fungal infection such as apergillosis because it's been going on so long, i had a hen parrot finch die from this last year, she also had asm which moxidectin cleared up but still showed some signs of respiratory problems, ate more that usual, was puffed up at times and eventually went light and died, this took about 4-5 months with her looking like she was getting better a few times. Nothing seemed to cure it and she was the only bird with any symptoms.

thats funny you should say that because 2 weeks ago he looked like he was improveing and was singing to the hen, i even caught him bobbing up n down while singing to her but that was only for a few days. today he looks worse than he's ever looked.

If it's aspergillis I suggest a complete disinfection of the aviary cage, room, equipment and all. Also you may want to treat everyone

Here's a link that may help.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... 9&aid=2384

I really think it is that becuse Virson-S kills 99.9999% of most things inernal but im not sure about yeasts or fungal infections also if the infection is in the air sac or lungs then virkon-S would be useless in those parts of the body. Baytril will a lot of bacteria and ivermectin/moxidectin kills most parasites so that pretty much covers the board leaving fungal diseases untouched. ive put him on Nystatin now so i hope it works since im all out of ideas. i just hope im not too late because today he looks pretty bad

ruler....birds indoors or outdoors?

ruler
How is he doing? The fungal infection does seem to be a possibility. Another thought, did you do the 3 treatments of Ivermectin to make sure to kill the eggs too? Sometimes, they can get reinfected if there is only one treatment.

the birds are all indoors and always have been. i do have a problem with mold in my flat/appartment though.
he's due for his second treatment of ivermectin on friday. im pretty sure now its a fungal disease 99.9% sure. i have the vet phoning me tomorrow but im hoping its not too late becase he does appear to be getting worse slowly but surely. he still eats and drinks normally and not losing any weight either. although he is head bobbing he never tail bobs which i fond strange. he still has crusty bits stuck on the corners of his beak too.

The fact you mention he is always drinking or at the drinker concerns me.... to me it is a red flag for Diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease. Does he urinate excessively compared to the amount of water he takes in? Bird can be diabetic, have liver and kidney disease.

ruler....do you supplement their diet with vitamin d3?

he had to be put to sleep by the vet, he had a massive tumour around his neck. it explains why none of the meds worked. there was nothing that could be done for him apart from being kind. thanks for all your help and advice anyway, it was much appreciated

Is this the same vet that you posted "knew nothing"?