FINCHforum

I have a question for all of you gouldian experts. I have a male that started sleeping a lot yesterday with his head tucked. He's normally very active. I checked his vent and he's clean and I waited for him to poop which looks perfectly normal. I put a heat lamp near the cage and he went right to it and is resting there all morning. Should I play the wait and see game or should I medicate him with something. I don't like giving them anything they don't need so I didn't give him anything yet. I appreciate any help.

lpappy

That's tough to say. I would suggest calling Laraine at Ladygouldian.com or maybe asking Tiffany or Debbie. We had one issue this year and it ended up being mites even though nobody seemed to be symptomatic until the "puffy" stage. You might want to give NV Powder and make sure he is still under the heat lamp

Thank you Phil. I actually had some on hand and started them on it. i really should give it to them daily. I just recently got it from Lorraine. I'll keep him under the heat lamp and keep my fingers crossed. I'm not certain about starting him on an antibiotic because his vent and droppings are normal.
Thank you for the help.
Linda

lpappy.....birds indoors?

Yes. I have them in a spare bedroom.

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

I give them egg food daily with kale and carrots, mealworms and seed. I've just recently purchased the NV powder.

I also give them egg shells daily.

Have you treated him for air sac mites recently, if not it might be no harm to do so just in case, it's one of the most common ailments and easily treated.

Also is there any sign of him moulting such as pin-feathers or extra feathers on floor of cage ?

After ruling out ASM, i'd be isolating him from flock with heat and extra vitamins as you've already done and keeping a close eye on him for any changes. Other than above it's difficult to help diagnose from the limited symptoms other than visiting an avian vet.

lpappy.....how much boiled eggs do your birds eat?

Do you feed boiled eggs everyday?

Padraic i treat for air sac mites two days a month as a routine. He looks a little better today but still wants to sit by the heat lamp. I gave him the NV powder in his water.
Dutch I give them egg food about four days a week. Is that too much?
Thank you both for your help I truly appreciate it. I've had finches for a few years but it's definitely a learning process.

lpappy...I give mine boiled eggs everyday plus supplement them with d3 vitamin and they are outdoors

Dutch if you don't mind me asking you am I doing the right thing as far as food and vitamins go?My gouldians are my favorite and they give me the most stress. I also have zebras and cordon bleu's that breed for me without any problems but my gouldians are difficult for some reason. In fact I just had cordon bleu's fledge today. I also treat my gouldians two days a month with s76 for air sac mites. Any tips from someone like yourself with so much success would be appreciated.

lpappy....how many gouldians do you have...can you post pics of your set up for them

As long as there are no other symptoms I would just keep supplying extra heat and supplement his diet with hard boiled eggs.
Here's a chart for nutrients and their sources, natural is always better.

http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/nutrients_and_sources.php