Fat Female Lady Gouldian with diarrhea

[finchescb]

I have a question. One of my pairs of Lady Gouldian finches laid six eggs last week. The female was (and still is) fat for quite a few weeks prior to laying the eggs. She's been incubating the eggs. The male occasionally incubates them for a short period of time (a few minutes) but she does pretty much all.
The problem is that the female has diarrhea. I'm attaching a photo. I put some Quick Gel in to help her out. I have been feeding her seed from ladygouldianfinch.com and have put in the herbs from the same company to help her out. She also has supplements (f-vite which she always has in her cage, and vitamin d3, calcium plus, and breeder's blend which I rotate). I also provide some egg about once a week. I don't know if she has diarrhea because of laying and incubating the eggs or if she is sick. I had a different male with her for her last clutch and he died in the nest after having had diarrhea for a bit before that. Can you let me know if this is an illness or not and what I need to do? Thanks so much!

[Babs _Owner]

finchescb

Calcium plus, Breeders Blend and the added vitamin D3 supplement all contain high levels of vitamin D.

Too many vitamin supplements can cause toxicity.

I'm not a vet , so I cant diagnose her. But I would eliminate the high daily vitamin doses (spacing it out more) so at least you can rule that possibility out.

[the_gouldian_guy]

It's tough to tell for sure in the pictures but that doesn't look super watery to me. When incubating the birds hold the poop a lot longer and have much larger and sometimes strange looking poos. I would just watch for any strong or foul odor or the droppings getting more watery. Best of luck on your eggs!

[finchescb]

Thank you for your suggestions! I removed and have stopped giving the calcium plus, breeder's blend and vitamin d3. She's still having the diarrhea problem though. Could f-vite be a problem?

I read that diarrhea could be a symptom of so many different issues but I'm having trouble differentiating between them.
Also, she only looks fat when I'm away from the cage. When anyone gets close she sits up tall and is skinny. I know birds try to hide their illnesses. Does this mean that she isn't fat just fluffed up?

[finchescb]

the_gouldian_guy

Thank you for your comments! I'm hoping it just because she's sitting on the eggs. The male bird is doing more incubating now so I'm hoping she can rest a bit. I'm having trouble getting a clearer picture to upload since it was saying my file size was too big. The droppings do look very watery but I think the reduced picture quality is making it a challenge to see. The droppings have a smell too.

[Icearstorm]

finchescb

It sounds like she is ill, which would explain why she is looking fat, as sick birds fluff up to conserve energy for fighting infections. Poop should not smell, but an incubating bird's droppings may have a slight odor if that bird only poops outside of the nest.

How large is the cage? If it is fairly long and tall (3'), placing a heat lamp on one side will allow her to get close to it and warm up. If the cage is small, this could lead to overheating, as she won't have the option to get away from the lamp. In this case, a bird-safe heater should be used instead. Heat lamps seem to work better, so I recommend them above heaters if you have a large enough cage. My female gouldian wasn't doing too well when I got her, and my male gouldian was fluffed up and sleepy several months back, but both recovered with warmth.

[Ricardo Ronsini]

It's tough to tell for sure in the pictures but that doesn't look super watery to me. When incubating the birds hold the poop a lot longer and have much larger and sometimes strange looking poos. I would just watch for any strong or foul odor or the droppings getting more watery. Best of luck on your eggs!

I agree.

Sometimes egg can cause diarrhea, it must be changed at least twice a day when given pure, and not have contact with feces or high humidity.

[andiok]

That is a typical dropping from a nesting female. Because they hold it for longer periods and they drink bigger amounts of water when they come out of the nest. I wouldn't be worried. If it was dark greenish and really watery then I would start getting concerned

[finchescb]

Icearstorm
Thanks! I'm keeping an eye on her. I pulled the heat lamp out and have it ready to use.

[finchescb]

andiok
Thanks for the reassurance! She's still doing the same. I'm keeping her on the Quik-Gel to keep her energized while she has diarrhea. I noticed that she is drinking a lot more water so thanks so much for the explanation!

[Icearstorm]

finchescb
That's good. It doesn't sound like she's very ill, so you shouldn't have too much to worry about.