FINCHforum

Any one have any thoughts on this idea?..... I just got two new birds on Saturday and they are in quarantine. They are acting fine and are NOT showing any signs of being sick. I was wondering...since they have just come from the pet store, and are accustomed to a seed only diet at this point, should I administer avian antibiotics as a preventative measure? Would it do any harm? The kind of antibiotic that I keep on hand is called "Ornacyn-Plus" and is a broad spectrum antibiotic for respiratory diseases. It also has vitamins and amino acids. I thought of it because, by the time birds show signs of illness, the death rate is high. I just thought if I could prevent anything, it might be better.

Thanks for any thoughts or advice on this matter!

Thanks for starting this thread, i too, would also like to know if there is a pre-emptive medicine to keep away air-sac mites. Your thoughts and comments are appreciated

There is a sticky on the top of this forum health check it out

I would NOT use antibiotics as "preventative medicine."
Anti-biotics are prescribed for existing conditions and do nothing to "prevent" illness.
Often, if the bird is not sick, administering anti-biotics (or administering the wrong anti-biotics if the bird IS sick) can cause more harm than good - namely in the form of unnecessary yeast blooms/infections.
Which then requires medicating with yet something else.
If you have a microscope, of if you have a willing avian vet - the simplest thing would be to do 2-3 fecal smears to first see if there are any problems.

It is my understanding that the most common "unseen" issues are that of mites, protozoa, and sometimes budding yeast brought about by the stress of relocating to a new home.

If I were to do prophylactic treatment on a new finch (Gouldian), it would probably be Air Sac Mites.
During quarantine, I would pay an insane amount of attention to the birds droppings, checking for anything out of ordinary (visually) - tacky or diarrhea consistency, unusual color (black, bright yellow or green), etc.
If I notice something off in the poo, I would probably do 7 days combo of Ronex (protozoa) and Medistatin (Candida) to be safe.
I do have a scope, but sometimes it can be frustrating effectively finding/diagnosing things especially since mine isn't exactly high-tech.

Tiffany
I noticed that Ronex seems to be "out of stock" at all finch dealers that I've visited. Do you know if there is a mfg backlog or other problem?

AC -

As a distributor for Morning Bird, I can tell you that for quite some time the raw materials necessary to produce Ronex were back ordered.
They are in the process of getting the ingredients again and expect to be offering it again shortly. But as Bill (owner) told me, you have no idea how complicated it is having to explain receiving "white powder" shipments from overseas ;)

An EXACT alternative that you can purchase is manufactured by Vetafarm and available through Bird Supply NH (www.birdsupplynh.com) as well as other bird sale sites. It's called Ronivet-S.

Just remember - when using Ronex/Ronivet-S (both Ronidazole, 6%), you need to dose 4x the label, as the label dose is really not effective enough against protozoa, which are beasts to kill. The 4x is safe enough, higher concentrations have been used to no ill effect.
The 4x dose is equivalent to one of the enclosed scoops in 4 quarts (1 liter) of water, just FYI.

The only preventative meds that I give my birds is SCATT for any possible air sac mites (which affects Gouldians more than other birds). All my birds get it when they first enter my home and a second dose 21 days later. Then they go on a 3-month schedule.

There are other products for the same thing if you have a lot of birds or an aviary to treat, such as S76 or Ivermectin.