A very sad week.

Eric de Mattos Vieira · Post by **Eric de Mattos Vieira** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 7:00 pm

Sorry by the poor English...
Hi everyone, my name is Eric and I live in Brazil. This is my first post here, I've been visiting this site for long time but never entered the forum before.I breed Gouldians about a 3 years now and today I decide to film one of my earlyest bird who born from a pair that I buyed about four years. His problems started when he still was very young after he completed the first moult. He started to turn the head to his back and twist the neck so much that appeared to be broken, I believe he had some neurological problem like epileptic due to his parents. I belive the parents were brothers, his dad died 2 yrs ago and his mother mated whit a blue backed and gave me some beautiful birds last yr, actually they are waiting more babys in the next week. Unfortunatelly at the time I buy them the birdshop owner said that no way those two were parents...well I believe and since they mated I let the nature follow its course and they gave me two nestlings whit 4 babies each, 8 in total, all them in perfect health until today, except for the little one that I mentioned before. When I was filming him to show here he was very weak, during this week every day in the morning I looked to see if he had died but just today I had the idea to share the problem here. When I catch him he don't even moving and I was shooting with the camera in one hand and in the other was he. He managed to escape and droped into the floor, I catch him again and put inside the cage when he started to had some kind of ephilephtical crisis, and as soon its started, he stop moving, he died in my hand. Me and my kids were very sad seeing his suffering this week but we could't do nothing. He may rest in peace.
Since his problem started I split the couple and they matched again whit another ones, his dad was very active and never had any health problem, all his brothers are very healthy too so as his Mother. Could be a cross breed or its another thing? He had some kind os odd mutation in the back, his feathers were green whit some blue spots all over the back, another reason that i believe his parents where brothers. Have some place in the forum where i can upload the video? He died 3 hours ago.

Thanks,
Eric Vieira.

Finchlet · Post by **Finchlet** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 9:17 pm

Hi Eric,
Lo siento para los pajaritos! Hablo solamente un poco espanol y no es identico a portugues. (pero yo intento)

I remember reading an article that I think sounds similar to what you describe. There are also 2 movies in this article you can look at and see if this is what your birds were doing.
Here is the link: http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/features_twirling.mgi
buenos suerte con tus pajaritos, y bien venidos al forum.

zookeeper · Post by **zookeeper** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:26 pm

I'm sorry about your bird. It could have been genetic, or it could have been a nutritional deficiency. Or lots of other things -- hard to tell. But it was smart of you to split the couple and give them new partners.

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 8:52 am

Hi Eric, welcome to the forum.

I agree with Finchlet, it sounds like a case of "twirling".

Eric de Mattos Vieira · Post by **Eric de Mattos Vieira** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:41 pm

Tanks Finchlet, Zookeeper and Tammieb. After saw the movies Finchlet mentioned I believe that probably its a case of twirling too. The genes of the bird lead him to illness and the article tells everything, irresponsible breeder, bad genetics and lak of nutrients, all togheter and he died. All other birds that I keep with him including his brothers never had any problem in the diet because they always where able to eat properly. I tink that after his first moult he become weak due to stress and stop to eat properly and once he was fragile the genes did they job...
Poor bird in the movies, mine were not that bad...

Hey Finchlet, like u I understand a little of Spanish but only reading, if I listen dont understand NADA!!!