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Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:56 am
by finchbob
My male blue gouldian is very quiet, he doesn't move much, he doesn't appear to be to bothered by someone looking closely in at him either, he'll usually just look back at you and that's about it. He often closes his right eye, if you blow on him a little he'll open it again but that eye just seems to be closed a lot.

Also, a few times I have caught him asleep on the perch with his head in his wing during the day. His vent is a little dirty too, not too bad, but it's not as clean as my other goulds.

Any ideas on if something might be wrong with him, and what?

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 12:54 pm
by poohbear
That bird is not well...could be one of many things.
Give the bird some warmth,and if you can get some, add liquid glucose to the drinking water...see how it goes.

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:52 pm
by finchbob
I was wondering if he could have mites or something, I know those can make a bird act like that, i've treated him with ivermectin just incase. Don't know where I could get glucose..

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 6:54 pm
by dfcauley
finchbob wrote:I was wondering if he could have mites or something, I know those can make a bird act like that, i've treated him with ivermectin just incase. Don't know where I could get glucose..

If you have any NV powder or Thrive that would work. If not, you can use gatorade for the bird to drink.

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 6:57 pm
by Robin.V
Not sure where you are located, there is another product called Spark.

Personally I use a glucose product for racing pigeons.

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:03 pm
by lovemyfinch
Liquid glucose can be bought at any drugstore.

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:45 pm
by finchbob
dfcauley wrote:
finchbob wrote:I was wondering if he could have mites or something, I know those can make a bird act like that, i've treated him with ivermectin just incase. Don't know where I could get glucose..

If you have any NV powder or Thrive that would work. If not, you can use gatorade for the bird to drink.
I do have something called Thrive actually, is it red powdery stuff? I was sent a few samples of it when buying some other bird related items.

It might have been called Thrivon plus actually, not sure if that does the same thing.

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:45 am
by poohbear
Many of the fancy additives available are based on energy supplements like glucose.

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 8:29 am
by finchbob
I found this product for sale in my country, would this do the job?

http://www.vetmedsonline.co.uk/product/ ... us___vit_c_

It says: Nutritional supplement for birds, small furries and rabbits. Contains soluble fibre and rich in vitamins A,C and E, probiotics, electrolytes and dextrose.

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 8:35 am
by finchbob
Also found this: http://www.vetmedsonline.co.uk/product/ ... re_formula

It says: Nutritional support for reptiles, birds and small furries that are not eating. It is a high energy food and contains powdered protein. Can be added to the food or water.

My bird is eating though, so i'm not sure if this one is correct

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 6:00 am
by finchbob
I'm trying to buy some baytril 2.5% for this bird, and to have some spare for when my other birds are ill, but you need a prescription from the vet before you'll be allowed to buy it in the UK, even online. So I asked my vet for one and he refuses to give me one, he says he doesn't feel comfortable handing them out. The real reason is that he is a con artist and likes to charge £15 for a visit just to treat 1 bird with 1 drop of baytril and he definetly won't get that if I get my own baytril (like he'd get that anyway, what an idiot) Going to complain to the board of vets about him.

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 11:04 am
by L in Ontario
We can only get Baytril from our vets here also and mine won't give it out without me bringing a bird in to her either.

So now I keep a broadspectrum antibiotic on hand - Amoxitex. But any other similar should work too.

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 11:42 am
by finchbob
L in Ontario wrote:We can only get Baytril from our vets here also and mine won't give it out without me bringing a bird in to her either.

So now I keep a broadspectrum antibiotic on hand - Amoxitex. But any other similar should work too.
I actually took my bird in and he did indeed see it needed treatment, he used 1 drop of baytril and charged me £5 to buy litterally 4 drops of it, there's so little in the bottle it's basically empty. He refused to sell me an actual bottle of it. I asked other vets about this on the phone and was told they feel sorry for me having a vet like that in my area, he's a damn con artist.

So after that ripoff, I had to drive half an hour to see another vet, who also wanted to see the bird, she said the bird has an infection, you can see a lumpy bit just under it's beak, she sold me a 100ml bottle of baytril to treat it.

The vet in my own area is just a con artist it seems, he obviously won't sell me the baytril because he doesn't want me to be able to medicate my own birds. The truth is he has a screw loose if he thinks i'll be taking my birds to him and paying his £10-15 per bird for a 5 minute visit, I have a lot of birds.

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 2:07 pm
by CandoAviary
What a shame for a vet to act like that.....
Glad to hear you got to the bottom of your bords problem and now will be able to help him :D Good he had an owner like you :D

Re: Is my male blue gouldian ill, or just a quiet bird?

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 6:48 pm
by L in Ontario
I agree that vet is not the best selling you 4 drops for that price - how unfortunate for you. :twisted: My vet did sell me a bottle of diluted Baytril when I had the bird in to see her and then when I asked for another bottle a few months later - she sold me another bottle without seeing the bird a second time. Now about 18 months later, she would not sell me a third bottle without seeing the bird. So this vet is not nearly as bad as the one near you. I feel for you!

I'm very glad you were able to determine the healthy issue with your bird and wish him all the best and a speedy recovery! Do keep us posted please. Do you have any pics of him?