coccidiosis/Protozan infection

[monotwine]

I think I have Coccidiosis/Protozoan infection in my aviary. This is the first time I have ever had such a problem. I think it came in with a new bird I bought a few months back. The RTPF died from "something" a day after I bought him, but the green singer was fine. After isolation etc I let the green singer into my aviary and she is still great. Perhaps she was a carrier?

All visible signs indicate what is generally viewed as a protozoan infection. Lethargic birds, sleeping during the day, fluffed up. runny poops (although not badly so), sudden death of adult/juveniles and a few that are looking a little wasted away.
I have lost 2 firefinch males adult, 1 juvenile ff at moult, 2 juvenile near fledgling Bicheno, 1 male Peter Twinspot, 1 Lavender male... all within the last say 5 months. I thought it was just as it was near the end of winter and a rather late cold wet winter at that.

So I am going to treat my whole aviary. Even if it is not the case then I think a precautionary treatment will do no harm.

SO my question is what is better the Coccicare or the Ronivet-S?
They both seem to be for Protozoan diseases. Am I correct in thinking so?

I think I can get both these products if I search locally. If not I will import.

[monotwine]

PS anything else I can do? I have disinfected my whole aviary, but can do so again.
I am going to try find a avian product though, that may be a bit stronger.
This is the only problem with a planted aviary. Rather difficult to get into every nook and cranny.
Almost tempted to cage everyone and treat the aviary rather potently!

[lovemyfinch]

Hopefullly someone with more experience will be able to answer soon.

I just wanted to mention how sorry I am for all of your losses. Hugs.

[cindy]

I used Ronivet-s on my owls, then I treated with probiotics.

I am sorry for your loss, I hope your other birds will be ok.

[dfcauley]

The Coccicare is more or less for prevenative and the Ronivet is for treatment. I think it may be a good idea to treat with Trimethoprim/Sulfa . I have found that to be VERY effective if you are able to locate some.

Sorry for your difficult times. Things like that are so discouraging. I am sure it will get better soon.!

[CandoAviary]

I agree with Donna on this choice of drug If you cannot find it there you said you would import it. You can get it at Lady Gouldian Finch. com
http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/product_ts.mgi

I am sorry for you loses. Keeping the flock in my prayers.

[monotwine]

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. I just wish I figured this out sooner. ALWAYS learning something new with my hobby. Not particularly glad to have to learn in this sort of manner, but now to try get it under control.

The rest of the birds seem ok, but definately not 100%. They spend quite a bit of time sleeping which is unusual especially as we are having fantastic summer weather at the mo.
I caught a few random birds to check weight and condition. Most seem fine with strong muscular bodies etc but one or two a bit underweight.

My pet store does not have the products, but I will probably be able to get the Trimethoprim/Sulfa from my vet. I will ring him tomorrow.

Thank you very much for your help. This forum and the info/peoples experience is definitely so valuable!

[nixity]

Ronivet will not treat coccidiosis infections.

It is NOT effective against this organism.

You need something like Baycox (my personal recommendation), or apparently Tri-Methoprim Sulfa should work, but I know Vonda has successfully treated Cocci with Baycox so this is what I have for it, and this is the first med I would recommend for it.

You have to call Siegel's and order it over the phone.
They do not have it listed on their online catalog.

Cocci is very common in birds and usually flares up under stress and can remain dormant ("carrier") in birds that are infected until something goes awry (moving, breeding, or a secondary infection) that causes the organisms to rapidly multiple resulting in the bird being sympomatic.

It is very easily identified by doing a fecal (unlike the other protozoans) because when it is active in the bird they shed these oocysts in the droppings that are hard to miss (I recently went through this after my move riled up a Cocci infection in my birds that I didn't know was there).

With the Baycox you treat for 2 consecutive days and then treat again in 14-21 days and do that twice; so three rounds of treatment total, to make sure you get the entire life cycle.

The problem with Cocci is that it survives in the environment as a cyst for a LOOONNGGG time so it can easily be ingested and re-infect the bird if you do not totally exorcize and sanitize your cages immediately after each treatment (so on the second day).
It is recommended to use boiling water and combine this with a disinfectant of your choice to clean with to make sure you kill any possible cysts.

The drier the environment, the better - it thrives in warm, damp, humid conditions.

[nixity]

PS anything else I can do? I have disinfected my whole aviary, but can do so again.
I am going to try find a avian product though, that may be a bit stronger.
This is the only problem with a planted aviary. Rather difficult to get into every nook and cranny.
Almost tempted to cage everyone and treat the aviary rather potently!

Try Virkon-S; it kills pretty much anything it touches and is approved as safe by the FDA in terms of its biodegradibility.
It is caustic in its powder form but when diluted will not cause problems (kinda like bleach).
It was the disinfectant of choice for helping eradicate Hoof & Mouth Disease in Europe!

You can buy it from FabulousFinch.com

I love it

[monotwine]

Thank you so much Nixity for the info. The more products I can try source the better.
I know the Trim/Sulfa is available but always good to know of other products to look out for.

I go hunting tomorrow for meds & disinfectant.
Thanks for all your help.

[cindy]

Our one dog had cocci when we got her as a puppy (we later found out she came from a mill...long story). I used a combination of equal bleach/Lysol diluted in water and sprayed the areas (soaking the spot) she messed in. I sprayed after cleaning up her little gifts in the yard. (I use this as a cleanser when someone has the flu/colds...great for disinfecting the bathroom)

I clean cages that have been used by birds in quarantine or from birds I moved to larger cages by soaking them in the Lysol/bleach combination and hot water. Some of the cells of organisms are double coated and just bleach will not kill them. Everything is sun dried. I even use it on silks that I need to clean, rinse well aand sun dry also.

I have run the Bleach/Lysol mix by both my dogs vet and my avian vet. I would not use this in a planted aviary. You can wash dishes and bath tubs out with it but rinse a few times and let sun dry.

[CandoAviary]

Cindy,
Since you seem to be fond of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and the plight of what breeders do in the name of dog breeding.... check out the television special they are showing this Sunday on the cavalier king charles spaniel breed.... the effects of breeders breeding for the flat skull appearance of this breed. It may make them look cute but is causing big time problems... not enough room for the brain.... resulting in seizures, paralysis, painful headaches ..... warning, from the previews I have seen get your tissue box before watching.
It is so sad what they do to dogs..... especially pedigreed breeds

[cindy]

Candace it is called Syringomyelia, SM for short. We just adopted out from our rescue group a dog that had this condition. When she came to us this little well behaved sweetheart was in pain and had to be medicated to control the discomfort she experienced. If a puppy will get this it starts to show within the first 3 to 6 months of life. Symptoms include scratching the neck constantly as if being bitten or bothered by flies.

What happens is when they breed the dogs to be tiny the skull is to small for the brain, as the dog grows spinal fluid that surrounds the brain starts to seep into the spinal column causing pain. Most dogs are doomed to live with this condition or put to sleep.

The little dog that came into our rescue was lucky. I did some research and found 5 different doctors/vet across the country (neuro specialists) that were willing to help. We had one that was willing to waive the cost except for a small amount. I arranged to have a hotel in Orlando give away a room as a donation/raffle at one of our dog shows as a fundraiser for her surgery.

The dog had the very delicate surgery at a vet teaching school, she survived and after 6 months after the surgery she left our rescue group and was adopted out to a very nice couple in Florida. She will require some medication but her life is almost normal now. This dog lived for almost 3 yrs in pain and now has a shot at a full, happy life in a great home.

This is a site explaining the disease...the little dog in the picture looks like my little Zoe. We feared Zoe would have this because she is very small, but she grew past the age she would have started showing symptoms. She is bouncy and bubbly and will be 2 in April.

http://www.cavalierhealth.org/syringomyelia.htm

I am very sorry monotwine I did not mean to get off topic...I wish you for the best with your birds. They are truly lovely, I have enjoyed seeing the beautiful pictures you post of all of them. My thoughts are with you.

[CandoAviary]

Yes, I am very aware of the condition. My career brought me upfront with many unpleasant things related to the dog world. I am just glad that they are making the public aware of some of these things that are done to create those cute???desirable???? traits????.....then maybe people will stop buying these breeds and the breeders of them will have to cease or at least stop breeding for those little tiny squashed heads.
Unfortunately as long as there is a paying market.... these little dogs suffer terribly. As do german shepherds with their hips, etc.
I am an animal lover of all kinds....

[cindy]

Candace there is nothing wrong with buying breed dogs that are small (standard size for the breed), it is when you take an animal and try to tea cup size a dog that is not normally as tiny. The brain stays the same as a normal size dog but the skull is to small, that is when the animal may have complications. It doesn't happen everytime but the risk is there.

Sorry again monotwine. Sidetracked again, perhaps this can be moved off of this topic.