Sick Gouldian with Pics

[bugaboo5]

The rest I'm going to PM you, because too many people have over active opinions on a) whether or not you should medicate your birds and b) who should be the one to offer advice etc.
I don't like offering advice anymore because it's only ever met with criticism. It's just a suggestion, if it doesn't work, I don't want to be made to feel responsible.

I asked this gentleman to specifically contact you because I have great confidence in your knowledge of recommending medications. There may be (I'm sure there will be) other members who will face similar predicaments with their birds as FinchFan09 has/will. Everyone's advice is welcome on this forum -- you take what you want, and move on. I hope you choose to share your knowledge in a public way so that others may benefit from your help.

[FinchFan09]

I your sweet birds recover soon! How heartbreaking to bring home two new birds only to have them fall ill! BTW- I was grateful for 'all' the advice and information everyone gave me when my little Society 'Uncle' became ill when I brought him home. Thanks to you all who helped me, he got well and is fine now. So don't give up hope for yours! Please don't worry about giving advice. Us newbies need it !!! i didn't know what to do! and if there are people out there that throw in their negative 2 cents- don't worry about it! Most people just want to help.

Thanks so much! Glad Uncle got better. What was wrong and how did you treat him?

[atarasi]

I think some of the issues with pet ownership is everyone has their own way of doing things. What works for one, maybe not work for another. We can all learn from other folks' experience and no one should feel as though they shouldn't offer their advice. I would hope no one is to blame if their advice is taken and the bird takes a turn for the worse. These little birds have such delicate lives, not all their lives can be saved even in the best of situations.

I'm glad Tiffany has offered to help you She, and many others, have great knowledge and I hope to continue to learn from each of them through their posts. Good luck with your birds Eddie.

[FinchFan09]

I'm glad Tiffany has offered to help you She, and many others, have great knowledge and I hope to continue to learn from each of them through their posts. Good luck with your birds Eddie.

Thanks very much. I think the problem is worse then I feared. I now notice seed in the droppings of the male and he looks to be going light. Hoping to get some more advice from others here, it is so very much appreciated.

[CandoAviary]

Here is a little 101 on poop and what it tells us.... for those that want to help their keeps
http://www.doodleproducts.com/poopology.html

http://www.finchniche.com/a-poopology.php

Unfortunately these are new birds that Eddie got so didn't really have the opportunity to know ... when birds are in crowded cages at the marts it can be quite difficult sometimes to detect a sickly finch... also sometimes the stress of marts can make a healthy bird appear ruffled, fluffed and sick.....

The bad thing is once the bird is fluffed, not eating well and going light it is very hard to save them. Little gouldians have little reserves to fall back on. Also they may have a disease that even if you dosave them they remain carriers that can infect others, their offsprings, or they may fall ill again under conditions that stress them.

The best coarse of action is to always get a fresh facal smear and take to your avian vet (some small animal pets will take a look also) they will look under the microscope and nay see bacteria, protozoan, or worse. Then again the sample you gather may not show anything... not all poops will have the cycst. But the Vets can at least advise the best medicines to treat for. Otherwise you are at the mercy of pick and choose treatments..... we have all been there... sometimes they work, sometimes the treatment we pick actually makes them worse... but at least we try. Prayers for your birds and bless you for trying to do everything you can for these guys.
I don't know the breeder / broker that is selling thease sick goulds at the mart but those type that have no regard to the health of their "product" burns me up Seems like Jordan has had a run in with sick birds from him too...

[winged]

I don't know if this could help but I recently read something on using 'antimicrobial neem leaf tea as their sole water source' since ' it eradicates air sac mites, bacteria, fungus and parasites simultaneously.' Check it out here: http://www.grasslandsgouldians.com/avia ... hcare.html. It's always worth a try! I hope you can bring the little beauty back to full health! It's a shame to see that.

[6finchfriends]

FF09~ I don't know what was wrong with him really. He was breathing fast with mouth open and I did hear a clicking noise. I thought OMG! ASM! But I bought my finches from a breeder with lots of finches, all healthy, so I didn't think it was that. I actually went to his house and picked them out. I contacted him anyway and he watched his birds closely but they were all well. I got a lot of good info on putting him in a hospital cage with a warm light etc. from the kind people on this site. Then I bought Erythromycin for birds and gave that to him in the drinking water. It's a 5 day treatment. That really helped! I also put a pinch of Bounce Back for small animals in a separate water dish every couple of days. it's an Electrolyte supplement. I think that helped a lot too. He improved in just a couple days so I think it was stress from the move and maybe an upper respiratory infection. I kept him in the hospital cage for 3 weeks and he's never had a relapse! I was lucky! I hope your Gouldians recover. Would there be a chance you could contact the breeder and get your money back or trade for healthy birds. It's almost like you got cheated with sick birds. I hate that! You expect people to be honest, and most are, but it only takes one. Grrrrrrrr...

[FinchFan09]

Trish- so glad your bird pulled through. Let's hope I have the same luck!!

[nelloyello11]

I can't offer any advice here, but I am crossing my fingers for a fast recovery!!

[FinchFan09]

A little positive news! Tonight Peep is looking slightly better! She is eating quite a bit more and seems more alert and active. She still nearly falls asleep after her activity but I must say she does look better to me. Droppings are still loose and watery but I think a little less watery in my opinion. The not so good news is that Coco, the second sick bird, has not improved and is not really eating. I was wondering if I should add some NV powder to the antibiotic water? Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes from everyone. Let's hope for more positive news tomorrow!

[CandoAviary]

You can add the NV... glad to hear of some improvement...
Hopefully Coco will follow suit.

[6finchfriends]

How are they today? I hope all is well and they are still improving.

[FinchFan09]

How are they today? I hope all is well and they are still improving.

Hi Trish. Thanks for asking about my birds. Coco is about the same but I think Peep is improving a bit. She looks a bit more active and her droppings are a little less watery. Crossing my fingers!

[CandoAviary]

Since Peep has improved, maybe you should keep them on the meds you were using
I know this is wishy washy advice but sometimes with birds it's just like that

So glad to hear she is better... still praying

[FinchFan09]

Since Peep has improved, maybe you should keep them on the meds you were using
I know this is wishy washy advice but sometimes with birds it's just like that

So glad to hear she is better... still praying

Peep continues to get better! She was actually talking today, first time I've heard it since she got home. I think that's a great sign! She is eating up a storm and more active! Her droppings are still watery, but I have to say, there is less water. I have also noticed more white in the droppings which are the urates where I didn't really see that before? I spoke to a friend of mine who had a similar situation with his birds and he used ornacycline. I put both Coco and Peep on that yesterday and so far, I see an improvement in Peep.

Coco is a different story on the other hand. I don't see improvement with him. He is drinking the ornacycline and NV powder water but he is not eating very much. I am still very worried about him. He will pick at the seed, but doesn't seem to make much effort to crack or eat it? It's odd. It's almost like he wants to drink the seed. I was wondering if there was something I could do to encourage him to eat. Like make a paste out of dried egg food maybe and give them that to see if he'd eat it? Any ideas?

Once again, thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Peep is definitely improving day by day. Let's hope Coco follows suit! More updates to come.