Ornithosis? Help me!

[Meagan83]

Has anyone had experience with Ornithosis first hand? I am fearful that I may have this in my birdroom. It started with a dove and then a canary. The dove stayed fluffed up for a few weeks, then was staying on the floor of the cage. It seemed to have mini seizures and eventually died. I thought it was a fluke, a disorder maybe. Then my female canary developed some very strange loose poop that I could not and still cannot seem to cure. But she otherwise seemed healthy and I made no connection between the two until her babies weaned. A few weeks after her two babies weaned, one began to have seizures. It lasted 24 hrs and the baby died. A week later it happened the same way for the other baby. Now I was making a connection. Too much of a coincidence. These birds were sharing a flight cage. Now my society finches seem off as well. Just staying puffed up. Quiet. Inactive. I have also lost 2 Gouldians who developed sudden loose poop like the canary and died within days. No seizures though. I had initially thought perhaps the seizures were due to lack of calcium absorption due to illness. So I administered Trimethaprim Sulfa and started giving liquid calcium as well. No results. Then I thought to try Megamix, and then later KD. No positive results at all. I have read up on Ornithosis and see a few similar symptoms, but not all of them, plus, nothing I have read mentioned it can cause seizures. Any thoughts? Here I am, a hobby breeder, only around 20 birds. I thought this was a rare illness.
My birds are on lockdown. None coming in or going out. Does anyone think it is Ornithosis or does it sound like anything else?

[cindy]

http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/ ... _sheet.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psittacosis

If you suspect this you need to have a vet verify it. Either take droppings in or have a vet examine and test the body of one of the birds that passed away. It needs to be done right after passing (refridgerate the body in a plastic bag)

If this is what you suspect care needs to be taken, the dried dropping can be inhaled by you and you can contract it. Please read the wikipedia article. Canaries and finches are not as likely to contract this but they can if exposed, hookbills are more likely but it needs to be ruled out. One death is one thing but when you loose multiple birds and others are sick it is either viral or bacterial and precautions and the right medication for the right disease or ailment needs to be given.

Are their eyes watery? Green stools?

An article in regards finches
http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/featur ... thosis.mgi


Sometimes giving the wrong medication can create a further issue. I would contact a vet.

[Meagan83]

I will take pics tonight and let everyone see. Their eyes look fine. I was thinking it seemed like something gastro-intestinal? But the siezures? I dunno. I have researched everything and just cannot find a match to all of the symtoms. I did unfortunately burry the birds. And I could take fecal samples but read that that does not always show that they have it.

[cindy]

fecal will not show everything going on...if you have a vet that is avian certified you can bring one of the sick birds in and let them know it is cgoing through your flock....they most likely will test the bird and give you enough mediction for them.

If you do go to the vet let them know everything as far as medication, additives to their water, charcoal, herbs since somethings can conflict with prescribed medications.

[annague]

Oh no, Meagan! Keep us informed, please!

[lovemyfinch]

I hate to say that I am unable to help you Meagan But I do hope and pray that you are able to find an answer and end this once and for all

[finchmix22]

I don't know much about this, but the symptoms are similar to a bird in our neighborhood, which had seizures in our yard and died within 20 minutes. We took it to the vet and they told us the bird had gotten poisoned from the pesticides in the yards. I don't know if your birds are near anything like fumes or pesticides, but it's good to double check. Hope you figure it out before you lose any more birds.

[monotwine]

It's aweful not knowing what is wrong. I can only doubly suggest you try get some of your worst looking birds to a vet to do some fecals and even blood smears. That way they can eliminate what is not wrong with your birds (virul, bacterial or fungal)

Ornithosis really manifests with the fluffed bird and swollen eye. I had something like that and it turned out to be a bacterial problem not ornithosis, which was easily sorted out with Baytril. It never returned.
However I've had birds die on me suddenly before with seizures and the vet said it was viral. That was terrible as it was catchy and they all died bar two as there was no cure for it.

I really hope you can come to the bottom of the problem. Having just come through this sort of scenario with an unknown illness, I can sympathise. One feels so helpness not knowing what to do.

[cindy]

This is a long shot but can you tell us about your bird room, what is in it, do you open windows, under air, near your kitchen...could they have been exposed to something?

How long have all the birds been together, do you buy your seed from someone that sells in open bins and has other birds nearby? Is there anything new that has been brought into the room recently?

When was the last time you added a new bird and was that bird one that is sick or passed away? Birds hide things so well then when stressed can go down quickly.

Some of the viral diseases are carry in the stool as it dries and becomes powdery, it can become airborne as fine minute particles and easily transferred to say an open bin of seed in a store. It can also be transferred be a sneeze or salivia.

Sorry for all the questions.

[nixity]

I spoke in great length with the MD health inspector about Ornithosis when he came out to issue me a permit after I moved down.

According to him, the risk of a person contracting it is not all that common unless you've already got an immuno-deficiency issue or you're really old/really young, and the conditions in the aviary are just horrid.

It's a bigger problem in open flight aviaries where the fecal matter sits and sits and the feces turn to dust and become airborne and there isn't a whole lot of circulation - to where you are inhaling really poopy dirty air. (This is of course, if the birds are carrying the infection).

He told me straight up this is not something you see very often in clean aviaries and not something you see commonly in finches. In fact, it's name Pscittacosis came about because of the fact that it is common in the Pscittacine parrots (again, usually in really deplorable conditions like what you'd see in a hoarder home).

I was always extremely paranoid about this disease because of the number of birds I had.. and I assumed if my birds had it, then I would have to get sick too - he basically explained to me that this isn't the case and it is not generally communicated from animal to human though it is a possibility, it doesn't happen very often.
BUT - Cindy is right, it is something you have to report if your birds have it :/
What you describe could be a number of things though, I wouldn't necessarily jump right to Ornithosis..

[Meagan83]

Well, I am feeling a bit more at ease. I have just searched and searched illnesses and cannot find anything that matches it completely. But let me say the most common two symptoms are loose poop and tired looking birds. So far only the dove and 2 juvie canaries died with seizures. But I have also lost 2 goulds and now a society.
The first bird I lost with similar symptoms was actually a Gould obtained from a friend. A few days after I brought her home she got diarrhea and died. No one else was sick for awhile after that. Then my dove got sick. He had just finished raising a clutch of babies. The female was absolutely fine and so were the babies. After he died then it was my canary juvies. But what's weird is the dove and the juvie canaries had normal looking poop. It's only the goulds that got diarrhea. And the momma canary has strange poop, but it's not the same, it not really diarrhea, but high urine and very soft thin poop. She shoots it like a stream of water, which none of the other birds do. The symptoms seem to vary here I know, but it all started to happen around the same time. My birds are not over crowded. The cages are cleaned 2-3x a week. They get fresh food and water daily. They get fruits, veggies, eggshell, charcoal, zupreem, and seed. They are not near a vent. They are near a window, but it is double paned and not drafty. They are in an office. The door stays closed. There is a fish tank in there a few feet away. I don't know what else to mention.

[cindy]

How are your firend's birds doing any sickness, death? Did she raise the gould herself? Wonder if it is something like giardia or one that is an opportunist which stays hidden until the birds are stressed either enviromentally or breeding or such. Do you have Ronivet S?

At this point I would still take a sick bird in and have a vet check fecal and ask for medication for the flock...it does not sound like it will go away on it's own.

[Meagan83]

The friend is a very trusted breeder. She has high numbers, but has always been the best caretaker I have known. She is retired and very particular about her birds. I have not heard of her losing any except for some that came from a bird fair and died a few days after. But the rest of her flock is fine. I will have to see where my nearest avian vet is. Probably Louisville.

[cindy]

When the birds that passed away (the ones from the fair) were they quarantined at the time? Was your gould one of the birds or an offspring?

I honestly would rely on a vet's help right now. Please keep us posted and we pray you will find out what is going on and you loose no more birds.

[Meagan83]

The new birds were in seperate cages but not a seperate room. None that I have came from that fair.