advice needed RF parrot finch

[ruler]

just posting back to keep anyone who is following updated. its been 9 days since her first dosage of Baycox and to be honist there seems little change appart from her diet being a lot better.
i was wondering if she might have had a stroke? do birds have strokes like us humans? it might explain her unstableness on the perch. was just a thought. im still giving her Baycox at 3ml per 1 ltr strength twice a week but i only fill the bowl about one quarter full (half inch deep).
i am also wondering if i would be better off giving it to her everyday to be more effective? when a bird has this disease how long should i expect to wait to see any signs of real improvement?

sorry if the questions sound dumb but im really new to all this bird keeping and its the first disease i have come across. thank

[kenny66]

just posting back to keep anyone who is following updated. its been 9 days since her first dosage of Baycox and to be honist there seems little change appart from her diet being a lot better.
i was wondering if she might have had a stroke? do birds have strokes like us humans? it might explain her unstableness on the perch. was just a thought. im still giving her Baycox at 3ml per 1 ltr strength twice a week but i only fill the bowl about one quarter full (half inch deep).
i am also wondering if i would be better off giving it to her everyday to be more effective? when a bird has this disease how long should i expect to wait to see any signs of real improvement?

sorry if the questions sound dumb but im really new to all this bird keeping and its the first disease i have come across. thank

Can we please get back to some basics here. Baycox is administered at the rate of 3ml/ltr for 3 days first up only. Then repeated 2/3 weeks later for 2 days. That's it. The improvement should be noticed within 3 days or maximum 1 week if badly infected. There is no better outcome gained by medicating for a longer period of time or more often. As I said earlier most finches will test positive to coccidiosis but it is only under stress conditions that it emerges. Wet/humid conditions as I have in the tropics allows it to spread but under normal circumstances a treatment with Baycox will eliminate it. Once it is in an aviary it will always be there although you can take action such as keeping the aviary completely dry-providing excellent drainage-lots of sunlight-remove the top layer of substrate and treat the floor with lime to eradicate the occysts etc etc etc. Bleach and sterilising products will not usually remove it. Once treated you should then move onto a preventative programm of coccivet every 3 months. My aviaries have all of this but I have still had it in the birds. Just 5 days ago I noticed a couple of "fluffed" up finches, A RFPF cock a Gouldian hen. I baycoxed for 3 days and both seem fine today. It is unlikely that your bird has had a stroke. The regime for treating sick finches is:
1. Worm with moxidectin (5ml/ltr for 48 hrs)
2. Treat with Baycox (3ml/ltr for 3 days)
3. Provide warmth (either heat lamp or normal 60W globe)

There are a number of other diseases finches contract but if I remember correctly your vet did not find anything else. I was a little worried when I first read your post because the symptoms you described seemed more like some toxic substance exposure rather than coccidiosis especially as there appeared to be no wet vent. You must remember not to beat yourself up over this. Keeping finches should not be torture. Please let me know how things progress.

[ruler]

thanks for that really useful info i got some good sound advice from your post there. i do remember painting the wire mesh on the cage with a black paint when i first built the cages and i painted the whole of the cage inside and out with a cheap B&Q vinal silk o not sure if that could be the problem but all the other birds eem fine. i do worry about her and she look so lonely in her cage all alone, makes me feel bad watching her with her head leaning out of her nesting box watching the other birds enjoying themselves
her vent feathers always look wet but they are actually dry and i still see her ruffling her feathers a lot. maybe i will give her some baycox for the next 2 days running then stop the treatment.

a friend who alo keeps finches and has done for some time aid she might just be worn out from all the egg laying since she has layed about 4 - 5 batches nontop, i have to admit she doesnt fly about back n forth anything like she used too. these birds are pretty hard to get here too and not to mention their excessive cost so thats another reason why i want her to get well but mainly cos she is a lovely bird. i will post back if there are any significant changes. thanks once again much apreciated

[kenny66]

thanks for that really useful info i got some good sound advice from your post there. i do remember painting the wire mesh on the cage with a black paint when i first built the cages and i painted the whole of the cage inside and out with a cheap B&Q vinal silk o not sure if that could be the problem but all the other birds eem fine. i do worry about her and she look so lonely in her cage all alone, makes me feel bad watching her with her head leaning out of her nesting box watching the other birds enjoying themselves
her vent feathers always look wet but they are actually dry and i still see her ruffling her feathers a lot. maybe i will give her some baycox for the next 2 days running then stop the treatment.

a friend who alo keeps finches and has done for some time aid she might just be worn out from all the egg laying since she has layed about 4 - 5 batches nontop, i have to admit she doesnt fly about back n forth anything like she used too. these birds are pretty hard to get here too and not to mention their excessive cost so thats another reason why i want her to get well but mainly cos she is a lovely bird. i will post back if there are any significant changes. thanks once again much apreciated

The fact that i relates to only one bird probably shows that it is not a communicable disease. The same goes for the paint being a problem, however in future I would use a good quality water based paint. If she is worn out as you say (please do not allow any more than 2 clutches per season) only time will improve her condition. If it was me I would put another female finch in with her (of any placid variety such as a society finch) because RFPF love company.

[ruler]

the only female birds i have are a female gouldian which is still feeding chicks in the nesting box and a female shaft tail which i sitting on eggs.
i have moved her cage right next to the male RFPF which also has a male gouldian in there with him, she spends a lot of her time now looking at them so i am hoping it makes her feel a little beter knowing she is close to her partner again.

i will say here that i do let all my other birds out everyday to fly around my room and many of them have flown up to her cage and none have shown any of the same symptoms as her. there has been many occasions where i have seen her actually touch another bird through the bars so i guess that would narrow her problem down quite a lot. i might borrow a female zebra finch or society from my sisters boyfriend as you suggested to put in with her too.

tomorrow i am going to compleatly stop her treatment of baycox as i dont think its doing anything at all to be honist appart from making her eat better. i am going to worm her and do some research of the best diet for RFPF to help build her back up. i dont think i will let her breed this year at all either. i have moved her into a bigger cage which i think she enjoys. found out yesterday she loves live meal worm so i will be giving her a few each day for extra protien

[kenny66]

the only female birds i have are a female gouldian which is still feeding chicks in the nesting box and a female shaft tail which i sitting on eggs.
i have moved her cage right next to the male RFPF which also has a male gouldian in there with him, she spends a lot of her time now looking at them so i am hoping it makes her feel a little beter knowing she is close to her partner again.

i will say here that i do let all my other birds out everyday to fly around my room and many of them have flown up to her cage and none have shown any of the same symptoms as her. there has been many occasions where i have seen her actually touch another bird through the bars so i guess that would narrow her problem down quite a lot. i might borrow a female zebra finch or society from my sisters boyfriend as you suggested to put in with her too.

tomorrow i am going to compleatly stop her treatment of baycox as i dont think its doing anything at all to be honist appart from making her eat better. i am going to worm her and do some research of the best diet for RFPF to help build her back up. i dont think i will let her breed this year at all either. i have moved her into a bigger cage which i think she enjoys. found out yesterday she loves live meal worm so i will be giving her a few each day for extra protien

Just remember that the RFPF can turn into little fatties because they love food so much. 4 M/W per day is plenty. Visits from the other birds is great therapy. I think you are doing all the right things and you cant do anymore. Go off the Baycox. Her appetite is probably returning of its own volition because she is feeling better.

[ruler]

early this morning i put a male gouldian in with her as he has a very placid nature, they seem to get on very good and she seems a little more perky too. they have been sitting next to each other all day in the sun, something the male gouldian needed anyway

she still fuffles her feathers really hard a lot but she does seem to be balancing a little better but its only a 'little' better each day. i am going to try worming her again and see if it helps. ive been moving her cage right in front of the window where the sunlight shines through, she will sit in the sun all day and will follow it as the sun moves around until the sun goes down.
i have also stopped feeding her cucumber and most greens, will only give them to her once a week now. done this with all my birds.

[ruler]

hmm ok its been a while now since her baycox treatment and a while since i stopped it but i noticed the last few days something weird with the little girl. i think i might have found the problem finally.

a couple of days ago i noticed something white poking out of her bum, its now about 1.5cm long and its totally dry. the outer end is thin and flat which is about 1cm long and the other end which is still in her bum is pretty round and also much larger and also dry.

i tried to pull it a little bit so not to hurt her but it wouldnt come out so i left it until i got some expert advice. im not 100% it is even her bum or her vent, im only a novice still. i might later try and get a photo of it so you can see what i am referring too. if i had soemthing like that poking out of my rear end i'd be falling all over the place too and shaking my rear end lol

any advice would be welcome thanks

[ruler]

bump:::

[Diamond Sparrow]

Has this bird been treated with Ronivet yet?
It may not be worms or Cocci

[ruler]

no but the vet did say she was riddled with coccidiosis pretty serverly, i have to take another pooh sample in on sunday to his surgery to be checked for anything else. he said it might be a liver problem and wont know until he see's more samples.
ive been washing her vent with cotton wool and warm water, not that she likes it much but it has removed a majority of whats hanging out.

she's costing me a fortune with vet bills and nobody really knows whats wrong with her, i know nothing more than the day i started trying to find out whats wrong with her however i do know i have spent a LOT of money on visits and useless treatments.

i dont know what Ronivet would be used for.

[dan78]

Something white and flat, couldn't be a crushed egg inside could it, I know that when an egg breaks inside it can make the bird very sick and might be the reason why she was picking at the rear end.

[Diamond Sparrow]

http://store.mfgouldianfinches.com/ronivets1225gm.html

[ruler]

the vet did check her for any signs of eggs within her and he said she seemed clear. thanks for the link but i am in the uk and the postage would cost more then the itm i would be buying lol but i will look for someone in the uk who sells the stuff thanks for taking the time to post the link its much appreciated.
now the weather is warmer ive been taking her cage outside and putting her in the sun, half the cage in the shade and the other half in full sun and she tries to get every last bit of the sun she can get lol

ive bought a microscope set so i am going to start doing my own research on some of her poop samples since i cant get any strait answers from my vets. i hope to learn much as i can about infections and bacteria etc.