Probiotics for Finches

[wilkifam]

I was thinking about getting some probiotics to have on hand for my finches, but on Laraine's site, it looks like they recommend against giving them to finches.

Any thoughts? Seems like folks recommend them after anitbiotics.

[debbie276]

Some recommend probiotics and others don't. Laraine probably goes with the theory of the sterile bowel researched by Dr Marshall.
If you do use probiotics be sure they are specifically for avian species.

[JacReinOn]

I didn't use probiotics after a round of antibiotics. All of my babies began to have green looking crops. The vet told me it was sour crop or slow crop and to start probiotics. I did, and the babies and adults are flourishing now. The green color in the crops has disappeared. At first I was a bit worried, because any of the birds that had sour crop will have lime green poop after finally digesting the food that had soured. But now they are all fine with firm brown stools and they are fat, healthy birds. I'm very glad I used probiotics. But I have Society Finches, and they may be different from other finches.

[Sally]

Was the green crop color in babies that were still being fed? Sounds like the probiotics cleared that up. I'm tempted to try a little probiotics in my handfeeding formula when handfeeding babies, since they so easily get crop problems. Anyone ever try that?

[Colt]

I haven't tried that with handfeeding Sally, but it semms like a sound idea.

I'm trying to remember at the petstore what we mixed into the formula other than filtered water. Sometimes we'd add a little apple juice and we kept pedialite on hand to add in as well. I want to say in a couple of special cases before I started handfeeding up there, they used a bit of yogurt and mixed it in as well.

So like I said I think it would be a good idea, but not 100% sure on that. Do you have an avian vet you could refer to? I know an exotic vet, but I'm not sure if he'd know the answer...

[debbie276]

they used a bit of yogurt and mixed it in as well.

As I understand using probiotics it must be avian specific, not human.

[Colt]

Anything like that would have been recommended by the exotic vet we had on retainer. The owners didn't fool around with the big babies. They were very serious about hand feeding everything from the budgies to the macaws. I might be wrong on the yogurt. That's probably been four years ago.

[Sally]

A friend of mine handraised Victoria Crowned Pigeons, and he always added a bit of yogurt to his handfeeding formula. I would think that would add some good bacteria to the gut. I use a bit of applesauce when I suspect a yeast problem, and I use Pedialite when mixing up formula for brand-new babies.

[Colt]

A friend of mine handraised Victoria Crowned Pigeons

Umm, wow. You have good friends Sally. Those birds are beautiful.