Sick Gouldian Fledgling

[Decimus]

Hello, I have a sick little Gouldian baby boy. I have had him for about a month and he's in the process of growing his adult feathers.

Two days ago I noticed that he was beginning to exhibit the classic sick bird signs. He's puffy and wants to sleep during the day. He also has diarrhea -- true diarrhea as his poo isn't formed at all and basically comes out as cloudy soup. I have taken what supportive measures I can. He has a heat lamp and access to food and water. He will eat and I did see him drinking yesterday.
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I suspect, but cannot confirm, that he has a gut related illness. I don't see the typical signs of respiratory distress. I do have some medicine to give him. I started him on Amoxitex (currently the only antibiotic I have) as well as Thrive supplements.

I did give him sprouted seeds. I used KD Cleanse to sprout the seeds and they never smelled off or weird. I stopped the sprouts when I noticed signs of illness. His little cagemate shows no signs of illness and she ate the same things he did. It also has been a little unseasonably cold here am I'm worried that he ate something bad, or got chilled and that is why he is sick.

There is no avian vet on duty within a 3 hour radius of where I live -- it is a Saturday as I type this. I can get him to a vet on Monday which I plan to do.

In the meantime, does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone ever seen anything like this in their flock? Also, has anyone ever tried DIY analysis of droppings? I do have the ability to examine using a microscope. I'm a pathologist by training but I only know of human disease, not birds!

Any help would be appreciated. Think good thoughts for the little guy!

[mainelyfinch]

What color is the soup as you say and you say no consistency to the fecal matter at all?

[Sally]

Here is a link to an article about bird poop, with some explanations. Also, there is a yahoo group you might be interested in--avianmicroscopy.yahoo.com. It is a closed group, but you could also try to contact the admin of that group at www.finchaviary.com. Vonda is very experienced with using a microscope to diagnose birds.

[Decimus]

Hello, all! Thank you for the responses. His droppings have firmed up a bit this morning and he will still eat and drink. But he is still puffy and not well yet. I am encouraged that he will hang in there long enough to get to the avian vet tomorrow.

Interestingly, this morning I am hearing faint clicks coming from him as he sits on his perch. He does not yet display evidence of labored breathing or tail bobbing but the clicks make me think of the dreaded air sac mites. I will definitely ask about those when I see the vet tomorrow and take his little cagemate to be evaluated as well.

Also, thank you for the link to the site about avian microscopy! That looks very cool indeed. I can only imagine the looks I will get in the lab when I bring in samples labeled Gouldian, Henry for evaluation.

Again, thank you all for the replies and the advice. I will try and post some follow up after his vet visit.

[Betrue2yurself]

Since it sounds like a gut related illness I would try something like Ronex-12%. Hope the little guy pulls through!

[Decimus]

Henry seems to have recovered - he started singing again yesterday and his droppings are back to normal. He's showing a healthy appetite. We did take him to an avian vet and were given Baytril, which he and his cage mate are still taking. Thanks to all!