Sick birds

[Learning Finch]

I lost a bird a couple weeks ago and it had yellow poop on his vent. now another birs is showing the signs... do I treat all the birds with ronivet? before its too late again? all I can find on line is its a sign of liver disease I doubt two of my birds have liver disease. also I live in AZ and my birds are out doors there medicated water doesnt stay cold for long. I do change it out 2-3 times a day

[Angela&Shalamar]

Better to treat then to wait and see if you already lost 2 birds with the same symptoms.

[debbie276]

Yellow droppings can indicate Campylobacter if the droppings are not too runny and sweet smelling. Usually the birds will be lethargic and lose weight.

It could also be cochlosoma if the dropping are watery.

If the droppings are yellow but normal size it could be yeast.

For campylobacter you'll need to treat with an antibiotic like baytril. Cochlosoma can be treated with ronidazole (ronivet-S)

I would treat the whole flock
best of luck

[Learning Finch]

thank you for replying. I cant tell what the birds droppings are because there are 50 in the aviary... with the AZ heat chasing him down to isolate will probably stress them all. all I can see is a whitish yellow stain on his vent. ( looks runny because its not a big crusty mess) I will treat all with ronivet 12% and if that doesn't work I can try the baytril. ( ill have to get some do you know of a good source) I'm going on Vacation in two weeks...so I hope all is well after the first round of Meds...

[debbie276]

I would do a general Google search for ronivet 12% and look for an online pet supple place near you to save on shipping. You shouldn't have trouble finding any, most carry it.
Best of luck

[Learning Finch]

sorry I wasn't clear I have ronivet 12%. Its the baytril I dont have....

[debbie276]

Ohhh, sorry, try here:
http://www.allbirdproducts.com/contactus.html

[Corkysgirl]

If you treat with Baytril are you going to isolate the sick birds? I don't think you should flock treat all the birds with it. It's a very strong antibiotic and also requires right dosing per weight of bird.

[Learning Finch]

I now see two birds with the yellow/white staining on there vent. I hope the Ronivet is the answer. Again both birds act healthy eat drink play etc..

[Learning Finch]

UPDATE!! I have been giving Ronivet for two days.... My blue gouldian poop looked mostly white very little hue of yellow soft. My yellow gouldian poop looks like a egg yolk yellow and very runny/ watery. Does it sound like the Ronivet is the right course?

[Learning Finch]

Ok, from what I read cochlosoma is not a curable thing. It is given from bird to bird. However the readings make it sound like its not a big deal as long as you treat the birds. and give treatment to the parents before there young hatch. However what I cant find is how often do they need treatment! every couple months? just when things get bad? Or all the time? Ronivet can get expensive for 50+ birds. And what I didn't tell everyone is that both my gouldians that are sick are young. One has just gone threw his first molt and the other is starting his molt.

[MiaCarter]

Cochlosoma is just like mycoplasma in rats in that once you have it, you usually have it for life.
A healthy animal keeps it in check and they survive just fine.
But in times of stress or when the body is weak, it can flare up and you see symptoms.
So it would make sense that your young gouldians are showing symptoms because gouldians tend to go through a hard molt, especially the first one. I've always said those beautiful feathers come at a big price, as it really stresses them.

I would give it some time to see whether the Ronivet brings improvement. If they're in an outdoor aviary, it may be prudent to treat them anyways.
I've always taken the same approach to Cochlosoma as Myco in my pet rats: you don't treat until you see symptoms. (Usually in times of stress, so if you have a lot of stress on the flock, then it may be good to treat.)
It sounds like you have everyone in one aviary?
If not, though, just be careful to avoid cross contamination if you have cochlosoma in the aviary, but not in other cages or whatever.

[Learning Finch]

so is it safe to say that routine treatments will not help. as in if I treat july1 and my birds get stressed Aug1 they will get sick ?? Sometimes symptoms are hard to see. Especially in a large aviary with many birds flying about. and yes I'm sure the 110 degree heat will stress them every time.

[MiaCarter]

Learning Finch --- You could do routine treatments in anticipation of times of stress. That would be wise.

But as for treating every X number of months, you generally don't need to if they're not symptomatic.

But then again, if you have an aviary setting where it's hard to see who's symptomatic, then maybe periodic treatments wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Can you monitor the droppings?
My friend has an aviary and she puts down a puppy pad under the popular perches when she needs to monitor poop.

[Learning Finch]

If this illnesses targets gouldians and society's I don't have many of those. I do however have just about every other finch and in the bottom of this aviary I have button quale and pheasents that may tear up the matt. My base is sand that I sift threw and clean twice a month.