Zebra health ?

[Mick M.]

Hi ,

I have a silver pair of zebras rearing some chicks .
They both are passing wet droppings , the cock also is doing what I call some straining by bobbing up and down while trying to poop , don't know what's wrong but would like some clarity as to what is wrong with him and possible treatment .

They're feeding normal and both are feeding the chicks but he cant be right .
I can remember from years ago , I had a CFW cock that had a similar issue , I didn't treat him and he eventually had a prolapse ( fatal )

I have had some before with wet droppings and they cleared up fine , someone told me it could be that some old/sour eggfood was left in the cage and they eat this and it caused a stomach upset .

I have cleaned out this pair's cage and am giving them some charcoal in their eggfood , is there anything else I should be doing ?

Any help much appreciated .

Mick .

[Corkysgirl]

It's possibly this. I will attach a link. Someone else might have another idea what it can be, but this is what comes to mind right off. About the charcoal. It's good for absorbing and removing possible toxins but don't continue them because too much isn't good and can be counterproductive. Definitely don't use them around the time you treat with any medication because it nullifies the affect. (You may already know this but just in case) Okay...the info below might be what your bird has...but maybe not.
Most common Protozoal Disease in aviculture.

In young birds poor growth and deaths are common. In older birds, weight loss and weakness or just poor performance are indicators that there is an underlying trichomonal infection. The Gouldian finch seems to be very sensitive to this protozoan infection. Finches like the Society, Zebra, Canaries and most other exotic finches seem to have a higher tolerance and can live with Canker.

The disease is caused by the TRICHOMONA protozoa. There are different strains of the organism which vary widely in their ability to cause disease. Adult birds are often carriers - that is, they have the organism and spread it to other birds but look totally healthy themselves. The organism is commonly spread through food and water by carrier birds and passed from parents to their young. Overcrowding, poor hygiene and other stress factors result in greater spread of infection and debilitate birds so that latent infections become active and cause disease. There is no permanent cure but it can be kept under control with the proper medication.

The common crop form of canker is the one most breeders are familiar with, the vomiting bird, the bird with froth at the beak, the bird slowly losing weight and eventually dying even though it appears to be eating. The crop form of canker usually results in constrictions forming in or around the crop, stopping the passage of seed and causing the bird to starve to death. A more sinister form of Canker occurs in some cases, where the organism invades the liver and causes large cheesy abscesses full of organisms. These birds show no symptoms until the abscesses are well established and most of these birds die of liver failure.

Signs of Canker/Cochlosoma include: diarrhea, yellowish or bright green droppings, undigested seed in droppings, butt pumping, wet vent feathers, sleeping during the day, head tucked over their wing feather, weight or feather loss.

Avian veterinarians can often find the carrier birds by doing a crop wash and finding the organism under the microscope. However, the bird with liver abscess may escape detection. Because the disease is so common, breeders should look to treating their flocks to either eradicate the organism or stop it from entering their stock.

Treatment of choice is RonivetS (ronidazole) Ronidazole is safe to administer at up to 4 times recommended rate. In difficult situations treatment at 4 times dose for 3 days then normal dose for 4 days has been found to be effective. They are the safest, especially on hatchlings and baby birds during the breeding season. The drug has no reported side effects (even in excessively high dose rates) and can be used all year round including the breeding season when birds have young in the nest.

[Mick M.]

Thanks , very extensive and took some time .

My guess is that something in their diet has triggered this condition , their diet may be too rich or they may have fed on some stale eggfood on the cage floor .
They're both after having a bath and preening extensively , might there be something going on with their preen glands ?
I just shook some charcoal granules onto their eggfood pot when feeding , not a large amount .
They had fed their chicks ( 4 ) before bathing and look quite normal/healthy otherwise .

This pair are very good to rear and I don't want them to become ill on me .
Again any other information most welcome .

Regards ,
Mick .

[debbie276]

Wet droppings can be from many things including diet. Are you feeding any greens? I've never had this caused by eggfood.

When feeding eggfood spread it out thinly on a dish so it drys out rather then go off.

I have charcoal available at all times mixed in their mineral mix bowl so when they need it they can go get it.

For now I would watch for any color change in the dropping and any other symptoms.

good luck

[Mick M.]

Thanks debbie276 .

They have some green bean's in their eggfood mix and it is a little moist ,
The weather here is particularly good of late and may have caused some souring of their eggfood .
The cock does a small bit of straining after pooing but is fine some minutes later .

Mick .