Health question

[kouma]

Hello Finch keepers!

I am new to this forum and this hobby. It only took one glance and now i am in love with finches.

I have a question. I recently purchased 10 Gould finches two of which already died I purchased them from 5 separate stores. The two that died where from one store. From the start the two that died showed signs of not being totally molted with feathers missing and not looking as arranged, bright, and clean in color as normal finches, and the birds always looked buffed up, lazy with mostly eating and sleeping. And when compared to my other finches, they were smaller in size. The one could barely even fly to the perch. I should have paid more attention before purchasing them, but I blame myself for this. Now for my other goulds, they all look healthy with the exception of one. In general they all have good coloration and their sizes are normal and they eat & drink normal. However, one of them (a male with purple chest and black head) is showing signs of laziness and i am afraid of loosing him also. He does move and eats/drinks a lot, however most of the time he is standing at that one perch or sleeping. Also his wings are always lowered and semi-buffed, none of my other finches are like that.

Can someone help identify that is wrong with them and suggest a remedy. I just starting feeding my finches a mixture of seeds, KATEE rainbow, and Egg Meal (powder). Also I just recently started dosing my water with a multivitamin (that includes Vit E).

Thanks

[ac12]

Put him in a separate small cage (out of the draft) with a heat source, like a heat lamp or failing that an incadescent lamp. This gives them heat w/o their body using stored energy to generate heat for their body, allowing the stored energy to be redirected at getting well. Put a good thermometer in the cage, so you can monitor the temp; target 80F.
http://www.finchniche.com/f-hospitalcage.mgi

I have had a few cases where simply being in the hospital cage with the warm lamp on them seem to have helped the bird recover.

Because of the extra heat, make sure the bird has water to drink.

[dfcauley]

There is also a powder called NV powder that you can mix in their water to give them a boost. If you don't have any of this some people just add some gatorade to their water.

But seperating him is now the most important thing as stated along with extra heat.

[kouma]

I forgot to mention that my cage has a 150W Metal Halide with a 10k lamp on for 11 hours per day. Also I keep my house at 23-25C which is between 73 to 77F. But I only started doing this 3 days ago, which is when I read that Goulds like hot weather. Do I still need to move him to a QC as I hate having to catch them as its very stressful, or can I still keep him on this setup?

Thanks for the replies!

[dfcauley]

If he is sick it could infect the other birds. I would seperate him.

A heat lamp over the cage is best as they require really warm heat when sick. I would not keep my whole house at that temp unless it is what you desire. They can adjust to your household temperature as long as they are healthy.

[kouma]

Okay I will buy a heat lamp first then move him into a smaller cage. What is a good wattage to buy for a heat lamp? Can I buy these infrared heat lamps used for reptiles? I want thinking i would buy one for my main cage and QC.

[kouma]

Okay he was very easy to catch, barely moved. I put him in a small cage in a separate room. I wrapped a towel all around the cage and top except for the front side. I placed fresh food and water and mounted a light bulb 60W on the front side. I don't have any heat lamps, so until I get one would this suffice? Also what is the next step?

Many thanks for the replies.

[Sally]

For a small hospital cage, a 60-75w bulb will be enough. Make sure that the bird can get away from the heat if it gets too warm--a little tricky in a very small cage. If you use a reptile infrared bulb, make sure it won't get too hot. I don't know how hot those things get, but it might be too hot for a small cage. For a large flight cage, I have used as high as 150w ceramic heat lamp, but that was in an unheated shed in winter. The birds would all huddle under this lamp at night.

I see you just posted, and have used a 60w bulb, perfect. Often just the heat will be enough to make them feel better. Now you just need to watch him, check his poops to see if they look normal, and make sure he is eating and drinking. I like to offer spray millet if they are sick. I'd hold off on any fresh veggies, as they can cause the poop to get watery, and you need to monitor the poop.

[CandoAviary]

I would treat the whole flock for Air Sac Mites. Since these birds came from many sources that had many birds and I am assuming that you did not quarentine.........
ASM in the early stages can make them off. They eat/drink but tire very quickly, sleep a lot and can get a respiratory infection and go down very quickly.
Put S76 in the water, it won't hurt the bird if it does not have ASM. Treat all of your birds. This is a common problem in canaries and gouldians.
Sorry for your losses.

[kouma]

I was worried about the ASM. The problem is I live in the UAE and I don't think we have this here. Also shipping would be very expensive to order online, like almost $40. My sister lives and Canada and she is coming to visit in 10 days, I could ask her. Would anyone know they sell S76 or Iverlux in Canadian popular petshops, like BigAls or others.

Thanks

[lovemyfinch]

It all depends where in Canada she lives. Apparently in Ontario you can buy it off the shelf. Here in Quebec, I have finally found a store where I can get almost all of the products that everyone here speaks about it is called Avizoo.

[kouma]

Well, I just placed an order with Lady Gouldian Finch using USPS Express Mail International ($43) I will also ask my sister if she find them in Canada to get me some. I hope I don't loose anymore of my goulds..

[CandoAviary]

That is expensive but if it proves to help well worth the money. It last a long time. Keep the unused in the refrigerator.
I treat every 6 months as a precaution. If I was to bring in any new birds, I would keep them seperate for at least 3 weeks, sometimes longer. I always treat new comers for ASM. My prayers are with you.

[kouma]

Thanks for everyone's help. I purchased the 250ML bottle so it should last me a long time. I also ordered two 150W infrared heat lamps. I will place one 24/7 on my big cage and have the other for spare.