My Birds Are Unwell

[GenericBlue 0]

okay SO HERE IS HOW IT GOES

 

im birds strated to look bit off colour few weeks back, i had one die but belive this was due to extream weather change and fact she just raised a clutch sweet heart

 

then i had one get very off ballanced and he flew into me when i went to cheack him as he seemed off side

he was tad thin $ i removed him from flock i thought he may flew into me as this birds a bit silly like that since ive had him

he was brought inside so i could monitor eatting

next day he started drinking heaps then that night he was having white liquard running from mouth fomming really

so i thought okay what the ....then he was just sitting in water bowl drinking as if he never see the stuff every time he had a sip it would come straight out his mouth and back into the drinker and white liquardy colour

he was not able to keep food down even though he tryed his hardest

all seed he ate came up few seconds after swollowing

he lost weaight in mater of days and on the 4th day he died bless him

 

then i went out cheacked all brds they were all fine singing away cheery as no dirty bumbs nothing

i cheaked my breeders who just started laying cycal and all good

exept one hen had layed off pertch not her usual thing as she very good hen in sence of nesting

 

but all was good other wize

that night all good

then next morn 6 am the same hen was ontop of her box with white liquard from each side of mouth , you cant really see the liquard as much as you can see that the birds look as if they been dunking for apples

i will up load a picture of hen latter so u can see what i mean as if i hadnt of had one day before i would of just thought she was being drinking nothing more

 

i grabed her out with gloved on and cheaked her weaight she had lost in only two days heaps

so in a cage with heater on and ect but only this hen had eggs so she was not as stron and die next morn however same thing as above exactly

 

i knew something bad was up not anything normal

 

rip and i descussed posability of poison from lead but my vet feels confident its not however tests will be run if the clyamidia comes back a negitive

 

yes i went to vet in knox dr colin walkers clinic

they were very thorow and i took ten birds in she saw them all crop flush and poo samples and some samples i had from home id colected and labbled with birds ring

she atopsyed mydead hen and is sending liver off for testing

this is my e mail i receved from her regarding their health

 

22 December 2009

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Leeia,

 

 

 

Thank you for bringing your birds to see me today. As promised, below is a summary of the visit.

 

 

 

Post Mortem Examination: A hen bird which died overnight.

 

The bird was thin and looked to have vomit around her beak. On internal examination she had an enlarged liver and spleen. Her oviduct was enlarged, suggesting recent egg laying behaviour. No evidence of canker, coccidia or worms was seen. She did have moderate numbers of megabacteria in her proventriculus. No obvious lesions were seen in association with this and I don’t believe that megabacteria is the cause of death. A swab was taken from her liver and spleen for a Chlamydia test.

 

 

 

Live birds in clinic:

 

All of these birds were thin. Most were bobbing their tails – this happens when they have trouble breathing and is suggestive of a respiratory infection.

 

Crop flush: Several birds were negative, One bird had low numbers of canker

 

Faecal Smears: No parasites found.

 

 

 

We have identified at least two different problems in your birds today.

 

• Respiratory infection – probably Chlamydia (also known as Psittacosis). This disease causes sneezing, nasal discharge, tail bobbing, weight loss, green urates and many other general signs of illness. We have sent off a swab from the dead bird to check for this disease. If this is positive, we will treat all birds with Doxyvet in the water for 45 days.
  
• Canker – this was detected in only 1 bird so it is present in the aviary. I don’t believe that this is causing a major problem for you at the moment but it should be treated before it becomes a problem. This will require ongoing treatment with Turbosole for control.
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Treatment required now:

 

• Doxyvet in drinking water – 1 scoop in 2L. Provide this fresh daily until I phone you with results – I expect this to be 2 weeks.
  

While birds are on doxyvet it is best to remove mineral scources such as grit and calcium blocks. This should only be done if the birds are not breeding.

 

• Turbosole in drinking water – 1 scoop in 2L. Provide fresh daily for 10 days. This should be repeated every 3 months to control canker.
  
• When other medications are finished, probiotics should be used for several days.
  

NOTE: When combining medications in the drinking water, add the scoop of each medication into the same 2L of water. Do not make up separate mixtures and combine as this will be diluting the medication

 

 

 

Preventative Treatments:

 

1. Canker: Turbosole 1scoop in 2L drinking water for 10 days in a row every 3 months.

 

2. Coccidia: Baycox 3ml in 1L drinking water for 7 days in a row every 3 months.

 

3. Worms: Ivermectin or Moxidectin as directed every 3 months for worms and mites.

 

These treatments should be given soon before pairing each season.

 

 

 

 

 

Please call if you have any further enquiries.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Corrie Pinkster

 

 

 

 

so as you can see my babys are un well

im sorry this post is so long but i have a few questions for you all

 

1. my breeding birds with eggs i have seventeen eggs layed as of the 15th onward with 6 pairs the most eggs in one nest is 3 eggs one due today

my question

would you let birds continue to sit or toss eggs and block boxes

or toss eggs and put all hens in one holding cage

all cocks in another

 

2 the weather is funny

would you bring all holding cages inside or leave birds where they are i dont want to add stress to them but worryed they not to warm

 

thanks in advance leeia

ps all birds are on meds

and waiting for vets finall verdict of dignoses

Edited December 21, 2009 by KAZ

[Dave_McMinn 0]

did you see the avian vet yesterday?

[GenericBlue 0]

yes dave and i want to thank you and kaz for your suport through this

and rip as mentioned

[**KAZ** 0]

I guess if it was me I would stop breeding and concentrate on medicating the birds and getting them well, as we all know breeding is stress conditions and if the breeding birds are sick too then treatment must come first..... get the flock well and for a decent amount of time before breeding begins again.

Best of luck buddy

[GenericBlue 0]

I guess if it was me I would stop breeding and concentrate on medicating the birds and getting them well, as we all know breeding is stress conditions and if the breeding birds are sick too then treatment must come first..... get the flock well and for a decent amount of time before breeding begins again.

Best of luck buddy

 

thanks kaz my view also but was told that in letting them continue to sit only ones with eggs

the cocks would feed hen medication so would in turn be better left as takeing from nest may stress them more thats why i asked

birds would be out of boxes yesterday if i was not sugested this so

 

would you bring birds in or leave where are and would you seperate hens and cocks the breeding pairs or place in same cages or just leave and block nests

thanks gb

[macka 0]

GB you took them to the right place,

Walkers the bird vet specialist.

Its up to you but I would put

all the birds on the treatment.

I don't think they will stress

the ones on eggs if you shut

down the nest boxes & treat

all the birds.

[renee 0]

I guess if it was me I would stop breeding and concentrate on medicating the birds and getting them well, as we all know breeding is stress conditions and if the breeding birds are sick too then treatment must come first..... get the flock well and for a decent amount of time before breeding begins again.

Best of luck buddy

 

thanks kaz my view also but was told that in letting them continue to sit only ones with eggs

the cocks would feed hen medication so would in turn be better left as takeing from nest may stress them more thats why i asked

birds would be out of boxes yesterday if i was not sugested this so

 

would you bring birds in or leave where are and would you seperate hens and cocks the breeding pairs or place in same cages or just leave and block nests

thanks gb

I think the health of your birds must come first, otherwise you run the risk of loosing many more.

 

I am not sure how you are going to treat for Canker and Psitticosis at the same time ...

 

Canker is very contagious and vomiting is the big give-away when it comes to diagnosis. If you have identified a sick bird from your breeding pairs I would consider treating that bird and partner together in a holding cage and - depending on how you have your breeding cages and the possibility of disease spreading - I would isolate any further breeding pairs in another holding cage well away from first pair a a preventative measure.

 

Chlamydia Psitticosis is the bane of all us breeders and it is always wise to treat any new birds with at least a 2 week course as part of a quarantine program whether they look like they may need it or not. I would be treating your aviary birds with doxy asap.

 

I give all my birds an extended course of Doxy over the summer months as a routine preventative medication. If you mix the doxy with Megamix you don't need to remove grit or anything and can give a continuous treatment without breaks.

 

Sorry to hear you are having these issues GB.

[nubbly5 0]

Damn an outbreak during breeding....... what a bummer!

 

Both Canker treatment AND Psittacosis treatment can be done with birds in the breeding cabinets - Canker treatment is no issues at all but Doxycycline for Psittacosis can interfere with mineral absorbtion so you need to be careful about this. I believe that Rob Marshalls book has some outlines of what you need to add along with the Doxy to keep calcium uptake happening properly.

 

Breeding is a stress and outbreaks of this nature are not uncommon, especially if a 45 day treatment is not done prior to breeding (sometimes even IF one is done and then a new bird is added sometime down the line).

 

Good Luck with it GB - hope you have caught it in time not to lose too many birds as both Canker and Psittacosis can kill them quickly. From the sounds of the vet path tests psittacosis is what you will need to treat for initially, whilst keeping an eye out for any canker as well. Might pay to ask the vet how to treat for both at the same time if you find that you need to.

 

"If you mix the doxy with Megamix you don't need to remove grit or anything and can give a continuous treatment without breaks." Just read that from Renee's post - that's what Rob Marshall recommends..........

Edited December 22, 2009 by nubbly5

[Dave_McMinn 0]

What is megamix?

[renee 0]

What is megamix?

It is a Rob Marshall product, basically it is citric acid. I am only presuming here but I think it does the same job as adding a couple of drops of apple cider vinegar to water - ie, raising the Ph and combating Megabacteria/yeast infections at the same time.

 

As Mega is a secondary infection my understanding is that doxy treats psittacosis (the primary infection) and as the treatment takes affect its immune system may take a temporary dive and the Megamix stops Megabacteria proliferating.

[Amy S 0]

Sorry to hear about your birds GB. Any loss of a member of your flock is devastating, especially when breeding Hopefully things go back to normal as quickly as possible

 

Obviously I don't know too much and am still learning things so can't really comment too much about the topic. I just wanted to let you know I sympathise with you

 

Just out curiosity, could you possibly put fake budgie eggs in place of the real ones?

So that they don't get stressed by not having their eggs anymore? And you knowing the fact that they aren't real fertile eggs would mean that none would hatch and parents wouldn't pass on the Canker and Psittacosis? Again bearing in mind I don't know much, but thought maybe that could be another solution for the birds if they stressed with loss of their eggs? Sorry if that's the wrong thing to say. Don't want to offend anyone one, I won't learn if I don't ask though.

 

All the best for you and your birds

[Richo 0]

A terrible shame G.B. really sorry for you and I hope your quick response will be rewarded with the speedy recovery of your flock. Lots of love, Richo

[mysixbabies 0]

I'm Sorry to hear GB

Good luck and hope your back on the road soon.........

[GenericBlue 0]

GB you took them to the right place,

Walkers the bird vet specialist.

Its up to you but I would put

all the birds on the treatment.

I don't think they will stress

the ones on eggs if you shut

down the nest boxes & treat

all the birds.

 

as in if i just tossed eggs and placed in a holding cage

is this what you ment macka

 

all birds are being treated including my conure and cocky

i even feel like docxy the wild galars that are comming in and water ivomectin that would stop a lot of problems lol

its a small flock that comes they started last mont or so ago

either that or cover yard in scarecrows

 

im giving all birds millits and hulled otes and grey sun flowers to incorage eatting and weaight gain

all cabinet been emptyed and fostered eggs to a few pet types i had up not all but a mixed clutch

vet said pets are hardyer so but to stop medication when chicks hatch and to start when chicks three weeks old for rest of treat ment

 

this is not recomended practice

this is as the pets didnt seem to be efected and are all from diffrent aviry and had eggs layed same days as show birds

i only had 6 nests with eggs and all up 3 eggs in the nests with the biggest nest haveing 4 eggs

so i put seven eggs in each pet type clutch thats 14 chicks so thats 5 eggs left im thinking of placeing the other five in between them as they both lay around 9 eggs them selfs anyway they are not getting anny of their own chicks and all eggs have been dated as layed with nest number incase i had to foster in event of problem so that bits not going to be hard

eggs will morethan likely be infertile any ways so

 

 

once my birds are healthy again i will give them another breack so i probbly wont be breeding till next year late or 2011 depending on vets advice

 

i look at it like this

my birds are all young so i got lots of time to breed them

the sad thing is i had some wonderful bubys and was looking forward to a show but i wont be takeing birds anywhere their is other birds for very long time

 

im even wondering if i should miss club meeting as the bring birds every month and i dont want them to get sick from me being near

[Dave_McMinn 0]

I don't think you have to miss show meetings. Just maintain your regular healthy practices of washing hands after looking after birds, showering - lol, and the usual stuff

[GenericBlue 0]

I don't think you have to miss show meetings. Just maintain your regular healthy practices of washing hands after looking after birds, showering - lol, and the usual stuff

 

well i been showering after birds routine in morn and then after birds routine at night so im very cautious

i have been exhausted though and sleep most of the rest of day

im happy all birds looking okay still only one hen seems to look more of colour than other birds but eating so good sign

[renee 0]

I don't think you have to miss show meetings. Just maintain your regular healthy practices of washing hands after looking after birds, showering - lol, and the usual stuff

 

well i been showering after birds routine in morn and then after birds routine at night so im very cautious

I think (hope) he is pulling your leg!

[GenericBlue 0]

I don't think you have to miss show meetings. Just maintain your regular healthy practices of washing hands after looking after birds, showering - lol, and the usual stuff

 

well i been showering after birds routine in morn and then after birds routine at night so im very cautious

I think (hope) he is pulling your leg!

 

:hap: i know he was

but i ignored

[macka 0]

GB you do what you want to do.

But for the vet to say the pet type

are more hardy,that very debateable.

The truth beknown,the problem may

of come from,your ""pet type"",

Just that they are not showing any signs,

just the carrier of the the problem.

I will leave it at that,

[splat 0]

Hi Gb, terriable news, sorry about your loss but I am glad you caught it early. I hope all goes well for you and you loose no more.

[nubbly5 0]

How are the birds doing GB? Hope you are going okay with it all!

[**Liv** 0]

I hope you are able to get it all under control soon. I would do the same as you and foster the eggs to other birds while the parents are being treated, then treat the foster parents and babies later down the track. I am thinking of you and i hope they all make a speedy recovery.

[GenericBlue 0]

okay

first birds are doing good everyone seems happy dancing chirppy and no one just sitting around although they are ment to be sick you wouldnt even know it

 

a few sneezing is only sign from one ore two birds

 

 

macka my pet types are in different space to show birds have been for a while now however anythings pos but im fairly certain i know where it came from

also my pets are my own breed birds from a old stock no brought in new birds

 

i was told to treat the birds pets with eggs for till eggs hatch then stop till chicks three weeks but only if birds look normal which they all do

then treat again after the three weeks age till treat ment is finished

 

to be honest intill rezult comes in we dont even know what killed them just that it was only thing not ruled out in terms of things that kill birds

vet did find it weird that only lost small amount of birds so....but what else could it be

 

no more have died so im happy

and yes thanks its not really that much to it just clean all water and food bowls dayly

and keep birds feed well

i take water away at night so i can clean everything and then give freash in morrn with meds

try keep the area free of feathers which is the hard part but my vac does good job of that so ....

thanks for suport guys i havent lost any of my really good birds yet and hope i loose no more vet seemed to think i wouldnt so will just see but i can hear them all loud and happy so

[splat 0]

Glad things are going okay GB, hope no more birds get sick, thinking of you.

[GenericBlue 0]

Glad things are going okay GB, hope no more birds get sick, thinking of you.

 

thank you splat its appreciated im one for good vibes being sent recon it works wonders :rofl: