About this time of the year almost all my breeder birds are out of the breeding cabinets and flying around in the large aviary - 75% of this year's chicks are in their own aviary too.

 

Over the summer months I go through a check list of preventative medication treatment, it is not written in stone but always includes an extended stint of Doxy.

 

So top of my list is my obsession with eradicating Megabacteria in my flock and this week all aviary birds are getting their 7 day treatment of Fungilin. I get the Fungilin from Rob Marshall's as I am a registered client and the dosage is 1ml/100mls water. It needs to be made up fresh every day.

 

The tricky thing about treating 100+ budgies in an aviary is you don't know for sure that every bird has got its required dose, so I tend to do this course of Fungilin at least twice over the summer months.

 

This time around I am withholding liquids from my birds all day and put out the medicated water between 5-8pm. This way I am more confident that the birds will go to the drinker 'cause they will be a bit thirsty. Now I know budgies can go for days without water but the odds are that with the warmer weather they will want to have a drink in the afternoon.

i with hold water from birds for from say 6 am to 10 am the next day when the need to medicate arrives

i also place more smaller water drinkers rather than the one big one

and leave for the day until about 6 pm that night then remove water drinkers until next morn 10 am again where i start again the routine until the course is fully finished

i sit and watch birds when i first put down the water and watch them go straight to it

with in first ten mins i can say all birds have had a sip

this works for me well

 

but i only medicate when needed not a yearly thing as you do

but then my flock has no meg and when tested last month came through clean spill on everything

i with hold water from birds for from say 6 am to 10 am the next day when the need to medicate arrives

i also place more smaller water drinkers rather than the one big one

and leave for the day until about 6 pm that night then remove water drinkers until next morn 10 am again where i start again the routine until the course is fully finished

i sit and watch birds when i first put down the water and watch them go straight to it

with in first ten mins i can say all birds have had a sip

this works for me well

 

but i only medicate when needed not a yearly thing as you do

but then my flock has no meg and when tested last month came through clean spill on everything

Look I am pretty confident that my flock is healthy BUT it only takes one bird to slip through the net ... and I would rather be safe than sorry.

that's why at a small price i get every bird new to my flock tested 16.50 each bird is but nothing compared to losing the lot from one slip by

some people pat hundreds for one bird

i pay bit less for nice reasonable birds and a few extra penny's for a health check

this way one i know for sure

and two if a bird has anything i can then inform the seller to the results the bird had if anything bad or abnormal shows up this could help them if unaware of birds abnormal bacteria

 

so far all birds i have brought bar one from pet shop have been clear

and im not buying from pet shop now ever again as i have no need to

 

your birds were clear for all things tested as were nubblys and kaz and other i got from wa

i havent had abad bird sold from a breeder yet fingers crossed the birds get tested for few things even a few uncommon illnesses

your birds were clear for all things tested as were nubblys and kaz and other i got from wa

i havent had abad bird sold from a breeder yet fingers crossed the birds get tested for few things even a few uncommon illnesses

 

Testing clear after this trip is actually a really good sign for the breeders mentioned here as the stress of travel from WA to Vic would surely cause the birds to beginning shedding any dormant disease.

 

Budgies like to have a drink first thing in the morning. If I want them to drink I will remove their water late in the afternoon and replace it a few hours after dawn the next day. They drink straight away.

Edited December 3, 200915 yr by Daryl

your birds were clear for all things tested i havent had abad bird sold from a breeder yet fingers crossed the birds get tested for few things even a few uncommon illnesses

Testing clear after this trip is actually a really good sign for the breeders mentioned here as the stress of travel from WA to Vic would surely cause the birds to beginning shedding any dormant disease.

Yeah I know they are good, Hamish did all manner of tests on the birds I sent him and he is a vet student! .. but who knows if the birds I bought at auction this year are carriers or not? So again my motto is Better Safe than Sorry! ...

Budgies like to have a drink first thing in the morning. If I want them to drink I will remove their water late in the afternoon and replace it a few hours after dawn the next day. They drink straight away.

We are in for a couple of days of hot weather ... I'm going to take your advice on board and give them some medicated water first thing in the morning (well actually I will get hubby to do it)

Just one word of caution: if you are withholding water try to make sure that the med you are doing this with has a reasonably high safety margin as they may drink more than usual. I lost a bird years ago with a levamisole based wormer. I didn't even withhold water, this bird was just a big drinker!

Just one word of caution: if you are withholding water try to make sure that the med you are doing this with has a reasonably high safety margin as they may drink more than usual. I lost a bird years ago with a levamisole based wormer. I didn't even withhold water, this bird was just a big drinker!

Mmmm, I am way more cautious when doing the Worm treatment.

 

But you have a point, I will monitor closely.