Ask The Doc!

This page has been created to aid in discussion of all problems that bird breeders encounter. Please feel free to submit a question or answer to any of the items listed below.

It is envisaged to automate the posting feature here, but until this can be completed (NT restriction), please e-mail your questions, answers and photographs.

Applications of antibiotics in various disease conditions

Disease or Disease Agent          Antibiotic                                   Route
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Myccoplasmosis                                 Erythromycin                                          Injection
                                                          Tetracyclines                                           Oral/Injection
                                                          Spectinomycin                                         Oral/Injection
                                                          Spiramycin                                              Oral/Injection
                                                          Tylosin                                                    Oral/Injection

Ornithosis, psittacosis                          Tetracyclines                                           Oral/Injection
                                                           Tylosin                                                    Oral/Injection
                                                           Spectinomycin                                         Injection
                                                           Doxycycline                                             Oral

E. coli septicemia                                 Spectinomycin or ampicillin                       Injection
                                                            Tetracyclines                                            Oral
                                                            Furazolidon                                              Oral
                                                            Sulfonamides                                            Oral

Salmonellosis                                       Spectinomycin                                          Injection
                                                            Oxytetracycline                                         Oral/Injection
                                                            Furazolidone or Nitrofurazone                   Oral
                                                            Chloramphenicol                                       Oral/Injection
                                                            Sulfadimidine                                             Oral
                                                            Sulfadiazine + Trimethoprim                       Oral

Pasteurellosis Spectinomycin Oral/Injection
Sulfonamides Oral

Erysipelas                                              Penicillins                                                   Oral/Injection
                                                             Tetracyclines                                              Oral
Streptococcal infections,
staphylococcosis                                   Penicillins                                                   Oral/Injection
                                                              Furazolidone                                              Oral
                                                              Tetracyclines                                              Oral

Pseudomonas infections Gentamicin or Polymyxin Oral/Injection
Tobramycin Oral/Injection

Pseudotuberculosis Tetracyclines Oral/Injection

Candidiasis Nystatin Oral

Aspergillosis Amphotericin or miconazole Oral/Injection

Favus Griseofulvin or miconazole Topical

Skin mycoses Griseofulvin powder Topical
Miconazole powder Topical

Septicemia Spectinomycin and other
similarly acting antibiotics Injection

Urinary tract infection Tetracyclines Oral

Eye infection Oxytetracycline aqueous drops Topical

Upper respiratory tract infection Spectinomycin + Lincomycin Oral
Tetracyclines Oral

Internal tract infection                                  Sulfadimidine                                                Oral
                                                                   Sulfadiazine + Trimethoprim                         Oral
                                                                   Lincomycin                                                  Oral
                                                                   Chloramphenicol                                          Oral

Wound infection Oxytetracycline Topical
Bacitracin spray powder Topical

For more information on Avian Diseases and Medicine see Elisha W. Burr's book "Diseases of Cage Birds" ISBN 0-8138-0362-4 TFH Publications
References: Elisha W. Burr's "Diseases of Cage Birds"
--------------------------------------

Other interesting site on diseases in Pigeons and Poultry but basically the same as the diseases effecting finches:

Bird Diseases

http://www.comanco.com/selected.htm

A - Z Poultry Disease Index

Antibiotics European & Miscellaneous Pigeon Supply

Question 1:

Question: This bird has developed many black feathers in its plumage. Is this a disorder or a mutation?
Submitted by: John Quatro Date: 18/7/1998

Answer: Please enter in form below
Submitted by:

Dear John,
                        Obs: I don't speak English very well. I am sorry for
my mistakes.
                         I am a Brazilian breeder of Carduelis; Hooded
Siskin ( Carduelis magellanica alleni, Carduelis magellanica icterica )
and Yellow-Faced Siskin ( Carduelis yarreellii ).
                         The bird in photo n. 1, is a relatively common
specimen on the border region of S. Bolivia ( north to Santa Cruz ) and S.
Rondonia and W. Mato Grosso ( Little frontier corner ). This is a natural
cross of two subspecies ( C.m. alleni and C.m. santaecrucis ).
                         In my opinion this specimen is a natural result of
the atavism, surely not a mutation.
                         Ricardo Imbassahy
                         apollo@compuland.com.br
                       Brasil

Question 2:

Question: This bird has some kind of gastro-intestinal infection many a time Salmonella, Coli or Candida. Is it possible that Fungal infection could have caused it?
Submitted by: John Quatro Date: 18/7/1998

Answer: Please enter in form below
Submitted by: Date:

Question 3:

Question: The young Red Siskin with bent feet has died from "Rickets". Could Rickets be cured at this stage, the bird looked perfectly healthy.
Submitted by: John Quatro Date: 18/7/1998

Answer: Please enter in form below
Submitted by: Date:

Question 4:

Question: Prolonged wet weather can lead to Fungal and Aspergillosis infection in young birds. What are the early symptoms?

Submitted by: John Quatro Date: 18/7/1998

Answer: Aspergillus infection of the digestive system of young birds will result in nesting diarrhea of gummy consistency which often fouls the feathers and plugs the vent, the chicks are listless, feathers fluffed up, head drawn back and eyes closed. Aspergillosis will kill the young birds in the nest but not necessarily effect the parent birds. Young birds are often found dead with their crops full.

Question 5:

In this case I used a product called Daktarin (Cooling spray for athlete's feet).
That worked for me, if anyone can confirm this please let me know. I know many have written saying that Vaseline or similar petroleum products worked for them but I believe Daktarin works better, it clears the swelling within a day or two.

Question: Could this be Poxvirus lesions?
Submitted by: John Quatro Date: 18/7/1998

Answer: Please enter in form below
Submitted by: Date:

Date: Friday, 18 September 1998 5:53
Subject: Feedback from Chat Page

email=BIRDMAKER@iol.it
name=Stefano Massetani
Question Number=5

I am an Italian breeder. in my opinion the lesion is from an insect bite and not pox virus lesion.
Probably a mosquito bite!
You should look for other lesions in other parts, especially around the
mandible and under the wings.
These are classic locations for pox virus lesions.

Visita la mia Home Page:

<http://users.iol.it/birdmaker>http://users.iol.it/birdmaker

Question 6:

Question: Hello John, the sore is drying up and my bird is now losing its toe, any suggestions?

Answer: Please enter in form below
Submitted by: Date:
Submitted by: Date:

Question 7:

Question: Hi John, please help, my bird has lost its upper and lower mandible. What do I do?

Submitted by: John Quatro Date: 18/7/1998

Answer: For this I think you should see a Veterinarian. He must have had some kind of nutritional deficiency together with fungal or bacterial infection. Chaffinches need lots of live food, if you can't supply live food why do you keep these birds? Give him some good quality soft food and see if you can find some live food, he would not be able to feed on seeds, but if I were you I would talk to an Avian Veterinarian.
Submitted by: John Quatro Date: 18/7/1998

Question 8:

Question: Hi John the pair of European Siskins I bought have produced 6 young I couldn't have asked for a better deal but now I have lost the adult male. Any idea what could have caused it?
Submitted by: John Quatro Date: 18/7/1998

Answer: To be able to determine the cause you should consult Avian Laboratory try Vetafarm. By looking at the photo, he must have eaten something which has caused some kind of internal infection or poisoning, his intestines are full of blood. Any small bird at that stage of illness would have been very difficult to treat.
Submitted by: John Quatro Date: 18/7/1998

Question 9:

Totally unacceptable the size of the toe-nails in birds in captivity
In photo 2 (bottom) the rear toe was already broken, you can see it pointing 90° to the right.

Question: What could have caused the toe-nail to drop off?
Submitted by: John Quatro Date: 18/7/1998

Answer: It is important to maintain your birds toes in top condition by cleaning their perches regularly, providing perches of different shape and size applying paraffin oil on their feet occasionally. There are several things that could cause the toe-nail to fall off and these are; mosquito bite infection, synthetic fibers, untreated scaly feet, fungal infection or a frost bite. Also, you should never keep finches with hook bills, they will often snap a toe or two from under them.
Submitted by: Date: 18/71998

Question 10:

Question 2:

name=Tony Tognetti
ttognet1@ford.com
I have a European Goldfinch with white growths on his feet. I recently diagnosed the cause to be mites which I learned from your site. I have other finches in separate cages next to this one and they do not show any signs of being effected. The cages have been next to each other for over a year. Why have these mites not effected the other nearby finches? Thank you.

Answer:2

Tony, it is still a mystery to me why are these mites effecting only some bids, I have only seen scaly feet on some European, Asian and some South American birds but never on Siskins or waxbills. I have never seen scaly feet on Bullfinches and I have seen all species in captivity, why are these mites more often found on Goldfinches, European Greenfinches and Chaffinches to the best of my knowledge no one has really done any research. Luckily, Scaly mites are easy to control, all you have to do is wash and disinfect the perches from time to time. Also I would recommend that whenever you handle a bird, before releasing it, to always apply a little bit of Liquid Paraffin or Petroleum cream or anything similar on their feet, especially on European Birds.

Question 1: Hi John the feet of one of my birds have lots of dead white skin growing, particularly around the toes. What is this?
Submitted by:John Quatro Date: 18/7/1998

Answer 1:

This is caused by small mites and their continuous burrowing activities: side of the beak, head, skin of the eyelids, ventral region and feet are usually effected. The only birds in my aviaries that I had to treat occasionally were Chaffinches and Goldfinches, fortunately this is easily treated with various preparations like: Liquid Paraffin, dissolved Condys Crystals, any Mineral oil, etc. simply by brushing onto the effected area. Some more expensive medication like Ivomectin will also do the job. About three to four applications are necessary, one every three days. Occasionally some birds offered for sale by dealers are severely covered with scales and being softy I often buy these birds treat them, then take them back to the dealers. In this case I soak their feet in warm water for about two minutes then wash their feet with soap, soak for another two minutes pour some disinfectant then cut all the dead skin with small scissors, disinfect the feet again then apply Liquid Paraffin or Petroleum gel. If this condition is left untreated for to long it will cut off blood circulation resulting in loss of toenails, toes or feet. By applying these ointments we only suffocate those burrowing mites who are on the bird but their environment also needs to be looked at. Perches, walls, food and water dishes, cages, floors etc. should also be cleaned and disinfected. If the birds are kept indoors, good air circulation is required.

Scaly mites can also infest the area around the eyes or mandibles as in this bird.

Question 11:

Question: Hi John I have this Lined Seedeater with a lump on its head (probably a tumor) could it be removed? Please can you help?

Answer: I haven't yet met a breeder who has done a such operation by themselves, for this kind of thing you would need to see a qualified avian veterinarian, try your Bird club's Veterinarian if they have one.
Submitted by: Date:

Question 12:

Question 1: One of my young Red Siskins has died for no apparent reason its crop was still full. What could have caused it?

Question 2: If my Red Siskins are 3 to 5 days old, they die with the food in their crop, what can be the problem and what kind of seeds do I best feed them?
Thank you
Isabel De Bruyne i_de_bruyne@hotmail.com

Answer: Please enter in form below
Submitted by: Date:
The young could die for many reasons but the first that comes to my mind is that some disease may be transmitted by parents before the eggs are even laid. You must find out what it is and treat the breeding pair with the antibiotics that will cure this problem. Try Ronivet-s (from Vetafarm) at times even the Sulpha drugs will do the trick or work with your Veterinarian to find the right antibiotic.
Other reasons could be if the food is contaminated (soft food?) by mice, slugs etc, the hen is not sitting on young during the night, are you or anyone else smoking near the cage, using to much of hair spray, perfume or any other spray near the cage. Do you have a cat or a dog? If yes, do not touch these animals before feeding the birds, cats and dogs saliva contain bacteria the will kill birds.
As for feeding them, give them lots of greens like: lettuce, spinach, broccoli or plenty of green seeding grasses when you can, dry seed mix and some soft food. Greens and Soft foods must be given fresh daily. When breeding Siskins and Goldfinches don't forget to give them lots of Niger and Sunflower seeds in separate containers. Water dish should be cleaned and refilled daily and do not forget to keep their perches clean.

Question 13:

Question 1: My bird has conjunctivitis what do I do?

Submitted by: D. Ward email=smoki619@hotmail.com
Comment: I have a wild finch that appears to have some sort of conjunctivitis. It's vision is very limited. How can I help it? I have a cage ready to go...just in case I see it again. Thank you.

Answer 1: Some of the wild finches in the USA have been infected with some rare form of clamidia. Scientists have examined birds from all over the USA where the birds with this condition were being reported. Although they know what it is and how to treat it, what they do not know is where and how that many birds got infected. It is mainly House finches and an occasional Goldfinch. I think you should contact Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology www.ornith.cornell.edu they will be able to advice you exactly what to do if you see these birds again.

Question 14:

Question: My bird is all fluffed up, I noticed a dark inflammation on the side of its tummy. Please help!

Answer: Please enter in form below
Submitted by: Date:

Question 15:

Question: One of my young birds has a lump on its tummy, it moves up and down I think this is his gizzard. Is this normal?

Answer: Please enter in form below
Submitted by: Date:

Question 16:

Question: I have a young Red Siskin with what I think are two mosquito bites. Is an antiseptic cream enough to clear the sore or should I get some antibiotics?

Answer: Please enter in form below
Submitted by: Date:

Question 17:

Question: I know that it doesn't take much to kill day old chicks but why are his intestines so dark?

Answer: Please enter in form below
Submitted by: Date:

Question 18:

Question: I left four young Siskins in a small cage one Sunday morning out in the sun , when I came back only three were in the cage, I found the head of the fourth about 2 feet away. I suspect a large black and white cat. I would like to catch him, What do I do?

Answer: Why do you want to catch the cat, or should I ask? Cat are sometimes good to have around the house, they control mice population around the aviaries.
Submitted by: Date:

Question 19:

Question: One of my birds has yellowish skin in the corner of its bill can anyone help?

Question 20:

Question: I had water leaking from under the door into my bird room, you can see three different types of fungi growing on the floor, there is green in the middle, black on the straw and white (woolly) all around. Could this affect my birds in any way, the floor is clean?

Answer: Please enter in form below
Submitted by: Date:

Question 21:

Why are my birds always sick?

It only takes 6 hours if the conditions are right for mould to start growing on Fruit,
Soft food and Sprouted seeds.

Sprouted seeds are only second to unclean water dish for spreading disease in
Aviaries. This mould grew in only 48 hours. There is a golden rule we all must remember
and this is to never leave Soft food, fruit or sprouted seeds over night in Aviaries.

This is the seed I kept for planting, by zooming in with a camera I discovered they were moldy. Shouldn't be fed to birds!

Question 22:

Question: One of my females had one of its legs straight as a match stick (stiff, could not bend) now both legs are showing the same symptoms. Please can you help, I am feeding green food, seeding grasses seed mix calcium and soft food. One of my friends is having the same problems with one of his males.

Answer: I once bought a young female with the same symptoms, I thought she was partly paralyzed, I did not pick it until I arrived home, but when you look for Red Siskins more often there is not much to choose from. This bird died some months later. I once mentioned this to Dr. Ortega whose opinion was that the tendons (fibers by which the muscle is attached to the bone) are probably damaged due to numbers of reason. It is most likely treatable but it is best to consult an Avian Veterinarian.

Question 23:

Question 1:

I would like to ask you a question trough this e-mail. My Red Siskins have molted or are molting (I am not sure). The males have lost all their head feathers, some of them have swollen eyebrow (one side only) and the eye is totally closed. They look in a very bad condition, all the females are OK. What should I do and what should I give them?
Thank you,

Question 2:

Hello,
My European greenfinch lost all of the feathers on the front of its neck, it looks like a turkey , one of my friend thinks they are molting, is it normal ? Or is it
an illness ? What is the cure ? Should I separate this bird from others ?

Thanks

Submitted by: Manuel Sanchez Lopez ropit@ctv.es
From: la ciudad de Palma de Mallorca Spain
Date: 1/11/1998
Question 1: Manuel, they are probably suffering from Psittacosis, if it is Psittacosis then you need Doxycyclene, see your Veterinarian. There are new and by far better medications available for human use which can be used to treat Psittacosis for which you would have to consult your GP, if there are no Veterinarians in your town.

Question 2:
This usually happens to birds kept indoors, I also occasionally see this in my birds. To treat this I take the bird outside and leave it in an outdoor aviary for about three months and it always clears up. I believe, it must be some kind of fungal skin infection or an allergy. I even at times wash the bird using medicated shampoo, dry it well before leaving it in an outdoor aviary. One think is for certain, they do benefit from good air circulation, exposure to a direct sunlight, sand bathe, clean water provided daily to bathe in etc. I am not aware of any other proven treatments for birds but there could be, it is best to consult your veterinarian. If it's mites that are causing it, you would know it, believe me! Another possibility is if the male is to aggressive or if kept with other birds that are nesting, the females will cause this to each other, often bolting out of the nest attacking any bird in the vicinity of their nest, flying away with beak full of feathers.

If it's the skin fungal infection (usually, that's what it is), I would improve bird room ventilation or try placing the bird in another cage/aviary and always keep the water clean. Try using something like Aviclean (Vetafarm Product) in drinking water, if not one drops of Iodine in 10 liters of water will also do the trick, replacing it every single day, and not to much unnecessary medications, vitamin or mineral cocktails.
Birds moult once a year, this is after the breeding season, if they lose their feather more often then there's something wrong with them, I would speak to a avian veterinarian.

Question 24:

Psittacosis


   Oriental Greenfinch with Psittacosis       Oriental Greenfinch 35 day later

Paited Bunting with Chlamydia infection
Note: the lump above the eye is pushing the lid upwards

25:

Dear Mr. John Quatro,

A friend of mine, who is also fond of Siskins gave me your address and I have seen your just fantastic page! Since I was a boy in my hometown in the State of Minas Gerais, interior of Brazil my hobby was bird keeping. I have always been fascinated by the Siskins and, in those days, I only knew the black hooded ones. In l974 I moved to Brasilia and here I had the chance of knowing other breeds, like the yarelli , the psaltria, the carduelis and others. For my surprise and mainly by watching your page, I know now that there are lots of Siskins I had never imagined they could exist. What is amazing to me is the fact that Australia and New Zealand are the only places in the world where there are no wild Siskins. So, how did you know of all these different species birds? I realize it might have been a real big job acquiring so many different kinds of Siskins, right? If you accidentally turn loose a pair of Siskins, for example a pair of Spinus magellanicus ictericus, would they survive and reproduce there in Australia?
Congratulation for your page! Best wishes from Venceslau/Planaltina-DF/Brasil

Submitted by: Venceslau Barbosa email=lau@yawl.com.br
From:
Date:2 December 1998

Answer: Thank you for the comment on this page, I have also kept birds since I was a kid, my passion was pigeons but somehow I got stumbled into keeping Carduelan species. I guess it was the variety of colors and their song that I was attracted to. It was only through reading books and research that I learned about the species and subspecies of Siskins and I can proudly say that before the "International Carduelan society" (1997) they were never listed in one book, and this is not only with Siskins, there are many other species and subspecies of birds that people simply do not know about and some are just hanging in existence. I still haven't completed what I wanted to achieve and this is to have photos of all the Siskin species and subspecies published on the ICS web page. There's only a hand-full of photographs of subspecies that I need to accomplish this, which up to now were difficult to obtain. Here in Australia we only have about five species of Siskins, and strange as it may be breeders are not interested in Carduelan species as they are in the estrildids and even less in New Zealand but somehow we manage to maintain a few pure specimens in our country.
The comment about: would the birds survive if been accidentally released; that depends on how many and on the species of birds. The birds will go through the same amount of stress as when the wild birds are caught for bird trade, often 5% or less will only survive before they reach the bird shops, the diet and the environment is completely different to what they are use to, and not to mention the predators and the territorial fights with the local birds. According to the book "Introduced birds of the World" most European finches were introduced into Australia and New Zealand but only some were able to establish, European Goldfinches and Greenfinches are trapped by thousands for supply to bird trade and export, Birds like Bullfinches have died out, the Australian climate is most certainly not suitable for them, migratory birds like Redpolls and Linnets have probably found their way to the Northern hemisphere. However, most of these birds have managed to establish in New Zealand where the climate is similar to the climate in Northern hemisphere. Intentionally releasing foreign birds into the wild is illegal and should never be done not only here in Australia but in all countries of the world. Respecting native species and their environment is the way to go. Native species and their environment is every country's national treasure, we should all be proud of it and enjoy it while we still can.

Question 26:

This young Hooded Siskin is a victim of a continues attack by a large European Greenfinch, with an abscess on its preening gland.

Question 27:

Swollen Joints probably caused by Paratyphoid

Swollen joints

After the swollen joints dry up (from the pus formed around the joints) the wing will drop a little, it will never go back to normal. If the both wings are effected the bird will probably never fly again.

Question 28:

14 year old Red Siskin -male

Veterinary Practice News

- ARS Develops Bovine TB Test for Birds

http://www.animalnetwork.com/petindustry/vpn/newsarticleview.asp?Section=Exotics+News&RecordNo=4231

Question:29
Coccidia

http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/agdex/600/63-35.html

Coccidia of the world

Submitted by: Rene Guimaraes email=rene.guimaraes@scruz.com.br
Comment: What do you use for coccidia control? The name of medicine and dosage?

Answer: Rene, there are thousands of brands of medication that will control Coccidia, every company has their own formula but one of the latest and probably the best is the Baycox. Dosage is 2ml/L of water , usually it is two to three day treatment or until cleared.

Sorry, these are only air bubbles (not coccidia) as seen under 10x magnification (100 times)

Air bubbles as seen under magnification of 40x or (400 times)

Question:30
Embryos dying in eggs? Chicks dying in shell at hatching? Young dying 5 to 10 days of age?

The most likely causes are the Paratyphoid or E-coli infection transmitted by rodents. The eggs have either been contaminated as it was being formed in an infected ovary or the surface of the egg has been contaminated as it was laid. To prevent this from happening, firstly the aviary should be rodentproof, secondly the water and food dish should always be placed where the rodents cannot get at it. The floor should be disinfected with a half of cup of bleach added to ten liters of water, and by creating acidic condition in the soil by adding half a cup of Apple Cider Vinegar to a bucket of water and scrubbing the floor with it afterwards. About six drops of Apple Cider Vinegar added to 300 ml of drinking water will prevent the bacteria from reproducing. Although Vinegar will prevent certain bacteria from reproducing, it will not prevent fungi from growing on the walls of the dish. One drop of iodine/10 liters of water or few drops of Aviclean will stop fungi and bacteria from multiplying in drinking water. Paratyphoid, Salmonella sp. and E-coli like to reproduce in slightly alkaline environment- such as the intestines. In an acidic environment these bacteria do not reproduce well, their number drop dramatically, in some cases over 97%. Do not forget to scrub and disinfect food dishes (daily) and perches on regular basis, (weekly). After treating the birds with prescribed medications for certain period of time, add some "good" or "friendly" bacteria but only to distilled drinking water (not chlorinated tap water and without adding Iodine, Aviclean or Vinegar), do it at least once a week. There are several products commercially available like the Vetafarm's - Probiotic, Acidophilus Tablets from any Pharmacy or simply use Yogurt. By using the "good" bacteria regularly you may never have to use antibiotics again.
Please do not use bleach in drinking water!

Question:31

Submitted by: Alon Aharoni email=alonyb@netvision.net.il
Comment: One of the birds is constantly turning its head up. Is it possible to cure birds with this symptoms?

Answer: Alon, this sounds like the symptoms breeders refer to as twirling. I can only voice my opinion from my experience mainly through reading and keeping birds. In 95% of cases twirling is an infection of the vestibular organ in the inner ear in some cases it is fungal and in some bacterial infection but it also could be viral, parasitic or toxic. Tumors or lesions of some kind or a good nock on the head could also have the same symptoms. Although Veterinarians and some Aviculturists claim that there is a cure for twirling, it is easier to lose the sick birds (especially finches) then actually curing them. Veterinary Science is improving daily and hopefully soon "quick and accurate diagnosis will be possible" with 100% cure rate but for now "head on the chopping block" is the best and the cheapest way out. Over 20 year period I had three birds with twirling symptoms, I tried everything possible but every time the bird died. In my opinion if the birds were given proper care, environment and diet head twisting would be unheard-off. Never ever keep too many birds in a cage or an Aviary.
What is too many? --- More then one breeding pair or more than four young, if kept in a cage.

HOSPITAL CAGE

It is important that all heated hospital cages have good air circulation, I find that a cheap computer fans that are available from about $4 each at any computer market are perfect for this job. Air should never be pumped into the cage, air should be sucked out of the cage and two small 25mm (1 inch) square fans are just about the right size for a 700mm x 300mm x 600mm hospital box.
Check this out - http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/solutions.html

An interesting comment by Richard Serrano, I am sorry if my French translation is not 100% accurate but here it is:

serranraza@aol.com

There's a disease known as the "Disease of the Ostriches", the symptoms are: the bird turns its head continuously out of control or it drops its head between its legs and eventually dies. In French language it is called "Encephalomalacie", the birds must have eaten large amount of rancid seeds, and the only thing that can save some birds effected is by tripling the normal dose of the Vitamin "E". The Vitamin drops should be given at least every two hours, some soft food like egg and biscuit should be offered and some fresh clean seeds, the birds should be kept worm at about 28 Deg. C.

I saved more than 50% of imported birds which were kept in cages for long period of time, but this disease is very rare if the food given is clean and changed regularly and their cages are kept clean.

Question:32
Laurel and Hardy Syndrome in Red Siskins

Photos taken on the 12/12/02, the chicks are about 10 days old, hatched one day apart.

Trimming an overgrown upper mandible

Question:33

A little bit of TLC and 'look at me now' (About 6 months later)

European Goldfinch with overgrown bill, both the upper and lower mandibles are
evenly overgrown and had to be trimmed on regular basis. In most cases it is either the upper or the lower mandible that need trimming. Birds in this condition cannot feed properly and often die from starvation. I found this bird in a bird-shop, it was in poor condition. This bird (male) recoverd well and now it looks like a normal Euro. Goldfinch.
(No it is not C.c parapanisi)

Question:34

Egg binding

The most common cause of egg binding is lack of calcium in the diet. When I walked into an aviary in which I kept a pair of Hooded Siskins, I saw the female sitting on the perch breathing heavily. The first thought was that it must have had some nasty infection from eating something bad, like paint, lead etc. I looked at the abdomen, it was swollen, I wasn't suspecting egg binding, so I refilled the water dish to which I added "Triple C". I gave the birds three drops directly into the beak and walked out. I returned in about an hour and the bird wasn't much better so I gave her another couple of drops of medicated water thinking 'this bird is a goner'. The following morning I found the bird perfectly normal, flying from perch to perch, assuming 'whatever it was the medicine must have done the trick'. As I was walking out of the aviary I saw something white on the floor that looked like an egg, I picked it up and yes that was a soft shelled egg that I haven seen for quite some time in my aviaries.

My treatment was; I refilled the water dish to which I added Calcivet, I also added few drops of Cod-liver oil to the seed mix as well as adding some egg shell and new chunk of Cuttlefish bone.

Green food like the seeding Grasses and Lettuce are provided daily. The bird fully recovered resuming laying a clutch of four eggs.

Inability to pass an egg can be very serious, without treatment egg binding can result in a very painful death of the bird.

Soft shell egg in comparison to a normal egg. One of my Red Siskin hens laid a very small egg (about 10 mm) Normal size egg is about 17 - 18 mm long. It is always the first egg of the season and in one case the egg was fertile and the young hatched. (The other two eggs are Himalayan Greenfinch & a Red Siskins egg)

Question:35

This is the reason why not to give either wild or captive birds synthetic materials to use for nest building. This is a wild European Blackbird I caught after noticing at the feeder something was wrong with its feet. I managed to cut and pull all of the string out. I cleaned, washed, disinfected and applied some ointment on its feet and released the bird. If it survives the first couple of days then I believe its feet will gradually get back to normal despite losing the rear and the inner toe on one leg.

Question:36

The first two weeks

Now he spends all day foraging for insects and playing with his tennis ball.
Feeding an orphan bird like this Australian Magpie can be demanding and very tedious job. This young bird could not fly when I found him, was repeatedly been attacked by both parents while begging for food. I think they must have had a new clutch of young in the nearby tree.

Question:37

Toxic Cocktail
I do not normally mix medication or vitamins and I do not remember of anything similar happening to me. On the 17/Jul/04 I decided to add some vitamins with some electrolyte in drinking water and by the time I walked out to get some green lettuce some of the birds were already staggering holding onto the wire. I thought that was strange but I walked out again to wash and refill the dishes with sprouted seeds, within less than 5 minutes I had 8 birds dead on the floor. I realized immediately that I must have poisoned the birds so I quickly emptied the water dishes and removed the lettuce leafs. I called the Veterinarian and he also suspected some kind of poisoning. Whatever it was it done the job well. All of the birds were in perfect health prior to this incident. My local Pharmacist thinks it's the overdosing with Electrolytes that caused it, if anyone has a thought or a comment about this please let me know!
I stopped using the vitamins supplements and the electrolytes and I haven't had a problem since.

I am sure that many finch breeders might have poisoned their birds unknowingly just like I did, meaning well. I first noticed this several years ago with young in the nest dying every time I added supplements or medication in water.

Question:38

email=tonievaldez@yahoo.com
name=Tonie Valdez
QuestionNumber=1
questions, comments=My baby finches have visible large egg like clusters on their necks. It is as if a spider laid eggs inside the skin of the neck. What is it and what can I do about it?

Answer:

I could not say exactly what that may be but I remember while I kept Parrot Finches, one of them had couple of lumps on its back just below the neck. I spoke to a Veterinarian, he told me to make a small incision, which I did, and a large hard, yellow cheese like lump popped out.
Another possibility is a feather cyst, which can also be removed, depending on how large or how many, you may or may not need a Veterinarian.
I have seen dogs with large number of different size tumors protruding and hanging down from the skin, I haven't seen that in birds!

I have never heard of a spider laying eggs under the skin of a bird but yes there are insects that lay eggs under the skin of other animals on which the larvae feed when they hatch, but as far as I know these insects are only known in Africa.

Question:39

One of the wild doves at the bird feeder I noticed was limping had abnormally red feet. I suspected Gout but could be some kind of external skin infection. I washed the feet with liquid iodine then applied Lamisile Cream (Terbinafine Hydrochloride 10 mg/g) hoping it will do the trick. If it's Gout there's very little that one can do for a wild bird. Check this out:
http://www.2ndchance.info/gout.htm

Question:40

Young Grass finch, with face disfigured and crossed mandibles, and a normal Grass finch.
It is not clear what caused it, if it's proven to be genetic then the parents should be separated. If it happens again and if it's proven that one of the parents did this then that bird should be replaced. Then again, it could have been accidental at hatching, an insect or another aviary bird could have done it, etc. This bird died soon after fledging.

Sometimes cotton wool results in this, when the parents are too quick in starting another nest and are carrying both the nesting material and the food for the young in their beaks. This guy is lucky I was able to (very carefully) pull out every bit of it from deep inside its stomach. White-winged Wrens are worth their weight in gold!

A kit like this is always handy

This is another orphan (Noisy Mynah) I found on the floor after a very windy day. This guy will be ready to release in a day or so!

To John Quatro

(Be sure to include e-mail address and the question number )

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Question:30 Embryos dying in eggs? Chicks dying in shell at hatching? Young dying 5 to 10 days of age?

Question:30
Embryos dying in eggs? Chicks dying in shell at hatching? Young dying 5 to 10 days of age?