Do you have a question that you have not found an answer for throughout this website or in my FAQ? Use this link to send your question directly to me. Be as specific as possible about the symptom or behavior in question...
Dr. Rob is a world renowned avian veterinarian in Sydney, Australia. He was the veterinary consultant for the Northern Territory Nature and Conservation Commission for a scientific study of the disease status in the wild population of the endangered Gouldian Finches as it related to a "Recovery Plan".
Tailai O’Brien is a Parrot Behavior Consultant who has worked along side Dr. Marshall and has developed special regimes for successful bird training and behavioral development. Fill out her Questionnaire so that she may help you with your parrot’s bad behavior.
Ladygouldian.com
is now a proud sponsor of the
Save the Gouldian Fund
A portion of all of our sales will be donated to the fund, in the hope that we may contribute in a small way to saving the wild
Jan Armstrong from South Korea asks: Dear Dr. Rob, One of my little Gouldians crashed into a wall and is now blind. Is it possible that her sight will return? What should I be doing for her other than making her a small cage she can negotiate around? Thank you.
Hello Jan, It may be temporary blindness if the optic nerve is just bruised, permanent if the retina detached. TLC is the best you can do for now. All the Best, Rob
Michael Costanzo from Collins, Ohio asks: FOLLOW UP on budgie hen. She laid an egg about 3 hours after I posted about her. She laid another one the next day. She seems to be done and is about back to normal. She is a much loved pet and gets lots of fly time out of her cage. I raised her from a 2 week old chick and at weaning time I introduced her to spray millet and finch seed mix. She picked out eating the Japanese millet and that is the food she ate for a long time. She finally decided that canary seed is good too, along with dried birds greens. (veggies and alfalfa, celery leaves, spinach, and some dried fruits.) I was real happy she finally started to eat the birdie greens. She will not eat white millet like most budgies eat. Anyway, she seems okay except for some sinus trouble and she sneezes a lot. She also has a tremble to her wings when she is resting. I think it is a vitamin A problem so I got her the DufoPlus and Ioford. Will this correct the trouble? I know that the sinus and sneezing is Vitamin A, but is the tremble in the wings part of it too? How long will it take for the DufoPlus and Ioford take to correct the Vitamin A trouble? Are these enough to make her healthy and keep her that way as far as diet goes? I want her to live a long happy life! Thanks
Hello Michael, I am happy to hear that your Budgie hen is now doing okay. Her tremors are more than likely a mineral/energy depletion. She also needs Turbobooster, E-Powder and F-Vite coated on and added to her seed mix. See my web page on cockatiels excessive egg laying. (www.birdhealth.com.au) Rob
Stuart Culp from 32 Chateau Dr. Whitesboro, NY 13492 asks: Several months ago we treated our female Gouldian finch with a regimen of S76 for Scaley Face Disease. (See our letter to you) Most of the scabby material fell off her beak after a month or so, so we think the treatment was successful, but some of the material is still on her beak. We did another regimen of S76 just to make sure, but it didn't make any difference. How long does it take for a beak to clear up under these conditions?
Hello Stuart, There may be permanent damage done by the mite, so sometimes scar tissue may remain. REPEAT TREATMENTS WITH S76 EACH MONTH plus TurboBooster/E-Powder and F-Vite each day for one month. Look at feather and feet quality as well as a sign of good health and the indication that mite is no longer present. All the Best, Rob
Michael Costanzo from Collins, Ohio asks: I have a 2 year old budgie hen. Today she is a bit fluffed and her droppings are huge but mostly formed, light green in color, clear watery stuff around the formed part. She is also displaying a bit of labored breathing with some tail dipping. I have been giving her dried birdy greens. I also have been giving her some bird Herb Salad that I got from Ladygouldian.com. She is also been broody, working on a nest in her cage. Now I know that the droppings can get huge when they are nesting but this looks different because of the light green color. One time I saw her squirt the clear fluid with bits of the dropping in it. I naver saw her do this before. I have her on electrolytes and Bac-trim right now. If she isn't better by tomorrow morning I will be trying to find a vet. Last time I needed a vet no one in my area would mess with birds. I will be putting some heat on her when I get done with this post. She is still fairly active puttering around her little nest area. Please help!
Hello Michael, She is about to lay eggs. She needs crop feeding with hand-rearing mix or add calcium to water. It may already be egg-binding. THIS MAY BE AN EMERGENCY, Rob
Danielle from Ohio asks: Dr. Rob. Thanks of the info but I’m sorry to say I do not know what Aspergillosis or what a Strep infection are in birds. Could you give me a brief description of the two and how birds get these conditions. And are they both contagious? Thanks for your time.
Hello Danielle, I think this could be a serious problem. I'm thinking maybe Aspergillosis or a Strep infection. These birds do not drink much water so treatment is difficult in water. I wish you the best with them, Rob
Kristen E. Martin from Alabama asks: I have a male budgie, Kirby, who is now going on 5-years-old. He has become listless and fluffed up. It seemed to happen overnight. He eats a regular budgie seed mix, lots of greens and some bread crust at times. He also has water-soluble vitamins in his drinking tube. What could I be doing wrong? Why is his health failing so fast?
Hello Kristen, Your budgie may have any number of things going on, but being a 5 year old, a sudden illness must be food or an environmental change. Do you allow him out of his cage? Could he have gotten into anything in your home that would have been harmful. You need to have a vet check for a few things. Sudden illness may be heavy metal poisoning, blocked gizzard, Trichomoniasis, Strep or other bacterial problem. All the Best, Rob
Kristen E. Martin from Alabama asks: Hello Dr. Rob, Thank you for your prompt reply. There's not a bird vet anywhere near me, but I'll try to find one in my state. My budgie is going on 6 years old, not 5, my mistake. And yes, I do let him out of his cage, but he's always with me. I think it's an iodine deficiency. He shows the symptoms of thyroid disease or whatever it's called. Also, I have a ringed turtledove. The place where I bought it says to feed it cracked corn, but that doesn't sound very healthy. Is there anything with nutrition that I can feed it?
Hello Kristen, Look out for Trichomoniasis if the dove is near the budgie. Try using Ronidazole (Ronivet-S) for your ill budgie if the birds come in contact with each other. You could put your turtle dove onto my Health Programmes along with the cracked corn and he should do very well. All the best, Rob
James Rees from Sydney, Australia asks: Rob, I recently obtained a pair of star finches. They have started breeding already but the male has developed a problem. He used to sing stridently and melodiously however more recently he has developed a cough/sneeze and now when he tries to sing no sound comes from his beak. Every attempt to sing results in a little fit of sneezing where he goes "psst, psst, psst" a couple of times and then swallows down the phlegm or whatever it was he coughed up. Otherwise though he appears fine with a clean vent and quite active. Can you tell what is wrong with him and what I should do? Thanks a lot mate,
Hello James, This is most likely a fungal or thrush infection. Try KD for 3 days in the drinking water a see what response it has. Assess your feeding and soft food hygiene. Rob
Jan from Alabama asks: Hello Dr. Rob, I appreciate your time. I have two gouldians that died this week. One appeared to have 'gone light', the other had no signs of illness or weight loss. Upon examining my other Goulds, I noticed yellowish large droppings. I have had the birds recently treated (preventative maintenance) with Scatt and then Wormout Gel, followed by regular water. I have now tried erythromycin to try to firm up their feces. I still have one Gould that is very light; his breast bone is so sharp that he has sliced his skin down the length of the bone. I separated him out to a hospital cage, and now have noticed blood in his dark feces. The feces is somewhat formed, dark brownish-red (appears like dark clotted blood) with fresh blood wicking outwards on the paper towel. What should I do for him now? Thanks again for your valuable time and assistance.
Hello Jan, Yellowish large droppings are usually an indication of Campylobacter or Cochlosoma if the vent is stained yellow. If the erythromycin didn't help, and you were using at a theraputic dose, then I would suggest that you try a medication containing Ronidazole for Cochlosoma. See page 267 of my Gouldian Book for more details. All the Best, Rob
C.C. from St Louis, MO asks: Dr. Rob, I have four young Lady Gouldian finches. (not for breeding, just enjoyment) My male silver is about 4 months old. Ever since I got him, he has the peculiar habit of picking at his vent -- and at one time actually caused bleeding. (several drops !!). I follow your web site and have ordered several products. (I started your Moult Programme about two weeks ago and they are doing well). I also have your book. I did spray all of them with S-76 and it did seem to help (him) for a while. Should I repeat that treatment? I am not sure what to do for him. None of the birds have wet vents and at night they rest quietly. He also bobs and bobs his hind quarters frequently while doing the above behavior. Any suggestions? I am not sure exactly what I am dealing with. All others appear healthy and happy. In fact, other than the above, Silver appears very healthy as well. Thanks in advance. CC.
Hello CC, This symptom that you describe occurs with Thrush, anaerobic bacteria and tapeworms. A dropping sample, microscopic examination would help determine the exact cause. In the meantime try Mycostatin to test for Thrush and GT wormer (Worm Out Gel) for tapeworms and Flagyl for anaerobes. Use each treatment separately. All the Best, Rob
0 items
Do you have a question that you have not found an answer for throughout this website or in my FAQ? Use this link to send your question directly to me. Be as specific as possible about the symptom or behavior in question...
Tailai O’Brien is a Parrot Behavior Consultant who has worked along side Dr. Marshall and has developed special regimes for successful bird training and behavioral development. Fill out her Questionnaire so that she may help you with your parrot’s bad behavior.
