HEALTH

Dr Rob: I have a blue Gouldian who was in very good health. However, now he is ill. He still eats, but then perches and fluffs his feathers and sticks his head under his wing. He can still fly, but with difficulty. "Blue" seems disoriented. He will sit perched and twist his head, looking upside down, and side to side. He seems to have lost his energy. He will not fly around his cage much, and does not take any more baths. He doesn't sing any more. The odd thing he does now is just sitting and twisting his head as if he is disoriented. Blue is acting as if he has lost his sight or hearing. My second question is that I have a younger female. She will be 1 year old in June. She has never bred. Can she lay eggs without a male? She was very ill, we separated her, and observed her eating a great deal of charcoal. The next day we found the remnants of an egg, shell fragments and yolk. My third question is, we have a male Gouldian who hatched and raised successfully, but the last two seasons, he threw the babies out of the nest. What can we do to stop this behavior? I have been breeding Gouldians for over seven years, but each pair brings new and different challanges. I am hand feeding one of the discarded babies. He is five days old. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.