sick bird

[aarongreen123]

i have a sick bird. he acts drunk almost, seems to barely be able to keep his eyes open. he stumbles like he's drunk but when i go to catch him he flies, but then he'll crash into the perch. what do these symptoms represent? i moved him into isolation, no other birds exibiting anything like this.

[Grim]

Is he very skinny? How old is the bird?

[Charis]

Aaron,
It sounds like Paratyphoid. You need to start him on a 14 day course of baytril. You may also need to hand feed him. Do you have mice in your loft?

[Grim]

Well it could be lots of things. I have had birds get worms and crash into perches or miss a perch. Their bodies become so drained they loose coordination. After worming they are back to normal in 2 days. Even a bird going light especially if it is dehydrated will be sleepy and have bad coordination. So we need more info on the bird like it's age any vaccines or worming treatments. Also how do the droppings look?

[aarongreen123]

this bird is about a year old. i will try the baytril if thats the recomended treatment. i fed him last night, i'll feed him again today, although he seemed to be eating and drinking on his own. should i use hand feeding mix or just hand feed him seed? i will know what the droppings look like tonight.

[Grim]

If you can put some hand feeding formula down the hatch. That should give him some needed calories and vitamins if he hasn't been eating. Also worm him if you haven't already.

[ace in the hole]

It can be hard to "guess" what sickness a bird has. I would say the bird is dehydrated real bad. A lot of birds that get sick and die, die from dehydration. If it has wet, runny stool it is loosing it's fluids. Pump some water into it's crop if you have a way to do that. You can order what is called a Water Bulb from the FOY"S catalog. This is what I use and it works great. I would also give this bird a strong broad-spectrum antibiotic in that water morning and evening for at least five days.

Or

Here is a number that was given to me on my thread "Sick Birds" last week. Either take the bird to a vet in your area or try calling him and see if he can help. Tri-County Veterinary Service, LLC Kevin Zollars, D.V.M. in IL. 1-815-246-9545

Ace

[aarongreen123]

i know there has been some disagreement on this for a while, but what about 4 in 1 treatments? when i noticed he was sick i decided to do my quarterly 4 in 1 treatment a few weeks early, i know paratyphoid is in that 4 in 1 treatment. this is day 4, and i can't say he's a lot better, but he hasn't gotten worse. i just started feeding him yesterday, so i'm hopefully he'll perk up. i'm going to use a syringe with hand feeding mix, should i pump right full or just a little bit? i know he's drinking, as i've seen him several times. i am trying to balance the stress of catching and handling him with the benefity of doing so if there is any chance he'll recover on his own.

[Grim]

I would fill him up pretty good. Don't over fill him but more than a little bit. If he is puffed up he is probably using all his energy to stay warm and a bird like that can starve on a crop full of food but even faster on an empty crop. If you have a 4 in 1 use it. At this point it is better than nothing.

[aarongreen123]

is paratyphoid another one of these host equilibrium organisms that is always around and kept in check with normal bird immunity, or is there something i need to do to disinfect or treat my loft with beyond normal cleaning?

[Charis]

I have never had success with 4 in 1. My vet said it is worthless. Individual treatment for a sick bird work best and you then know the bird is actually getting the medicine. Do you have any antibiotics left over from your baby?

I would thoroughly clean your loft and disinfect. You could vaccinate the birds that aren't showing symptoms with sal-bac.

[Grim]

Wild birds, and rodents are all carriers of Paratyphoid.

[Charis]

Originally Posted by Grim

Wild birds, and rodents are all carriers of Paratyphoid.

Most likely rodents or birds you have added to your flock.

[aarongreen123]

when i go home today he was still sitting on the floor of the sick loft. but he did feel stronger when i picked him up. i mixed up some hand feeding stuff and filled his crop up. i will leave him on the 4 in 1 for now, i orderer some baytril today, will it be ok to start him on that when it gets here?
thanks,
aaron

[Charis]

Originally Posted by aarongreen123

when i go home today he was still sitting on the floor of the sick loft. but he did feel stronger when i picked him up. i mixed up some hand feeding stuff and filled his crop up. i will leave him on the 4 in 1 for now, i orderer some baytril today, will it be ok to start him on that when it gets here?
thanks,
aaron

Yes it will.