Baby Galah

[hips07]

Hi i hope some people can help me.

I have just bought a 3 month old galah and am just wanting to check what is normal and what is not.

I took him to the vet as i was worried about him. His poo changed to a more looser consistency and he had some of it getting stuck to his cloaca. He is now on metronidazole (Antibiotics) from the vet which seems to have made it worse. He doesn't seem overly interested in food , i mean he will sit at his seed bowl and walk around the floor and eat from the seed tray but he seems to mainly eat sunflower seeds and not much of the rest.

He will often make a high pitched cry at me and wave his head side to side.

He doesn't seem to be very confident with climbing, hes OK going up but keeps falling when hes going down.

Should i be bathing him or spraying him with water or do galahs naturally clean themselves, I'm asking this as Ive had to keep pulling faeces out of his cloaca.

He doesn't seem to be to interested in fruits and veggies but i keep offering them incase he turns.

How long does it take for a galah to feel settled as i think some of this may be stress. What weight should he be. I weighed him and hes 178gms i know an adult should be at least 280. For a 3 month old is this ok?

Please help any advice would be great.

[Robyn]

Hi & welcome,

If your baby is only 3 months old do you think he/she is fully weaned & independent. His weight should be a lot more. Honestly I think a trip to an Avian Vet with this little guy. I think he is in trouble.

I think from your description this poor little guy is starving. Try & offer him some hand rearing formula from a spoon he should gobble it down.

You can also sprout a seed mix for him, most weaning or young birds take to them as the are easy to eat.

[avinet]

I agree with Robyn - you have a sick bird that is at least 100 grams less than I would expect at 3 months, and his crying behaviour suggests hunger. So some hand rearing food is a good place to start.

While stress may be contributing, your bird is basically sick and needs good treatment.

Metronidazole is an unusual antibiotic to give to a bird. It is rarely used and then mostly to treat parasites such as Giardia and Trichomoniasis. Even for those it is largely replaced by Ronidazole. Did the vet tell you what his diagnosis was? If not then it would be worth calling the vet and asking what exactly his diagnosis was - wa sit parasites or bacterial and if bacterial was it gram positive or gram negative. As an antibiotic Metronidazole is mostly used to treat anaerobic bacteria, which are rarely a problem in birds - I have never heard of it's use for this in over 20 years of dealing with sick birds.

Is the vet a bird specialist? My experience with vets is that vets who mainly deal with dogs and cats usually know little about birds, so it is important if possible to see a good avian vet. Let us know where you live and we may be able to recommend one in your area.

His problems with climbing around the cage may be due to weakness from being sick, and don't spray him at present. It is important to keep a sick bird warm, and spraying will chill him. If necessary wet the dropping on his vent area with wet cotton wool to soften them for removal. When he is recovered he will enjoy being sprayed but not just yet.

Let us know how he goes,

cheers,

Mike

[hips07]

Thanks for the advice guys,

I agree thats what i thought. the breeder told me he had been weaned on seed only for about 1-2 weeks. I have tried neocare on a spoon but he was just not interested. he has taken a little apple and loves sunflower seeds but that is about all. i'll ring the vet first thing in the morning. I live in north Adelaide in SA. I have soaked the seed tonight to see if that makes a difference.

Thanks

[avinet]

The nearest avian vet to your - a member of the Association of Avian Veterinarians Australasia - is

Pin Needham
Glenside Veterinary Clinic
294 Greenhill Rd
Glenside SA 5065
08 8379 0222


let us know how you go

cheers,

Mike

[hips07]

Thank you all for your help.

I took him back to the same vet clinic but to a vet who has worked much more with birds and use to work at the zoo and was very good with him. He had florid candida in his stool but the vet thinks he may have had more wrong with him than just that. He died at the vet today. I really appreciate all your help and am very thankful for this website. I knew something was wrong i just didn't know what.

[Robyn]

I am so sorry you lost the little guy. That is so sad.

[avinet]

So sorry to hear of the loss, even when you only have them for a few days it is still hard if they die.

Sounds like he had a problem for a while to be so thin, so presumably from before you got him. Candida is often a secondary infection, following behind some sort of bacterial infection in the gut.

Again, my sympathies for your loss

Mike

[birdz]

i'm so sorry for your loss he sounded like a real sweety