Fab Five Remain Undefeated!

Mario this morning

After reading my last post, it seemed like the problem with the imported German Rollers was over. The birds look so good that I waited till the following Sunday and then at 11 am I took them off the Enrofloxyn(Baytril) and watched.

By 3 pm I could see lower abdominal breathing, especially on Mario. How could symptoms reappear in only four hours? After more research it seems that the drug peak levels last four hours.

Immediately, I put them back on the full dose. Mario was very effected showing heavy lower abdominal breathing when he had never shown any symptoms before. He also quit singing totally.

One who was very thin but had never shown symptoms before succumbed immediately to full gasping breathing and when she was not eating and puffed up and dying, I mistakenly tried to hand feed her which resulted in her death.



This is the male who was gasping before I started them on Enrofloxyn. He showed lower abdominal breathing also when I took them off the drug last Sunday.



This male has never shown any other lower respiratory symptom except weak song volume. Loss of song volume is a sign but it is possible that he never was a strong singer.

He was the one who dropped some long feathers signaling he wanted to molt. This stopped almost immediately when I lengthened their days to 13.5 hours. His feathering in the flanks is not as tight as I would like.




This is the bird with the best breeding and the only one now completely free from all symptoms since the beginning.


The capped hen who recovered from gasping during the first round. She really seems to have gotten over it.

Frustrated and disappointed I am totally focused on these birds while the others are waiting but not patiently waiting. I have spent quite a bit of time visiting and thinking out loud with Doyle and Margaret and then I left a message on the phone mail at ladygouldianfinch.com. The very next morning, Joanne called and we went all over the case and what might be done.

She was very helpful and at the conclusion of the call she said that this problem of the birds relapsing when being taken off Enrofloxyn was perplexing and one she would like to get input from Dr. Rob Marshall in Australia. She would forward my e-mail directly to him.

The very next day, yesterday, she called back and reported that he thought I should consider and rule out Toxoplasma (parasite), fungi and thrush (yeast). I had placed an order to re-order more enrofloxyn, some doxycylineMegamix (back up), and some 12% Ronex S which she was really excited about to use for breeding birds losing chicks. She is also sending me several complimentary items that Dr. Rob recommended included the KD to treat for thrush and a copy of his book. Help just does not get better than that! To personally e-mail directly to Joanne send to joanne@ladyglouldianfinch.com.

Margaret called after that and she had spent some time researching baytril use in dogs and learned that peak dosing is a very effective treatment in dogs. So I am trying that in the meantime while I wait for the package from Lady Gouldian Finch to arrive probably Saturday.

This morning I gave a second peak dose, each bird got .4 cc straight enrofloxyn in a teaspoon of egg food in addition to the full dose in the water. Preliminary results look good.

The best news is that Mario sang a little to me about an hour after this morning peak dose!!

Big Bird Singing "Happy Days Are Here Again"

Today, for the first time in two weeks, Big Bird is Singing because at last, the imports are over the hump and on the road to recovery! Indeed it is a HAPPY DAY!



In review of my four casualties and another breeder who lost three in his shipment, all but one were from the same breeder in Germany. Of seven from that breeder, this is the only survivor. Finally today, he is breathing normally for the first time in two weeks. Originally I thought it was a hen and put it in with the capped hen. Then I saw him feeding her and acting macho and later that afternoon he was exhibiting labored breathing. The capped hen the following day had the same symptoms.



The capped hen is looking great now! Her symptoms were never as bad as the male above whom she caught it from.



Mario, on top of the stack, sings to me every morning. When the table light comes on at 6:30, I see how far I can count before Mario starts singing. Today, I only counted to 2 and Mario was serenading me as I lay snuggled up in my bed. His hollow bell continues to be excellent as well as his hollow roll. He is also trying to bring a schockel laughing hoo hoo hoo but he has given me only one good flute duu duu in two weeks. Thinking about my other roller males, Mario is the best overall singer I have!! Perhaps in a couple of weeks, he will be making calls in hens cages in the aviary!

My good friend, Tony Schlott from Canada, has talked with Mario's breeder. Turns out two of the hens are his sisters and the best bird is not Mario but the one that I previously had on the top of the stack! Looks like I really hit the jack pot on the surviving birds!

Bottom bird still has not sang much but what I have heard is very good. I have found a few long feathers and the battle here is whether he is going to give me a full molt in about a month or if I can use his breeding hormones to block it.



The bird on the right was previously the top bird in the stack but it started having loose feathers in the flanks and not being so happy in the show cage and I think now the problem is he is a she! Moved her yesterday and she has tightened a bit but will watch her today as I might need to move her to her own separate tray... It is always good to separate birds at the first signs of stress as often just de-stressing will prevent them from getting sick. Why wait till afternoon, I think I will do it right now after I publish this blog.



Many of you know I am avid KU Basketball Fan! Last Wednesday, I went to Lawrence for Senior Night and took my Grandson, Kevin out to eat and to the final home game this season. For Christmas, my daughter Kellie gave me three sets of tickets to KU Basketball games and with all my recent bird stress with the imports, this last game was really special!



Beautiful Rhodendrum I photographed at the Wichita Lawn and Garden Show. Top photo Dendrobium orchid from the same show.

Questions and Tips for Big Bird!

Please post your questions and tips for Big Bird here.

Mario and Company

Mario was singing so beautifully this morning, I just laid there for 30 extra minutes and listened to his wonderful song. With all the trouble, if even only Mario makes it, it will be worth all the pain of dealing with sick birds.







Mario loves the baby bok choy! Before the end of the day, he will have eaten it all including the stem!



Mario loves bread. He eats some and shreds the rest. Yesterday I gave him 1/4 slice twice and he torn it all up and ate quite a bit of it. I want him to eat it and gain some weight because the three dead birds were all extremely thin.



Mario's Company. Mario is the Cassonova in the middle!



Top bird, might be a hen but not sure.... She looks like it as her eye is high compared to the center of her beak.




Bottom bird is quite large and is starting to sing. He is very soft and it is a little soon to tell how good he is. Whenever he starts to sing, Mario drowns him out!



This is the hen that was separated in the tray away from the others because she was timid and appeared she would be stressed if placed with other birds. She is doing fine and like myself, she is enjoying hearing Mario sing, could an arranged marriage be in her future?

Tony Schlott in Canada, is fluent in German and is contacting the breeder for me to get pedigrees, so that I can make better pairing decisions.

Mario wants me to thank Tony, who grows many varieties of apples for his observation that in his tests rollers prefer golden delicious apples to any other variety. Mario agrees with Tony's findings!

Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother - BIG BIRD!

A few days ago I noticing some more problems in three of the remaining seven imported birds. One bird was tail bobbing and I noticed the lower abdomen rising and failing with each breath even when the birds were not under stress. These signs point to respiratory disease which maybe caused by a number of infectious agents such as bacteria, fungi, and virus.

Although I rarely treat birds with antibiotics, I keep some on hand in the refrigerator just in case. My stock included tylan, an excellent antibiotic for Mycoplasma but unfortunately it was several years outdated, oops will order more... I had in-dated
Enrofloxyn (baytril) which is effective against Mycoplasma and Salmonella. I wished I had amtyl or amoxitex which are amoxicillin and tylan, the two together give a broader range of organisms that it is effective against. Doyle did not have it either so will order that too..


Remember the cage I called two hens. I later observed the bird in the foreground feeding the capped hen. Even though two hens will feed each other, after watching them more, I believe he is a male.

When I noticed the capped hen deep breathing, I separated the two birds. Too late, the male started the open mouth heavy breathing just a day after the hen. Both were not eating and with both of them sick, I moved them back together and now the capped hen after a couple of days on antibiotic is looking much better. I moved their cage to a night stand on the other side of the room.




A third sick bird is showing feather loss around its eye in addition to abdominal breathing. Feather loss around the eye is another symptom of respiratory problem. Luckily, It has been separated from the others from the start as it was molting very heavily.




A closer look when I was putting some Terramycin ointment on its eye, showed considerable swelling of the sinus under the affected eye. Birds, unlike humans, have separate sinus cavities so it is possible to have infection on one side and not the other.

With the capped hen being definitely better, I am hopeful that my antibiotic is working and in time these birds will become healthy.

No doubt about it, Big Bird is earning her Tiger Mother Badge!! The Fight for Life is On!!

Update following day: Definite improvement black cap hen-no signs of lower abdominal breathing, the male in her cage has its mouth barely open and no gasping-much better, eye problem remains a problem, lots of swelling. Yesterday, I added 1/4 teaspoon to one cup of water of childrens cold and cough medicine to the antibiotic treated water. Either another day on the antibiotic or this addition was very helpful. Today I added 1/2 teaspoon to a cup and we will see if that is even better.

New Birds Update - Working Toward Perfect Health

The middle bird of the stack sings frequently and has a beautiful song, not perfect but very very nice! He is quite a Casanova, as he likes to look me in the eye and serenade me, singing and swaying, even when I am as close as two feet from his cage. Usually, my birds are known to me by their band numbers but I confide that Casanova has a nick name, Mario!

Bottom bird has started singing a little but too soon to evaluate. Over all the seven birds are doing very well with no more problems! My daughter, not a bird lover, asked how much longer are the birds going to be in quarantine? Ideally six weeks or longer. The most critical time is the first two weeks. Although treatment for mites kills the living mites it does not kill the eggs so a second treatment at 10 days is necessary and then I will need some more time to make sure that none are sickly.




Since most of the birds were molting upon arrival, it is important to get the molt finished as quickly as possible and not precipitate another molt. Since a drop in day length will cause birds to molt, it is important to extend their days rather than shorten them. I started them on 7 am to 6 pm but will lengthen probably next week.

Along the same intent of shortening the molt, the birds started on a high carbohydrate diet. The basic seed is L'Avian as it has a higher proportion of canary seed than other mixes. The first day, I also offered canola rape with some canary seed soaked in cod liver oil just to be sure they eat canary seed. Once I had an imported roller who nearly died on me till I figured out that he only ate canola rape and no other seed. I examined all cracked seed and seeing cracked canary seed in a cage, it was stitched to L'Avian.

In addition, they were fed cous cous with poppy seed as mention in the previous post. This is easy to digest and would likely be eaten just because it had poppy seeds in it! Any time I have trouble getting birds to eat something, I put poppy seeds in it... I always start the day with fresh feed and water and then add extras as the day progresses with the most important first thing in the morning.

Next, I offered some fresh soft white bread. One heavily molting bird took to it immediately and I expect in a few days most will eat it. They only have to try it once, just a bite and they will eat it! Bread, being high carb is very fattening and all these birds need to gain weight to come into breeding condition. Males some thin fat layer but not an obstructive "beer belly", hens pleasantly plump.

Since the birds are doing lots of preening, I wanted to give them something high carb to chew on. Steel cut oats is perfect as they love to play with it and shell it. This I give mid afternoon for snack.

I am feeding baby bok choy and they are eating it stem and all. I give them one leaf as I need to make sure they eat a high calorie diet and add some body mass. Along with baby bok choy they are enjoying a slice of golden delicious apple each day.

After the water treatment with ivomec, they received a 24 hour treatment with ABBA high fertility Vitamin E once a week. I have not done this before to stop molting but I decided it was a good addition. It appeared to help as I noted tightening feathers the following day. The daily water is poultry vitamins 1/4 tsp to a gallon of water, 1 tablespoon liquid 23% calcium gluconate (cattle product) and a generous splash of multiple vitamin B.

As it appears molting is under control and finishing, I can add some other snacks including sunflower pieces with brewer's yeast and the dry nestling food containing insects from Linda and Kevin Brown Jeepers Peepers Aviary that was originally posted on October 28, 2009 on this blog, bee pollen and some border veggies. In addition, when I am sure they are not going to come down with something, I will add ABBA mineral grit. Sickly birds should not be fed grit as sickly birds may over eat it, impact and die.

I have window shades up during the day for sunlight and additional table light on a timer so that the room is bright. Yesterday was such a beautiful day, temperature 70 F, that I also opened the windows for fresh air. I enjoyed a nap and occasionally would awake briefly to Mario singing!

"Caveat Emptor"

Anytime we purchase birds we are motivated by the desire to fulfill the Impossible Dream but at the same time there are always risks. As I chase my dream to produce German Rollers like I heard in Germany, I was willing to gamble to get more DKB banded birds. One bird, in front ,was dead upon arrival.

One more died within 24 hours of arrival.



One remains ill and is likely going to die. The two sick birds had dyspnea, labored gasping breathing without clicking. Third bird died two days later.

All new birds should be treated for air sac mites upon arrival. In my experience, the most effective treatment is .5 ml of Ivomec in 8 ounces of water. This is the only water for 24 hours and the treatment is repeated in 10 days. Should you have sick birds, consult your vet for assistance.

All birds must be quarantined, even without the obviously sick and dead ones to prevent disease from wiping out your other birds. The good news is that seven, although ragged appear healthy!



My aviary is attached to the house but has separate air and heating etc. My bedroom is my favorite quarantine station as I can lay on my bed and observe them for hours, hopping up frequently to nurse them!



Most of the birds are finishing a molt. Notice the pin feathers on the top of these two hens heads. (hens pictured above)




Stack of healthy birds. Number two in the stack is actually singing! He has good hollow roll and bass and a wonderful lu lu lu hollow bell.



Another showing extensive molting.



This hen is separated as she was a little thinner than the other two hens.



Closer look at the Bird immediately above.



As I want them to finish their molt, I will feed high carbs. This is cous cous with olive oil and poppy seeds. Cous cous and poppy seeds are generously coated with olive oil (calories) and boiling water added and fluffed with a fork.

With only one remaining sick, I will soon be through the rough part and dreaming again......




My granddaughter Mary pictured on the bottom row far right with blue dress, has something unbelievable to share with her ballet class about her grandmother (Big Bird)!