juvinile gouldian problems

[meepmeeps]

i was given a gouldian that was about 4 weeks out of the nest and reared by societys as foster parents but there ae a couple of problems with him...
he is now about 8 - 10 weeks out of the nest and doesnt fly at all. he sits and sleeps on the floor and ive noticed a slight twitching with his wings so im not sure whats going on there? its wings always look droopy and it does sleep alot but im guessing its because of the bordom of being on the bottom all day long. it doesnt look puffed at all and he does eat normally as well as drink.
i plan to take a short video of the little guy and post it on youtube so others can see the kind of twitching i am referring too and to see is general condition. i do know he was not an inbreed and none of his parents were related in any way. is this little one ever going to fly? is there something i can do for him? he used to try to fly but kept missing the perches and ended up crashing in to the walls of the cage all the time so now i have put him in the 6x4 ft aviary so he has lots of room. any help or tips would be greatly appreciated. thanks

[Misso]

Something's def not right with this bird, I'd put money on him being sick in someway, I'm sure his not sleeping alot during the day "cause he is bored, being on the cage floor " he is sick or injured. He may even have eye issues ( hence why he misses landing on the perch and flying into the walls( just sounds like the person you got him off was clearing out his duds. As sad as it is to say, u may need to cull the bird, if quality of life isn't their ( a bird that cannot fly ) then unfortunately something might need to be done.

[meepmeeps]

yup even his posture doesnt look great. he just looks depressed and has little get up n go. the person who gave him to me didnt want the bird even when it was an egg but thought i might want an extra for my little collection and said when it fledges i can have it. he said he used to perch all the time when he had him but ive never seen him perch in my cages appart from once or twice. im guessing it was starved of decent vitomins or other nutrition when it was a chick or something. if he has hurt himself then it might explain the twitching that ive noticed. the person i got him from doesnt like critisism and hates it when he is told he is wrong but i think a lot of it was due to its up bringing. he has lost shed loads of birds this year and countless chicks including several birds he got from me so something is deffo wrong there.
thanks for your input its much appreciated

[Diane]

Another factor could be that the bird was fostered by societies too. They can be carriers of a disease which severely affects gouldians.

[finchbreeder]

And Bengos will happliy raise young on the basics while Gouldians and most finches including Bengos do better with a good mixed diet including lots of greens. Could be something as simple as lack of vitamin D if not enough greens and sunlight.
LML

[Pete Sara]

it may have done some damage banging into walls . I currently have one in the house that has a bit of a twitch. seems better today than it did yesterday. collided with a bleeding heart dove in one of the holding aviaries that was spooked by a hawk. ..

[meepmeeps]

thanks for all your replys. i think finchbreeder hit the nail on the head, the breeder doesnt offer greens hardly at all well ive never seen greens in any of his cages when ever i go around there its normally just seed and egg food. the breeding room is pretty dark IMHO and he does keep a fluressent light on until certain times of the day but its most likely a light in the usual 4000k spectrum, i find something in the range of 6400k a lot better for them and helps with their plumage and mental health. i use an old vegitation light (grow light) it works wonders
it is posible also it msay have caught some desease from the societys since a lot of their offspring have died in the juvenile stage including many adults. i think its a lack of vitomins at an early age too. he also seems a little wobbly on his feet ive noticed. he has no intentions of jumping any hurdles to get to food either, gonna name him quail

[meepmeeps]

i did forget to mention one thing...
when i dim the lights and cover the birds in the evenings i hear him in the food dish pecking around in the seeds? all the other birds are roosting. could this be a sign of worms? going lite? thanks

[Finchman1]

I would give him some spark and then provide him with some greens to see if he picks up.
He may have Cochlosoma, a flagellate that lives in the digestive tract. Fresh birds infected through dropping contamination of food and water.
This can be treated with turbosole

[meepmeeps]

ive moved him into a cleaned hospital cage today with a red 60 watt light. he doesnt look impressed with the new surroundings lol. ive started a treatment of baycox 3ml per 1 litre. will be on the course for 3 days. im told by the vet this might help a great deal and does deal with much of the same symptons as you mentioned as well as much of overall observation from the little guy. lastnight he was in the food dish munching on seeds for 3 hours after the lights were dimmed but god knows how he could see what he was doing in there.
he doesnt look close to death at all and does move about quite a lot but im a little worried about his twitching and flinching. i felt his breast bone earlier and to me i thought he felt a little on the boney side so im guessing he has the going lite syndrome so time is against me now. after 3 days if there is no improvement i will try some other stuff called Baytril which has a broader spectrum for killing interal parasites. after that if its still alive lol i will try a course of ivamectine. if those dont work then im out of ideas and gonna let him take his chances. can only spend so much