Aussie Finch Forum

Hi everyone i have a male Gouldian who appears to be perfectly healthy however it drops its wings and lifts it's tail very much like the posture of a wren, it has been doing this since i purchased it around 1month ago off a breeder, is it possible that it is some sort of genetic deformity? at times the Gouldian holds it's wings and tail normal and seems to have normal posture on the perch,could it possibly be to do with stress? everything seems fine it has been wormed, treated for air sac mite, it's vent appears to be clean and the bird seems to be a picture of health apart from its strange behavior, any help would be appreciated immensely.

If you sit and watch it when it does this what happens? Is it perhaps pooing? Some birds seem to do funny things if a little constipated.
LML

finchbreeder wrote:If you sit and watch it when it does this what happens? Is it perhaps pooing? Some birds seem to do funny things if a little constipated.
LML

No it does not seem to pass droppings during this time, it just seems to behave like this most of the time, it rarely has correct posture which leads me to think some sort of genetic deformity, but if this was the case would it have the ability to stand normal sometimes?

I had one like that....he is still like that but not as bad as when I first got him.

I got mine from a pet shop (should have known better but a $30 Aussie yellow seemed too good).

I medicated him and provided lots of greens and within a month his posture improved but he still remains a shabby looking bird.

Mind you he look a million dollars in the pet shop...might be stress related to the new environment.

elferoz777 wrote:I had one like that....he is still like that but not as bad as when I first got him.

I got mine from a pet shop (should have known better but a $30 Aussie yellow seemed too good).

I medicated him and provided lots of greens and within a month his posture improved but he still remains a shabby looking bird.

Mind you he look a million dollars in the pet shop...might be stress related to the new environment.

I agree it could be to do with stress, as i said the bird can sit with perfectly normal posture sometimes, i purchased him from a reputable breeder from my area and the bird is large, and has very vibrant colouring, certainly not shabby apart from it's weird behavior, his mate laid her first egg today and i'm currently unsure whether or not it's a wise idea to let them breed, especially if it's something genetic, but if this was the case and it was some kind of muscle spasm or such, i don't believe it would be able to control it to form normal posture. (Again i really have no idea, so still seeking help) Thanks guys for the input so far.

My dodge bird bred and raised good chicks.

The plus is the chicks got his colour but not the bad posture.

Finchman18 wrote:

finchbreeder wrote:If you sit and watch it when it does this what happens? Is it perhaps pooing? Some birds seem to do funny things if a little constipated.
LML

No it does not seem to pass droppings during this time, it just seems to behave like this most of the time, it rarely has correct posture which leads me to think some sort of genetic deformity, but if this was the case would it have the ability to stand normal sometimes?

finchbreeder wrote:If you sit and watch it when it does this what happens? Is it perhaps pooing? Some birds seem to do funny things if a little constipated.
LML

I tend to go with FB and i believe that your bird has a bowel obstruction and is straining to poop,it will tend to stay in that position as the posture would relieve the symptom(pain).
Try getting some cod liver oil or some oily seed like sunflower into it as a soft food and plenty of greens. Cheers Craig

Craig52 wrote:

Finchman18 wrote:

finchbreeder wrote:If you sit and watch it when it does this what happens? Is it perhaps pooing? Some birds seem to do funny things if a little constipated.
LML

No it does not seem to pass droppings during this time, it just seems to behave like this most of the time, it rarely has correct posture which leads me to think some sort of genetic deformity, but if this was the case would it have the ability to stand normal sometimes?

finchbreeder wrote:If you sit and watch it when it does this what happens? Is it perhaps pooing? Some birds seem to do funny things if a little constipated.
LML

I tend to go with FB and i believe that your bird has a bowel obstruction and is straining to poop,it will tend to stay in that position as the posture would relieve the symptom(pain).
Try getting some cod liver oil or some oily seed like sunflower into it as a soft food. Cheers Craig

As part of my Gouldians winter diet they get cod liver and wheat germ mixed in their dry seed every day, this has helped alot to combat egg binding, but as i already stated the bird does not seem to be passing droppings, nor straining in any way at all, i still however appreciate your input, and yes it may be possible that it has bowel obstructions, all I'm saying is while observing this behavior it does not tend to pass droppings, and therefore I'm not 100% sure on the real diagnosis as of yet. other than this the bird is perfectly normal.


Maybe one of it's parents was a wren psych

When it sits up straight is that when your close? Could be when its not stressd by your appearance it goes into its sickly look, then when you come close it staightens up? Otherwise would go with the constipated scenerio...