[12 Steps to Success Intro]
 [Step 1: January]  [Step 2: February]  [Step 3: March]  [Step 4: April]  [Step 5: May]
 [Step 6: June]  [Step 7: July]  [Step 8: August]  [Step 9: September]  [Step 10: October]
 [Step 11: November]  [Step 12: December]

Step 1: January - Preventative Maintenance
By Gary & Barbara Solomon, Frisky Finches - Copyright 2006

Ivomec:
Ivomec will rid your birds of any air sac mites, most worms and many other internal and external parasites such as blood sucking lice and mites. There is some speculation amongst professional breeders that this medication “Ivomec” may cause temporary sterility in birds so just to be sure this does not affect our breeding season, we treat our birds once a year during the first week of January to give them a full 3 to 4 months to clear out any residuals of the medication from their systems prior to breeding our birds.

Treatment is 1 drop of Ivomec from under the wing directly on the skin. The Ivomec will be absorbed through the skin.

If there is not a patch of skin exposed, gently blow with your mouth on the feathers close to what would be the “arm pit” area on the body to expose some skin for application. If you are not comfortable with lifting your bird’s wing and would prefer to apply the Ivomec in a different area, you may do the same (soft blowing) of the feathers just below the base of the skull on the back part of the neck to expose some skin and apply 1 drop directly to the skin.

Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after application. It is not recommended to use other medications together with this product therefore it should be administered separately. After treating your birds with Ivomec wait about 2 weeks before other treatments are implemented.

Scatt:
There is another product available on the market called Scatt manufactured by Vetafarm which you could use for parasite control. It is an alternative to Ivomec. We have used the Ivomec for over 10 years without any adverse effects on our birds and it has been used to maintain the Lady Gouldian finches health in captivity for many decades so we recommend using the Ivomec, however for those who are used to Scatt, we carry both products.

Ronsivet:
Canker, Guardia or Cochlosomosis are protozoan parasites that are present in most birds kept in captivity and will destroy baby birds and can eventually kill the adult birds if not kept under control. To our knowledge you cannot completely rid your birds of this problem.

It usually causes Gouldian finches to have goopy or runny droppings, which tends to cause the feathers around the vent or their “bottom” area to become very dirty. To help with further identification of this problem the bird’s droppings will be loose and have a light yellowish green tint or color. This problem usually becomes more prevalent during breeding when the birds start feeding babies.

There are many products on the market which will temporarily cure these parasites but we have found Ronsivet to be the safest to use not only with adult birds but also with the new hatchlings, babies and young birds.

We treat our Gouldians twice a year which usually keeps this problem under control starting with the last week in January to be sure they are rid of this going into the breeding season and again during breeding.

We have found the best formula is Ronsivet 10% or 100mg using 2 “teaspoons” per gallon of water for 5 to 7 days. If the infection is stubborn you may use this formula for as long as 14 to 18 days even during breeding without adverse effects on hatchlings, baby birds or young birds. During the treatment period this should be the only source of water that your birds receive and the formula should be changed often to be kept clean. Daily changing is recommended. Usually a 5 to 7 day treatment is sufficient.

Disclaimer: The author of this website is not a licensed veterinarian. The information and advise contained within is only offered as a basic introduction to the Gouldian Finch and comes from over 10 years personal experience breeding this species. Our success is also attributed to 30 years of accumulated avian knowledge breeding various other bird species, veterinary advise, research and discussions with other professional breeders.

This article is copyrighted 2006 for Frisky Finches and is not meant to be reprinted, replicated, or republished without our expressed written permission. Thank you.