• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here
  • This forum is for advice about initial treatment given to your injured/sick bird until a qualified avian veterinarian is available.
    THIS IS NOT MEANT TO REPLACE VET CARE

Urgent Lump on blue gouldian finch head

HenryFinch

Moving in
Joined
7/16/20
Messages
6
Real Name
Sebastián
Hello everyone, this is my first post. My name is Sebastián Barco, I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina, I'm 23 years old and I'm about to graduate as a computer engineer, but I've always been passionate about birds. I've lived with pet birds since i was born: 4 budgerigars, 5 canaries, 1 red crested cardinal, 3 "tordos chaqueños " (that's in spanish, the scientific name of that species is gnorimopsar chopi) and currently 1 quaker parrot and 1 blue gouldian finch. I've also rescued (and hand fed) and successfully freed 7 mourning dove nestlings/fledgings during the last two years, 1 swallow nestling and 2 sparrow nestlings. I usually know my way around birds, but the thing is.. here in Buenos Aires we don't have avian vets ANYWHERE, as a matter of fact i think the only animals you can take to a vet to actually get a treatment that works are cats and dogs (because those are the most common pets here and birds don't bring in any money). I'm telling you that because years ago i posted a problem with one of my budgies in a forum but every answer i got was "take your bird to the nearest AVIAN VET asap", but as i said before, there are no avian vets here, so there's 0% chance of me being able to do that. I know a vet who likes birds and actually knows a lot about them, but it's midnight so i'm contacting him in the morning, i've also checked out the "World Wide Avian Vet Listing" and got only 1 result (a woman named Alice) wich is 38 miles (about 61 km) away, but given the fact that we have to remain on quarantine or get a special permit to use public transport, i won't be able to reach her personally, but i'll try calling her in the morning hoping the phone number that showed up is her current one. People are also not going to their jobs because of quarantine, so there's a chance i won't even be able to contact any of these two people i mentioned.
So the thing is I'm really REALLY trying to get someone who can help me online. I can take pictures or record videos, whatever is needed.

My emergency:

Three hours ago me and my girlfriend were about to trim Henry's claws (Henry is my finch) and when i grabbed him and took him out of his cage, she noticed a weird "lump" on the left side of his head, over the eye. I'll attatch links to the images we took, and I'll also upload the files in this post (given the fact that this is my first time here and i read what I could about how the forum works, i guess this is ok)
In this picture we can clearly see the lump:
Visible Lump Image
Edited (1).jpg
The angle is really important, that is why i didn't notice the "lump" before. In the next picture we can see 4 different angles to compare the shape of his head and the lump. The two on the left have a visible lump, but the two on the right seem perfectly normal. I hope the pictures can help you understand the dimensions of the lump
Head angles
Images to compare 2.png
I've read HERE that it could be a common infection on gouldian finch juveniles (specially the blue mutation). It doesn't look exactly like that picture (you can check out the images i've attatched) but i don't know what else it could be. The diagnosis on that picture is "streptococcus sinus infection in mutation gouldian". I guess it could be a collision.. I didn't see him get hit inside his cage, but I'm not looking at him all day long. I don't think he can achieve a speed high enough to collide in such a way that could cause him that lump.. but.. i don't really know.

His cage is 23.6 x 13.7 x 13.7 inches (60 x 35 x 35 cm). He is a couple months over 3 years old. (i know his beak looks a little long in the pictures, but trust me, it's just the angles. His beak is fine). He isn't weak or anything, he even tried to bite me when i grabbed him (and he is strong for his size), he flies perfectly and the last time i saw him take a bath was two days ago, so he seems perfectly normal appart from that lump. I also saw him kind of closing his left eye a little (the same side as the lump) after putting him back in his cage, but i don't know if that is because he was sleepy or because of the lump.

I'm really worried because when i was younger, every time a canary got sick, it died a few days later, but a week or two after that i learned exactly what i could have done to save them. The page i read says that in case this is "streptococcus sinus infection" I should treat it with amoxicillin/tylosin antibiotic for 10 days (which i HOPE i can get if that's the case).

Thank you A LOT for reading my post and i hope you can help me out here! I'm really worried about my little friend! I know all bird lovers here know the bond we have with our little bird friends.
 

Shezbug

ASK ME FOR PICTURES OF MY MACAW!
Super Moderator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/28/18
Messages
25,837
Location
Vic, Australia
Real Name
Shez

finchly

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
5/16/14
Messages
12,708
Location
SW Florida
Real Name
Finchly
I believe he probably has a sinus infection. It could of course be a tumor or any number of things but— I’ve seen this before.
Please do call Alice and see what she suggests. There are medicines you can try and also some natural remedies like neem leaf tea. But that works slower so hopefully you can get antibiotics.
Keep us updated, and welcome to the Avenue!
Your bird is beautiful.
 

HenryFinch

Moving in
Joined
7/16/20
Messages
6
Real Name
Sebastián
I believe he probably has a sinus infection. It could of course be a tumor or any number of things but— I’ve seen this before.
Please do call Alice and see what she suggests. There are medicines you can try and also some natural remedies like neem leaf tea. But that works slower so hopefully you can get antibiotics.
Keep us updated, and welcome to the Avenue!
Your bird is beautiful.
Hello finchly! Thank you for your quick answer. I tried calling Alice but unfortunately the phone number that comes up on the list is outdated, so i couldn't reach her, but i found her on Facebook and sent her a message anyways. It seems like she doesn't use Facebook often, her last post is from august 2019.
I also searched for neem leaf (because neem leaf tea isn't sold in my country) online and found two people selling it. One of them won't have leaves for months, and the other one can sell me some leaves which would arrive in about a week, which i think is too long. The other vet hasn't answered yet.
I can go to a pet shop near my house which i know sells antibiotics. I just called them and they told me that if I want to buy antibiotics for birds, I should order them so that they can buy the item from their provider, and it would be arriving on monday.. which is pretty slow too. But i can look for other pet shops, so i think i can buy the medicine.
Do you think i should just buy antibiotics and start treating Henry? In that case, which antibiotic should i buy? Amoxicillin/Tylosin? If i can't get exactly that medicine, should i get a "wide range" antibiotic? (if there's such thing)
If he doesn't have an infection, would the medicine have a negative effect on him in any way?

Thanks again for the help! I really appreciate it :finch5::) And thanks for the compliment for Henry too!
 

finchly

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
5/16/14
Messages
12,708
Location
SW Florida
Real Name
Finchly
I say this very cautiously because I'm not a vet, I don't even look like a vet, and we don't know for sure what he has.

The Amoxicillin/Tylosin would be my choice.

The downside to administering antibiotics that they don't need is: they don't get better, and some strains begin to build resistance to antibiotics. It won't actually hurt him.

After any antibiotic, you want to give a probiotic (easily sprinkled on their food) to replace the 'good' bacteria that the antibiotic wipes out.

I am going to get slammed for saying give an antibiotic but the fact is that many of us do not have access to vets, or to AVIAN vets, or to vets who are willing to treat finches. And it's so stressful for a finch to even go to the vet. Once my friend and I were going to trade Gouldians, and she drove here from maybe 20 minutes away, and her finch was dead when she arrived. So. With care, use the medicine; it should be a powder 15% amoxyl and Tylosin 30%, mix 1 teaspoon of powder into 1 gallon of water - obviously you don't need that much but i don't have the calculation written on the package for a single bird.

Good luck!
 

HenryFinch

Moving in
Joined
7/16/20
Messages
6
Real Name
Sebastián
I say this very cautiously because I'm not a vet, I don't even look like a vet, and we don't know for sure what he has.

The Amoxicillin/Tylosin would be my choice.

The downside to administering antibiotics that they don't need is: they don't get better, and some strains begin to build resistance to antibiotics. It won't actually hurt him.

After any antibiotic, you want to give a probiotic (easily sprinkled on their food) to replace the 'good' bacteria that the antibiotic wipes out.

I am going to get slammed for saying give an antibiotic but the fact is that many of us do not have access to vets, or to AVIAN vets, or to vets who are willing to treat finches. And it's so stressful for a finch to even go to the vet. Once my friend and I were going to trade Gouldians, and she drove here from maybe 20 minutes away, and her finch was dead when she arrived. So. With care, use the medicine; it should be a powder 15% amoxyl and Tylosin 30%, mix 1 teaspoon of powder into 1 gallon of water - obviously you don't need that much but i don't have the calculation written on the package for a single bird.

Good luck!
I haven't got any antibiotics yet, but i will try my best to do so. Henry took a bath a few hours ago and is looking healthy (appart from the lump..). I'll keep you posted
Thank you so much for all the help!
This is a great community :)
 

HenryFinch

Moving in
Joined
7/16/20
Messages
6
Real Name
Sebastián
Yes it is. :)

And it's always nice to see fellow finch lovers join!
I'll become a permanent member from now on for sure!

I forgot to add, the only antibiotics i found available so far are:
  • Enrofloxacin
  • Doxycycline
I don't know if any of those would be fit in case i don't find Amoxicillin/Tylosin
 

HenryFinch

Moving in
Joined
7/16/20
Messages
6
Real Name
Sebastián
Update

Henry is doing fine, he is still taking baths, flying/moving as usual and dancing too. The lump on his head has remained the same, neither increasing nor decreasing. The enrofloxacin arrived yesterday during the afternoon and i started the treatment about an hour ago. This is what i could get:
Enrofloxacin.jpg
On the front it says "Quinolonic Chemotherapeutic in solution for birds".

Formula:
  • Enrofloxacin: 10 g
  • Excipients: 100 ml
Indications: Infections caused by Salmonella sp.; Pasteurella sp.; Pseudomonas sp.; E. coli; Proteus sp.; Klebsiella sp.; Staphylococcus sp.; Mycoplasmas sp.
Dosage: 50 PPM in drinking water, during 3 days (10 ml of Enrofloxacin in 20 liters of water). If the etiológical agent is Salmonella sp., the treatment must be extended to 5 days.
Finally it says that the product lasts 24 hours in drinking water, so i need to replace it each day. The antibiotic comes in a dropper.

As the dosage says 10 ml of Enrofloxacin in 20 liters of water, I mixed 1 ml of Enrofloxacin in 2 liters of water, which is the same proportion. I will follow the treatment for 3 days and come back for another update to tell you how my little friend is doing

:finch5::quaker:
 

finchly

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
5/16/14
Messages
12,708
Location
SW Florida
Real Name
Finchly
Thanks! Best of luck to your little friend!
 

HenryFinch

Moving in
Joined
7/16/20
Messages
6
Real Name
Sebastián
Update:

Henry took the antibiotics during a total of 2 days because he didn't like the taste of water and he was not drinking so much, which was causing him to get dizzy. The lump didn't decrease in size, it kept growing, but i could get the vet who treats my quaker parrot to check him. The lump wasn't an abscess although it was soft. It was drained and a bit of transparent liquid came out, which indicates it was just a little cyst.

Henry is doing fine :). The "cyst" dried up and he has no feather on it, so he looks like he is a little bald, like an old person, but he is molting so i think that after the skin completely heals maybe feathers will grow back. It was a good ending anyways.

I appreciate all the help i received. Thank you so much once more!

:finch5::quaker:
 

finchly

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
5/16/14
Messages
12,708
Location
SW Florida
Real Name
Finchly
Wow! Thanks for the update. Glad he’s doing well.
 
Top