Bacteria / Antibiotics /Probiotics

At the first sign of illness, many fanciers like to throw an antibiotic at the problem. I do not advise this procedure. As I have seen, many times the problem is parasitic in nature (protozoa, worms, mites), in which case, the antibiotic will do no good and only waste time. Use of antibiotics can actually cause yeast (Candida) infections, so you may be compounding the existing problem with a yeast infection as well. If the problem happens to have been caused by a yeast, the antibiotic will make the original problem worse. Once you have started an antibiotic, you should give it for the full course of treatment. If you stop early, bacteria present may develop resistance to the antibiotic. However, if the bird is failing rapidly, you should do whatever is needed to help the bird, even if that means discontinuing the antibiotic.

If you do choose to administer an antibiotic, you should also administer a probiotic. If the probiotic is water based and the antibiotic is administered in the water, it is my understanding that you should not use both in the same water at the same time. However, if the probiotic can be administered in the food or if the antibiotic is administered orally via the beak, then both can be given simultaneously. Some may argue that the probiotic is useless while the antibiotic is administered; however, my vet always prescribes the probiotic this way and that is how I choose to administer it. I figure it doesn't do any harm and it may do some good.

The probiotic is used to prevent yeast infections after the use of antibiotics. The probiotic will help restore the natural gut flora, creating competition for the yeast in the gut (antibiotics, on the other hand, eliminate the gut flora, allowing the yeast to reproduce rapidly without competition). Probiotics will also increase the acidity (lower the pH) of the gut, making the environment less hospitable to yeasts.

I am familiar with Dr Rob Marshall's sterile bowel theory. This theory is controversial among finch fanciers. I am unqualified to comment on the validity of Dr Marshall's theory. I have my own opinions. However - they are just that - opinions. I do know that it is scientifically accepted that use of probiotics help prevent yeast infections that occur secondary to antibiotic use. Even Dr Marshall does not refute this. Thus, do not neglect to use probiotics appropriately following/during antibiotic treatment.

The decision to use an antibiotic without consulting a veterinarian is a complicated one. Unless you can do a gram stain and cultures, you likely cannot confirm yourself whether or not the bird needs an antibiotic. If you could, you likely do not know what antibiotic is needed, as different antibiotics target different problems. Thus, using an antibiotic is like taking a shot in the dark, and the consequences could cause you to lose the bird. If a bacterial infection is suspected, a vet consultation is your best bet.

If you chose to administer an antibiotic on your own, you can take certain steps to improve your chances:

1. Do a home fecal smear to rule out other causes, especially yeast infections.
2. If no other causes are found, choose a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is effective against many problems. Baytril and Tylan are two choices I have used on occasion.
3. If the antibiotic is going to work, in my experience you see improvement in a few days. Do not discontinue use when you see improvement, as the bird may still be carrying the organism. The problem may then resurface again later, this time resistant to the medication that could treat it. Thus, always give the full recommended course of treatment.
4. If you do not see improvement but you do not believe the bird is direly ill, continue for the full course of treatment to avoid creating drug resistant bacteria. However, I always recommend considering the needs of the ill bird first. Even veterinarians will usually discontinue an antibiotic that is not working and replace with another that they hope will be more effective for the sake of the bird. However, doing this randomly can have dire consequences when it comes to drug resistance.
5. Use a probiotic during (if possible) and after antibiotic treatment to prevent development of yeast infections.
6. Do not keep experimenting indefinitely, as the bird will likely run out of time. If you must experiment, do so for only a short time, then seek professional assistance if you have not resolved the issue.

I usually do not try antibiotic treatment myself. However, I have occasionally discovered a very ill bird during the evening or on a weekend when the vet was not available. After ruling out other causes, I have given an antibiotic in the water - hoping this may help the bird and it might survive until the vet opens. It was not unusual to lose the bird before it could be seen by a vet - so my success with antibiotics in this situation has not been very good. It has primarily been a last ditch effort when I feel there is nothing to lose.

On occasion, antibiotics have helped me. My Gouldian finch that had survived a sinus infection would be given Amtyl when she had recurrences of clicking (once every 3 or 4 months, give or take). This appeared to stop the clicking, although it could be she would recover of her own accord. However, because I knew there was a good chance the Tylan the vet prescribed was effective against the problem, this situation was more than just randomly trying an antibiotic.

I had one period where I lost a finch suddenly with no symptoms. About 3 months later, I lost another under the same circumstances. It is not usual to lose birds suddenly, although it does happen. However, because it happened twice in a short period of time, I felt something was out of whack. I tested for other problems in the other birds but could find nothing. Because it was a problem with sudden death, I didn't have a bird to bring to the vet. I wasn't ready to pay for a necropsy yet, as they have never helped me in the past. I decided to put the entire aviary on Baytril. There was one zebra finch hen that looked a little stressed, a little off. I doubted she had the problem that was killing the others as they looked perfectly healthy shortly before death (they just suddenly dropped to the floor and died within an hour or two). The Baytril seemed to take care of whatever problem caused the zebra hen to be off. Within a couple days, she was back to her normal self. I do not know if it did anything for the other problem as I was never even sure there was any connection between the two or, if so, if any of the other birds might have that same problem. However, I did not lose any more birds.

Finally, I had a society finch that was a little fluffed. On a fecal smear, I found small particles that looked a lot like Avian Gastric Yeast, but much shorter (If AGY were a large rod pretzel, these were pretzel nubs). I guessed that it might be a rod-shaped bacteria. After doing research on the Internet and determining which finch illnesses were caused by rod-shaped bacteria, I then did further research to determine what the common antibiotics were for these problems. I found that two antibiotics were commonly prescribed for these problems: Baytril and Trimethoprim Sulfa. Baytril was supposed to be effective for more problems than the Trimethoprim Sulfa, so I tried this drug. The society finch appeared to recover (although he was old, so he was never quite his young self again) and the rod-shaped organisms were no longer found on a fecal examination.