Poor hygiene can also spread yeast infections. Not sterilizing hand feeding equipment, improper cage cleaning and not washing our hands can spread the yeast.

Most healthy birds will not be affected. Older birds, neonates, sick birds and stressed birds generally develop yeast infections as secondary infections. These secondary infections put increased stress on their already overtaxed immune system and interfere with the healing process. For at-risk birds, your veterinarian may advise mixing chlorhexidine into the drinking water.

Diagnosis:

Tentative diagnosis can be made with clinical signs along with the absence of bacterial infection. Samples can also be taken, and cultured in specially prepared culture media. Caution: Candida is a common environmental contaminant. PCR and sequence assays are essential tool to identify the presence of Candida and identify specific strains.

Treatment: (scroll down to find out how breeders address this problem)

Treatment requires the elimination of any risk factors, such as stress, poor diet, poor sanitation, or the presence of other diseases. Focus should be on quality nutrition and immune function support. The diet should be devoid any sugar and little to no fruit until the yeast is cleared up. A clean environment will help in the resolution of this disease – the quality of the air and the water (steam-distilled).

Antifungal medications commonly prescribed include nystatin, flucytosine, ketoconazole (Nizoral), fluconazole, diflucan, and itraconazole. For treatment of oral or skin infections, ointment containing amphotericin B are usually applied.

Please note that candida may become resistant to Nystatin, especially if administered incorrectly, and/or over a prolonged time.

Nystati is administered by mouth for 5 days or longer. Nystatin could be mixed into the handfeeding formula; however, is more effective if given full strength about half an hour before feeding. Nursery items need to be cleaned and disinfected after use on each bird. To prevent cross-contamination, it is strongly recommended to not use any utensil on two birds without disinfecting in-between. Any left-over formula should be discarded.

Natural Treatment / Treating Chicks with Yeast
(Consult with your vet)
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar:

* Some breeders swear by raw apple cider vinegar and their recommendations are to add a drop or two of raw apple cider vinegar to the handfeeding formula to establish a normal pH balance in the gut. Apple cider vinegar naturally promotes acidity in the digestive system thus encouraging the growth of healthy bacterial flora … Vinegar: A Natural Approach to Avian Management
* Organic apple cider has natural enzymes, minerals vitamins and essential acids that help keep yeast under control. It is frequently referred to as natures ‘antibiotics’ that is more of a probiotic (because its an antiseptic). The dilution that a breeder recommended was approximately 1/4 cup of vinegar to one gallon of distilled or filtered water. (Do not use spring water as it may counteract with some of the enzymes). NOTE: Some birds can be sensitive to vinegar, so make sure you talk to your holistic vet before you start this or any other regimen of natural origin.
* One vet recommended the following dosage for early treatment or preventative for candida: 1 tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar per 16 oz water

Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE)

* Others (including myself) have been happy with the results gained by adding Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) added to hand feeding formula. I am using it as a preventative measure and it literally eliminated this problem. As an additional benefit, GSE also has good anti-parasitic properties.

Probiotics:

* Why is Lactobacillus Acidolphilus so Important to your Bird’s Health?

Gentian Violet Treatment:

* Gentian Violet is considered a safe and efficient remedy for treating Candida, and was successful when conventional treatment failed. It is available from some drug stores and hand-feeding equipment suppliers. A solution of 1% Gentian Violet is used to swap the mouth, esophagus and crop of bird suffering from the crop disorder. The saturated swab is slowly rotated around the mouth, down the esophagus and into the crop. Make sure to completely wipe the crop interior with the purple Gentian Violet. It helps to place your thumb against the crop and run the swab in circular motions with in the crop while slightly pressing against the thumb. Healthy tissue within the crop will stain purple when swabbed with the Gentian Violet. The unhealthy tissue will show up whitish and mottled. Best results are realized when administered to an empty crop but a

Well,good luck at any rate