My shaft tail has lost the ability to fly.

charisma · Post by **charisma** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:21 pm

I thought I'd post this in here to see if anyone has any other thoughts as to why my 1 1/2 yr old
shaft tail finch has suddenly lost the strength to fly. At first I thought it was weakness,
but have come to realize to even catch her running at the bottom of her cage is a task.
She seems to have a lot of energy for that! I would say i noticed her dropping as she flew
about a week ago, then it got progressively worse to the point now that all she can do is
flutter to the ground. She eats well , preens herself, and seems to be quite alert.
Why the sudden loss of ability to fly? Any ideas out there? I'm presently treating her
with an ongoing heat lamp which she seems to enjoy. I'm also treating her with a 7 day
treatment of Ronex. If that doesn't work Amoxitex will be the next course of treatment.

In the meantime , has anyone else dealt with this unusual symptom? Any thoughts or ideas?

debbie276 · Post by **debbie276** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:32 pm

Just stating the obvious here, could it be that she is molting and just lost too many feathers (hard molt) making it impossible to fly?

I'm not sure any of the symptoms of a Protozoal infection or bacterial infection is not being able to fly so I'm not sure how ronex and/or amoxitex will help.

cindy · Post by **cindy** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 3:02 pm

That is a good thought Debbie...when shaftails molt they loose a fair amount of feathers and do look very pitiful and tend to stay in one spot, not as active as usual. They also appreciate the heat during molting and they do appear to be sluggish and thin but still eating. She could be eating but using up her reserves during a difficult molt. Have you noticed more than usual the amount of feathers around the cage? This (molting) is not something we discussed on finchaholics, did Laraine mention this possibility when you called her?

Does she still want you to continue with the meds? It may be beneficial to call Laraine back before receiving the Amoxitec and dosing her with it especially if she is in a hard molt.

You did mention on fbk her breast bone was sharp or prominent, is that filling in any, is she feeling fuller in the breast area yet?

charisma · Post by **charisma** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 5:41 pm

There are no feathers at the bottom of the cage. Not even one.
I did notice though that her poop is green now. Is that due to the meds?

Laraine didn't say anything to me about molting.. no.

I can still feel her breastbone quite sharp. How exactly is it supposed to feel? Would there be fat around it to the point that i'd barely feel it? I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to feel there.

charisma · Post by **charisma** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 5:44 pm

Debbie it was suggested to me that i start her on the Ronex and then later the Amoxitex (because I had none in and had to order it otherwise she would have had me treat them together) when its an unknown illness of sorts.

thank you for your thoughts

debbie276 · Post by **debbie276** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 5:55 pm

OK, didn't know about the sharp breast bone nor that you had contacted Laraine with symptoms. I just thought she couldn't fly and had lots of energy. I'm not a member of the FB group
good luck

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My shaft tail has lost the ability to fly.

My shaft tail has lost the ability to fly.

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