Fluffy and sleeping a lot

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:15 am

by the way i think the zebra finch in the photo is a chestnut flanked white female,it looked like a white at first but i can see a little tear mark just below the eye

ken

H2015 · Post by **H2015** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:24 am

kenny wrote:the problem is with going light is that the birds always seem to be on the seed pot constantly eating but do not derive any nourishment from the food i think the tell tale sign with that illness is that the birds droppings smell really bad !

ken

Yes, several days ago that's exactly what two of them were doing (inc the one I photographed), they even sleep inside the seed pot while looking restless or with their heads under wings.

That is no longer happening though, so I hope that means they're getting better. The bird in the pictures was at a very weak state that at some point I thought we'll lose her, but she responded very well to the anti-biotic treatment and today she's even a lot more active than yesterday!

I tried catching one of the others to see if any had yellow lumps but they were so hard to catch, I definitely need a net. But behavior wise, they're all perfectly normal so far and I'm keeping an eye on them - no signs of diarrhea and none of them are sitting in pots or looking sick.

kenny wrote:by the way i think the zebra finch in the photo is a chestnut flanked white female,it looked like a white at first but i can see a little tear mark just below the eye

That means both of the ones I have are females then, I just looked up CFW and the male looks pretty different. Thanks for informing me!

Nipper06 · Post by **Nipper06** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:10 am

Did your finches possibly get exposed to a draft? Were they near an open window, when the temperature went down? Sometimes the littlest cool draft can make finches sick.

If that's the case, raise the heat !! You can put a light reflector or ceramic heated over the cage and then cover part of the cage with a towel to keep the heat in (don't put the towel over the hot lamp). And you can also put a heating pad under the cage and the heat will gradually warm the cage.

If they respond well to the extra heat, wait until they look perfect normal for a day or two before you gradually remove the towel and heat sources.

As a rule, I never keep my finches near any open window unless it's really hot outside.

H2015 · Post by **H2015** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 5:11 am

Nipper06 wrote:Did your finches possibly get exposed to a draft? Were they near an open window, when the temperature went down? Sometimes the littlest cool draft can make finches sick.

If that's the case, raise the heat !! You can put a light reflector or ceramic heated over the cage and then cover part of the cage with a towel to keep the heat in (don't put the towel over the hot lamp). And you can also put a heating pad under the cage and the heat will gradually warm the cage.

If they respond well to the extra heat, wait until they look perfect normal for a day or two before you gradually remove the towel and heat sources.

As a rule, I never keep my finches near any open window unless it's really hot outside.

Yes but it's the opposite actually!

The room is cold (air conditioned) and the weather outside is very hot, during the morning hours I open the window and try to get direct sunlight enter part of the cage since I still don't have full spectrum lights - during these hours it gets much warmer than the room temperature.

Does that mean I shouldn't open the window anymore?

Thanks a lot Nipper!

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:47 am

Is there an air conditioning vent in the room. In my bird room, I make sure all vents are sealed off completely, like something pinned over them so that no draft is coming through.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:20 am

i dont have that problem in my country as we dont need air conditioning as it never gets that hot..but birds can stand cold but not draft and damp most of my birds spend a full winter out side in up to freezing temperatures and i usually dont lose any just through the weather ..only if they are sick birds to begin with! what i am saying is if they are really fit to begin with you should have no problem with thier health but if you buy them from a pet shop make sure they are well cared for for at least 14 after purchase as they are very good at hiding symptoms till it is to late..this comes built into thier nature because of predators etc

ken

H2015 · Post by **H2015** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 3:10 pm

Emily, yes there is a vent in the air conditioner which is located in the same room. If I do cover it then that may cause trouble with the air conditioner since that's the only outlet. The direction of the air flow can be controlled though and it's directed at the ceiling so it wouldn't bother the birds. Is that still a problem?

Ken, I am keeping a very close eye on them as I realize now that symptoms can show up any minute and get worse rapidly. You mentioned "at least 14", do you mean 14 days?

Thanks everyone for the replies, most of what's been brought up is new to me.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:49 am

sorry yes it was meant as 14 days

ken

H2015 · Post by **H2015** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 1:53 am

Just wanted to update that the bird has been doing PERFECT for awhile now and she's very energetic with the rest of the gang in the small aviary! Thanks a lot everyone for the great help!

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:25 am

thats great news,i hope the bird continues to progress

ken

FINCHforum

Fluffy and sleeping a lot

Did they get a draft?

Re: Did they get a draft?