FINCHforum

So I dont have full results from the necropsy yet on Polo, but I was wondering if some of you could help identify what went wrong. Heres what I have:

Marco and Polo both came from a bad flocking situation. They were dropped at a cat lady's house before being brought to Petco as rescues. Two others that had been with them died, at least one was completely bald. The vet at the time found no evidence of disease, only trauma. Polo's back was plucked completely bare, he was thin, and had an old wound in his cage that caused him to sit off to the side. He was frequently tired and while he got some energy back, never seemed to fully recover energy like Marco did. Towards the end he was lethargic, sleeping more with possible signs of labored breathing (open beak, tail pumping, etc.), and had more liquid poops. Necropsy so far has shown that he wasnt eating well in the end. A lot of this was realized in hindsight (such as the liquid poops). I did call an avian vet a couple of times, who said that if I brought him in that there wouldnt be a lot that could be done for him. So I kept him warm and comfortable, not realizing that there were things I could have done for him at home. I know, Im a bad bird mom for not doing more finch specific research from the beginning and Polo paid for it. Any ideas on the cause of his death would be great, thanks!
Also, if it helps, his diet towards the end of his life (from november, when I got him, to april) consisted of a bug mix, seed, fresh foods, and pellets that they never eat.

So sorry you are going through this
Don`t you dare go thinking that you are a bad finch mommy. You are wonderful person for having rescued them. We have all lost at least one of these beautiful little fids, and then looked in hindsight. But, we can't blame ourselves. There little systems are soo tiny and fragile, that usually by the time we see symptoms it is already too late.

The only time that I have had a finch with liquid poos,, was just recently. I lost the hen thinking that a heat lamp and vitalize would be enough I did however manage to save my little boy with broad spectrum anitibiotics. Just a fluke, I don`t know, but it was a last resort.
I hope you are able to find an answer and help your little man, they are all so precious.

Don't be so hard on yourself! It sounds like you did a lot of the little guy! From the sounds of it, the last few months of his life were better than those before you rescued him! Pat yourself on the back for your efforts!
Hindsight is always 20/20. Just use what you've learned from Polo to maybe save another one in the future, or to help someone else with their sick finch!

I'm with Janine, do not feel any guilt at all. Most finches hide their illnesses so well that by the time we become aware of it, there often isn't a lot we can do anyway. And with Polo's history, it may be that he was doomed. The trauma that he had earlier in life may have taken its toll.

I have lost more than my share of birds. Some I knew, because they were old and it was to be expected. With others, I don't have a clue what happened--I just accept it as part of having finches. If I wanted a long-lived bird, I could always get a parrot, but finches are my passion, and so I will have to deal with their shorter life spans.

It sounds like your bird may have had a respiratory problem due to protozoan infection (commonly called canker). Protozoan infections will also eventually prevent the bird from being able to eat and cause labored breathing.

I am just figuring a bunch of stuff out about finches, too -- new at this as well but I lost a couple of birds to similar symptoms and started some research to try to figure out what was going on. I could be wrong but you can go to ladygouldianfinch.com and click on "Health" and look for ASM or Respiratory Infection. Read that article and see if it fits what happened with your bird.

Sorry for your loss! In some ways, having finches is a journey and we really have to find stuff out as we go along so don't be discouraged by what happened -- you did a kind thing and you can't feel bad for that!