FINCHforum

Hi,

Recently, the eggs of one of my zebra finches hatched, and the male partner has been acting strangely sick even before they hatched. I thought at first the liquid droppings might be stress, but it continues to happen every day. I recently noticed him flexing the shoulders of his wings outward, which I've never seen before. It looks like what the mother does when she's feeding her young, though he does it a bit more aggressively. Most of the time he looks and acts healthy, and seems to be eating healthy, and I'm currently treating them with S76 for air-sac mites (as a precaution, because they seemed to be showing symptoms), but he also still fluffs up and scratches himself and the other birds have been doing this as well (just the fluffing and scratching). I also sprayed them with a feather mite and lice spray twice a week so I'm not sure if mites are the issue. They also sometimes scrape their beaks against the wooden perches. I'm not sure if most of this normal behavior or what, but the liquid droppings that shoot out in a stream do worry me most.

Any advice?

Have you checked his weight? Could he have coccidosis? That's the first thing I check when there is runny droppings and fluffing. The beak wiping is normal and the stretching of the shoulder sounds normal, when they stretch out a wing to the top and side? Good Luck.

They will tend to strech to the extreme after sitting in the nest on eggs or chicks for hours.... kind of like us on a long car ride.... we get out and the first thing we want to do is stretch alot
The watery dropping could be a build up from retaining it longer in than normal due to long hours in the nest... Is it when he first exits the nest or all the time?
An increase of water consumption can cause this too.
Is he fluffed? Puffed? tail bobbing when breathing?
One way to tell if they have air sac mites is to wet the feathers under his chin...the mites are visible as back specks under the skin. Also at night when they are sleeping you can listen for clicking or sneezing.

CandoAviary wrote: One way to tell if they have air sac mites

OK, I'm showing my ignorance. I thought that gouldians and canaries were the only birds susceptible to air sac mites?

Any bird can get air sac mites but canaries and gouldians are the most likely canidates.
I treat every bird that comes through my doors for ASM as a precaution. I commented about the ASM because he was already treating for that

I'm currently treating them with S76 for air-sac mites (as a precaution, because they seemed to be showing symptoms), but he also still fluffs up and scratches himself and the other birds have been doing this as well (just the fluffing and scratching).

One of my Goulds had ASM and after I started treating him he began scratching a lot ! This is because Ivermectin works on external mites as well as the internal ones. At the onset of treatment, the mites will start to move around more as they feel the early effects of the drug (maybe trying to evade the drug?). The bird must feel really funny with mites very actively moving all around his/her body! As treatment continues, the mites will die. But, I do remember my poor guy really scratching himself in the beginning - and that wasn't even one of his initial symptoms. I had just noticed the clicking sound that everyone describes. Sorry, don't know much about the diarrhea - maybe a GI parasite? They can be bad - can you get a poop sample to a vet?