FINCHforum

We've just moved, so we had to put all the birds through the trauma of transport. The cage had to be disassembled to move, so a few days before we moved them, we caught everyone to put them into smaller transport cages, but give them time to settle before we actually moved them to the new place. Not a far move, just about a 10 min drive.
Everyone except one hen has adjusted very well. She seemed alright the first day/night, acting pretty normal, except seeming a little tired from transport and being caught again to put into the flight. Starting on day two (Saturday), she has been puffy and lethargic, sleeping a lot, tucking her head, not moving around much.
She does not seem like her wings are injured, as when she does fly she looks ok.
She does beep occasionally, not totally silent.
I put a heat lamp on her yesterday, as soon as we noticed she was off and she has spent most of the time since, sitting under it. She really hasn't ventured much to eat/drink, so I hung a spray of millet right near her, which she has pecked at a little bit.
She seems a little off-balance sometimes, and she seems to shudder every once in a while.
The only thing we can think of is that she was startled during the night by something and maybe injured her foot. We don't see any blood anywhere I the cage.
I don't want to catch her again to put in a small cage because she has been through a lot of stress already.
Any ideas or suggestions of what I can do for her?

Likely stress related. You're doing well with heat and millet spray, hopefully her new home isn't too chaotic with the new move.
Hopefully she'll pick up soon. I caught and put my gouldian pair into a new cage several months ago. The hen fluffed up for a few days and both molted heavily. They look fabulous again now and are checking out the nest box. Goodluck. Perhaps you might add some mashed boiled egg as a pick me up.

Thanks Michelle, for your response. Boiled egg is the next step... As soon as I can find pans....

nelloyello11
Maybe add some electrolytes to her water too...Good luck

Thanks for the suggestion, Ginene-Everybody's been getting electrolytes (Vitalize) since the transport.

Her condition hasn't changed much throughout the day. She's had some millet and chitted seed, as well as a nibble of pellets, which I put in a dish right near where she's perched. She really wasn't drinking from the normal watered (maybe she wasn't too keen on the flavor of the vitalize in the water...), so I put a shallow bath in, and she took a big gulp of that before jumping in for a split second.
I have some medication on hand, I just don't know what, if anything, I should try...
Her poops have been a little wacky, many of them pretty watery, which could just be attributed to stress.

I think I've got one, possibly two more zebras with the same thing. They were all caged together prior to the move, so it could have been in their systems prior to the move...
I have tetratex, amoxitex, ronivet, and trimethoprim sulfa.
I just don't know what to try...

I would give the sick acting finches a round of Ronex 12 %, since the drops are watery after another day or two. They may have had something going on already and the stress of the move brought out the illness. Since finches go downhill fast, I'd treat for the most likely cause first. Then, observe.

Thanks for the suggestion Deborah.
By the time I read your response, I had already given Tetratex. I was really unsure, but had to try something, since I had two more birds who seemed to be starting with symptoms. I had a hard time finding anything that listed symptoms of specific illnesses- we just moved, so I don't have my computer with all my bookmarks... I can only access the Internet on my phone right now (awful time to be without regular access).

Unfortunately, the hen died overnight. She was the hen of my original pair (a gift from my fiancé), so it is a tough loss, as they all are...

The good news is that the others seem to be doing okay right now. I will finish this course of Tetratex with those who were caged with her, followed by a round of probiotics. I am contemplating a course of ronivet after that too, but I'm not sure yet...