Male Zebra Finch Attacked. Stargazing-like condition.

[Eccentric T]

I came home from work the other night to see that my female finch (Marcy) was beating her mate up..(Jake) He was on the ground, breathing heavily and barely moving. I quickly went and put him into my emergency cage. He is in bad shape. He cannot keep his neck straight for the life of him. He loses balance frequently and has me worried. This started yesterday morning. I gave him his seed and water and he has actually been able to feed himself. In not sure if it is shock or if there is actually something wrong with him. Marcy and Jake have always gotten along well, but just recently she's gotten vicious. I'm guessing she is rejecting him as an eligible mate.

Is my finch going to get out of this OK? I'm super worried about him.

Here's a picture of the poor guy.



http://db.tt/B4L7v4KX
(In case the picture doesn't show up)

[cindy]

Do you have a heat lamp on him...heat will help him especially if in shock. Hope he will be ok.

[Eccentric T]

It's hot enough in this room. I'm sure he's comfortable. He's also missing a lot of neck feathers.

[Musetta]

Oh no! I have no idea how to help, but I hope that the little guy will be ok! He just stays in that position??

[cindy]

Room temperature is different than direct heat...I would advise a heat lamp on one side of the hospital cage so he can go to it when needed. He will seek the warmth if needed. This way he can use his energy on healing not warming himself if still in shock.

http://www.avianweb.com/firstaid.html
"Shock:

Symptoms: fluffed feathers, not moving, rapid shallow breathing, head may be turned with eyes partly closed.

Treatment: Place bird in warm (86-90 degrees F), secluded, dimly lit environment. If accompanied by life threatening injuries, contact vet for immediate treatment. Provide emergency / supportive care as needed and as qualified to do"

[Eccentric T]

http://www.avianweb.com/firstaid.html
"Shock:

Symptoms: fluffed feathers, not moving, rapid shallow breathing, head may be turned with eyes partly closed.

Treatment: Place bird in warm (86-90 degrees F), secluded, dimly lit environment. If accompanied by life threatening injuries, contact vet for immediate treatment. Provide emergency / supportive care as needed and as qualified to do"

Judging by the definition this is not him. He isn't puffed up or anything. In fact, he acts as if nothing happened. He's same old Jake, just a little messed up

[Ginene]

Eccentric T
Wow!!! That poor baby...I agree with Cindy (She is an expert, btw), that finch needs a heat lamp, in a dim and quiet room. Stargazing usually means that the birds are back bending. Your zebra looks like he may have Twirling...check it out on the web. Best of luck to you and your sweet boy....

[wellingtoncdm]

Sorry this happened. Hope he recovers quickly.

[Lisa]

Judging from your picture, he's sustained serious (probably head) injuries.

I agree with the others... btw, once a finch starts losing balance like that it's often a very serious condition. Just thought you should know this since you are asking for help but seem to be disregarding everything that is told to you. He looks more than just "a little messed up" to me.

[Eccentric T]

I put Jake in the bathroom with a night light next to his cage. I don't exactly have a lot of spare bedrooms in this apartment, so it will have to do. I'll be getting a heat lamp tomorrow hopefully. I just need to find out where I can get one. I really want him to be okay, so I'll do what I have to. Should I be feeding him anything special? He seems fine with what I gave him.

[Nerien]

A heat lamp is like giving the bird a heating pad and a comfy blanket. While the room you are sitting in may be comfortably warm, having that heating pad on whatever's sore, and being snuggled in a cozy blanket sure makes you feel better.

So, as long as he can move himself away from it in case he gets too warm, just put some kind of light shining on one end of the cage to give him some extra, cozy warmth. It looks like the little guy can use all the help he can get right now. Poor thing! Hope he recovers.

You say he's missing many feathers on his neck. Do you think she injured his neck muscles or spine? Is he just plucked or did she do further injury that you can see?

[Eccentric T]

Here's a short video of him, as I said he acts as if nothing's wrong with him, but he's pretty bad.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/650uw15r1xue24x/VIDEO0006.mp4

[Nerien]

A plain old desk light can do as a heat lamp--the light bulb puts out enough warmth if it is close to the cage, you don't have to buy anything fancy.

Are you sure both eyes are okay? He looks like he's trying to get a better look, or make things look normal when they don't. Maybe he did injure his little brain, crashed into the side of the cage trying to get away from her? Poor little guy, I hope he recovers. He's so cute.

[debbie276]

He looks like he's looking at the cage top and his balance looks fine. Was he recently moved from a larger cage? After the initial fight he may have been disoriented/injured. Now it looks like he's trying to orient himself in the cage. Is there a way to put him in a larger cage (without putting him back with the hen) and see if he settles down?
From what I've read stargazing is an environmental issue and simply moving the bird to a different environment "fixes" it.
good luck

[Eccentric T]

So I have a new symptom to add to his unknown condition, Jake will randomly have these "freak-outs" in which he'll frantically flap around the cage, and on the floor only to be left laying motionless on the bottom of the cage for several terrible minutes.

I really don't know what's going on with the poor guy, but I hope someone can give me an answer.

Also the bathroom arrangement didn't work out. It was the 4th of July and my roommates were tipsy/drunk and just found it funny. They also wouldn't shut up.

Woo.