FINCHforum

Hi,
I'm back to birds after a hiatus while my daughter was younger. We have a male zebra who is maybe 2 months old, we've had him for about 2 weeks since he weaned. Him and his sister got loose in the house Wednesday night, sadly she didn't survive. He appeared uninjured when I caught him. Through the day yesterday I noticed he was quiet and puffed, thought he was lonely. Today he's puffed up on the bottom of the cage and won't perch. I don't see any obvious injuries other than a few missing tail feathers. Any advice before the vet opens tomorrow? Thanks!

foxtraxmama Sorry to hear of the loss of his sister. The best thing you can do right now is just keep him warm and quiet. If you got them just when they were weaned, they have been through a lot of stress in a short period of time. If you have a gooseneck desk lamp or some other small lamp with a 60w bulb, place it near the cage, aimed at one end of the cage but placed so the bird can move away from the heat if it gets to be too much.

You can put his water and food dishes on the floor of the cage so that he can reach them without having to get on the perch. Just keep an eye on him for now and keep us posted on how he is doing tomorrow morning.

Was there a cat involved. A cats bite can cause infection. Did he hit a window or mirror? The loss of the other bird won't help either. There could be some internal injuries, depending on what happened. If it's a cat bite, they will probably give antibiotics. See what your avian vet thinks. Keep him comfortable & provide food & water on the floor where he can get to it easily. Offer a heat lamp for warnth if you think he needs it.

wildbird asked the exact same question I had -- cat involvement?

Contact with the saliva from a cat (or dog) can actually kill a bird due to the bacteria, which the bird takes in while preening. There doesn't even need to be a bite (and often, puncture wounds don't show. You really need to look, as they don't bleed a whole lot.)

I'd do just as the others recommended --- provide some heat for him. Poor guy. He's had a rough day.

How is the little zebra? Did he get better? I hope he is alright. Let us know please.

foxtraxmama
Any new developent with your boy? Hope he survives his miss adventure. By the way what exactly killed the sister?