FINCHforum

excuse me if this sounds short but ive just typed loads and it got deleted after I tried adding an image to the post :@, my male finch has a problem he has scaley feet/legs and open wounds, he also has a problem with his leading edge on one wing with his flight feathers causing an issue for him to fly he has always had thick feet/legs he is in the same cage as a female she has no problems and flies strong but he just sits on the perch and stays there. ive tried washing with eyewash solution then using antiseptic bird spray, vitamins, anti peck spay and padding on the perches as I thought it might be bumble foot. if someone could help on what it could be and treatment that would be great as I just want him back to his usual self flying round and making baby finches

many thanks

James1993....post pics of the cage he is kept in

I'm going to attach some links in hope you can zero in on what's happening. I don't want to speculate. I would guess scaly mites is part of the problem but then there might be a greater issue happening. You can see his poop and other things that might help solve the mystery...so here....
http://www.mfgouldianfinches.com/Issues/Bird_Feet.html
https://ladygouldian.com/Foot-Problems

James1993
Corkysgirl posted a good link. The second one shows the two problems that were my first guess. The scaley feet and pox virus. Since pox and scaley are both contagious, you need to isolate the bird in a separate cage. I'd suggest taking it to the vet, for proper diagnosis and medication. If I was sure it was scaley foot, I'd suggest giving Ivermectin on a cotton swab, dab to thigh or behind neck, get between the feathers to the skin. Then rub mineral oil on the leg to smother the mites. Then treat again in 3 weeks.
A vet would need to give you medication for pox virus. I hope it's just scaley foot.
Keep us posted.

finchmix22 --- Agreed with everything.

Scaly foot mites can also damage skin in other areas (like the wings).

If you can't get him to the vet (which I strongly recommend), you could try treating him for mites. If that's not effective, then it's pox by process of elimination. Definitely not ideal, as it would mean you treated for something that wasn't actually a problem, but better than nothing if the vet isn't an option.

S76 can be applied topically to the legs and affected areas once daily for 10 days.
S76 is also used for ASM and other internal parasitic organisms. The active drug, ivermectin perfuses the tissues and kills the mites when they bite. But it must be applied topically for foot mites, beak mites and other topical mites. In the case of foot mites, there's a build up of dead skin and that dead skin isn't perfused by the ivermectin. So you need to apply topically in order to get them.
You also need to clean the cage VERY thoroughly with permethrin or another mite-killing spray to get rid of all traces and avoid re-infestation.

You'll also need to treat the other bird(s) with him. They may not be symptomatic yet, but they likely have them too. Mites (and other parasites) virtually never impact only one individual in a flock/pack/colony/household. Some just show more symptoms than others. (Often the individuals with the weaker immune systems).

Hi thanks for the quick replies, sorry i havent replied so quick as ive been mega busy at work. Ive attached pictures of the cage as requested. Also he has had this for about 5 months now wich ive been bathing him and treating it with antiseptic spray ect he has also been with his female partner all the time but she hasnt had any problems "touch wood". Also there 2 kids which i have left from 5 are ok as well.

Many thanks again

This is the third try for this post. What is the long dark brown perch that he is on? It looks hairy on my computer. It seem that if it was anything the other birds could get, they would show sign of it by now. How long have you had him & when did signs appear? Be sure you know what the cause is before you treat.

James1993.....my bets on the fake plant you have in there

Only use real branches....many years ago I saw this same problem in budgies that had fake perches

Hi thanks for the replies, the brown thing is a kinda bendy branch and as for the leaves i fail to see how it could be them as its soft plastic, also he had these problems way way before i built this cage and used these items and again the female is in the same cage with no problems what so ever.

Ive had him for almost 10 months and he started getting this after about 3 or 5 months then its slowly gotten worse ie from one foot to the other then his wing had problems and now he struggle to fly because of it (his wing that is lol)

James1993.....what kind of perches did he have in his prior cage

He had the same as in this cage. I was exactly the same cabe previis to this one but i built a better version wich he is in now, and the babies in the old cage he was previusly they have no problems.

Ps why does it take so long for messages to be accepted for public viewing

James1993 wrote: Ps why does it take so long for messages to be accepted for public viewing

Newly-registered members have to have their messages approved by a moderator before they are made public. Once you have achieved regular member status, your messages will be posted as soon as you submit them. The Moderation Team are all volunteers, so we aren't logged on all the time. Newly-registered messages go into a queue, and as soon as one of the Moderation Team logs on, they are read and approved. We didn't used to have this procedure, but a few people joined only to post their spam or other unacceptable material. We realize this is an inconvenience for new members, but it usually doesn't take long to achieve regular status.

James1993....did he have this problem before you purchased him?