FINCHforum

The other week I noticed my female zebra finch was acting a bit funny. She would constantly stay underneath the full spectrum light and sit there puffed up, even fluffing up and sleeping under the light. Normally I would say that I caught her sunbathing, but she would stay like this for hours, and hardly move. She responded quickly to new food being put in the cage or whenever my hand went in the cage. She'd also have these watery looking poops.

So, I separated her into a small hospital cage, where I covered it with several towels and placed a heat lamp at the side of the cage. I began treating her with some of the digestive medicine that they sell at PetSmart. After several treatments, she seemed to get better. She was very alert in the hospital cage, and wasn't puffed up anymore. Her poops also returned to normal.

I kept her separated for a few more days before returning her back to the bigger cage with her mate. After the two said their hellos for the first day or so, she went back to acting puffed up while under the lights and napping all the time. I haven't noticed watery poops though.

Is there something that I'm not thinking of that could be wrong with her, or is she just loving the light and I'm over-reacting?

Puffed up and lethargic is not good. Watch for signs of more symptoms but for now I would offer hard boiled eggs, shell and all and extra heat. I use ceramic heaters so there is no light to disturb them at night. I assume you are using fluorescent lights for full spectrum, they don't give off heat so you will need at add some.

good luck

Could she be egg bound? You said she improved. Did she lay an egg when she improved and now is egg bound again. If this is a possibility some liquid calcium applied to the side of her beak, and as debbie276 said, egg with the shell is good for increased calcium intake and protein. Also, moist heat. Some people bring the cage into the shower. I can't do that so I put a pot with hot water nearby and the steam goes into the room bringing up the humidity. Just make sure the room is warm enough so your hen doesn't get a chill. Yes, and watch for further symptoms as this may not be it at all, and she may have something else happening. Hopefully her immune system will fight it off. I love this product. It helps with "all that ails you" so to speak. I'll attach the link so you can read the many things these herbs are beneficial for health wise. https://ladygouldian.com/Herb-Salad

Your birds indoors?

Try this...

Sorry for being away for so long. It's been crazy around here. An update on this little girl..

I did a treatment with that powder medicine that you used to be able to get at the pet store, and she got better after a couple days. I still kept her on the medicine for about four days or so and kept a close eye on her. She went back to being alert and really active. Her poops also went back to being normal. Once I was comfortable that she hadn't been showing signs of illness for a couple days, I moved her back into her cage. Her and her mate were very happy to be back together.

Just last night I noticed her slowing down again. Ever since I put her back into the main cage, I've kept a heat lamp on in the far corner. Well, of course the thing burnt out last night. I went out and bought another one though. She is even worse than before. She got bad really quick. Now she can't fly very well. I was able to reach in and grab her, though she did try to get away. She's in the hospital cage with a heat lamp right now. I have some of that powder medicine left over. I'm wondering though, just about every female zebra that I've lost has been a chronic egg layer, her included. Now, I know that the bodies of chronic egg layers tend to give out pretty quick, so I wonder if this is what is going on with her? Even though she hasn't actually laid an egg in months.

Her diet consists of a variety of seeds, pellets, that herb salad, egg food, fruits and vegetables, and mealworms. The egg food is given to her every other week, but I do mix in the dry egg food into the fruits and vegetables that they are given. I also put in some powdered cuttlebone into the fruit and vegetable blend. I also put calcium and iodine drops into her water once a week, and ACV in the water once a week or so.