Zebra finch can't sing

[Red_Rose]

Just yesterday late in the afternoon I noticed that my zebra finch struggles to sing. He can make all of the little 'meep' sounds but he has a hard time singing. He gets the first couple of notes out and then stops. You can tell he's trying and the odd time, he'll actually get the rest of the notes out but it doesn't happen often.

I could be wrong but from the looks of it, he has a slight tailbob that he's never done before. I don't know if that's just from frustration from not being able to sing? What could be wrong with him? He still flies around but not as much as yesterday before this happened and he's eating and drinking okay. I'm going to call the vet to see if I can get him in today but I just wanted to run this past all of you as I don't know what to make of this.

[Brette]

I dont think hes trying to sing, i think this is a respiratory problem possibly caused by mites. A gouldian of mine had both those symptons and it turned out it was air sac mites which can be cured with Scatt (available at ladygouldianfinch.com)
http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/product_scatt.php

Tail bobbing and an open mouth are signs of breathing troubles. I will let someone else chime in about whether or not you should also treat with antibiotics. Boths meds can be purchased at the above website. They last a long time and if you are going to keep finches you should have both antibiotics and scatt.

Keep us posted please!

[lovezebs]

Red_Rose

Hi Rose.

Tail bobbing when breathing, is not a good sign. It usually means he's struggling with breathing.

If you have a vet available, I would definitely consult with him/her, rather than second guessing on the forum...I mean, it could mean mites, it could mean respiratory, it could mean different things.... I would get a professional opinion.

Best of luck, and please keep us updated.

[Derk]

Red_Rose
I have not had any air sac mites with my birds, but I think I read you can often hear little clicking noises.

If it is a respiratory problem, and you don't know if it is caused by air sac mites, I would caution using any parasitics unless someone more experienced lets you know it is very safe and will not cause more harm than good to a bird suffering from respiratory problems from another source.

It would not be a bad idea to offer your bird a heat lamp that he can move away from if it is not needed. Do you have other birds? How long have you had this one?

[cindy]

Red_Rose

Hi Rose.

Tail bobbing when breathing, is not a good sign. It usually means he's struggling with breathing.

If you have a vet available, I would definitely consult with him/her, rather than second guessing on the forum...I mean, it could mean mites, it could mean respiratory, it could mean different things.... I would get a professional opinion.

Best of luck, and please keep us updated.

I agree, tail bobbing, difficulty breathing are not just signs of ASM. Does he look like he is stretching his neck out while opening his beak like he is trying to clear his throat?

A vet can certainly help with this one. People are very quick to assume difficulty breathing is ASM... internal parasites, yeast, respiratory issues, etc can cause difficulty breathing.

[Red_Rose]

Hi everyone. Thanks for the advice.

Yesterday, his song was, in the best way I can describe it, off and on. One minute he couldn't get the notes out and the next, he's singing. As for the tail bobbing, I only saw it after he was being active so I waited until he had one of his usual naps and there was no tail bobbing to be seen. Even after an active period, I didn't always see it. It was maybe only couple of times at the most.

As for today, he's back to his old self again! He sings his little heart out and he's super revved. Could it have been a strained voicebox? Sometimes Wayne and I have little meeping contests where I imitate his meeps and we try to out meep one another. I have yet to win.

BTW, there were no clicking sounds when he breathes and I looked up all of the symptoms for both respiratory problems and air sac mites and he doesn't have any of them. I will admit that I have seen him regurgitate food and try to give it to Sammy. I don't know if that's common between two finches that are companions.

[Brette]

Glad to hear he's better, but how odd! Wonder if he got a seed stuck somewhere while he was feeding his buddy.

[Red_Rose]

Brette

That's what I was wondering. I remember reading a thread here about someone's finch not being able to sing and one of the replies mentioned that maybe if the bird was regurgitating a lot that it could possibly irritate the voicebox. Perhaps that's what happened with Wayne? I'm just happy that he's feeling better.

[Derk]

Red_Rose
Glad he is fine. I don't mean to alarm you but I have heard of bird's choking on a seed and dying. I am not saying he was choking. Obviously, it is not common and there is little we can do since seed is usually the majority of their diet. Hens regurgitate to feed the chicks as do many cocks. It is a normal healthy behaviour.

[Red_Rose]

Derk

You know, that was the first thing that crossed my mind when he struggled to sing.

I give them two different seed mixes, one is mainly different types of millet and the other is a mix for both finches and canaries. There's a seed in the canary/finch mix that's rather big that they sometimes like to try to crush up. I now remove those seeds just in case they try to eat them.

[lovezebs]

Red_Rose

All of my guys, from Budgie, down to Goldbreasts, eat a mixture of Finch/Canary/Budgie seeds (all mixed together).
Have never had a problem. Everyone picks and chooses whatever they like and need out of the mixture.