FINCHforum

This forum has been a great help to us before when our female was egg bound so we wanted to turn here when we were having issues with the male.

Just recently, our male Gouldian Finch started acting strange. (Sitting very low, being inactive, he appears to be holding his right foot slightly off the perch, and his wings are a bit splayed out).

Once we saw this, we thought maybe he was unhappy so we went out and got some more décor for the cage to brighten things up (Fake foliage on the back of the cage, some new perches, and a hanging treat thing) This morning, we separated the two birds just in case there's something more that needs to be addressed. I did notice his nails are quite long and that was prompted us to get the new sand perches to help get them down. We try not to handle them to manually trim the nails because we don't like startling them when we try to grab them.

Could it be just the overgrown nails or is there more we should be looking out for?

It is worth noting that once we separated them, he would start doing his little mating jump and singing, had a little food and water, and then went back to this position.

Here is a link to a few photos for reference:
http://imgur.com/a/cDVA1

Sounds like he may have an injured foot, keeps weight off and using his wings for balance.
First I would remove all sand perches. Then I would trim his nails.
Use a magnifying glass if you have one and look well at that foot and leg. Look for any hair, strings and/or sores.
Let us know what you find.

MCiccosanti

Agree with Debbie.

Sand perches don't really do anything for nails. All they do, is irritate the tender skin on the bottom of bird's feet. I would get some natural branches from a tree in your yard (like apple or whatever, that hasn't been sprayed with anything). Birds love these, and they are a lot better than anything else.

Regarding your boy.
You 'will need' to catch him and check his foot under a bright light, or in bright sunlight. Check for any cuts, abrasions, or red inflamed spots. As Debbie mentioned, look very carefully for any bits of string or hair, that might be wrapped around, or imbedded into the foot.

While you have him in your hand, use a pair of nail clippers and trim the tips off his nails. Do this against a bright light, so as not to cut the quick (the dark part in the nail) only the clear part.
If his nails are very long, he might have caught his nail on something and injured his toe.

I know that catching your birds and handling them, can be scary and nerve wracking, but at times we need to do it. Make sure that there are no dogs or cats in the room (and no open doors or windows). Reach into your cage, wait until birds calm down and grab your boy with your right hand (if your right handed). Hold gently but firmly and transfer into your left hand, so that birdie is laying with his back against the palm of your hand, wings smooth against his body, with your fingers curled around him to hold him safe. Then you can use your right hand to check him out, trim his nails, and so on. Other people might have different methods, but this works for me.

Good luck

You've gotten good advice already. Sometimes we must catch our birds. Though it may frighten them, they do get over it quickly. That is better than letting some condition like an injury or a string wrapped around a leg/foot continue without treatment.

MCiccosanti

And while you have him in your hand it will give you a good chance to feel his keel or breast bone. If it is 'sharp' - feels pointy like a V shape - he is thin and may indicate more may be the matter. At the same time, you should be able to feel the bone. If you can't find it, he is too fat.

Please let us know what you find. Perhaps post a picture of his feet/legs.

Note: I have seen birds with long nails have trouble perching. I have seen them get stuck to cage wires because the long nails became entangled among themselves and the birds could not get free. I have also seen toes stuck in an overlapped fashion because the nails became entangled. For all these reasons its is better to trim the nails if you see they are long.

Thank you everyone for the information! We were able to get him and trim his nails. He had one toe that looked swollen and bruised so we took him to the vet last night and they said he had some type of mite that burrows under the skin. She treated both of our finches and gave us instruction on sanitizing the cage. Thankfully, she said this was nothing we caused so I don't feel as bad.

I'm so glad you were able to figure out what the problem was.
All the best for a speedy recovery

You have a lovely cage (bright, lots of things for the birds to do). I hope they both recover quickly. Generally most birds have mites when you first get them - esp. if you're not sure of the background. I always take to the vet, and they treat for everything!

Good luck

Zebrafincher