My Finch Keeps Falling

[OhNayeli]

Hello everyone so I bought 3 female zebra finches ( about a month and a half ago they dont seem to be related as they all look different one of them is smaller than the other two but she is very active eats and drinks well.

When i first got her i noticed she would sleep at the bottom of the cage in a corner and she couldnt fly very well or sit on perches that were high she would sometimes fall on her back but would turn around and act normal again.

Over the past few weeks she had been doin better i added a few drops of sovereign silver into their water she would sit on the highest perches but last week i noticed she started to fall again.

It seems like this only happens when im taking out their food and water bowls and she flies to get away from my hand i try to keep it as far from her as i can. When she falls It takes her a few seconds to turn around. Today when i had my hand inside the cage she fell again right next to my hand and just stayed there without moving and her legs were kind of tucked in (she was obvioulsy scared of my hand) i picked her up very carefully turned her around and placed her next to where she fell and took my hand out.

I am concerned that she might fall and get stuck at the bottom of the cage or hit her head or not be able to turn around. She is acting normal now but can you guys recommend some vitamins or supplements i can give her that might help with this problem.

[lem2bert]

OhNayeli

About 8 months ago a friend brought me a society finch that was given to him. When I took him out of the box I knew something was wrong, he did not fly out of the box he jumped.

I did not know much about his past, but I kept him in a cage with a lot of perches so he could jump up to the top of the cage instead of flying, but I still left the front of the cage free from too many perches in case he was able to fly. He was healthy except that he could not fly. My friend has him now in a cage with her other societies and he is still healthy just cannot fly. Sometimes without knowing the birds past you can just guess. His wing feathers look like they were plucked and some look like they were cut, my guess is my friend that brought him to me saved him from possible snake food

[OhNayeli]

OhNayeli

About 8 months ago a friend brought me a society finch that was given to him. When I took him out of the box I knew something was wrong, he did not fly out of the box he jumped.

I did not know much about his past, but I kept him in a cage with a lot of perches so he could jump up to the top of the cage instead of flying, but I still left the front of the cage free from too many perches in case he was able to fly. He was healthy except that he could not fly. My friend has him now in a cage with her other societies and he is still healthy just cannot fly. Sometimes without knowing the birds past you can just guess. His wing feathers look like they were plucked and some look like they were cut, my guess is my friend that brought him to me saved him from possible snake food

Hello, she seems to be doing better i moved all of the female zebra finches to a separate cage each with a male finch i added alot of branches that are different sizes and at different heights to her cage. She fell 2 days ago and both of her wings got stuck but she managed to free herself before i tried to turn her around and acted normal afterwards. II am trying to stay away from the cages specially hers since i seem to be the problem. I bought some vitamins that i will be adding into their water and i hope they help her.

Thanks for replying

[lovezebs]

OhNayeli

Sorry, didn't see your Thread earlier.

I am glad to hear that your little girl is doing better.

I would recommend covering the bottom of the cage with newspaper. That way if she does fall, she won't get stuck in the grate below (which could be lethal if you're not around).

I have a Society girl, who was born with one wing that is malformed. She can't really fly, so she hops up and down perches that I place at strategic points for her benefit. She is otherwise healthy, and this past Spring became the proud mommy to three beautiful babies with perfectly formed wings.

The fact that she falls and just lays there with her feet tucked when your hand is in the cage, is just her playing dead because she's afraid. When you work in the cage make your movements slow and talk to her softly. Instead of staying away from the cage, I would spend more time near the cage, even with your hand in the cage, just sitting quietly. I think you will see that in time she'll become more calm, becoming used to your presence, realizing that you are not a threat.

Good luck .

[cindy]

also check the belly... she might have fatty liver, yellow thick fat deposits, these can cause a bird not to fly well, it is like extra weight. Might require a diet change, could be caused by a past illness that effected the liver and it does not function well... look up fatty liver. The fat deposits can be anywhere on the body not just the belly.... just another possibility.

She may have also been injured prior to her coming to you and the injury did not heal right, effecting her flying.

I often took sections of newspaper wrapped in paper towels for fledglings and injured birds, setting them on the bottom of the grate to help cushion the fall and keep feet and wings and even the head from getting caught in the grate.