What could it be?

[Njall]

Hello,
I came for advice. Last year, just before new year I decided to buy birds, as bird keeping always intriqued me. I bought pair of canaries, one from breeder and other from chain pet store.. and here comes the problem. At that time I didn't know what a sick bird looks like, and I got to a possession of stoick, quiet, scaly legged bird. Altough something seemed wrong, pet store assured me it was because she was a norwich canary (fluffed up and laid back personality).

After few days, I wanted to introduce her to the male, not stick them into one cage, but rather just let them see each other from afar. They called back and forth, male sang for her... But next day, male canary sounded squeaky like an unoiled gate. Since he was in room with her, he got sick. Sneezing and squeaky voice were only symptoms, but I knew I need to do something.

Where I live there are no avian vets, only hundreds of km away. So I went to a regular one, suspecting scaly leg/air sac mites. Vet had no idea, so I at least asked for Ivermectin, as I was already read onto the subject.

And it got better, for time being. I followed 3x schedule, did one more just to be sure, and symptoms exept for occasional sneezing went away.

That was till last week, when the female got worse out of the blue. Heavy breathing, excesive sleeping, fluffed up... After an hour I found her dead on the cage floor.

Day after, male started to show his previous symptoms again. Altough I separated him, my other finches and parrots disturbingly started showing same signs.

What do you think? Air sac mites re-infestation? Or something else?

Thanks to all who read this brick of an essey.

[wilkifam]

If it was air sac mites, sometimes the treatment can kill them. It kills the mites, and they clog up the airsacs, and the bird passes away from secondary infection.

[wildbird]

May be a respiratory infection. Symptoms of air sac mites would not be likely to spread so quickly.

[Njall]

Is it treated with antibiotics? I suppose I could ask vet for medicine, but first I have to know exactly what, because vets here don't specialize in birds
And thanks for replies!

[wildbird]

I would check with the breeder that you bought one of them from, and see if he might know what is wrong with them. Breeders often know more than vets anyway.