Finch puffed up and breathing heavily sometimes

[sparrowsong98]

Since I got Pat-Fran on Friday, he has been singing, preening and moving around. This has given me nothing to worry about, except that sometimes he sits and looks puffed up. I am not sure this is something to worry about because usually I catch him puffed up and breathing heavily after he has been very active. He also goes right back to his flying afterwards. Is he just out of breath or resting for a bit or should I be worried?

[Icearstorm]

sparrowsong98

Do you hear any clicking noise that could indicate air sac mites? Puffing up is not normal, but breathing heavily could just be due to stress or not being fit yet. Keep an eye on him and see if anything changes.

[sparrowsong98]

icearstorm
I just got him a few days ago so he could be stressed. I am planning on catching him to listen for air sac mites but I haven't yet since I didn't want to stress him out any more.

[Fraza]

He is only 12 weeks old didn’t you say so just leave him to get settled in the cage as he will be getting used to eating and drinking for himself

[sparrowsong98]

I got him out to listen to his breathing and I think I heard a clicking sound, but I'm not sure. Is it ok to treat a bird for air sac mites if you are not sure that it has them or not? Also, I do not have scatt or s76, but I do have some sheep drench ivermectin in my farm medicine bucket I think. Can I dilute that and give it to him? I want to try to treat him asap so I can see if his condition improves, and I am leaving for the weekend on a trip so pretty much if I do not treat him tomorrow I cannot do that.

[sparrowsong98]

I can get scatt online, but it will not come until april 1-3. Is it a good idea to wait that long to treat him? If not, is there something I can do to help him in the mean time?

[Icearstorm]

sparrowsong98

Stress is likely, and could have reduced his immunity. Or he might just be getting used to flying more.

It's safe to treat if he doesn't have air sac mites. I've heard of several finch breeders using sheep drench. You can use diluted sheep drench if it's pure Ivermectin, just mix the drench well prior to taking some out for dilution, or you might end up with something too weak/strong. Just be careful, and as precise as you can. Also mix the diluted solution well just prior to use. If the sheep drench was in a poorly-sealed container, some of the liquid could have evaporated, possibly concentrating the solution and making it unsafe to attempt to dilute (diluted mix could be too strong). Here's the concentration of Iverlux, a bird-safe Ivermectin medication.

Getting the bird-specific mix would be safer, but I don't know how long you should wait. Some birds go downhill slowly where another few days of waiting would not be an issue.

[sparrowsong98]

Icearstorm
I ordered the scatt and am not using sheep ivermectin because I dont feel comfortable diluting it. I am just going to keep an eye on him until it comes to make sure he is not going downhill, however on the weekend I am leaving and will not be able to keep an eye on him, so hopefully he is fine.

[sparrowsong98]

Icearstorm I got the scatt today, but it is late so I'm not going to give it to him until tomorrow. Any tips for applying it?

[Icearstorm]

sparrowsong98

What do the instructions say? If it's the kind that you apply directly to the bird, then you'll want to shake the bottle up and uncap it first. Hold the bird with its head between two of your fingers, kind of like this (ignore parted chest feathers; I don't have many other good pics):

Then use your other hand to gently pull one of the wings open, hold the wing open with the thumb and one of fingers on first hand, then use your now-free other hand to put a drop of medicine up against the wing pit. You can use a slightly damp cotton ball or something to part the wing-pit feathers to expose the skin more prior to applying medicine, but I've been able to do so without using water, so it isn't necessary.

[sparrowsong98]

Well I medicated the little guy after he got out of my bird net and flew around the room 5 times. I have been busy the past couple days and since he seemed to look fine I decided to wait until a time when I was getting home before 9:30. I wasnt able to get the medicine in the right place because I got a drop of it on his wing feathers and I didnt want to put it somewhere else and overdose him so he might not even have gotten the medicine.

[Icearstorm]

sparrowsong98

If it was over the skin, some should have gotten in. Is that the medicine where you normally do three rounds over the course of a month?

[wildbird]

If he is flying around the room like that, it is highly unlikely that he has air sac mites or anything else wrong.

[sparrowsong98]

Icearstorm no you do one drop and if they need it again you do another in 3-4 weeks
@wildbird He was acting kind of funny when I first got him 2 weeks ago so I was worried and ordered the medicine. By the time it came he was acting better and I was pretty sure he was fine, but I thought I would treat him anyway just in case.

[Icearstorm]

sparrowsong98

Alright, that's different than the one I use then. But you should know by then if anything's wrong and it didn't work.