New fledgling wth swollen eye

ocalona · Post by **ocalona** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:21 pm

Hi, I've been monitoring this forum for several wks now & have been really impressed wth the caring & knowledge of the members so I'm hoping someone can help me now. I have a new zebra fledgling just out of the nest cpl days ago. His tail & wing feathers are curled on the ends (my husband sd Angel wings!), his feet don't seem to grasp well & worst of all his left eye is swollen very big. It doesn't look like an eye @ all because it is pink & closed. The poor little guy fell out of the nest & I have since put a canary nest in the cage on the floor wth tissues as bedding. He has trouble getting out of it but does when his parents come down, He moves around in circles on the cage floor (which is covered wth newpaper so his feet won't fall thru the grate) & does an admirable job of begging considering. His parents were reluctant to feed him on the cage floor @ first but do seem to be feeding. My question is should I take him to the vet, try treating his eye @ home alone or what? The eye doesn't really look infected so this could be a deformity along wth the feathers & feet. I would really appreciate any advice you could give

Donna in TN

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:45 pm

Hi Donna, welcome to the forum.

I have not heard about or read any info on the defects you describe. Poor lil' guy!

If you have access to an avian vet you might get some answers there. If you only have a regular vet, then he/she probably won't be of much help as they don't seem to have much knowledge of birds and their diseases. Once the parents stop feeding it, I suspect the poor lil' guy won't live long as the eye and feet deformities will most likely prevent him from feeding himself.

I think the kindest thing you could do is have your vet euthanize him. Better a quick end then days or weeks of suffering.

ocalona · Post by **ocalona** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:22 am

Well, I'm finally back wth an update on my little zebra. I have decided to take Little Bit to the vet, (he is board certified with exotic birds) but my little guy is definitely getting around much better. We put him & both parents in a smaller cage alone & they have been feeding him all along. Little Bit stll hasn't tried to fly but with only one eye it would be very hard to judge distances so it's understandable. He does hop around well, even up on the food cup, although I don't think he is able to eat alone yet. Once he is weaned I plan on keeping him & my other 2 zebras born @ the same time (to different parents) in the same cage so he'll have company. One question though, will his parents accept him back & continue feeding him after having him out of the cage long enough to go to the vet & back? He's only been out of the nest a week now.

Donna

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 2:48 am

In my experience, the parents fed the chick after I borrowed it to take it to the vet (also for an eye problem [tearing] which resolved on its own a day later).

You will probably be okay, but you may want to invest in hand feeding supplies just in case. It's always good to be prepared for the worst.

vetbridge · Post by **vetbridge** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:13 pm

There is an abnormality that happens in ducks and geese called angel wing. Here is some info and pictures:
http://www.wildlifeinformation.org/Subd ... l_Wing.htm

Does your bird look like that? It has been reported in other species as well. In some instances it can be successfully corrected.

bluefinch · Post by **bluefinch** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 1:27 pm

I used to raise goslings for my grandpa during the summer. The one year one of the goslings wings started to stick out like that when he started feathering up. I don't remember what my grandpa did to fix the problem though.

ocalona · Post by **ocalona** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 12:59 am

Thanks for the input, guys. I checked out the link & it doesn't seem to fit with Little Bit's look. His wings don't stick out, just the tips of the wings & tail feathers are sort of frilled. I did take him to the vet on Valentine's Day who drained the fluid from his eye & gave me some antibiotic ointment. I was sure he was going to die that day. He was droopy & fluffed for almost 12 hrs. I cried all day & kept telling my husband Little Bit was dying & I felt it was my fault. He is doing great now though! His parents are trying to wean him now & he is eating seeds some & loves millet spray. I've tried to get him to eat some chopped up boiled egg but he doesn't seem interested. He can fly but is not able to perch well. Also he can't judge distances so can't seem to make it to the perch. All I really care about is that he be able to eat & live a happy healthy life. I can keep him in the smaller cage. We can still catch him although he has struggled with us ever since he recovered from the trip to the vet. He is white with a little grey cap of feathers on his head, but no feathers are growing behind his left blind eye. We still think he is beautiful!

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:36 am

hi ocolana
sometimes when zebra finches are born.this happens ,because there are so many of them, all bred from birds in captivity eventually these infirmaties appear as you have no idea what relation the parentage is the parents them selves could have even come from the same nest....because my zebras breed in a colony in my aviary i have no control over the pairings so sometimes birds are born with malformed limbs and like yours ,blind as long as it is still thriving .he should be ok as i have had birds also that have lost limbs and still manage to get around perfectly fine ..as they eventually get used to thier surroundings.we could do with more people like you in this hobby as a lot of people will not have the patience with infirm birds and readily dispatch them as they consider them of no use...good luck with your little zebra finch and i hope he lives a long and happy life in your care

ken

ocalona · Post by **ocalona** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 2:28 pm

Just thought I'd post an update on Little Bit. He is doing fantastic! He just this week made it up to the perch & we were so proud of him!. Since then he has tried several times to make it to the swing. Hasn't reached it yet but I know he will eventually. He has also started singing!. Not a great song but song nonetheless. I didn't think babies sang this young. He has gotten wilder as he progresses, we can no longer hold him without him struggling to fly free. We took all the adults out & now it's just him & our other 2 zebs born just before him, Precious & Punkin. They all seem to get along great. My husband & I are both extremely pleased with his progress.

ocalona · Post by **ocalona** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 2:36 pm

I forgot to add the tail & wing feathers are no longer curled. When the vet checked him he said he didn't recognize the curled feathers as a deformity so it must have just been a temporary condition, maybe because the nest he was in one of the small wicker nests. But it didn't seem to affect his two cousins. They were born in the same kind of nest. As I write this he is singing his little heart out!

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 7:02 pm

hi donna
thats great news i am so glad he is on the mend and singing...he must be feeling better!

ken