FINCHforum

Quite a few of my finches often have their beak opens now, it looks like they're panting for breath, but this is not after any exercise, they are just doing it for seemingly no reason. I must have seen about 10 birds doing it at the same time, all in different cages. Bluecaps, masked grass finches, gouldians and bichenos have all been spotted doing it.

Could this be a sign of some sort of infection or is this normal behaviour?

Now they seem to have stopped doing it, sometimes i'll catch a bunch of them doing it and other times i can't seem to spot any of them doing it. They all look perfectly well.

Sometimes my female zebra finch does that when she is scared. But, she only does it for a few minutes or so. I initially thought that something was wrong, but my girlfriend, who studies birds as a hobby, told me it is an action to try and scare us away or something. If this isn't the case with your birds, I think that it could be air sac mites.

A respiratory infection of some sort by the sound of it...vets advice might be wise.

Could it be that they are to hot? I have a pet chicken we recently raised and she pants a lot too, but only when we bring her indoors into a hot room, hangs her beak open while panting, the heavy breathing is more obvious in a large bird such as a chicken.

I've seen this beak opening going on for at least the past 4 weeks, if it was air sac mights, wouldn't they be dead already?

finchbob wrote:Could it be that they are to hot? I have a pet chicken we recently raised and she pants a lot too, but only when we bring her indoors into a hot room, hangs her beak open while panting, the heavy breathing is more obvious in a large bird such as a chicken.

I've seen this beak opening going on for at least the past 4 weeks, if it was air sac mights, wouldn't they be dead already?

You could try cooling it down a bit if you think that they are too hot. What is the temperature in your area? Or, more specifically, what would you estimate the temperature to be in the room where the birds are kept?
Do the birds show any other symptoms, such as not singing as much, a clicking sound when they breath or nasal discharge? I don't really know how long air sac mites take to have an impact on a bird, maybe someone else will be able to tell you? I do know that gouldians are more susceptible to air sac mites though.
Also, just out of curiosity, do they do this whenever you get close to the cage?

Well the room they are in doesn't have a lot of space so when i'm in the same room i'm not more than about 4 feet away from the birds. It's only really 1 gouldian i've seen with his beak open and that was only one time, it's mainly masked grass finches I often notice with their beaks open, and blue-cap maybe a couple of times.

Perhaps you could somehow find a way to keep an eye on them without being in the room too much. Like what other people have said in various other topics, I don't know if it would be a great idea to treat them without knowing if there actually is a problem, but at the same time, you don't want to ignore it. If possible, try looking for any other such as clicking when they breathe or even excessive tail-bobbing. Is there an avian vet around where you live?

There isn't one too close no, from my experiences vets are usually a waste of time and money anyway. What do you mean by tail bobbing? I know one of my masked grass finches flicks his tail up and down very fast sometimes but i'm pretty sure he does that to show off to the female.

finchbob wrote:What do you mean by tail bobbing? I know one of my masked grass finches flicks his tail up and down very fast sometimes but i'm pretty sure he does that to show off to the female.

Yeah, I think that he is just showing off, but I would look for any birds that are doing that similar up and down motion with their tails, but the tail would be going a bit slower. I know that finches do occassionally bob their tails, but a sick bird would do it more often.

Well, I'd say that if it is not a very warm room that it is probably ASM. Not all birds that have it will show symtoms until it is pretty severe.

Meagan83 wrote:Well, I'd say that if it is not a very warm room that it is probably ASM. Not all birds that have it will show symtoms until it is pretty severe.

I agree. I think that maybe since they are showing some signs of illness, then it would be better to just treat it. Better safe than sorry.

If what you said is true, then its more likely a respiratory infection OR a defense mechanism and NOT ASM. If your flock has recently been moved to new cages or moved from outside to inside or is just new in general, then I would lean towards defense mechanism to show they will fight to protect themselves due to the new stresses they underwent. They will do it until they get a bit more comfortable with you and their environment.. perhaps you have the AC on now and not the heat or vice versa... you need to consider all environmental factors that could stress the birds.

If you had them for a long time and no major changes, then I would say that its a respiratory infection. I would treat with a broad spectrum antibiotic for 10 days (amoxitex) and see how that goes for you. Know that the goulds, with the resp. infection, could contract a secondary infection from being weak and ASM could crop up if not treated fast.

Try doing a 10 day regiment of amoxitex and if you dont see a response, do a flock ASM treatment. Good Luck!

Your birds are too hot and panting as a way to cool down. They pant the same as a dog would. They open their beaks and pant and at the same time they lift their wings slightly off of their body. Here in Australia we see it all the time. Try getting a spray bottle and give them a fine misting spray. They won't like it at first but they seem to come round and enjoy it once they find out it cools them down.