FINCHforum

I've got two of my canarys that seem to be having breathing trouble they are breathing heavy puffed up also a slight raspy sound and a clicking noise too , i thought maybe it was because they were in the avairy because it's been quite damp in the UK the last few weeks so I moved them to my breeding room/shed for a bit more warmth and protection from the weather but they haven't improved they've been sharing the avairy with my other canarys and none of the others are showing the symptoms does anyone have any idea what it could be ? and is there anything I could give them medication or home remedys I could try. Thanks for any help in advance .

Lee123

Please check out this site immediately:

Air Sac Bird Mites-
Canary Advisor.com

This can be a life and death situation, and the quicker you deal with it, the better.

Elana

Elana is right about the Airsac mites. That clucking sound the canary makes when you hold it next to your ear is a dead give away.

Thanks for the quick reply I'm gona check out the site now thank you

Have you ever used scatt yourself is it any good ?? I was looking into s76 which goes in the water and someone else mentioned moxidectin but they are both really hard to get hold of and I can get scatt on Amazon again thanks for the advice and help .

Lee123

I have never had the opportunity to use Scatt, or the other meds which you mention. Thankfully have been very lucky and not had any problems.

Elana

FYI, Scatt is moxidectin

Scatt is very good to treat air sac mites. I have used it many times to treat canaries and gouldian finches.

It could be a respiratory infection since they were kept in damp cool conditions. The treatment for that would be an antibiotic, so it is best to know what you are treating for before giving drugs. Not all breathing problems are caused by air sac mites.

debbie276 wrote: FYI, Scatt is moxidectin

i never knew that thanks but I did read that it goes in the water tho and not between the shoulder blades just wondered if it was any better ?

wildbird wrote: It could be a respiratory infection since they were kept in damp cool conditions. The treatment for that would be an antibiotic, so it is best to know what you are treating for before giving drugs. Not all breathing problems are caused by air sac mites.

do you think it would hurt to treat them with the scatt tho I read it's completely harmless to birds ? I suppose it's just a matter of crossing off what it could be ?

As far as I know moxi is not water soluble.

debbie276 wrote: As far as I know moxi is not water soluble.

ive ordered some scatt now so hopefully they will improve thanks for the info.

Lee123

Keeping fingers crossed for you and your birds. Hopefully all will turn out well.

Elana

Don't know what to tell you about scatt except that it is a type of insecticide, but given in the correct amount, should not hurt the birds. If it is a respiratory infection and not air sac mites, I don't know if it will have an adverse effect on the birds. It doesn't seem that your birds would have gotten air sac mites unless you brought a new one in that had them. I don't think they just appear without being introduced by another bird.