New society finch, sad? *concerned*

[Dryxxa]

I brought home 2 new societies last night and I am very worried about one of them, he seems very sad. He keeps his eyes squinted a lot or closed. Doesn't really fly away from us as quickly as the others, and he's so droopy. He looks extremely sad. Will be on his perch and looks like he's passing out but slowly falling forward? All my other society have welcomed him with open arms. So he is not being left out or ignored. I have posted a photo of him to show you what I mean by droopy. He is on the far left. Should I be worried? Or will he just need some time to perk back up.

[lovezebs]

Dryxxa

Regarding droopy bird.

First of all a cautionary word. New birds should be quaranteened from your current flock, when you bring them home. If you bring in a sick bird, your whole crew might get sick as well.

I would remove the two birds from your flight immediately.

While you have Droopy in your hand, put him to your ear and listen carefully. If you hear any tsik tsikk tsik sound when he's breathing, I would treat him and the rest of your flock with SCATT for air sac mites. If you don't have it, order it on line.

Place new birds in a small hospital cage, with a warm light on one side (24 hrs a day), shade on the other. Place paper towels on the bottom, to check their poop. Offer easily accessable food and water, and keep a close watch on both droopy and his companion.

Let us know how they're doing.

[lovezebs]

Dryxxa

How is Droopy doing?

We haven't heard anything new, are there any new developements good or bad?

[Dryxxa]

We ended up taking him back to the store, we got him from Pisces pet emporium and they ended up switching him. i have the new birds in a separate cage now. for quarantine do i keep them in a different room? ive read its supposed to be outside the house but that's not really an option especially with the cold temperatures

[Dryxxa]

And we didn't hear anything when we listened. not at all. and we checked all the other birds too and nothing. he was a little perkier in the morning. My husband and I decided to take them back since we are new to owning birds and thought Pisces would be able to better help him.

[lovezebs]

Dryxxa

Pisces, is my favorite place in Calgary
I love LOVE that place, and am quite fnd of many of the young kids who work there.

If you have any bird issues, or questions, grab Kelsie (the bird and animal manager). She's a great young lady, who is quite knowledgable, and more than willing to work with you. In fact, I have a small Society hen, which I named after her .

Pisces, does quarantine their birds (always) when they get them in.
I would say that a seperate cage should be sufficient in this case, but normally a different room might be a good idea. I have never heard of a different house, lol.

I wish you the best of luck with your new birdlings, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

[Dryxxa]

oh god I'm probably there like 3 times a week LOL

[lovezebs]

Dryxxa

Then we may have already run into each other at some point in time, tee hee hee....

[Dryxxa]

So this doesn't have anything to do with the same finch from before. but my very first society, ive had her for about a month. the last couple of days i have been worried about her, she most certainly is not feeling well. she isn't bathing, shes looking sick, a bit of a droopy wing on her left side and sort of looking puffy and oily she has clicking in her breathing as well and im worried that she might have the air sac mites. i have separated her from the rest of the birds, everyone else is doing just fine right now. is there anywhere in calgary i am able to get her treatment? she is still eating and drinking well, but she's certainly not 100% she is also sleeping a lot. she's also been laying eggs in the middle of the night i don't know if that's odd though.

[Icearstorm]

Dryxxa
You can order SCATT or Ivermectin online from a lot of places and it should arrive within the week. S76 does not seem quite as common, but you should still be able to get some. I have heard it is not recommended to give either products birds to birds under six months old, but yours seem to be adults so you should be fine.

[Dryxxa]

how long would it take mites to cause enough harm that treatment won't help? im just so worried about my girl.

[Dryxxa]

Also i don't know if its clicking in her breathing or if its just her smacking her lips err.. beak. she also was having issues with one of the birds a while back and has scabbing at the base of her beak. or her "chin" i have kept it clean she is still chirping away and no scratchiness or anything like that. could she be stressed in the other cage? since i moved her she seems a bit more content

[Icearstorm]

Dryxxa
It depends on the bird. Many wild birds, as well as some captive ones, have a low-level infestation of parasites, but they often do not have problems with them until stress or illness weakens the bird. If it is already acting ill from a cause other than the mites, the immune system may be compromised, leading to a propagation of mites and faster decline. If many mites build up, overdosing medicine could cause asphyxiation as mites quickly die and collect in the airways, so it is best to act before a major infestation. A bird that gasps while it breathes is especially at risk of asphyxiation, so by then it could be too late.
Beak squeaks seem to be mid-pitched, moderately quiet, and infrequent. Clicking may be heard on each breath the bird takes, but usually cannot be heard unless you hold the bird near your ear.
Since she is ill it's probably best to separate her from the rest to prevent spread of disease. Birds that can hear each other may chirp alarm calls and stress each other out, so moving them out of earshot of each other may calm them down. At the same time, a lonely bird is more susceptible to stress and depression, so maybe you could add a mirror or something to keep her busy..?

[Dryxxa]

yeah ive checked her again a few times and hold her up to my ear and i'm not hearing it now =/

[Babs _Owner]

Dryxxa

There is nothing wrong with Scatt as a preventative. It's much like giving your dog a flea preventative.

Except of course you dont give Scatt every month. I use it twice a year on my flock, because I never know what I have touched outside, via tree branches or grass could carry mites.

My birds have stayed mite free. And Im careful to wash any branches I use in their flights with a very light bleach solution, rinsing thoroughly and letting them dry completely before placing them in the cages.

As for diagnosing your gal, I can't. A drop of Scatt is mandatory for my new birds once they enter the house, before they even go into a cage.