Please help, new finch breathing hard

[peterslp]

Hello all,

I am a first time bird owner. 4 days ago I bought two bronzed-winged manikin finches from a pet store. They had a pretty stressful homecoming in that they both got loose and had to be caught by hand. After getting them in the cage, the small one (which i believe is a female) started breathing heavily and bobbing her tail. But had no other symptoms and i figured it was just stress. The second day, she had stopped breathing heavily but the larger one (which i believe is a male) had started breathing heavily and bobbing his tail. It is day 4 and he is still doing it and a few minutes ago the smaller one started doing it again (i did hang the cage on a stand so there was a few minimal moving). Like I said there are no other symptoms, they are active, exploring, eating, no nasal discharge, they keep their eyes all the way open and neither are puffy, but they do keep the very tip of their wings slightly away from their body. Since they are new, they are not used to me and I do not think i could grab one to listen for a clicking noise when they breath.

Thanks for any help!

[ac12]

Try giving them an electrolite solution instead of water; either Pedialite or CLEAR Gatorade. Gatorade is kind of strong so you might want to dilute it down maybe 2 or 4x. Only do this for a couple days, then back to plain water.

These solutions have a sugar in them so you have to change them in a few hours and WASH the water tube. And when you can't change/clean the water tube, go back to plain water, so bacteria won't grow.

[6finchfriends]

is it open beak breathing or just heavy breathing. They could be stressed or afraid. I've had to use an electrolyte supplement a couple times and it seems to help a lot. Hope it's nothing more serious.

[cindy]

Is the cage on the hanger on a wall or standing in a room where people or animals are moving past?

[6finchfriends]

That reminds me. When you said you put your cage on a hanger I was wondering if it's a round cage? Birds get stressed when their cage doesn't have at least one side, usually the back, against a solid wall. This gives them the feeling of security (nothing can sneak up behind me). I think that's why round cages aren't recommended.

[peterslp]

Thank yall so much for your suggestions!!! I am trying the pedialyte solution instead of water. To answer some questions, their beaks are NOT open during the heavy breathing. Also the cage is not round, but house shaped, and after reading the suggestions, I decided to take it off the hanger and put it back on the table which is against a wall.

Sorry if this posted twice, i am still getting used to the forum,

thanks again!!!

[L in Ontario]

How are they doing today?

[peterslp]

hello,

This morning, I thought they were doing better. It seemed their breathing had slowed down. I changed the pedialyte and washed out the container really well before replacing it. Upon coming home today though, I think they are worse than yesterday. Still active and their droppings are normal, but now they are breathing hard and tail-bobbing again and the smaller one is periodically opening her beak when breathing and larger one has been puffing up for short periods of time, but often. They are both preening more than i noticed the first few days and I have a bird bath spray which i used on them a few days ago, but i am scared using it today will stress them out.

I am looking into taking them to a vet tomorrow, but since they get so agitated from any movement, i am scared that the stress of transport will kill them.

[6finchfriends]

Hmmmm... some birds would much rather take their bath in a little dish than being sprayed. Have you tried putting a heat lamp next to the cage for extra warmth? If they can stay warm they won't have to 'puff' their feathers to try and stay warm. Even if it's warm in the house they may need to have some extra warmth. Just make sure some of the cage is out of the heat. When I had a Society finch exhibiting the same symptoms I gave it a 5 day treatment with Erythromycin for birds and Bounce Back. (multi-species Electrolyte supplement) I had a heat lamp on one side of the cage day and night for warmth. Lots of millet, seed and egg food. It worked for me and my bird recovered fairly quickly though I kept in quarantine for a month to make sure. I hope your birds improve soon!

[peterslp]

Unfortunately i do not own a heat lamp, but I did turn the air off in that part of the house, put an extra light near their cage and put a dish of lukewarm tap water down for them if the preening is just that they need a bath. I have been watching them since and where they were all cuddled together, now the little one seems to be chasing the big one away every time he gets close. They are both chirping quite a bit and are so active, its hard to tell if they are still breathing hard, but i believe they are, but the beak opening has stopped. The larger one is not puffing up as much as before, but now he is ruffling his feathers without flying anywhere. The smaller one is doing some of the same, but mostly just opening her wings for a period of about 6 seconds each time. Could those be defense mechanisms?

As for their food right now, it is a mix of finch food and avilac stress food, and there is a spray of millet in there.



Thank you all so much!

[peterslp]

I know I am posting a ton about this, but I have a theory.

After my last post I decided to watch them through the crack in the door, and the larger one began singing (which i have never heard before!) and stopped when i came back in. I am wondering, could this be normal breeding behavior? I mean, the breathing hard just because i am there and they see me as a threat and that is also why they are ruffling/extending their feathers?

Thank you!

[dfcauley]

If you have to transport them I always find that by placing a towel over the cage so they cannot see movement around them really helps. I always do this when transporting my birds. Good luck!

[peterslp]

UPDATE: I think the pedialyte/extra heat from lamps has really helped my little finches! I woke up this morning to find them breathing normally! They are moving a bit slower and not chirping very much, but they usually get more active as the day goes on. The larger one is not puffing up nearly as much!

I believe the little treatment worked! I called a vet and explained the situation and they said to keep an eye out over the weekend but they did not think there was any reason to bring them in today!

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! Yall saved my little birds!

[lovemyfinch]

Glad to hear they`re feeling better

[6finchfriends]

yay! heat does wonders so I hope you keep the warm light on them for a few more days. The ruffling feathers is normal. When they preen they will 'reset' their feathers this way. They also dry off after a bath in this way. They will 'drum' their wings very quickly to dry off. To stretch they will extend one wing and one leg. I would prepare some egg food for them even if it's just a mashed up boiled egg. That would give them some good protein and easy food to digest. So glad they're getting well!! Keep up the good work!