Ill zebra finch

[apachetear]

As some of you may know Zarkava is my permanently ill zebra finch.
I've now had her for a year and none of the others have become ill so she is no danger in terms of health to the others.
She's always been a bit droopy and fluffed up since about a month after i got her, ive treated her for so many things i cant even remember what each thing was right now. If it were uop to her she would spend her day sitting under the heat lamp, eating and sleeping.

Recently her partner got a bit fed up of her lack of interest in breeding so moved onto someone else who is happily paired up with.
This left Zarkava on her own unwilling to pair with a lone male and she would spend the night diving into others nest desparate for a cuddle. This obviously angered the others when they had eggs and babies. They were all very patient and nudged her but after 5 minutes of her not budging they would get annoyed and his and peck at her. So i moved her to a separate cage with another male for company.

I came in tonight and found feathers on one side of her face all stuck together and water around her beak, i assume she has been vomitting.
Ive just cleaned her up and put her back in hr cage and her balance is awful she has just fallen off a perch 3 times.
She seems happy enough though she's just got into her nest to sleep.

i havent had problems like this with her for a good 4 months or so. The only difference is that recently i have been using Quiko liquid calcium. I was advised liquid calcium after being told her health was likely due to calcium deficiency. Is it possible shes having a bad reaction to it?? Shes been on it for 4 days now.
She is clicking at the moment but i know this isnt ASM as i treated all my finches for that just over 2 weeks ago.
I think its possible its the stress of not having her normal partner Ziz, who she keeps calling to, she does vomit when stressed but usually just vomits whole seeds.

I don't know if anyone has any ideas about her or her health but i would appreciate it. I probably won't be able to respond till the morning, but any responses will be appreciated.
She means alot to me.

One final note, i can feel her keel bone very easily but shes alway been this way.

[apachetear]

I just thought i would update. She's still alive but not well
She is still vomitting i have to keep cleaning it off her face as all her feathers stick togther and make her look bald. I know shes not happy as shes started pecking me when i pick her up, i know my birds so well and she has not pecked me since i first got her. She generally thinks oh its her picking me up again, well she doesnt hurt me and she does it alot. Now shes viciuosly pecking me. She isnt herself.

We had glorious sun a few days ago in lincoln (for achange), i took her out as this makes her really happy and she chats to the other birds and sunbathes, but she just sat there, trying to sleep.

I feel like shes not got long left, i could be wrong as shes had me thinking this for before, but i think im going to take kehaar out of the cage leave her in her own and giver her her heat lamp and hope she isnt in pain. (kehaar seems a bit too hyper and she not bonding like the plan was before she took a turn with her health)

Would a breeding cage with 3 sides covered be better for her, to keep heat in it, i just want to ensure she's comfortable.

[L in Ontario]

Oh I'm so sorry to hear this. Yes, I think she would appreciate a heatlamp and as long as it is positioned at one section of the cage so she can move away if she doesn't want it - that should be fine. Covering three sides of the cage would be good to keep most of the warmth in and give her some privacy as well.

It sounds like you are keeping her as comfortable as possible and that's the best anyone can do. ((hugs))

[cindy]

Sorry to hear your little one is ill...also another thing to make it easier for her to perch and rest more comfortably is to take 2 perches the same length nd put them side by side. She won't have to think about holding on as much and she can rest her body down a little better.

Since she is spitting up seed she may not be able to get enough to eat, have you tried getting some food into by feeding her? She may have a small tumor that stayed small for a bit and is now growing making it had for her to keep seed down.

[apachetear]

Thankyou so much for the replies.
She is currently in a breeding cage, which has 3 sides covered. She is sat 'chuckling' next to her heat lamp, she seems very happy about it.

She allows me to hold her for a while even when shes trying to peck me, and i did check yesterday behind her feathers and could see her crop was full, so she seems to be getting plenty of food.

If i nedded to feed her how would i go about doing it. I know that sounds stupid but is it the same principle as feeding a baby bird??

I will try putting the two perches next to each other as i hadnt thought of that.

She is so very thin, what puts weight on a thin bird?

Also i cant work out if she's just vomitting from the beak or if some of it is coming from her nose ( i cant think of how to word that properly).

When i clean up her head from the comit i can hear a clicking noise, i cant work out why it only happens when clean her head??

Thankyou again for your replies

[cindy]

What have you treated her with lately? Is she wiping her beak on the perches?

[apachetear]

She only seems to wipe her beak after ive given her face a clean.

The only thing ive used lately to treat her before she got ill was Quiko liquid calcium. I used apple cider vinegar this morning (it solved her vomitting last time) but after seeing no improvement she got fresh water at the minute.

About a month ago i used ivermectin drops to ensure she had no asm, and she went bald where i applied but she did that last time.

[apachetear]

Im very upset to say my beatiful little Zarkava passed away through the night.

Seems she'd given up th battle with her health. It was only hours after the goldfinch passed, shed been chatting to it while it was here. I think she realised she didnt have to fight against it and she could just give up.

I will miss her greatly as she was my nicest and sweetest finch, but i'm glad shes no longer suffering and will be at peace now.

Rip Zarkava

[cindy]

I am so sorry for your loss...she may have been suffering and in pain. She is now free of that and able to fly free.

[lovemyfinch]

So sorry for your loss It is one of the most painful things we have to go through

[L in Ontario]

I'm so sorry to hear that but I know you have good memories of them. ((hugs))

[6finchfriends]

I'm so sorry for your sweet girl passing. You were such a good Mommy to her I know she knew you loved her dearly. Without your care she probably wouldn't have survived as long as she did.

[apachetear]

Thankyou for your kind replies.

If im an honest about 2 months after i got her last august i thought she wouldnt be with us for a long time and didnt expect her to last a year, she was tough and always fought back. She couldnt live her life fighting though, im happy she'll be able to fly free now, she can eat all the millet spray she wants without any other birds telling her off.

I named her after a superstar racemare from France who won the 'Arc. I got a framed photo of this racehorse for xmas (love horseracing!), ive never found anywhere to put it, but ive put it where Zarkava the finch's cage went and put a photo of my beautiful bird with it.
I obsessively film and take pics my birds, Touch of ocd, and sometimes wonder why but now im glad i did, i know have so much i can look at for memories of her.

Thankyou for everyones help and advice throughout her life, i got soo much help from everyone here.
She will always be in my heart as she was just so sweet and beautiful.

[Queen_Bee]

Im very upset to say my beatiful little Zarkava passed away through the night.

Seems she'd given up th battle with her health. It was only hours after the goldfinch passed, shed been chatting to it while it was here. I think she realised she didnt have to fight against it and she could just give up.

I will miss her greatly as she was my nicest and sweetest finch, but i'm glad shes no longer suffering and will be at peace now.

Rip Zarkava

So sorry to hear that. We lost our first Zebra female shortly after we acquired her too - she was never quite right from the day we got her. It is so hard to tell what is wrong with them. You tried your best and took excellent care of her - no one could ask for more.