Whoops, sorry for the late response. I haven't been feeling well for the past few days and wasn't on the computer for most of the day. I contemplated on popping it but couldn't bring myself to do it.PrettyBird wrote:omgive never seen anything like that. poor thing. I hope he recovers
are you going to pop it? I would hate to see it suffer
I feel bad now, because I wonder if I could have saved its life if I did help release some of the gas. 
The reason why I thought about popping it, or at least making a small hole to release the air, was because I came across another forum when I googled Subcutaneous emphysema.cindy wrote:You can't pop it, it may be an obstruction of some sort. Have you tried to feed it?
Indeed. I hate it when this feeling of grief and stomach churning re-visits me, but it never fails to overcome me when I lose a bird. Thank you for all your help. I was worried my only option was to euthanize, so as you said, this is probably a blessing in disguise. I'm thinking that God, as always, knew what was best and needed another bird to fly freely in Heaven. To Heaven this baby bird has gone....it just still haunts me that I had to bury its lifeless body on this cold winter night. Hugs right back -- thank you.CandoAviary wrote:I am so sorry to hear the news, and yes, I know, it is never easy to lose a bird. Ever.
Many times the bird will fill up again and I have never heard of a finch having this problem. The canary that I saw with this condition was older and it recovered for a short time and then it happened again. The breeder had the bird euthanized. So this little souls passing may have been a blessing in disguise. Hugs to you ((( ))))
Thank you for all your help. My main concern was also not knowing what to do and whether or not doing something like puncturing in the wrong place, might have adverse effects on the baby. I try really hard to prevent myself from doing nest checks but I wonder if I could have gotten the baby to a professional had I caught it sooner. The only peeking I do for the first week+ is with the lights on and watching from afar -- just checking to see if parents are feeding. Thanks again.cindy wrote:I am sorry to hear this. So sorry for the loss of this little one. The expanding air may have put pressure and could have cause blood loss to some of the organs even before you found it in the nest. The bird may have had a blockage or internal complication/defect that created the gas to build/fluid up in the body cavitiy. Even if you pierced it and the wound healed it could have happened again. There was most likely not much you could have done but give supportive care.
My main concern is if you punctured it without knowing exactly what and were to do this if that could further cause complications. In situations like this it is best to consult a professional, a vet.
Again so sorry for your loss.
