Please help... sick society finch (eggbound?)

[sokje]

Hey guys,

First, let me introduce myself. I'm Bart and new to this forum.

I have had 3 society finches for a while (all bought from the same pet shop), 2 females and 1 male. They are all 'a tad different'... the male has only 1 eye, for example, although he doesn't seem too sad about it, he is a very cheerful bird.

I bought one of the females with very thin feathers leaving her pretty much unable to fly. After a few months of special food her feathers are looking nice and healthy and she is now flying happily throughout the cage. And yes, she is tame! I can pick her up and she will sit happily with me for quite a bit of time.

The other female is a special one for me: She is extremely cheerful and loves communicating with people. She is also hand tame and really enjoys sitting on my finger.

I let the three of them have a nest a few weeks ago, and out of all the eggs, 2 have hatched! The babies are almost 2 weeks old and seem to do great! The society finches are great parents.

Now, concerning the last female. She seems to be pretty sick for the last few weeks, although the last days it got worse.
When she gets out of the nest to eat, drink or take a bath, she sits fluffed up a lot and bends her feathers down a bit, like she is trying to squeeze something out. Of course my immediate thought was that she was egg bound, however after picking her up I couldn't feel anything. To me, she doesn't seem egg bound because as far as I know this also goes paired with sitting on the floor of the cage...

Now I guess she is constipated or something. I don't really now what to do and it seems to be getting worse, although she is still very cheerful and responds a lot to my words.

I have put a vitamin mix in their drinking water (Combex V) and I have diluted a very, very tiny bit of Epsom salts in their bath. It's probably a far too small amount, but I'm afraid to put too much in it.

Does someone know what might be bothering her? I have put a video on YouTube where you can see her behaviour:

http://youtu.be/7qNCycUAjQA

She is the left one, the wet one next to her is the one-eyed male. The yellow stuff in the drinking water isn't something dirty, it's the vitamin mix!

And last but not least, here is a photo of the babies.




Thanks a lot in advance. You would help my finch a lot!

Bart

[Sally]

I looked at the video, but it is difficult to tell anything when a bird is grooming. The wings are drooped somewhat, but that could be part of the preening too. If she is sitting around quietly, puffed up, wings drooping then, a video at that time would be more helpful. Do you have any liquid calcium on hand? That is something that is absolutely necessary if you have any hens, as that can save an eggbound hen. Usually, an eggbound hen will be on the floor but not always. However, you say she has been 'off' for several weeks, which would not indicate eggbinding.

While I'm at it, welcome to the forum. There is lots of good reading at the Finch Information Center, linked at left, and the membership is always ready to help answer questions. If you put your location in your profile, it helps to answer locale-specific questions later on.

[sokje]

Hey Sally,

Thanks for your response.

Yes, the video was not shot at the most fortunate moment but she sits a lot on the babies so there isn't much time to actually make a perfect tape... I can say that the drooped wings is how she sits normally. For example, when she flies to another perch, after landing she immediately fluffs up a bit and her wings start drooping again.

Also, thanks for welcoming me! It seems like a lovely forum

[Lisa]

There's several contradictory things in the video/your statements. As Sally mentioned, if she was eggbound, it would have become critical much faster than over a few weeks. Unless it is a new situation. She seems pretty active even though she is preening but does seem to be straining somewhat. Most times sick birds will sit completely puffed, eyes closed, head turned around trying to sleep.

You mentioned giving her bath water. Are you making it somewhat warm for her? Not too hot though. If you have some liquid calcium, it might not hurt to touch a tiny droplet to her beak, just in case. I would also be sure you are offering things like oyster shells, egg shells, cuttlebone to keep her calcium levels up. It might even be possible the Epsom salt is causing some irritation. I know you are doing that with the best intentions but if I was you, I would skip the salt.

I hope everything goes well and she's back to herself soon.

[sokje]

Hey Lisa,

I put the Epsom bath in today. She hasn't bathed in it yet.

Yes I also doubt she has been eggbound because it would've been worse much quicker. I supply plenty of mineral grits: It's in the sand that I put on the bottom of the cage, but I also mix a bit through the food and throw a bit extra on the cage floor. I don't think low calcium is the problem.

It's really weird... She does poop, it's just that it seems she has something stuck. Also it seems it hurts when she poops because she makes some weird bouncy movements afterwards (as seen in the video)

[LuxandLolita]

It sounds like she may be egg bound.. but you said she has been like this for a few weeks?

Is it possible she may be calcium deficient and has been having trouble with egg laying for the past few weeks?

My Lolita was like this.. and i kept quite a bit of calcium in her diet.. I was stupid and didn't know much of full spectrum lighting and such and it caused me to lose her.

I gave her Kale, cuttlebone, egg food, put egg shell powder in her food.. she got everything she could have needed for calcium except for the sun. so she didn't absorb much of it..

I guess i can give you the link to my thread about her issue.. Not sure if it is worth reading at all but this was her last few days..

http://finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21685

[sokje]

Hey,

I am so sorry for your loss. I lost a society finch too a while ago.. It's horrible to lose your pet.

I don't think the lack of sunlight could be the problem. The finches live in a cage in my bedroom. There's plenty of light in there...

It's really mysterious... Wish finches could just tell what's wrong haha.

[Diana]

Epsom salt for the finch bath? I am not sure that is good for them considering that they also drink from their bath water...

[debbie276]

There are several old time breeders that use epsom salts in the bath and some even add it to their mineral mix.
Here's an article from the Abba site talking about it in bath water:
http://www.abbaseed.com/INFO/Tips/tips.html

[Diana]

There are several old time breeders that use epsom salts in the bath and some even add it to their mineral mix.
Here's an article from the Abba site talking about it in bath water:
http://www.abbaseed.com/INFO/Tips/tips.html

Interesting. I will still stick to natural diet - I believe that is the healthiest for birds and humans alike (fruit, lettuce, carrot, egg, egg-shell and plain water) but it is interesting to know.

Now that I saw the video... I don't think there is anything wrong with the birdie, I had canaries doing that sometimes and they were healthy.

[Tammy]

Hey Bart, welcome to the forum. I had society finches and I love them. They are so friendly. I was wondering something, even though you have your birds near a window, some windows are treated to filter out some of the sun rays , depending on how old your windows are, just to be in the safe side I would get a light bulb for them, some of those lights really don't emit a lot of heat so you would have to check on which light to buy, I use tropical 5.0 from zoo med and if one of my birds happen to be sick then I would use a heat lamp as well . good luck. -Tammy

[sokje]

Hey,

First of all, a happy new year for everyone!

Now a small update.

Her condition has not changed at all. I have checked her vent and it seems very dirty. Can I pick her up and clean this with some wet warm q-tips? Or does she need to do this herself by bathing?

However, I saw something red and was kind of shocked by it. I have made a picture of her bottom.





Does anyone know what this is? I'm a bit afraid to touch it... Is it just a bald spot because her feathers have sticked together at her vent or is it something worse?..

thanks in advance...

[LuxandLolita]

that actually looks a bit like a sore... I think the little gal needs to go to an experienced finch vet(There isn't one in my area. the worst issue when i lost my dear Lolita..) if you have the money..

She seems rather healthy though, as far as plumage goes. she's very pretty! I see you have a tame finch as well?

[LuxandLolita]

Hey,

I am so sorry for your loss. I lost a society finch too a while ago.. It's horrible to lose your pet.

I don't think the lack of sunlight could be the problem. The finches live in a cage in my bedroom. There's plenty of light in there...

It's really mysterious... Wish finches could just tell what's wrong haha.

Plenty of light, but is it through a window or screen?
The sun light gives them vitamin d3(right?) which allows for the absorption of calcium. Without this, they need full spectrum lighting or at least a half hour to an hour of direct sunlight every day..

the light through a window, or screen, or bulb will not allow for this production because they are filtered mostly.

[debbie276]

I would recommend cleaning her vent with warm water and a Q-tip or rag to get a better idea of what your dealing with.