Cataracts in Finches?

[societyspice]

Has anyone ever had finches with cataracts? Today, I noticed that my 7 year old spice finch's left eye was cloudy looking and was wondering if this is what is going on with his eye. The other eye appears normal. When he flies, he kind of "helicopters in" for a landing. That is, he might hover over the area he wants to land at for a few seconds before actually landing and when he lands, it's always kind of a clumsy land (although he has always landed a bit clumsy compared to my other birds...)

[L in Ontario]

I've never seen that in my birds, but then again I haven't had them that long nor are they that old. Perhaps someone else has more info...

[mickp]

have heard of this in older birds once or twice, never seen it though. other than taking the bird to a vet to have it checked there isnt much that can really be said.

[FeatherHarp]

Here is a Snippit of what I read on a website about cataracts in birds...might be of some help.

*Cataracts are seen quite frequently in birds - and there are a variety of causes

Birds rely much more on eyesight than other species such as dogs. In the wild impaired vision is likely to result in a reduced ability to feed and an increase in vulnerability to predators and other natural dangers. In captive birds cataracts are only of cosmetic significance unless they are associated with another condition.

Opacity of the lens in avian species is not uncommon and a variety of causes have been recognised, including :

* Developmental abnormalities
* Genetic cataracts- autosomal recessive cataract formation in canaries
* Post-trauma
* Diabetes
* Cataracts Due To Aging
* Nutritional deficiency - eg vitamin E deficiency
* Toxicity