Possible balance problem in zebra hen

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MisterGribs
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Possible balance problem in zebra hen

Post by MisterGribs » Thu Feb 09, 2017 1:06 pm

Hello! I have a CFW zebra hen with red eyes named Vilu who has a strange problem I have never seen before.

When attempting to fly, she does fine about 60 percent of the time, but occasionally she will flip backwards, spin wildly, crash HARD into the floor and sputter around. At first, I was afraid she was having a seizure. She has no head tilting, and no other balance problems that are apparent, although she was incredibly weak when we brought her home.

She is bizarrely tame and calm for a zebra that was not hand raised. She is eagerly eating seeds right from my bare fingers, which is wonderful, but does worry me a little as it's not normal. She also will eat any and every food I give her, regardless of what it is or prior experience, without any wariness.

She responds to sound with no visual cues, so she doesn't seem to have any ear problems. Her pupils dilate and contract in a seemingly normal manner when exposed to light and her eyes don't twitch back and forth rapidly. She eats and drinks voraciously, poops normally, and other than the strange crashing and thrashing, she seems to have nothing else at all wrong with her.

I recently bought this bird in a neglected state, which may have something to do with it. She was severely underweight, had been plucked bald in 4 different spots by the other birds. I have provided calcium in both ground eggshell and cuttlebone, iodine, vitamin A, and various fresh herbs. All birds in my aviary are supplimented daily with Guardian Angel immune support and prebiotics by Birdcare Co. but I'm worried something I give her could be causing this.

She has also been treated with selamectin, perscribed by a vet, subcutaneously. There is no wood or other plants within the cage that could be poisoning her, and none of my other three birds are affected.

Could this be genetic, or a disease? Could I be doing anything more to help her?? Anything at all someone could tell me would be very helpful! I am a very anxious daddy :cry:
2 black cheek zebras and 5 CFW zebras, one A&M pied coturnix hen, my darling cream/lavender coturnix roo, and his attitude.

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Sally
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Re: Possible balance problem in zebra hen

Post by Sally » Thu Feb 09, 2017 4:11 pm

So hard to say, it does sound like a neurological problem. I'd be tempted to just keep an eye on her. You mentioned a vet, so has she been seen by a vet already? Did you quarantine her when you first got her?

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wildbird
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Re: Possible balance problem in zebra hen

Post by wildbird » Fri Feb 10, 2017 12:11 am

Vitamin A can be toxic if too much is given. Don't know what the symtoms are though. Why was the Selamectin given?

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MisterGribs
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Re: Possible balance problem in zebra hen

Post by MisterGribs » Fri Feb 10, 2017 1:12 am

wildbird wrote: Vitamin A can be toxic if too much is given. Don't know what the symtoms are though. Why was the Selamectin given?
The Selamectin was prescribed for air sac mites. I have no idea why she opted to go with Selamectin and not Ivermectin.
2 black cheek zebras and 5 CFW zebras, one A&M pied coturnix hen, my darling cream/lavender coturnix roo, and his attitude.

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MisterGribs
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Re: Possible balance problem in zebra hen

Post by MisterGribs » Fri Feb 10, 2017 1:18 am

Sally wrote: So hard to say, it does sound like a neurological problem. I'd be tempted to just keep an eye on her. You mentioned a vet, so has she been seen by a vet already? Did you quarantine her when you first got her?

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at http://www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier for others to help you.
She was not quarantined when we brought her home, regrettably.

Our avian vet saw one of our finches who was gasping, and prescribed first ivermectin for all of them, and then when the air sac mites inevitably returned, she switched us to selamectin.

I have my doubts about this vet. She is very kind, but not very thorough. I requested C and T swabs, twice, but she failed to respond both times. I am tempted to get the equipment and just do the swabs myself. Unfortunately she's the only avian vet within 20 km of here, and we have no car.

Thank you for your warm welcome! :)
2 black cheek zebras and 5 CFW zebras, one A&M pied coturnix hen, my darling cream/lavender coturnix roo, and his attitude.

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