poorly zebra finch - help would be appreciated :-)

[culintg]

Hi, Sorry - this is a bit long but I have tried to think of all the info people might need to know.

I have a female zeb in. She has been in for about 3 weeks now and doesn't seem to be getting much better.

She is VERY uncoordinated and looks awful. This is especially true first thing in the morning- if she is on the ground it takes her two of three goes to get up to her perch (she flies a little bit but can't do it very well- when I have seen her on the ground, she reverts to 'running' with her wings kind of pushing her along).

She also has slightly loose poo with some of it stuck round her bum (although it doesn't look that watery on the floor of her cage), and her legs look very thin. Other than this she seems fine - she is eating well and chirping and moving round all day once she gets going (I have brought her mate in from the aviary too, and put him in a cage near her, and they talk to each other all day). She has lots of different size perches so she can sit on what suits her.

All my other birds are fine too - except one canary who has been in under a lamp for a week because he looked fluffed up and was sitting at the bottom of the cage (he's fine now, off the lamp and going back out in another week).

I first thought it was calcium deficiency (she had laid lots of eggs which I have been removing and replacing with false ones) and though she has been getting ZoCal-D everyday anyway, I brought her in for a more concentrated dose and a spell under the heat lamp. She has ZoCal-D in both food and water now (I tried to give it her directly, but she gets very upset and escaped twice), but it seems to be making no difference.

She was having guardian angel, but I have now switched to a more a general tonic (Easy Bird) and some avol to try and firm up to poo a bit. I also wormed her to be on the safe side. She won't won't eat any veg at the moment (she normally loves this) and is ignoring the calcium stuff like grit, oyster shells and cuttlebone I have put in. She also won't take a bath!

Is there anything else that people would suggest - I will take her to an avian vet if people think I should - but the nearest one is about 45 mins away, and I was worried before that the journey would kill her, but think she seems strong enough to manage it now.

I'd be really grateful for any help - THANK YOU

Fran

[DanteD716]

Seems like you are doing good for her. What is her diet like? Does she have cuttlebone?? Also give her a heatlamp.


Any other symptoms? Welcome to the forum and other members should be able to help more

[culintg]

Hi DanteD716, Thank you for replying -

re diet: as for all my birds, her diet is canary seed with canary conditioner along with mixed salad/ veg (normally cress, carrot, broccoli - that's all they'll eat) at least three or four times a week and apple (they've gone off that recently- the go through foods in cycles!). They also get meal worm, but the finches never touch that. She has fresh water everyday with ZoCal-D. She has grit and cuttlebone in her cage and is ignoring both along with the salad I keep trying to put in. I have just bought some extra small food dishes to but the salad in in case she is not going to it cause it's on the floor and she is worried that she won't be able to get back up.

I took the heat lamp off her after about a week as she was constantly as far away from it as possible, but would happily put her back on it.

her symptoms are as described, like I say - in the day she looks fine, just can't fly well and is unco-ordinated like she's calcium deficient, with slightly soft poo and a bit thin for my liking

again, thanks for replying!

[DanteD716]

Hmm, can it be a feather condition gentically, like eumo zebras? Can you post a few photos? Hold off on the heatlamp for now because she may not be sick.. Also try transferring onto (or in addition) to pellets such a zubreem fruit blend.

Can you boil eggs and smash it up for her, it is also good for them.

[Lisa]

Sorry to hear of the troubles your bird is having. Is it possible she has an injured wing? It almost sounds like an arthritic condition of sorts.

Don't know if this will help but here's a link to the Avian Web's "Bird Health Problems" http://www.avianweb.com/diseases.htm

Arthritis is actually one of the things listed... there are some treatment suggestions as well. I would read through all the symptoms and see which best matches the bird to give you the best idea of what might be wrong.

[culintg]

Thank you very much - I have bought some Poultry vinegar and will give her a good week on it; if that doesnt work then I will take her to the vet...

THANK YOU!

[dan78]

Hello culintg you do seem to have an issue, firstly she has a bit of a sloppy poo but not quite like water which is why the vent area is a bit dirty, two reasons come to mind water and digestive system. I would boil the water and add a drop or two of organic Apple cider vinegar for a small cup approx 5ml to a litre of water for larger drinkers. I would consider the use of a probiotic to the greens supplied, both of these will help with trying to balance the digestive system and boiling water will take out any nasties in the water.

[wellingtoncdm]

I have had an occasional hen that struggles to fly when molting. Do you feed finch seed or only canary seed? What about eggfood? Not sure about the poop on her feathers other than anytime a bird is puffed for long poop sticks to them. Puffed up usually means cold.

[30 Seconds to Bob]

I would have also suspected a calcium deficiency given all the eggs she has laid and the way she is acting. Is she getting natural sunlight or full spectrum lighting to allow her body to absorb the extra calcium you are providing? If not, it doesn't do much good. I like to use Calciboost, liquid calcium suppliment which is formulated to be absorbed even without sunlight.
Twice, I had canary hens acting all weak and uncoordinated after laying lots of infertile eggs. They looked like they were drunk and I didn't expect them to survive. (This happened on two separate occasions) I mixed up a pint of 3X the "normal" strength Calciboost and added 2 fast dissolving 500mcg sublingual B12's for energy. I gave this to them with an eyedropper three times per day and moved their food dishes to the cage floor. I also provided them with sprey millets. They both gradually came around in a few days and are still with me today. Not saying this will cure your bird, but it helped mine. Any time you take a weak bird to a vet they will give it a vitamin B12 shot. Bob