Bump on her Rump...Updated with Pics... 3-29-09

Finch Fry · Post by **Finch Fry** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 9:58 pm

Does anyone have an idea of how often a star finch will grow new feathers? My star hen has a few missing feathers on her lower back / upper rump area. She still has her tail feathers its just bald above it. I actually wouldnt notice it accept for when she preens and has her wings moved away from that area.

Also, other than the feather issue on the rump, she is in what seems to be very good health and is very active.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:22 am

Chris,

I have never noticed this before on my star finches. I have had them for about two years. Is it possible she has mites?

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:04 am

I've never seen this on my Stars or any other finches either. I hope she is okay.

Finch Fry · Post by **Finch Fry** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 10:07 am

Hmm.. mites....possible i guess...

I just read up on mites. She has all the symptoms so its quite possible. Poor girl. Going to get some pestex (unless someone else has a quicker solution that wont make me end up waiting till the end of the week to get my meds).

I will toss her in the hospital cage and put the heat lamp on her to help regulate temps since missing feathers it says causes body T fluctuations. Anyone know if those little mite killer pods made for bird cages they sell at all the pet places actually works. I think its only a dollar so I may get one and throw it in the cage irregardless.

Post by **Sally** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 10:52 am

I used those round bird protector mite things when I first had the finches, till I read that they are no good. Not only do they not work, but they can be toxic (from what I read), so don't bother. The bird is not going to get drastically worse while you wait for your Pestex to arrive, I don't think. Some say the apple cider vinegar in bath water helps repel mites, but I have no proof on that.

Finch Fry · Post by **Finch Fry** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:45 am

Should I get pestex from LG.com or finchniche.com or will the stuff below suffice... which means I can get it tonight (since its local) and treat today.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=2752076
or
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=2751572

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:48 am

I would get it tonight and treat asap. Just to make the bird more comfortable.

Do you think it had the mites when you got it from the fair? Also, did you have it isolated. I have never had one with mites before....

At least as far as I know.

Finch Fry · Post by **Finch Fry** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 12:07 pm

***Chris scratches his head and thinks***

I dunno if it had them from before or not??? The female star (the one showing lice symptoms) is caged with the other birds that were purchased in Atlanta... male star, M and F goldbreast. All 3 of the other guys seem fine. They are isolated from my old pair of zebs. They also seem fine.

***Chris scratches his arm and back***

I have no clue where they could have come from.

***Scratch, scratch***

I do a massive cage cleaning every weekend. Through the week, i just clean food/water dishes daily before i put in new food. My apt is pretty sqweeky clean but lately, the past week or so, its been finally getting warmer and I have opened the window (screen still in) and let some fresh air come into the room. Cage is basically butted up agains the window in my kitchen. I guess a chigger or 2 could have come in through the window screen and find a nice warm finch to latch onto. Poor Bella (my female star). She will come some TLC tonight. I am going to leave work early to get to her before she goes to bed tonight.

***Scratch***

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:17 pm

Chris you are doing the same thing I do whenever one of my students is found with head lice. I scratch it all day and have the nurse check it before I go home.

Finch Fry · Post by **Finch Fry** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:14 am

I picked up the 8 in 1 last night and treated.

Here are the symptoms...
Bella (female star) shows puffyness/ruffled feathers. Thinned out rump feathers and what seems to be a BIG pimple on her rump.

The rest of the cage flock shows excessive preening.

All birds acting fine, happy, healthy. Only Bella seems to be slightly lathargic but she is eating and drinking and flies around ok. Its just that I think she prefers to sit under the heat lamp and chill out. (pretty sure that is not a good sign though).

Can people please comment on the "pimple" on her rump? I have read all the information about health and illnesses and the only thing that even comes close to explaining it is sores/lesions attributed to burrowed mites/lice. I hope thats what it is because then they have been treated for it last night. Otherwise, I am afraid to even make a guess at what it is.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:17 am

It might be easier if you could post a pic of the area you are describing.

Finch Fry · Post by **Finch Fry** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:24 am

For the sake of time and my inability to capture a picture until I get home from work tonight, I will do my best to describe it. I will attempt to capture a photo tonight.

Rump area is thinned out from feathers (I think she is plucking them cause she is so irritated). You can see reddish skin under what feathers are still there (not pink so i imagine its irritated skin). Basically dead center of the rump, about 1/2 to 3/4 an inch up from the start of the tail feathers is a mass of sorts. It looks like a tiny 1/8 inch wide bump, reddish, with a white top to it. EXACTLY like a white headed pimple would look on a human. Its raised about 1/16 - 1/8 of an inch off her rump. Given her size, this is a sizable thing on her rump.

Finch Fry · Post by **Finch Fry** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 2:45 pm

Posting this here because I think this might be a usefull nugget of info for the future for anyone that comes across this problem....

Called Floyd, the guy that sold me the finch, to ask for his help. He identified the problem as infection of the uropygial gland, also known as the preen gland. It is very likely that this is in fact what is wrong. I will be treating her with a wide spectrum antibiotic cocktail for the next week or 2 and then put her on probiotics as per his recommendation.

Also, it looks like clogging and then the infection of the preen gland can be caused by a vitamin A deficiency and a lack of the ultraviolet from sunlight which converts some of the stuff that comes out of the gland into vitamins for her feathers and skin (i think Vit D3). So I am mixing carrots and peas into her egg food starting tomorrow AM. Hope all of this gets her back on track!

Here is some background info as well...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uropygial_gland

http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/uropygial.html

You can also google preen gland or uropygial gland and also infected preen gland and infected uropygial gland. Go to images and you can get a good idea of what this is.

Post by **Sally** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 4:36 pm

Thanks for that bit of information, Chris. I'd never heard of that problem before, so good to know what to do. If you give vitamins to your birds, check and see if there is D3 in it. Most of them are now including that vitamin.

CandoAviary · Post by **CandoAviary** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 5:46 pm

Preen glands arlike any glands, they can become infected, bloske, etc. Many time a bird will get overactive and stimulate and pick the gland until infected ( just like a teenager with a case of acne.... leave your fave alone!!!) Birds won't do this so you may add some nesting material or tie twine on the cage for something to distract her.... maybe she will pick at that instead of her butt...... I am sure you have all heard of parrots that feather pluck to the point of baldness...could be a neurotic condition..
Also in raising canaries it is common to have ingrown feather cysts. It is just like an ingrown hair in people..... but for God's sake it's a feather that continues to grow..... these have to be squeezed out, they often become infected.
Antibiotis and moist heat help with this.

FINCHforum

Bump on her Rump...Updated with Pics... 3-29-09

Bump on her Rump...Updated with Pics... 3-29-09

Re: star finch feather growth