Saving a Black cheek Zebra Finch

Is your finch sick or not well? Find out why.
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finchbreeder
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Location: Midwest of West.Aust.Coast

OK this is not easy - without seeing and experiencing the environment.
Do you use air fresheners? If so stop.
Could the birds be in a draft? If so eliminate it.
What room are the birds in. Bathrooms and Kitchens are no no's.
Keep telling us everything you can think of about the birds symtoms and environment, and we will keep trying to help.
LML
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FinchCanaryBreeder
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Joined: 30 Nov 2022, 20:15
Location: England

Coccidiosis sounds like the most likely. Unfortunately there is nothing I can give them. I ordered some things online but its taking forever for things to arrive some of which I may not even get because of the dire state of the UK postal service and the fact its Christmas.

This is all I have right now
Apple cider vinegar
Boiled egg food
Diatomaceous Earth

I could try some herbal remedies, I don't know of any other than lemon grass.

Taking a dead bird to a vet sounds like a plan because if the illness can be identified then it can be treated however its a very bad time as its nearly Christmas and vets are fully booked up unless a deceased bird will keep until I can see a vet.
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FinchCanaryBreeder
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Location: England

finchbreeder wrote: 05 Dec 2022, 11:30 OK this is not easy - without seeing and experiencing the environment.
Do you use air fresheners? If so stop.
Could the birds be in a draft? If so eliminate it.
What room are the birds in. Bathrooms and Kitchens are no no's.
Keep telling us everything you can think of about the birds symtoms and environment, and we will keep trying to help.
I don't use any air fresheners or anything of that nature. I'm also aware of the hazards of household cleaners and non stick cookware. Non of those things I use. I won't even use after shave unless I'm heading straight out and the doors are always closed. The birds are in the living room in an indoor aviary.

I've narrowed things down a bit what the issue could be or what may be contributing factors to illnesses.

Its almost Winter here in the UK the sky is grey so light intensity through out the day is not particularly great, with the aviary being indoors, indoor lighting is generally much darker than outside. The finches could be lacking Vitamin D and not getting the full spectrum of light making them weak or prone to illness. I have since installed some supplemental lighting of 6500K.

Coccidiosis is probable, I found a list of illnesses and Cooccidosis seemed to be the closest I could compare symptoms with. I could be completely wrong and it might not be either of those things. They are itching a lot, puffed up and start sleeping with there heads tucked they lose feathers and become very docile before meeting there death. It all starts with itching.


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finchbreeder
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Joined: 27 Jun 2009, 20:00
Location: Midwest of West. Aust. Coast
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Put the deceased bird in a plastic bag in the freezer, to keep till it can go to the vet.
Greens help with vitamin D intake too, so some cucumber can't hurt.
Sorry that is all I can think of.
Hope you get the meds in time.
LML
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FinchCanaryBreeder
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Everything is pointing to disease.

Birds wont stop itching, this is a clear symptom of infection, parasites or disease.

I could not see any parasites anywhere in the aviary or on the birds, however I have treated any parasite issues a few days ago and they are still itching which rules out parasites.

They are infected with a disease and without any Ivermectin I'm stuffed.

I ordered some Ivermectin on ebay weeks ago and it never arrived. The Christmas chaos has started plus the mail people are going on strike so I'm not going to be able to get anything online until January.

I will need to start over again after the new year but this time I will make sure I have Ivermectin before I get any new birds and of course everything will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized with boiling water and pressure steamer.
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FinchCanaryBreeder
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Coccidiosis has been ruled out along with other deceases narrowing it down to Polyoma Virus.
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finchbreeder
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Location: Midwest of West. Aust. Coast
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https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/ ... n-in-birds

Rare in finches.
There is a field of thought in the budgie faternity, that this is not a virus, but a protien deficiency.
Some are experimenting with feeding birds with symtoms on meat meal.
Too soon to know if this is going to prove useful or another unsuccessful attempt to cure this disease.
LML
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FinchCanaryBreeder
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Well just an update.

I haven't lost anymore finches but I'm far from being out of the woods. Some birds are still ill I have one black cheek finch left who is ill I can always tell when they have there eyes half shut when they are ill. A few more finches going the same way. I still have 4 healthy zebra finches, one pair sitting on a nest of eggs.

I don't think there is anything I can do to save the poorly finches. Vets are too expensive. I'll just do my best with them. If only pet shops sold what I needed. I can't get anything online because of the mail strike crisis.

I've made some more changes. I am boiling water now to give to my birds once cooled just encase there are contaminants in the tap water and I've chucked away all the plastic feeding dishes and trays and replaced them with ceramic and stainless steal feeding bowls and trays. This should help on cutting back on any bacteria that might be making them sick. Everything is clean in the aviary apart from the nest boxes. I'm hoping to get some successful babies but I understand this might not be possible because of disease, the parents are likely to abandon them.

I almost lost a canary but he is doing much better now.

Another thing was I used to blow the seed husk out of there bowl. I have stopped doing that now just encase I was blowing bacteria on to there food.
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FinchCanaryBreeder
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The only thing left that I wonder about is the shell on the eggs I give them, although they are boiled the shell might still get bacteria on it?
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finchbreeder
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Boiling eggshells to feed them is fine. The Zebs will want the shell only, so seperate the egg and shell. The Canaries will want the egg, but only meed it when feeding chicks.
I've been blowing the husks of my Zebs and canaries seed for over 30 yrs with no problems.
LML
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