Aussie Finch Forum

hi, i have a wild female blackbird that ive been looking after for about 5 weeks now and i have taken it to a vet but they said they couldnt find anything wrong with her.
she is going light badly, her breast bone is like a razors edge even though she eats but not as much as she could, she drinks normally but her poop stinks really bad infact its stinking my room out. she cant walk on one leg as she was attacked by a cat (we believe anyway) she seems to struggle to push out her poop and it sometimes squirts out. ive been feeding her lots of soaked mealworm as this seems to be what she will eat the most. she has a wild bird seed mix in one bowl but she almost never bothers with it. in her other bowl she gets some crushed fat balls, raisins, mealworm, small chunky cat food (as she likes meat) sun flower hearts, invectrus insect food, peanuts. she sometimes get a little egg food too.

could her diet be the cause of her smelly poop and going light? when i first got her she wasnt going light at all infact she was quite plump and ready to nest build in the wild. she seems very alert and moves about quite a bit so im kinda hoping someone here might have some ideas. her plumage is pretty tatty and there is lots of poop stuck to her bum but she wont bath if i put a bath in there for her the plumage on her heah is perfect though and nostrils are clean. i know its not quite a finch but im all out of ideas. she is on probotics at the moment. thanks

Hi Meepmeeps,
Obviously Myzo or Danny would be best for this topic, but I'd suggest that if she's in your room, she's under a lot of stress (being a wild bird, too). By nature blackbirds are skulking, shy, hedge dwellers - the shock of being brought into a house, confined in a cage, and with people about, would be pretty stressful!! I'd move her to an area of the house where people rarely go - in my case, the laundry. Whatever works for you. keep the cage or part of it covered with a towel or blanket, and provide a heat lamp.
The reason for her going light would be, to my eyes, the stress. So just leave her alone as much as possible.
Blackbirds are omnivores - but they tend to focus on insects and fruit. try putting in some small berries for her, and see what she does. Keep the mealworms up, and maybe try finding some earthworms too.
If you haven't wormed her yet, that'd be another thing to do.
Hope she does get better.
Danny, Myzo or anyone, please immediately contradict me if I'm wrong!

I agree with Jays thoughts on this, but maybe age has caught up with this individual. Has that crossed your mind? If it is a wild bird then trying to get it accustomed to human prescence may take some time. Little steps. I hope you do well. They are a lovely bird, beautiful song. Keep trying with the medications, but as I said maybe it is an age thing. One thing is I have to ask is how did she come into your possession? If the vet found no injuries then there may be other factors. Considering that the breeding season has finished and we are coming into a change of season she may be at the end of things. Hope I'm wrong but in all reality they don't last forever.

Good luck.

Ken.

Sorry Meeps, didn't read the post completley. If she has been attacked by a cat or whatever she may have an infection of some sort. In regards to the season thing once again didn't realise you were in England where your season is just starting. What more can I say? Good luck anyhow.

thanks for your support guys she is a lovely bird. i live in a small studio flat where room is limited but my room is filled with over 60 finches of which 2 free fly around 24/7 so she can see that there are other birds and that they are happy and singing. i was also advised by an avian vet today from australia to worm her first then give her some after treatment... black tea, apple cider vinegar and probiotics ect. she was in the process of collecting nesting material in my friends garden at the time he found her and said there were two male blackbirds next to her fighting. i said the chances are a ca had her and another male came to intervene and then her mate came to fight off the other blackbird, seems more logical to me and that would explain her leg and loss of feathers. there is no use in her left leg at all but birds can survive pretty well in the wild with one leg.

she is very timid and wont eat if im looking so i have to look away for her to eat but she isnt too bothered by me being there. i think she knows im trying to help since she see's me bringing food and water everyday.she has been treated with Baycox and now being wormed also she has been on a course of probiotics. im doing everything i can but i just worry about her weight and the smelly poop. i hope she gains weight soon, would make me feel like im doing something right for her. thanks again for your support

When I had quails, if they were eating a lot of live food, their poo was very different to when they were just eating seed. It had a definite smell to it.