Aussie Finch Forum

Hi everyone I have a question about my Star Finches they have this weirs thing they all do at the same time they open their beaks and leave it open for a while like 2 to 3 minutes and I thought it could be that they have air sac mites but they don't breath that hard or make clicking noises could any one tell me what could be the problem
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All finches can harbour air-sac mite but I've never had Stars manifest symptoms like gouldians and canaries but that's not to say they can't. Breathing difficulties can occurr with other respiritory conditions some like ornithosis and influenza can also cause pneumonia in humans. These latter conditions aren't that common in finches but I'd take the bird to the vet and getting a more definative diagnosis rather than risk spreading the condition and loosing your collection.

hey reg where do u live in what state or country. it might help us answering your questions a lot better. they could be to hot and panting to loose some heat. so if u let us know where u are from it might help us a bit better....pete

I live in Oakland,California, USA It reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit It was hot today I hope that works

When we had the heatwave here in Adelaide a couple of months ago I put big frozen blocks in the pot plants inside the aviary, the birds went straight down and sat among the cooler air between the blocks.....bonus the plants got watered too!

Maybe you could rig up something similar, maybe a large flat type dish with a block of ice in it, cooling and no lack of water for the birds

Reg 35 celcius is a little hot.it could cause them to pant.How are they going now ?

I didn't think of the temperature but 35oC is still well within Gouldian tolerance when you look at the climate data for Wyndham - their last stronghold in the wild but it also has stars, zebs, double bars, crimsons, long-tails, pictorells, chestnuts and yellow rumped munias.


I'd still be going to the vet to determine any pathology - mites are easily diagnosed and treated and they will aggrivate heat exhaustion.

they still do it but less often...................today it only reached 79 degrees but it gets pretty warm inside the cage

run a half inch water line in the roof of your aviary with a couple of those garden mist sprayers in the line. and have a timer set to turn them on every couple of hours for a minute or two

hey mick his aviary looks as if its made of timber. we need to find out if its in or out doors