Saving a Black cheek Zebra Finch

Is your finch sick or not well? Find out why.
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FinchCanaryBreeder
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Posts: 48
Joined: 30 Nov 2022, 20:15
Location: England

I am new to finches and I recently lost a finch that was sleeping a lot. One of my Black cheek Zebra Finches has fallen ill with the same symptoms.

He is sleeping a lot with his head tucked although he does eat and drink. His plumage doesn't look great and he sits mostly puffed up. I would like to see if I can diagnose the problem while its early in the hopes I can get him back on track.

All my finches are slowly going the same way, most of them have diarrhea others look healthier but I have a feeling my flock wont last long. They are all itching and preening excessively and beak wiping.

I have reason to believe I have a parasite problem which is going to affect the entire flock. My Black Cheek Finch will be the next one to perish who I want to save

I have cleaned the aviary yesterday and sprayed all the nest boxes with multi use anti mite, parasite bird spray which is the only thing I can find other than having to order stuff online like Diatomaceous Earth and S76 which I have ordered but it can't come any sooner, it could take a week or two before it arrives, meanwhile my poorly Black Cheek Zebra Finch will be going down hill and others to follow.

I have been putting a few drops of apple cider vinegar into there drinking water in the hopes that might help them.

Would Lemon grass be of any help?

If anybody has any recommendations on what I could try would be much appreciated.
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finchbreeder
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1st questions.
1. Are the birds indoors or out?
2. Have you recently changed anything or added new birds.

If they have diarrhea it does not sound like parasites. Might be best to put them on a clear water and plain seed diet 1st up.
Itching and preening a lot can be caused by parasites, but also by excess humidity.

With the answers to the above questions and the action suggested above, I hope we can help you.
LML
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FinchCanaryBreeder
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The birds are inside, I live in the UK and its almost Winter time. The air indoors can be quite dry but its not currently on in the bird room.

The apple cider vinegar I started doing yesterday but they also have some clear water.as well.

All the birds came from the same breeder and the only thing added was some hay for there nest boxes that I bought at a pet store. The bird boxes are plywood from ebay..
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FinchCanaryBreeder
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I forgot to mention I also added willow branches I got those from the local park where a large willow tree had fallen and there were some really nice thick branches on it that I used to make perches as well as making them a small tree.
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finchbreeder
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I expected they would be inside - but always check. :thumbup:
I would not personally use hay for finches as it is too stiff to be ideal - softer grasses are better.
Ply boxs are good. It is important to have at least 1 more nest that you have female finches, as every lady needs a choice and it reduces stress.
It is possible, but would be bad luck, that the Willow could have had some parasites on it from a wild bird.

Are you feeding the same diet, or a similar diet to what the breeder was?
Process of elimination here.
What size enclosure are they in? What size enclosure have they come from?

Sorry I am asking more questions than offering advice, but as said, a process of elimination.
LML
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FinchCanaryBreeder
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The process of elimination is very important because it may even be something simple that I've missed.

I'm not sure what exactly there diet was but I did see they had millet and bird seed I'd imagine they had some greens as well.

The breeder had all different sized enclosures and some small breeding cages. He has thousands of Zebra Finches in any different setups . His largest setup was no bigger than my aviary. My aviary is about 8 square feet and 9 foot tall.

The willow branches I had soaked and rinsed in boiling water before putting them into the aviary.

I think the air quality might be a contributing factor. I am looking into air purifiers to eliminate that issue.

I've bough some Aspen shavings to replace the hay in the bird boxes. I also have some shredded paper on hand as well.
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finchbreeder
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Aspen shavings are really for budgies and parrotts.
Shredded paper as long as it is not newspaper is good. I find mine love shredded white tissues. Yes they do have colour preferences.
But I still find lengths of grass the best. I have 4 avairies of finches, 1 the same size as yours, 2 bigger and one smaller. About 75 Zebs and about 25 assorted others. All are outdoors due to reasonable Aussie weather. I would have more, but Hubby put his foot down.
Been keeping and breeding for 40yrs - but only seriously for 30.
Sometimes a change in food will upset the birds systems, the same as it can do with ours. But there is the risk that they had something wrong when you bought them.
Best all purpose settler I know of is "Spark" don;t know if it is marketed in the UK but.
Best all purpose parasite killers are Moxidexen and Ivamectin - same family of medicines.
Do the medicine then follow up with the Spark.
Air purification can't hurt.
LML
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FinchCanaryBreeder
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Thanks for your help. I've looked those things up but they don't sell them over here but maybe its branded differently here. S76 has Ivamectin which I've ordered but wont arrive for 2 weeks. Its due to arrive on the 7th but with the Christmas chaos and mail strikes its likely going to be a bit longer before I get it. Hopefully the black cheek finch can hang on for a bit longer.
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FinchCanaryBreeder
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Its not looking too good. Its likely I'm going to lose all of them.

Two more have died I'm always losing the chicks and 3 more ill sleeping with there heads tucked. Two weeks until the S76 arrives. I wont have any left to save.

I have a bigger problem than I thought maybe they are all diseased.
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Very bad luck. Have you thought about coccidiosis? Can be treated in the water (Baycox) if they are still drinking.

Perhaps take a deceased bird to a vet and have them do an examination to determine the cause if possible.

Disinfect all your cages and anything that comes in contact with the birds prior to restocking.

Sorry you are in this situation.
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