Finch First Aid
Posted: 15 Apr 2011, 15:54
Most have us have or will come across this scenario at one time or another: You've gone out to your aviary and found one of your birds fluffed up, lethargic and generally not looking well at all. Deciding how to treat it is not always straight forward.
I am sure that we can all agree that the first thing to do is to examine the bird for signs of illness - Egg binding, for example, can often be readily diagnosed by examination and/or palpation of the abdomen. Other signs of illness to look for are any physical injuries, a soiled vent, soiling of the feathers around the face and labored breathing - in particular, listen for the well known 'clicking' in the bird's respiration that often indicates the presence of air sac mites.
Once satisfied with your examination, the next thing to do is to isolate the bird somewhere where it can be kept warm and quiet. The well-prepared among us will have a clean, purpose-built hospital cage set up at all times in readiness for just such an eventuality. Failing that, even a small holding cage with a desk lamp at one end for heat and a towel over the top will do in a pinch.
How we proceed from here will depend on the diagnosis and will, i'm sure, be the subject of much debate. An egg bound bird will more often than not require only the extra heat to enable them to pass the egg, though on occasion some degree of assistance may be required. In other cases, I have myself been guilty of immediately reaching for the wormers and/or antibiotics at this point, but it is becoming apparent to me that this may not be the best approach.
So how do you all treat a hospitalised bird? With egg-bound birds, at what point do you decide they need extra help and what do you do then? When faced with some other illness, what diagnostics and/or treatments do you use and when? What sort of equipment and products are in your first aid kit and what would you say are the 'must haves'?
Also, If somone would like to start a discussion on design and construction of hospital cages, perhaps in a separate thread, I'm sure we would all benefit from it.
I am sure that we can all agree that the first thing to do is to examine the bird for signs of illness - Egg binding, for example, can often be readily diagnosed by examination and/or palpation of the abdomen. Other signs of illness to look for are any physical injuries, a soiled vent, soiling of the feathers around the face and labored breathing - in particular, listen for the well known 'clicking' in the bird's respiration that often indicates the presence of air sac mites.
Once satisfied with your examination, the next thing to do is to isolate the bird somewhere where it can be kept warm and quiet. The well-prepared among us will have a clean, purpose-built hospital cage set up at all times in readiness for just such an eventuality. Failing that, even a small holding cage with a desk lamp at one end for heat and a towel over the top will do in a pinch.
How we proceed from here will depend on the diagnosis and will, i'm sure, be the subject of much debate. An egg bound bird will more often than not require only the extra heat to enable them to pass the egg, though on occasion some degree of assistance may be required. In other cases, I have myself been guilty of immediately reaching for the wormers and/or antibiotics at this point, but it is becoming apparent to me that this may not be the best approach.
So how do you all treat a hospitalised bird? With egg-bound birds, at what point do you decide they need extra help and what do you do then? When faced with some other illness, what diagnostics and/or treatments do you use and when? What sort of equipment and products are in your first aid kit and what would you say are the 'must haves'?
Also, If somone would like to start a discussion on design and construction of hospital cages, perhaps in a separate thread, I'm sure we would all benefit from it.