Tuesday, December 2, 1997

Green Singers Desire to Nest #4

By mid-October, the green singers' nesting urges were becoming almost frantic. The search for nesting materials did not stop even though we'd removed anything remotely resembling grass, string, etc. Also by mid-October the male, Chris, was aggressively chasing some of the other finches. And, to top off his behaviour, he had been losing a significant amount of feathers around his throat. His constant activity seemed to take all his energy, preventing regeneration of the missing feathers.

Clearly, it was time to intervene with the goal of restoring Chris to health and to give the pair a break from their natural, though incessant, nesting instincts.

Early one evening, I caught Chris and put him into a small tabletop cage which we located just out of sight from the aviary. He sang at top voice non-stop until the lights went out that night. Each day he sang loudly and incessantly. We all felt sorry for him being alone without his mate, but something had to be done to calm him down.

Over the summer I had reduced the number of days per week that egg food was offered to our finch community. I wondered if my doing so was part of the cause of Chris being unable to regrow his missing feathers. Whether it was or wasn't, I decided to give Chris, and the rest of our birds, hard boiled crushed egg every day.

I watched Chris quite closely for the first few weeks, but it wasn't until at least four weeks had passed before I noticed any positive change in his feather condition. I don't know for sure if adding the egg had that much of an effect on him, or if his rest from constantly searching for nesting materials helped. I have, however, continue to add egg to all the birds' daily diets.

Male Owl Finch Aggression #1

A couple of weeks after the green singer was removed, more scuffles in the forms of loud squawking and harried flight were heard in the aviary.

Of course most times I took a moment or two to investigate, the kerfuffle was already over, though everyone in the aviary was definitely disturbed and ill at ease. For the most part, the problem seemed to be between the male owl finch and, surprisingly, one of the male society finches. I say surprisingly because both birds, at least until that point, had been amicable and rather buddy-buddy. As the disturbances became more frequent, I learned that the owl finch was chasing the society about the aviary. Why? I have no idea. The owl finch didn't have a mate, nor a nest for that matter, to protect so that couldn't have been the reason. Knowing the reason would have been helpful, but not knowing it meant that we still had to take action. Out of the aviary he had to come, and into the Original Aviary he went.

RIGHT TOP: Left, David one of our male society finches; right, Ed the male owl finch. RIGHT BOTTOM: The male owl finch.

Permanently Adding the Original Aviary as Another Finch Living Space

With so many birds coming and going from the Dream Aviary over the past few months and always having to bring up one cage or other from storage, we decided it was time to make a more permanent change. And, with the green singer and owl finch males both requiring segregation from the community, November was when we made the change. Did we think it was risky to have these two aggressive fiches together? Well, yes and no. We thought that they would be at a similar level of aggression and, therefore, cancel each other's aggression out. And, that's exactly what happened. For the most part, they stayed clear of one another but cohabited peacefully.

The Original Aviary was the largest of the flight sized cages we owned. We had no better environment for finches that required segregation from the community than this large enclosure. It also fits well with our decor, which by now is mostly for the birds anyway, right? so why not go all out for our little friends. Just to the right of the Dream Aviary is where the Original Aviary has been positioned. Some fake foliage has been added between the two structures to allow some, but not much, privacy.

The Original Aviary, when unoccupied, will remain as a permanent part of our living area finch housing.

Sick Society Finch Observed by FinchCam #1

What a wonderful addition to our lives the finches have been. Adding FinchCam to the mix has simply been icing on the cake. The video camera in the aviary that IS FinchCam is also connected to our tv. At will during FinchCam operation hours, we can observe our finches live, up close and in minute detail on what we call BTV (Bird TeleVision). For instance, we've had the awesome pleasure of observing little red eared waxbill tongues flicking in and out of the ends of their bills as they preen themselves and each other. We've observed the society finches shameless begging to be preened by any bird that has happened to perch nearby. And we've been privy (pun intended) to the process of how finches drop poop from their vents (you're right to think that we have almost no lives at all!).

Anyway, one morning in early November, I noticed on BTV unusually lethargic behaviour from Trevor, one of our male society finches. He was perched on the FinchCam perch all puffed up and ignoring all birds coming and going about him. His eyes were closed and his breathing seemed quite laboured. I watched him for quite some time trying to decide if he was simply resting, which they do off and on throughout the day, or if he was really sick.

After about an hour, I decided he was sick. I called the vet, brought up the hospital cage, then caught Trevor for a trip to the vet. This was our third bird to go the a vet, so while still traumatic, I found that I was getting used to the ordeal. When it's cold here, I tuck the box under my coat which makes it only a little uncomfortable driving.

How vets can examine such tiny frightened birds, I don't know, but they do. The diagnosis was a lump in the abdomen that was probably a tumor for which no treatment is available. I asked for antibiotics in the event that the diagnosis was incorrect. The vet gladly wrote up a prescription.

Once home, Trevor went into the hospital cage. For the first three days he was quiet, but soon perked up. By the end of the two weeks on antibiotics, he seemed to be his old self and was vocalizing and singing to his heart's content.

When released back into the community, he took up his old spot next to his best friend, David, the other male society finch. I'm glad not to have taken the vet's diagnosis as final and to have asked for treatment of some kind. Without the antibiotics, he'd very likely be dead right now. Sadly, we'd already found two dead finches in the past year. Indeed, I've learned something from losing those two birds and Trevor was saved by immediate action.

Green Singers Desire to Nest #5

After about three weeks away from his mate and the community, Chris was taken from the small cage and put into the Original Aviary along with the owl finch. Immediately his piercing songs halted. The two green singers could now see each other and the need for Chris to continue singing must have vanished.

His feather condition improved while he was housed next to his mate, too, though how much of a difference proximity made is unknown. I do think, however, that once he settled down more his body didn't have to spend so much energy on calling his mate and his feather condition improved that much more rapidly.

After a total of six weeks away from the community, Chris was reintroduced. I captured both him and and owl finch in the early morning darkness. Once the aviary's lights went on for the day, Chris' full voice could be heard throughout the house. His song went on only for a few moments while he got his bearing. For the past week, the two green singers have been as companionable as they'd been before all this nesting business began. All is certainly quieter now than it was during the summer and early fall. Should they need to be separated again, I won't hesitate to do it sooner to calm down the green singer and the community as a whole.

Male Owl Finch Aggression #2

Now that owl finch has been reintroduced to the community, after about three or four weeks, he's been quite a bit less aggressive. I have heard a few scuffles between him and other birds, most notably the African silverbills, though I think the owl's been the one chased by one or both of them. The problem isn't very big right now, and may go away in a few days. If the chasing by the silverbills gets worse, I'll simply remove one or both of the pair for two or three weeks.

Tuesday, December 9, 1997

Another Sick Finch #1

Early last week I noticed a chink of feathers missing from the side of Fibber's head. He's our male red cheeked cordon bleu waxbill. In the past, I observed his mate occasionally pluck a few feathers from his head, but the result was never a noticeable loss of feathers. That is, until last week.

I must admit that I don't spend as much time watching the birds as I used to, say, six months ago. But I still happen to look over from my computer from time to time, or watch them on BTV, or even notice their activities when I edit FinchCam photos. I suppose that's where I saw Fibber's missing feathers first - while going through that afternoon's photos.

After this discovery, I made a point of watching him a little more closely. It didn't take long to surmise that he wasn't feeling very well. He spent a lot of time fluffed and or fluffed with his head under his wing. I observed the finches while keeping an eye on Fibber, and noticed that the male green singer wasn't very active or singing lately either. Perhaps he too was sick, though he may just have had his jets cooled a little too much while separated from his mate. Since we had so recently successfully treated the sick society finch, Chris called the vet. He asked to have her write a prescription so we could treat the entire community this time, in case we had something contagious in the aviary. Over the summer and fall, we had introduced a number of new finches. One of them may have carried a disease that we were now just discovering. Better to treat them all and be safe than treat them one at a time and be sorry. It's been a week since we began treatment of the birds. The antibiotic is added to the water according to instructions Both baths and the water dish are laced with Septra Suspension (triemthoprim+sulfamethoxazole). Fibber is only improving slightly if at all, though treatment is to continue for a full two weeks. The green singer seems about the same, though I'm not quite convinced he's really sick. We'll continue with treatment and hope for the best.

ABOVE: Left, Fibber with feathers missing from the right side of his head; right, Mollie, his mate. BELOW: Fibber's vent area, which seems much more fluffed than usual. BOTTOM: Left, The female red cheeked cordon bleu waxbill; right, the male. This photo is typical of his fluffed appearance while sick.

Antibiotic Warning #1

A few mornings after antibiotic treatment of the community began, I noticed what looked like eight or ten watery drops of blood on the aviary floor. Looking more closely into the aviary, I noticed one of the rosy rumped waxbills sitting on the floor in the far corner., obviously sick.

Unfortunately, I had to clean the hospital cage before she could be removed from the aviary (I hope to always clean it after a bird is finished with it in the future) and placed inside. Then I called the vet. I suspected that the rosy rump was displaying an allergic reaction to the antibiotic, and the vet agreed though the vet thought it was unusual that there would be blood in the stool of a sick finch. She said it had something to do with their physiology, though I didn't quite understand.

Anyway, the rosy rump's poops remained reddish for the rest of the day. Toward evening, they began to return to a little more like normal and the red was becoming more whitish-green. What I had been observing wasn't blood after all, but was instead the colour of her allergic-reaction diarrhea. Poor little bird. I wasn't sure she would make it through the night. She barely moved in the hospital cage all day, and didn't she vocalize. either.

The next day, however, she did begin to hop around a bit. I did observe her eating some mashed boiled egg and lettuce. It's been four days since she was first noticed as being sick, and now seems to be her old self again. However, she cannot be returned to the aviary because the community is still being treated with antibiotics. I'm thinking the best course of action is to put her in the Original Aviary, which is now permanently located beside the Dream Aviary. She'll have more room in which to fly and she'll be closer to her companions too.

Male Owl Finch Aggression #3 The male owl finch has been getting along well with everyone lately, even the African silverbills. The need to remove either him or the silverbills is no longer exists. No further action at this time is required other than enjoying them all, and continue looking after their health.

ABOVE: Left to right, the male owl finch, David the male society finch, and Fibber who is still sick and fluffed.

Tuesday, December 23, 1997

Another Sick Finch #2

The last day the antibiotic was administered to the community was Saturday, and Fibber hadn't improved significantly. Sure, his activity level seemed to have increased somewhat, but his oval appearance has not improved all that much. He still continues to be fluffed up all the time, most particularly in the vent region.

Of course most times I took a moment or two to investigate, the kerfuffle was already over, though everyone in the aviary was definitely disturbed and ill at ease.

On the other hand, he does appear to have improved a bit, so I think it'll be best to wait a few days and observe his progress. I segregate him may try another type of antibiotic, or I may simply give him another round of the same medication as there is enough left for two weeks for him alone.

ABOVE: Fibber, still appearing to be sick, is asleep between the two male society finches.

December 25, 1997

Another Sick Finch #3

Yesterday afternoon, the opportunity arose to have a closer look at the finches since I was adding seed to the hanging feeders and renewing the spray millet. My presence in the aviary always causes a stir, to say the least, so I don't usually spend much time bothering the finches.

Anyway, as I was giving them a closer look, I happened to notice that Fibber, the sick male red cheeked cordon bleu, had feathers missing along his sides back toward his tail. Of course, he was still puffed up back there, too, so I thought I might as well try to catch him and have an up-close look at his condition - something I had not yet done. Though it took awhile to catch him, I finally did, causing quite a kerfuffle in the doing. All the while I chased him, I thought, "Poor little guy is sick and look what some big meanie is doing - making him feel that much worse."

In the end, I managed to chase him out of the aviary and was able to quickly catch him as he tried to get back in through the Plexiglas. Once caught, I took him into the small bedroom to examine him more closely. Unsure as to what I'd find, I called in Chris to look with me. Sure enough, his abdomen was huge with swelling. He was missing feathers on his lower back as well as along the sides. Seeing his poor condition, I remembered what the vet had said about Trevor having a tumor, and thought for sure this must be the cause of Fibber's swollen abdomen. With the antibiotic treatment not able to improve his condition, a tumor must be the reason he's sick, and no vet can do much about such a thing in such a tiny bird.

What a shock to see his little body enlarged and distorted in such a manner. He must be in quite a bit of pain with something in him so large. Poor little fellow. There's not much we can really do for him. I think it would be extremely cruel to remove him from his environment and friends while he's so sick, just to put him in the hospital cage. I mean, he has the warmth of the other birds, of which is takes full advantage. His favourite foods are all where he's used to having them, and there are a few warm places near lights where he can receive extra warmth if he needs it.

I just wish I could do something more for him - but sadly, I don't think there is short of euthanizing him. He's still getting around the aviary okay, at least for the time being. Perhaps when he's very near death I'll reconsider euthanasia, though I think the trauma of catching him and taking him to the vet will far outweigh the benefit of such an action.

How utterly sad I felt to have discovered the seriousness of his condition is on Christmas Eve. I suppose there is no joy in this life without a good dollop of sorrow mixed in somewhere. Sigh. Merry Christmas to all of us.

RIGHT: Left to right, Fibber asleep; our female gold breasted waxbill, with her head down low; a rosy rumped waxbill leaning over the female gold breast; a St. Helena's waxbill; the other rosy rumped waxbill; and the male gold breasted waxbill.