Canary people

[ruffledfeathers]

Obviously he is not 'non feathered' but.....

I am thinking I will call my avian vet tomorrow because I can't put my finger on it but something in my gut says Pepito isn't 100%. I may be 'making it up'....as I am typing this he was chirping and flying around the cage and is now eating.....

But I always remark how 'I got a good one' with him. I have had him for 7 years ( I think he is about 7.5-8 yrs old now) and this bird still sings just like he did as a young bird. Was never even slightly sick and has never been to the vet. (I don't think my vet does all the annual work on canaries like we do on parrots....he never indicated to me that I should bring Pepe in for a check up.) But he seems quieter than usual and less active. He doesn't LOOK ill, no strange breathing, no bad feathers, no loss of appetite, no weird poop, eyes look bright and alert, etc but something isn't 100% for lack of better description. He is not that constant flow of activity like he usually is......seems to have less energy for no apparent reason for the last few days.

Maybe i'm just worrying. But birds simply don't make it easy to know when they need your help. Anyone else ever have their canary just seem more calm than usual???

 

[SoCalWendy]

You know your bird best.

 

[Wings]

Take the bird to the vet, just to be safe. I'm curious, can you handle canaries?

 

[SoCalWendy]

Yes, canaries can be handled.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Canaries can be handled, but Pepito has always hated it, so I have always left handling to just nail clippings and when I need to handle him. Other than that, he is just very cheerful when I talk to him, and he 'begs' for veggies when I cook them (he watches me and chirps for some) and waits for me to put his favorites in the bowl.

And yeah, I guess I agree that I know him best and if something in my gut is concerned, I should just see what the vet thinks.

 

[crimson]

my guess would be he could be lacking nutrients,,,ie: iodine, vit D, etc....
OR- could he be starting a moult soon. my canaries and finches get quiet just before they start(a few days to a week before)

You are suspecting something and you are probably right, you know your bird best.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Yup, I actually sent an email to his vet already, and it will be waiting for him when he gets in. I'll call then. They are very local so I should be able to bring him right in. All evening I have stayed near his cage with him and he is just too sleepy. He sang a little, flew around, ate, took the fresh veggies I offered, but then fell asleep on the food bowl. he never does that. not normal.....

 

[ruffledfeathers]

we have an appointment at 11:45--wish us luck!!!

 

[SoCalWendy]

Please let us know what the vets says.. Poor lil guy.

 

[aliray]

I hope it goes well at the vet. My guess is it is time for his moult to start. I have noticed a few down feathers from Lucas and he is quiet. He usually moults mid July into Aug. and I think he is starting. I will be watching the thread to see how you make out. Good Thoughts

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Pepito is home. He had a doxycycline injection and a vitamin injection (A,D,E & B complex). Unfortunately, the gram stain on the droppings appeared normal, the droppings LOOK normal and Pepe himself has no obvious indication of illness.

However he is thin. The vet said his thinness concerns him a little because he is such a good eater and his droppings kind of show he is a good eater and are 'healthy' looking. Pepe has always tended to be a thin little guy but has always eaten well and has always been very active and cheerful until now.

The vet also said the average life span for most canaries he sees is 7 years. Pepe is between 7.5 and 8.....so he wondered if he could be generally weakening with age/his genetics, and figured our best bet is to give the antibiotic and vitamins and keep him warm and watch him for improvement.

Right now he is on his food bowl and alert but not active. I was warned the doxycycline injection can make them sleepy and not to get too upset if he seems blah all day.

Hoping he improves over the next day or so!!

 

[Pajarita]

Yes, canaries have already started their molt (early again, same as last year) and, yes, they do get 'quieter' during it.

As to handling them, yes, they can be handled (they don't bite or anything) but it's extremely stressful to them and it shortens their lives so it should never be done unless it's necessary.

I don't like to take canaries to AVs because they really have no experience with passerines and treat them like psittacines (case in point, the OP's AV gave the canary a doxy injection, a treatment which is OK with parrots but not canaries because there isn't enough muscle mass for it -I hope he makes it because doxy injections in canaries result in muscle and nerve damage) which, in many cases, leads to misdiagnosis and the wrong treatment which kills them. Several of the babies I've raised and given away have died because of this.

Please don't let the AV give him any more injections, you can medicate him with doxy in his water very easily. And yes, he is getting on but canaries live well into their teens (I had a hen that lived to be 18 and she produced her last baby when she was 10 years old).

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I had another canary in the past (who was sick when I got him, actually....and I felt sorry for him and took him) who had the doxy injection and it actually saved him. I know my vet doesn't do the injections in the smaller finches because he says the injection alone can kill the bird, but at least in his experience with canaries, they have done ok (and mine in the past did well with it, so I felt fairly comfortable).
But, yeah, they are very sensitive when it comes to these things. He even gave a very small dose of just the vitamin injection in pepe, to be careful.

 

[aliray]

It is scary when there is a problem with a small bird. I have read all different lifespans for canarys. A lot of what I have read says into their teens and the woman that used to live next door had one that lived to be 14. So here is hoping we are both lucky> keeping my fingers crossed that Pepito gets better. Alison

 

[Pajarita]

The problem with antibiotic injections to canaries is twofold:
a) their muscle mass is too small to not sustain damage
b) their metabolism is so fast that a weekly injection (which is what it's done with parrots) is the equivalent of giving a person with pneumonia an antibiotic injection once a month - pretty useless unless the bird's immune system does it on its own which, depending on the infection, sometimes it can't.

It's much better and more effective to medicate them orally and doxy is wonderful for that as it dissolves in water easily without losing efficacy (you can also use Baytril).

I've had canaries for 45 years and have bred them for the last 20 (I love all birds but canaries are my passion) and I've learned a bit through the years.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Thanks. Pepito wasn't having more than one injection anyhow.
I agree that bird keepers of many years have much experience in many circumstances, but I still don't disrespect my A vet. He has taken care of my birds for 20 years and I know the huge amount of work involved with passing the exam to be board certified and to renew the avian certification. He is also almost 'too careful' sometimes, so overall I trust his judgment.

Do you have any special nutritional advice while he is hopefully on the mend? He is currently eating a mix of pellets, seed mix and fresh veggies. I have heard some people rave about those 'herb salad' mixes for canaries when ill or stressed. I ran out of it but I could buy more if that would be helpful to him.

Today he is a little bit better but not well. He is still sluggish/tired but chirps sometimes, seems generally more alert and upright and eats a lot as usual (he is eating some chopped carrots and peeping right now). Not flying around except to get where he needs to go and obviously he normally flies around the cage for fun......

 

[ruffledfeathers]

So excited....he has been grooming himself and chirping and just hopped in and took a huge splashing bath! He seems way more perky.....i'm so cheering him on right now!!!

 

[Pajarita]

I think the famous herb salad is completely useless and, to some birds, it could do more harm than good. Aside from the fact that the premise that birds can diagnose and actually medicate themselves with herbs that they have never seen before in their lives and which are not even native to their natural habitat is farfetched to say the least and, in my personal opinion, utterly ridiculous (not even a human genius could do such a thing) nobody who knows anything about herbs would even consider putting this mix together.

My canaries don't eat pellets. For one thing, I don't believe that pellets are the healthiest option when it comes to avian diet and, for another, even if they were good for parrots, I still would not give them to canaries. Canaries are natural grass seed eaters, that is what nature evolved them to eat so that's what mine get. No manufactured product can compete with a bird's natural diet. I feed ABBA 1700 from spring to molt. Once the molt is finished, I switch them over to black and white. They get a different green and fruit every day but they also get veggies like cherry tomatoes, baked sweet potatoes, grated carrots/zucchini/celery, corn on the cob, potatoes, beets, etc.

I supplement with a bit of vitamins during breeding (for the vit D3 mostly and I give them the daily dosage every other day for two weeks, only), 99% soluble mineral grit (the blue one from ABBA), wild flower organic polen and, during breeding and molt, they get a treat of Ralph Yellow or Ralph Red (also ABBA products). When they are feeding young, they get two fruits, one leafy green, ABBA 1700, Ralph, hatchling feed with seeds and two more sources of soft food which vary from day to day: multigrain bread, couscous, polenta, brown rice, sprouts, grated hard boiled egg, etc.

Canaries are actually hardy little things despite their very fragile looks and as long as you house them in a flight cage with natural perches, keep them to a strict solar schedule and feed them a large variety of fresh produce, they live long, healthy and happy lives.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Thanks. I never believed the herb salad would cure anything either but he got some as a gift once and enjoyed it as a treat. Pepe enjoys fresh veggies like carrots, corn and peas. I almost never have eggs in the house (vegetarian and nearly vegan) but when I do, he loves eggs. He has never eaten much pellet until recently when I started mixing with his seed mix for variety. I have heard mixed info about canaries and pelleted diets.

 

[Pajarita]

Yes, I even had an argument with an avian vet about feeding pellets to canaries but, if you think about it, it really makes no sense. Why would a diet of processed grains mixed with man-made vitamins be better than the natural diet that nature took hundreds of thousands of years to perfect for them? And it's not as if we just started keeping canaries and knew little about what's the best diet for them or that we cannot get the stuff because we have been feeding them the same seeds they eat in their natural habitat since the 1400's and very successfully, I might add! So, although I don't agree with feeding pellets to any bird, I can see why most parrot owners would think that pellets are the best option but why would anybody recommend them for canaries is beyond me...