poorly canary

[ratsspace]

hi there,
this is my first post i really need some help.

my aunt keeps budgies and she went in to PAH i think a week or so ago, and as shes a regular and knows some of the staff know she was asked if she wanted a tiny yelly canary.

so home went 'carrot'

carrot is bright orange, and very small. i havent seen him/her but dad said shes small and shes still 'fluffy'

my aunt was given her as she cant/wont fly and was being picked on by the other birds. i think she was almost being handfed at PAH and was being given an egg based bird food like EMP.

she wont fly in her cage and my aunt has had to put the purches really close to the floor so she can hop on to them.

the main problem with carrot is she doesnt really eat much and has bowts of the runs and constipation.

shes given loads of dry mix and different fruits but she doesnt touch them and only eats the EMP food. dad went over to my aunts tday and said there was what looked like dried poop around her bum.

also when they were watching her on the perch she lifted her tail feathers like she was goin to go but didnt do any thing.

anyone have any idea what this might be or know any decent bird sites?
im stumped when it comes to birds but said id try find out and find a good avian vet in her area (wokingham, berkshire -nr Reading)

thanks
laura

[Berserka]

Hi Laura & welcome to Bird Crazy.
It sounds like the poor little canary being fed (& only eating) the one type of food is killing her. I'd say that it has been doing damage to her insides & quite possibly destroying her bowel.
No bird will be converted from eating one type of food over night or even in a week. Her behaviour towards the food needs to be retrained. To start with I'd suggest a quarter less of her normal food replaced with canary seed - not the commercial type but specialised available from a vet. Grate up some carrot as finely as possible and sprinkle that over the top of her food. This retraining depending on her age may take months to accomplish but she needs to eat food that is specially made for her species and fresh vegetables - don't know if canaries eat fruit?
In her water I'd suggest putting a small amount of apple cider vinegar (about 1 part apple cider vinegar 10 parts water) made fresh every day for a fortnight & then once a week ongoing. This will help restore ph level in her body & help to rid of any bacteria she may have. Keep a close watch though as some additives and/or medications may have an adverse effect on some birds.

O course none of this takes the place of expert advice from a qualified avian vet.

In the meantime I have found some canary sites in the UK for you, hopefully they may have some better idea's for you:
www.colouredcanary.co.uk/
www.netcomuk.co.uk/~ncabirds/CANARY.htm
www.netcomuk.co.uk/~ncabirds/CCBA.htm

Please do stay around and let us know how she gets on.

[ratsspace]

hi

thank you for the reply and links, ill check them out.

carrot does get canary food aswell but only eats the eggbased bird food (hand rearing food) if this is made for baby birds would this really be damaging her?? sorry im not that up on birds. if its suitable for babies is it just not suitable for adult birds? this is the type of food shes had (dont no exact make) froogle.google.co.uk/froogle?q=EMP+bird+food&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&oi=froogle&ct=title

it does say to give it as
"EMP should be fed 2 or 3 times a day whilst rearing. During the moulting period feed EMP daily to aid feathering and to bring the birds back into peak condition. For the rest of the year feed EMP every second day to satisfy your birds nutritional requirements."

so it sounds like its just too much and not enough nutrients from the canary seed??

i found this list to give canaries, does it sound ok?

Broccoli
Corn on the cob
Yams
Sprouts
Romaine lettuce
Grated carrot

Apples
Oranges
Banana
Melon
Strawberries
Blueberries
and most other fruits.

ive found 2 avain vets in her area so ill pass the details on to her.

if anyone else has any ideas or tips please reply.

thanks

[Billie]

I have a very fluffy canary,see meet tilley under canary pictures, and by definition of being so fluffy she regularly gets 'sticky bum feathers', Tilley is offered a bath every day and usually gets in and washes till shes soaked. Failing this as she's fine about being handled I pick her up and wash her underneath down using warm water and cotton wool pads, the flat circular ones as they aren't as fluffy as balls.

Best not to offer her a bath if she's currently sick as if she gets too wet she could catch a chill. Carefully wash under her tail without getting her too wet and keep her warm and out of drafts until completely dry.

If she has trouble perching you could put a second perch along side the first, so she can rest her tail on it to help her get her balance. I do this with Tilley, also try the oval style perches as they offer more surface area to get hold of. Alternatively slightly larger than usual round perches are worth a try, again to give a bigger area to grip on to. If you do try two perches side by side keep an eye on that bum. Somethimes it can encourage 'build up' of poo if they don't move around much.

Good Luck.

[Berserka]

I would not be giving the same food to an adult bird that is fed to baby ones. Occasionally as a treat should be okay. Baby rearing mixes are usually very high in proteins, fats etc etc to build & bulk up the baby so that it survives into adulthood.
Too much protein & fats could cause the same type of nutrional & health problems in animals as they would to a human.
Those vegetables & fruit sound excellent. With Carrot eating heaps of vegies & fruit there would be much less need for a diet high in added nutrients & vitamins as she'd get what she needs from the seeds & fresh food.