found canary foot question

[CharityRose]

So while out today sanding an adirondack chair on the patio, I had a little visitor pop up on my foot. Realized this bright yellow little guy is NOT native to ontario, and was banded. I have apparently become a parent to a bright yellow canary with a badly plucked head and overgrown nails. I've raised birds, have a Quaker parrot, so this little guy isn't a problem to bring in. however, closer inspection of the feet has me wondering what may be going on. wondering if any one has seen these "growths" before and can give me an idea on what I'm looking at, I've never seen this so no clue if its just scaling from age or what. Band indicates this little guy is about 4 years old (2014)

 

[~Drini~]

It looks like it could possibly be scaly leg mites. A veterinarian would best know how to properly diagnose and treat him though.

Have you looked around for his owner? Somebody may be looking for him.

 

[CharityRose]

Drini, I am actively looking for original owner, not entirely sure how long a brightly colored little guy would survive Northern Ontario, but no one locally appears to be missing a bird. Feet don't appear to be hindering him at all. A local lady who breeds small birds and parakeets across the street is going to help with the over grown nails issue once she returns from camp this week. If no one steps forward to claim this little guy, I will be looking at booking a vet visit, and eventually upgrade from the little hospital cage should it look like he is staying long term. He found me only 5 hours ago, and so far no hits on the local lost pets boards, msgs left with a couple vet clinics, but it is a long weekend..... photo here shows the state of the poor thing's head...but, energetic, singing, bouncing around when anyone approaches the cage

 

[rocky'smom]

Make sure you quarantined this bird from your own. I had a little budgie that flew in deck door. This little guy had feather mites so bad and my own 2 got them. Holy crap it was horrible getting rid of them.

 

[CharityRose]

He is quarentined on his own on the opposite side of the house from my Quaker. Cosmo's out-of-cage time will be cut back quite a bit until I know what is going on with this little guy, whether he's a short-term house guest, or more looking to become a more permanent fixture. I've never dealt with mites before, so will be doing some researching on the offhand chance that is what this is.... local avian vet is on holidays until end of this coming week. If I haven't heard of anyone looking for a lost canary by the time she returns, then I'll be looking at getting this guy checked out. maybe by then he'll be far more calm and willing to stay in one place long enough to get a good look.....Right now, getting the hand near him isn't an option...trying to get him into my home, let alone caught to go into a cage was a chore and a half this afternoon! I've forgotten how difficult it can be to catch a fully flighted, frightened bird!

 

[finchly]

Quarantine, and please watch yourself as well - it’s not likely that bird mites would go to humans but I think there is an uncommon one that would.

If it were me I would go ahead and treat for mites. Avian Insect Liquidator is readily available online, you dilute it and either spray the bird or with the littles I sometimes rub it on. Especially with that head. You have to repeat it in 4 weeks, I think all this is on the bottle.

Thank you for catching him and helping with the nails and trying to find his owner!

 

[nu2birds]

He landed at just the right house..........I'm glad you are taking him in and going to see that he gets taken care of. I don't think he was getting very good care where ever he came from because his legs and head are in terrible shape. I know you will keep looking but I think you got yourself a Canary, LOL.

 

[CharityRose]

Thank you Finchly, I will have to see if I can get that either locally, or shipped up.....all this talk of possible mites has me scratching now!!! Anyone know how long a canary may survive outside in Northern Ontario?? its still been pretty dang cold most nights, falling to or below 0*C, daytime this week has hovered between 10*C and 20*C. still some ice to be found on the lake, and found snow still in the bush last weekend. If anyone has advice on cage set up for canaries, I'm taking notes....I suspect this guy is staying, and all my bird experience are with larger parrots (budgies, Cockatiels, my current Quaker parrot and an african grey rescue I had).

 

[CharityRose]

lol nu2birds I've been thinking the same thing this afternoon....I can't see this little guy having been outside for very long, least of all long enough to end up in this condition naturally from being outside.....I have been wondering if more a recent escapee from a home not actually caring for their bird, or worse, purposely released. So, now looking into what I need to know regarding housing for a canary, how much they may tame to hand, etc. He's so small compared to what I'm used to, I was afraid I was going to crush him when trying to catch him earlier!!

 

[Garet]

I don't think he would have survived long enough to get in the condition he's in now tbh. It's unfortunate, but someone may have released him in lieu of treating him. I'm not sure if it's as rainy in your neck of the woods as it is mine, but with all the rain and damp in the air, we've had morning frost from time to time in Montreal.

 

[BirdManDan]

I already posted on your other thread. Good luck!

 

[CharityRose]

I don't think he would have survived long enough to get in the condition he's in now tbh. It's unfortunate, but someone may have released him in lieu of treating him. I'm not sure if it's as rainy in your neck of the woods as it is mine, but with all the rain and damp in the air, we've had morning frost from time to time in Montreal.

its been quite rainy here too, and cold most nights. I'm far enough north that when southern ontario and quebec was getting rain, we were getting ice pellets or snow 2 weeks ago. Its been a long time since I saw snow this late in the year!!

He's doing quite good this morning, was singing away right up until I come downstairs. Going to be some time gaining trust, I was afterall the evil big thing that chased him around first outside then inside yesterday lol. Other than the plummage and feet, he appears quite healthy. I've been in contact with the avian vets office via FB, I call on Tuesday to book an appointment as soon as Dr. V gets back from her vacation. $125 for first time visit not including any treatment...its gone up quite a bit since I last had a new little one to bring in the first time! No word on possible owners, but not sure I'd give him back considering the same of the poor thing..... My Quaker parrot this morning was trying to imitate the Canary's song.....within a week I should have the sounds of 2 of them here lmao

 

[finchly]

That's so cute that the Quaker is going to be an honorary canary!

Those particular mites are present for awhile before the feet look so bad.... baby has been suffering for awhile. Clean him up and then good nutrition. Please don't fall for the "put oil on his legs to smother the mites" story. That does NOT work. The vet's price seems fairly reasonable to me, a little higher than what I pay here in FL.

Cage size - mine are in flight cages but you can go as small as 30X18X18. A finch cage is fine. Basically the food is the same as your quaker, just smaller in size.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Thank you for taking the canary into your home. Great that you are taking him to the vet. Hope all will be well.

 

[CharityRose]

That's so cute that the Quaker is going to be an honorary canary!

Those particular mites are present for awhile before the feet look so bad.... baby has been suffering for awhile. Clean him up and then good nutrition. Please don't fall for the "put oil on his legs to smother the mites" story. That does NOT work. The vet's price seems fairly reasonable to me, a little higher than what I pay here in FL.

Cage size - mine are in flight cages but you can go as small as 30X18X18. A finch cage is fine. Basically the food is the same as your quaker, just smaller in size.

Oh, in the 8 years since Cosmo has come home I've housed different parrots (budgies, a lovebird, conures,etc) and she has picked up each of their calls within a week, and continues to use them regularly! As well as a dog barking, cat purring and meowing, sirens, a few wild birds, a baby's cry, and my laugh on top of god knows what! She drives my partner crazy lol! however she is the first bird I've ever had that has ABSOLUTELY no interest in ANY toy I've ever bought, none whatsoever! I've even spent months sitting on the floor with her making a complete fool of myself playing with said toys with happy excited sounds coming from my mouth to try get her to even look at them to no avail! I honestly think she believes she's human, and above any toy lol

Glad to know the vet price is about normal...last time I had to bring a new "exotic" to the vet was our suddenly very sick ferret 7 years ago, and at that time it was $75 for first time visit. I spent over a week force feeding Kujo and refusing to let him just curl up and die, the vet didn't expect him to live, but he did. He passed away 2 years ago from adrenal gland disease.

Cage will be upgraded to something far bigger than the tiny thing this little guy is currently in sometime next week. The cage he's in now is far too small for ANY bird IMO and nothing more than a stop-gap until then. I don't see this little one going anywhere, so strting to think of names for him/her....something OTHER than the kids choice of TWEETY lol

Curious though...how likely is it that a 4 yr old Canary will tame to hand? I'd like to know if ever there will come a day that I can let him free fly in the afternoons and not have to worry about trying to transfer back to cage afterwards.

 

[finchly]

Your bird will be fairly easy to hand tame, maybe not to 'pet' but to land on you. Search this forum for @Monica 's hand feeding or hand taming experiment.

Also, I let my canaries and finches fly and they go back to cages at bedtime. The only birds that don't go back are my parrotlets and sometimes Ernie, my avatar, who thinks he should sleep with me! The littles all do well.

 

[CharityRose]

Local bird lady/breeder clipped my nails today, sooo much better! Leola took a good look at the feet, legs and head as well under large magnifying glass. No actual mites seen anywhere, but the scaling does have to come off. She knew how, but didn't want to do anything until after he's been checked out by Dr. Vannevel. No sign of new feather growth on top of the head yet, but hopefully soon. Slightly underweight, but guess that is to be expected, and hopefully will be corrected in the coming days!

I suspect this little one is a male, my understanding is that they are the more vocal with their singing, and he's been singing away when left alone. So many different sounds that keep bringing a smile to my face when I hear a new one! So plan over the next week, besides booking a vet visit, will be looking into cage set up for canaries, more on their diet, and start the process of finding a larger cage than he's currently in.

Kids are bound and determined they are naming him Tweetybird....I REALLY need to come up with something else, Tweety just doesn't feel right lol

 

[faislaq]

Your thread title worried me; it sounded a bit like a lovebird thread we had on here a couple months ago.


You could name him after one of the Despicable Me minions. They have "people names" (Kyle, Stewart, Dave, Jerry, Bob, Carl, Kevin, etc.) but might still satisfy your kids' desire for a cartoon name. Plus they're little, yellow and they sing.

 

[finchly]

I really don't mean to be pushy or rude.....but scaly mites (Knemidocoptes) are too tiny to see with a magnifying glass, and at any rate they burrow under the scales, living there nearly all their lives (except when moving along to your other bird). Please listen to the vet about this. Especially remember that these mites cannot be scraped off nor suffocated away.

@Parakeet88 any words of wisdom? They're about .001 inches in size.

You could name him after one of the Despicable Me minions.

Oooooh those names! A beautiful, fragile little canary named...Bob?

 

[CharityRose]

Oh vet visit is a definite, as today is a holiday I can't actually call to book said visit until tomorrow morning, and hope Dr. V is back and can squeeze us in sooner rather than later. I know that, just because there were none actually seen, doesn't necessarily mean they aren't there..those poor feet didn't get in that shape naturally!!