Help Needed - Rescued House Sparrow Health Concerns

[raluca]

Hello all,

7 months ago a found a nestling baby sparrow that was being tossed around by kids, so unfortunately I had no option but to take it with me, as no nest was in sight, no idea where it came from.

Long story short, he lives with me today and grew to be a very affectionate little boy. He stays mostly in his cage, as I also have 2 cats and I am not able to trust them so that he can have free flight. He seems to treasure his personal space, but enjoys coming out for a few good hours of play.
His diet is based on seeds, spray millet and vegetables (lettuce, baby spinach, green peppers, etc) and occasionally hard boiled egg - usually every fortnight or so. He is only given bottled water.

He is an active and chatty bird, has a great appetite, plays with his toys and is happy to interact with us as much as possible. Still, I am very concerned with what seems to be only aggravating in terms of falling off his perch during the night. This happens every night, since the very begging,
He used to like to sleep initially in his little swinger and I thought that he swings and loses his grip, so I remove the swinger every night.
Still, he falls of his perches - the lower ones are covered in sand paper and the higher one is like a wood twig - the same happens on all of them.

Tonight he fell like 6-7 times in 2 hours and it was the 1st time I heard him upset about it - he usually just climbs back up, but now he started chirping loudly and fluttering around the cage.
When he falls he seems usually "unfazed" - he does not look confused or he does not linger around laying on the bottom of the cage - just goes back up. But tonight it was just kind of worse then usual. To be mentioned, this happens only at night, never in the day.

As I cannot find any specialized avian only veterinarian to help me with this, they all deal with larger birds or parrots, so I am getting really concerned.
The current vet I have says he looks well developed regarding bone structure, strength, interactivity / energy and plumage quality. He says he cannot perform intrusive test on such small birds.

I am hoping for at least some opinions based on your general knowledge and maybe previous experience.
- I have wondered if it's maybe too hot in the house? Usually around 75F
- Could it be that he does not get enough sleep - he goes to sleep late, after 11 pm - maybe I should isolate him in a different room on a strict schedule? Even if it's dark, he does not sleep if he hears me talking in the house
- Should I take him out of the cage and just put him in his shoe box he used to sleep when he was little? so at least he does not fall so much from his perch, as I am always worried he might hurt himself
- Night terrors? - he has a small night light and actually he does not seem scared of anything in general, very used to noises
- Insufficient diet?
- Or worse - like seizures? even though he does not seem to be confused, just that today is the 1st time he behaved differently (loud and fluttering and so many falls in such a short time)
- Poisoning? - I have thrown out all Teflon pans & pots from day one, he only drinks bottled water, there is no paint on the cage that he could ingest.
- Molting? - he is molting right now - still, it happens even if he is not molting, but maybe it aggravates it? Should he be molting in January?
- Maybe some birth defect I cannot detect? - his feet look fine, but he always was a terrible flyer, he has terrible direction and usually ends up hitting something or falling in the first 5 seconds. That is not new, it was like that since he started trying to fly. Or maybe I have not trained him enough, I got scared when he fell and did not encourage him a lot, I would put him back in every time he fell.
-Anything else?

Please excuse this long post. I am just scared as I love him dearly and I am terrified that something is wrong with him.
Any advice is welcomed.
All my best and thank you.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Welcome to AA. Thank you for rescuing the sparrow and sorry that he is having issues. There are many reasons that could be causing the problem with him falling: ear infection, visual issues, neurological issues, injury (such as a concussion), some kind of nutritional deficiency, ???. Are you sure there is nothing scaring him at night? Do you cover him at night?
How much flying practice has he had?
75 is not hot at all. I try to keep the temp here at about 78. Molting....could be. My sparrow is molting a little bit right now. Food...sound like he's getting a nice mix of things. What kind of seed mix are you giving him? Spee gets Volkman Avian Science Super Finch and he also gets Mazuri Insectivore. How large is the cage he is in? You could move the perches down at night and pad the bottom of the cage with layers of non-pilling fleece, non stringy towels or paper towels. I wouldn't put him in the shoe box but maybe you can get a small sleep cage.

Oliver is very cute and I hope he will be OK. If you let us know your approximate area maybe someone can recommend a vet to you.

 

[iamwhoiam]

BTW, I would remove the sand paper covers. They are not good for the bottom of birds' feet. You could wrap the perches with vet wrap. You wrote that the upper perch is a twig. Are the other ones natural wood or dowels?
Just to clarify, does he just fall at night and NEVER during the day?

 

[Featheredfuffs]

Hmm... Thank you for taking him in! Honestly, I think a neurological issue. Usually fledgeling birds, even ones raised by humans, learn how to fly and its pretty unnatural for them to bump into things like that. Coupled with the fact that he was thrown around as a young chick and had probably been found on the ground by the kids (suggesting abandonment by parent birds), makes me think possibly orientation or vision problems. Honestly, however, it hasn't seemed to affect his quality of life until this point. Id definitely make sure he gets more sleep, as it will help brain growth, and work on finding an avian vet. A nightlight might help as well! Hoping for the best!

 

[raluca]

Hi, thank you for your quick reply.

In order:

- he is not covered, I just turn off the lights - he is not in the same room, just the one next to the living room, so there is no direct disturbance. He gets really upset if I cover his cage
- he does have a very small night light and low volume nature sounds in the background - this setup has not changed or no changes in the room / environment
- I have been watching closely tonight - there is no reason / sound / light that could scare him. Initially I thought he is just lazy and relaxes too much, but still...it's too frequent, every night
- he gets granivores mix of seeds & seeds for finches. also i add sometimes (he does not love it though) a kind of dry fruit / seed pate for wild birds. I have tried dry worms but he would not touch them.
- the cage is about 18 inch tall / wide - I have padded for for now with some towels & paper towels in the bottom. I will remove the upper perch as well for the night
- flying - when he was little, kind of everyday, i was hand feeding him and was mainly out with me everywhere - now I don't know, 1-2 times / week? But I do not encourage him to, he just really doesn't get it - he is not able to fly properly for more then 5 feet or so, and never flies upwards. He will usually falls or hit something and it scares me.
- I will remove the sandpaper then - the perches are plastic actually, I thought that they were too slippery for him, that;s why the sand paper
- yes, only at night he falls off. In the day, never, he swings with no trouble - I put the swing back in the mornings and jumps from perch to perch

I live in Bucharest, Romania, so probably not many users from the area here, unfortunately.

Again, thank your for your support !

 

[raluca]

He was a nestling when I found him, he had no feathers actually - so I kind of always thought that I failed at giving him proper flight training & encouragement when he started to show interest in it.
And the fact that there are 2 cats in the house have not helped with giving him more flight time & space, that he surely needed more.
Even though he does not look unhappy with his setup and is very protective of his little house, I cannot help wishing I was able to give him free roam of the house

 

[iamwhoiam]

See if you can get natural wood perches for him. If he was shaken a lot by those kids that could have caused some neurological issues. In addition to falling he also has had difficulty flying so I am just wondering if there are visual issues that are affecting his ability to see and guide himself when he flies and also affecting his night vision. I also wonder if he is getting enough calcium. Don't know if you can get Mazuri Insectivore in your area but that is a very good diet. I only give Spee about 1 tsp or so and put it on top of his seed mix. It was recommended by some people on Starling Talk. BTW, you may want to post the info about Oliver on Starling Talk.

Wanted to add that you may want to consider getting him a few small platforms or flattish perches. Might be more support for him at night.

 

[iamwhoiam]

I've had Spee since he was about 1-2 days old and he is now 9 1/2 yrs. old.

 

[raluca]

No pet shops carry it here, but I found it on Amazon and will order it today. Also ordered him some standing flat perches, maybe I could switch them during the night and hopefully he likes it.
Spee is a girl, right? She is so cute, looks like a lovely little lady, I hope you will enjoy her company for a long long time
Never had a bird before and never knew that such a little creature can win me over so hard

 

[iamwhoiam]

Hope he likes the Mazuri.
Nope....that is Sophie, my red-bellied parrot.
This is Spee:

I absolutely adore him! He fell from a nest and both legs were broken and there was nerve damage. One leg was growing upward and that was splinted to redirect growth. He can not perch but he can grip a bit with his left foot. Uses that to pull himself up on things and into his bowl although the last few weeks he has been having issues with that. Could be age related, possibly arthritis.

 

[raluca]

Oh - he is beautiful, really! He looks a bit more dark in colors than Oliver, maybe a bit of differences continent related?
So sorry to hear about such hardships, he is such a sweet little thing, I hope he feels better soon. It's amazing really how they get to us
Never before Ollie heard of anyone to have a sparrow and it's amazing to meet someone else who has one!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Color differences: Oliver is still young.
Also sparrows' colors change depending on the season. During the fall/winter Spee's beak usually lightens (same color as Oliver's) and size and blackness of his bib decreases a bit. His beak has only lightened slightly this winter and one winter it never lightened. In the spring/summer (breeding season) his beak is very black and his bib looks blacker and larger.
If you go to Starling Talk you will find others who have sparrows. Also search for pet sparrow on youtube and you should be able to see some videos.
It's wondeful that you stepped in and rescued him. So sad what those kids were doing.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I’m glad you were able to take this little bird in. He’s awfully cute! I hope he will be okay, and that the platform perch helps.

 

[raluca]

He is not doing well, on the contrary I suspect now that he does not see anymore. He did not eat much today, had trouble reaching his seed box. I offered a bit of bread in his reach and he ate, he seemed hungry. I called him at the seed box and he pretty much missed reaching it. He only sits on the top perch now, he is reposnisive, but I am convinced now he only hears me, not focusing on specific objects I put nearby, just looking in that direction more or less.
The vet said this is neurological for sure and gave me some strong vitamins to add to his water. He only drinked very little so far.
Things escalated so fast
Now I am not sure how to make him comfortable for tonight - I managed to take away the top perch, so he does not fall, but now he only stays on the bars and I am not sure of he knows how to find the water - it was always by that top perch. He seems really upset that I took away the perch.
Should I at least try for tonight take him out of the cage and make him sleep in a box, so he can rest? He is scared and so am I, and I really don't know what to do at this very moment.

 

[iamwhoiam]

So sorry to read this. You need to make sure he is eating but especially drinking. Can you provide him with whatever you were feeding him as a baby and handfeed? You could also put a small amount of water on your finger and make sure he takes it or use a very tiny syringe and just tap his beak lightly so he takes the water. You do not want to push the syringe into his mouth and have him aspirate the water.
Place additional containers of water and food on the bottom of the cage and guide him to where they are. This way he has access to food and water at the usual places and also easier access on the bottom.
He would probably be more comfortable sleeping in his cage than in an enclosed box. You may want to cover the cage to keep him warm. Cover it on 3 sides.
Here is a handfeeding recipe if you want to try this one:
1 cup soaked cat food
1/4 cup of applesauce
1 hard boiled egg
Avian vitamins (follow dosage on package)
Around 750 mg calcium (I use Tums Smooth Dissolve tablet) ground to powder and dissolved in a little water.
Water

Mix all ingredients together, and add enough water to make it the consistency of cooked oatmeal as seen in the photo below.

Proper consistency of handfeeding formula.



The above formula can be divided into portions and frozen. This formula works well for baby House Sparrows and some other omnivore passerines. Only leave this food at room temperatures for an hour or so, as it can spoil.

I would again recommend that you join Starling Talk and see if anyone there has additional advice. Sending positive thoughts that he will recover.




.

 

[raluca]

I have joined Starling Talk, waiting for account confirmation.
He got hungry again and found his seed box and ate, but is not willing to settle for now on the lower perches. I will try tomorrow with the handmix formula he had as a baby, see if he still takes it.
Also, scared about how he will go through the night as this stage. I cannot comprehend why a bird still so young would have neurological issues, unless he always had them, and I am afraid to ask if there is any hope that this is just temporary and that he could still have a chance.

 

[iamwhoiam]

It could be something congenital and perhaps parents sensed this and threw him out of the nest. The kids throwing him around could have caused damage. It's good that he is eating. Make sure that he is drinking, too. Good that you joined ST and hope that they will give you confirmation quickly. I haven't been on there for awhile so don't know how active the forum is but it's worth a try. Just try to stay positive. You are doing the best you can for him.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Please keep us updated.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I’m so sorry your little bird isn’t doing well. I’m keeping you guys in my thoughts, and I hope he will pull through.

 

[raluca]

He seems to have settled down for now, I put back his favorite perch but a lot lower, like 2 inches from the cage floor, which I padded with a towel. He did drink a bit of the vitamin water also. I have warmed up the room and am keeping it dark and quiet. He showed a bit more attention to following my finger, but maybe I am just looking for good signs, who knows. I hope he can get some sleep at least.
Someone from Starling Talk said they had a similar issue with a zebra finch, and that I should add more to his diet, like crumbled chicken feed and maybe some crumbled high protein dog food, more nuts and fruits.

I truly do not have enough words to thank you for your support and encouragement, most likely there aren't many who would understand this love of ours for such small creatures.
Again, thank you!