Help Needed - Rescued House Sparrow Health Concerns

[iamwhoiam]

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!

Good that he is doing better. He probably senses your stress which is not a good thing although it's hard not to feel stressed and anxious when they are ill.
You ordered the Mazuri, correct? Hopefully you will get that soon. Sometimes I give Spee a few very small pieces of egg white. He also likes unsalted roasted cashews, again very very small pieces and he doesn't get a lot. I don't know about adding the dog food, though. Spee also liked Granny Smith apples. I would skin that and give him small pieces but I haven't given those to him in awhile because the last time I did that there were ants. I make all the birds frozen vegetables which I microwave and I give him corn, carrots and peas but he only likes the corn.

 

[SandraK]

Have you considered getting some dehydrated mealworms too? That might help, disgusting as they are.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Have you considered getting some dehydrated mealworms too? That might help, disgusting as they are.

House sparrows are mainly granivores and may eat an occasional bug. They basically eat almost anything they can find, junk food and garbage included. Every now and then Spee is treated to his favorite junk food, very small pieces of Mother's oatmeal cookie. Mazuri Insectivore is a great addition to the seed diet. Gives them the additional protein, fiber, vitamins, etc. without the yuckiness of mealworms, etc.

 

[raluca]

So this morning he is a bit more back to himself, he seems to have slept better and woke up with a good appetite. Still testing on his vision. The vet said he can come by this weekend to see him in his environment, so not to stress him with the trip. He also suspects some kind of diet deficiency as the cause for such sudden onset.
I have ordered the Mazuri Insectivore food, but it comes from the US, I could not find the UK, so it will probably be here in about 2 weeks unfortunately.
He does have dried mealworms, but he seems grossed out by the smell somehow, when I add to his food. He was never much into fruits, just vegetables and preferably deep green - he has a big thing with colors, he hates anything red (not only food).

 

[Tiel Feathers]

What a nice vet to come to see him. I’m so glad he’s feeling a bit better, and I hope he continues to improve!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Thanks for the update. That's good news. It's good that the little one is feeling better and I hope he just gets stronger and better every day. Nice of the vet to come by and check on him. I found this on the Mazuri website but when I went to the NutraZu site I didn't see any Insectivore listed.
"Shipping Internationally
Does MAZURI feed ship online orders internationally?
No. Shipping to locations outside the United States is not available for orders placed via the Mazuri.com site. Shipping to freight forwarders or other agents with the intent of exporting product from an online order is also not allowed. If you are outside the U.S., please go to Where to Buy for more information about international ordering. Please note that in the European Union, MAZURI products are branded as NutraZu. If you're unable to locate an agent that services your region, please contact our Customer Service department, who will be happy to assist you."
Spee is very much afraid of red and dark orange. I can't not wear anything that are these colors in the house.

 

[Birdbabe]

I was thinking of a calcium deficiency ..You can dust his food in powdered calcium,,like rolling his food in grated cuttlebone...have you tried giving him broccoli florets? Roll them in the powdered calcium and see if that helps. Nice the vet will come check him out...hope he's Ok!

 

[iamwhoiam]

How has Oliver been doing during the day?

 

[raluca]

Hi all

So, happy to report he seems quite back to himself. I stayed home yesterday to watch him during the day and he behaved normally, with his appetite back in full force. I am trying to trick him more by adding some of the food he won't eat separately, like crushed dried insects pate - by mixing it with the regular seeds he likes in small quantities.

The Mazuri will get here from the Amazon US eventually - they have a listing on Amazon UK but it's out of stock now - hopefully they will bring it back. I could not find online another shop in Europe that sells it so far, I will keep looking.
I am going today to get him some powdered calcium as well, to add to his food. He cuttlebone, he was never interested in it - he has one in the cage, but totally ignores it, it's just decorum for him.
Also got the standing flat perch today, hopefully he will take to it and not get freaked out by the new addition. Looks very comfortable - this is it Platform for Birds, the best bird accessories for Birdcage or aviary: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

He is so peaky and very stubborn about the way things should be - same with wearing anything red, even red objects around him. He is upset if I move his cage or even worse, introduce a new toy to him, that is a big no-no

The vet is a regular practitioner, and he has been our cat's vet for 10 year now - he has many birds himself, like 7-8, so hopefully he can help. There is no licensed avian only vet here in Romania that I can find - people usually have cats / dogs, not so much birds. And I trust my vet a lot, he helped me initially to find a handfeeding formula when Oliver was a baby and gave me good advice on how to care for him, especially in the first days, when to be honest, I thought he would not make it.

 

[raluca]

And here is more of the little guy, through the last months

 

[SandraK]

He's cute - he's lost that "big beak, baby bird look" too. I'm glad that he seems to be improving.

 

[Alien J]

Hi! Welcome to the Avenue! I had never had a bird before and two summers ago I rescued a fledgling about to be eaten by feral cats.! I thought it was a Mourning Dove but he turned out to be a Band Tailed Pigeon. He grew to be a beautiful bird that I loved dearly...so we do understand how you can love your little one so much. I released Miyetti back into the wild (it is illegal to keep them). I still see him when we go to visit our old neighbors. He's doing what Band Tailed pigeons are supposed to be doing, but I was miserable without him.

This past May a friend called me about a baby cockatiel that was at death's door. I took him from the very bad people who had hatched him. He was 20 days old.

Now he is 8 months old and a happy, beautiful, non-stop chatterbox! And the joy of my life!

I wish you many years with your little friend!

 

[raluca]

Oh Janet, that is so sweet, thank you! I never knew birds can be so affectionate and smart, amazes me everyday, truly!
They become the rulers of our houses so fast )

 

[Tiel Feathers]

What a wonderful update! I’m so glad he’s doing better, and what an absolute cutie he is!

 

[Fergus Mom]

@raluca and @iamwhoiam Wow! I had tears in my eyes when reading about Oliver and Spee! It is so sweet that you were able to rescue them and care for them like this. I can't believe how you both have discovered their likes and dislikes so well, and know them so intimately. Last October or so I had a finch or sparrow fly in the house when I opened my back door. I think he/she was roosting on my twiggy door decor. He was so frightened, and it took me at least 45 minutes to get him to fly out of the house. I wish you could have seen me talking to him, both front and back doors open... it was something like "fly around the corner, the corner LOOOK"... "no, not that corner, the OTHER corner"... pretty funny talking to him and trying to show him the way out. I will see if I can find the pics I took and post here if I find them!

 

[Fergus Mom]

Terrible pic, not only was the camera lens filthy, but the little rascal was hard to catch in a photo because he kept flying! Can you all tell if he's a finch, or a sparrow? Finch was my guess, but not sure! Dang, this picture is worse than I thought... ugh.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Excellent news about Oliver. Find out what is in the supplements the vet gave you before you add calcium to his food and also be careful with that. Too little calcium is not good but too much calcium is not good either. How about holding the cuttlebone in your hand and putting it up to his beak. That's what I do with Spee. Your vet sounds wonderful and seems that he knows what he is doing. Check with your vet regarding the calcium and other supplements.
Does Oliver pant when he gets scared? That's what Spee does. He doesn't like new objects either. I've tried to put platforms in his cage but he gets too scared. I've even left them near the cage before moving them inside but that hasn't helped. I hope Oliver likes his new platform.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Terrible pic, not only was the camera lens filthy, but the little rascal was hard to catch in a photo because he kept flying! Can you all tell if he's a finch, or a sparrow? Finch was my guess, but not sure! Dang, this picture is worse than I thought... ugh.

Nice of you to help direct him to the way out. Hard to tell what he is because the photo is blurry. Looks like a house sparrow, but I might be wrong.

 

[Alien J]

I tried to edit your photo to make the little bird clearer. Didn't do too well. I'd guess sparrow though.

P.S. I have a tambourine like yours! I started a thread called "collections" recently and completely forgot about my collection of odd instruments! I have some home made steel drums. I think they're from Trinidad, but haven't been able to get much information on them. I have the tambourine. I have a Native American flute. And, my piece de resistance, is a didgeridoo from Australia.

 

[Fergus Mom]

@Alien J Thank you SO much for editing it! This was my old phone taking that pic, and it didn't take near the pics that my new one does... it was three years old. (I resist change) ha ha!! I thought the wild bird might be a house wren at first, since he was so close to the house. But the house wrens I have seen here have little stripes around their cheeks making them look like chipmunks, and this little guy didn't look like that.

I tried to make a steel drum out of a barrel once, and failed miserably, but it was fun beating on the drum trying to dent it. I have thought of decorating the tambourine, and just haven't done it. Oooh a didgeridoo - that is COOL! As is the Native American flute - I love those! I have a bodhran drum, but I'm not sure where it was made, I never thought to look for markings inside, but I might do that next sunny day! I also have two guitars, and I seldom play now, but every once in a blue moon!