My two Canaries

[fluff86]

I bought two canaries back in August or was it a bit later... I can't remember exactly when I got them but it was sometime after the heatwaves. The breeder who I got them from was unsure of there gender but knew one was a definite male which I expect is my yellow canary because he now sings every morning which sounds so magical to me and I smile each time I hear the bird song. The interesting thing is he sings when I open doors and windows with the cold breeze coming in.

The reason why I think I have a male and female Canary is because I saw them attempting to mate and one sings but the other doesn't sing. I haven't got much hope in regards to my future with birds because of the recent events but I do hold a bit more hope for my canaries and it would be nice to bread them when breeding season happens. "Thats if I still have them by that time"

They both live in an aviary with Zebra finches and an outbreak of something deadly has broken out killing many of my finches. The two Canaries however don't seem to be as affected but they have started itching quite badly. Despite all this my male canary still sings.

I caught the hen female Canary and I managed to get some anti parasite treatment on her and under her wings and on her belly and I gently rubbed a bit on the top of her head It would be interesting to see if the itching stops but I won't know until later I will observe her tomorrow to see if that has stopped the itching.

I am currently in the process of getting an emergency appointment made to see an avian vet because of the huge die off with my finches.

 

[Pixiebeak]

im so sorry you are going through this.. im so sorry you have lost so many .

Im really hoping you get the right help from a veterinarian.

I also once didn't fully quarantine a new addition and nearly lost my flock!!!
I'd rescue a budgie from a cats mouth. Miraculously saved him from passturella infection. With vet and antibiotics and wound care. After 10 days of antibiotics and weight gain back. The budgie was going nuts in tge hospital Cage. So I let him join my flock. But he had evidently picked up a wild bird strain of chlamydia ( that was extra severe) and 2 of my parrots my quaker and gcc came so close to death...all 5 got various levels of sick. A long hard road to clear it and heal my flock.

So it's a hard lesson in the importance of quarantine to both of us. And a warning for our fellow Avian Avenue members.

All my best

 

[finchly]

Yes quarantine is often overlooked and is extremely important. Some of us learn the hard way! So sorry, @Pixiebeak .

Fluff, I would love to see your canaries.

 

[fluff86]

That is awful. Sometimes we don't realize how fragile birds can be. All my birds came from the same breeder and guess what? I told him what been happening and he says he has also lost finches.

I remember when I rescued my first pet bird he was a budgie and I had no clue on birds I picked him up off the curb, I remember the morning before I had heard a budgie fly over my house but I didn't think nothing of it and was probably the same budgie I found exhausted on the curb not moving much. He looked like he had flown a long way. I could not trace the owner. I literally carried him all the way back home in my hand. I'll never forget that day. He lived in my bathroom for a couple of days until I bought him a cage. He was right as rain after I had rushed to the pet store to get him some seed mix but he also had moments when he would start pecking himself literally ripping out his feathers from his wing but he calmed down after a few days once he sat on my head and shoulder and chilled with me. He was probably afraid of me or didn't know what to make of me at first. I then bought him a budgie friend from the pet store without quarantine. The man in that same pet store will sit there smoking cigarettes around his birds.

Its so easy to lose birds, I've read articles from experienced bird breeders who have had birds for years then all of a sudden they can be gone one by one. I do wonder about birds in my apartment because its poorly insulated and my apartment is within an indoor communal space where other apartments are, with the same poor insulation. I get smells wafting up like air fresheners and paint fumes, incense smoke I can even smell when somebody is smoking, much of that could have impacted my birds immunity to fight infections I have no idea but I do my best to keep them away from neighboring toxins in the sitting room with the door shut and I ventilate the entire place daily, sometimes I will sleep with windows open at night just to ensure there are no fumes.

Now that I have birds I can't imagine life without them, they just offer me so much joy plus much more but if its the case my environment might be toxic to birds I'm really going to have to reconsider things. I have been taking measures to seal things up and insulate the door and anything else where smells could come in but that alone might not be enough because birds respiratory systems are very sensitive and even if a toxin is weak in the air it can still affect them. There are some neighbors in the next block that have budgies on there balcony so maybe its safe to keep birds in these kinds of places.

 

[fluff86]

I'm hoping I can have a future with finches and canaries. In reality no place is safe for birds because hazzards are all over the place including illnesses which can take down a whole flock. Its all part of bird keeping.

 

[Pixiebeak]

I feel for you very much. It's not nice at all that the breeder didn't share he was lossing finches when he sold you some.

You are right burds are so very fragile.

And you could have layers of things making this more difficult on your flock. Possibly temperatures, diet lacking complete nutrition ect.

But it's urgent to get a veterinarian input and help. To get a true diagnosis, and appropriate medicine.

You have all my empathy. Im sharing my flock wide illness, because your struggle brings that all back up for me. Such a horror to live through. I was in a position to be able to have access to an Avian veterinarian right away . I feel very blessed abd thankful for that.

 

[fluff86]

Just an update on this old thread. The canaries are still doing fine and the outbreak was a parasite/bacterial infection which is being treated with a good wormer. .