Sick Zebra Finch

I have 2 Zebra Finch birds (male & female).

This evening, I came home to them perched in their normal spot & as I approached the cage, the male flew off, but the female remained perched.

At first, it was as if she didn't see me.

So, I attempted to stroke her tail feathers that were sticking out of the cage.

She never flinched.

I reached in the cage & she never made a move.

I was able to place her in my hand & she never made any movement of any kind, other than shallow breathing.

I brought her out of the cage & held her in an open palm for about 10-15 minutes with no movement at all.

Her eyes were closed & her head would jerk some, as if she had the hiccups.

I was SURE she was dying.

I placed her in a hospital cage & this morning, I find her pretty much back to normal herself.

I am a novice bird owner & have went to great lengths to not only care for the birds, but educate myself about them within the last 3 months.

Any help or insight would be great.

Thanks!

 

Hi, could it have flown into something in the cage & stunned itself for a while?

 

I guess that is possible.

I have them in a fairly large cage - 5' high, 2' wide X 3' deep.

It is just really odd.

In some of my research, the behavior is consistent with egg binding.

I've since placed her back in the cage with her mate & hopefully she'll continue to improve.

Thanks for your input.

 

It seems to me like she might have hit her head, but I can see how that would look like eggbinding. I would see if she has the same symptoms again, and if she does, then I would take him to an avian vet.

 

Thank you!

Sounds like good advice.

Unfortunately, in my area, I cannot find a Avian Vet.

 

Thank you!

Sounds like good advice.

Unfortunately, in my area, I cannot find a Avian Vet.

If you're comfortable giving it to me, what is your ZIP code? I could try to find one for you.

 

Sure. 24502

 

Okay, so I'm not sure which city in your ZIP you're in, but in Lynchburg there is a vet hospital called "PeaksView Animal Hospital" that accepts bird patients. Here's a link to their website :