Although we like to think that we want the best for our pets, we cannot foresee all the dangers that lurk in the homes of our winged friends. In this article we will list the most common situations that can be avoided. He who is forewarned is forearmed!

Many birds end their lives prematurely due to the fault of their owners. These can be accidents, and sometimes the cause is the ignorance of the owners.

Here are ten reasons why birds most often die, and perhaps this information will help save someone's life.

1. Water. Not having enough water to drink leads to fatal results. Most often this happens if the drinker fails. For example, an object may fall into the hole, blocking it. Be sure to check daily whether the drinker is working and whether the water level in it is decreasing. If the water runs out without you noticing, the result will be dehydration of the bird, which will lead to death. A bird can go without water for no more than 3 days, unless its food contains a lot of liquid.

It is advisable to change the water every day, since drinking bowls are often made of plastic, and they become slippery inside - this is the result of the action of pathogenic bacteria.

2. Unclipped wings. If the bird is allowed to fly out of its cage, its wings must be properly trimmed to allow it to glide to the floor. If the wings are not trimmed correctly or the feathers have already grown back, then an alarmed bird may begin to rush around the room or fly out of an open window.

If a bird is frightened, it may mistake a mirror or window for open space and die from a concussion.

Contrary to popular belief, birds rarely break their necks in this situation. More often they have a concussion, cerebral hemorrhage, fractures, bruises, rupture of the air sac and other serious injuries, often leading to death.

A bird moving freely around the house can fly into a pot of boiling water, open drawers, fall into a burning fireplace, drown in a bathtub of water - this is what can happen if its wings are not trimmed in time.

3. Toxic substances. Kitchen utensils and other household items with nonstick coatings made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) can be toxic to birds. Heating above 276°C produces extremely harmful gas that can even kill your pet. Even normal use may produce some harmful gas, so do not use PTFE-coated pans, irons, ironing boards or lamps if Birds live with you.

Passive inhalation of cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoke can cause chronic eye disease, skin irritations, or respiratory problems. Birds that live in the same room as a smoker may begin to cough, sneeze, and may develop sinusitis and conjunctivitis. All these diseases will disappear if the bird is moved to a room where there is no smoke. Some birds exposed to secondhand smoke may develop secondary bacterial infections, resulting in death.

Many disinfectants and cleaning agents can be toxic to birds. Vapors from chlorine bleach, phenols and ammonia can cause irritation, toxicity and even death.

Aerosols that are used in household products, such as perfumes, deodorants, hair sprays, etc. can cause respiratory diseases in birds. Birds may experience severe inflammation, difficulty breathing, and direct exposure to the aerosol can cause death.

Carbon monoxide, which is colorless, tasteless and odorless, can also be fatal to birds.

Marijuana smoke can cause depression and vomiting in birds, and inhalation of fumes from burnt food, hot oil and smoke is also fatal - so the bird’s cage should not be placed in the kitchen.

4. Injuries. A bird with clipped wings may develop a habit of leaving its cage to find its beloved owner. A bird walking on the floor, especially a small one, is completely invisible and very easy to step on. There have been cases when birds were crushed under doors, sucked into a vacuum cleaner, and even slammed with a book.

Birds have been injured by folding beds (accidentally sat on by owners), some have been killed by being caught in a computer printer, and others have been electrocuted while trying to taste electrical wires. A bird playing in a laundry basket may accidentally be "washed" along with the dirty laundry. She can also get into the dryer, and then, for sure, she will not find it too small.

There have been cases when a bird jumped from the owner's shoulder into the refrigerator and froze there to death.

5. Other pets. Never leave your bird unattended outside its cage, especially if there are other animals or birds living in your apartment. Even if your cat or dog behaves friendly towards the bird, it should not be trusted. Many birds died as a result of active “play” or from bites from other pets.

Birds can also injure each other. For example, lovebirds are notorious for their ability to bite the legs of birds living in neighboring cages. Toes are one of the most vulnerable parts of the body; they can bleed heavily, which often leads to death. Often birds that grew up together and got along well, upon reaching sexual maturity, begin to fight, sometimes pecking each other to death.

Any bite from another animal poses a threat to the life of the bird. Bacteria found in the saliva of mammals can cause blood poisoning in birds, leading to death. Cat bites are especially dangerous, since the Pasteurella bacterium, which lives in the mouths of cats, poses a very great threat to the health of birds. Even a prick in one tooth can cause a fatal infection. Cat claw scratches are also dangerous.

6. Toxic Foods and Plants. Some types of food are very toxic to birds. For example, when chocolate is digested in the body of birds, theobromide is formed, which is extremely toxic. Once in the blood, theobromide dilates the blood vessels that feed the heart, lungs and bronchi; this is of no use to the bird. Dark and confectionery chocolate is the most dangerous; milk chocolate is less toxic, but it also should not be given to birds. When caffeine is digested, it also produces toxic substances.

There is evidence that some types of avocados are also toxic to birds. So if you want the best for your pets, don't feed them avocados.

This also applies to plants that grow outside. For example, a bird can die from oleander poisoning.

Owners should be sure to determine if there are any poisonous plants in the vicinity of their pet's habitat.

7. Hand feeding mistakes. There is no doubt that many chicks died as a result of improper hand feeding. For this reason, chicks that require feeding should not be trusted to inexperienced owners.

There are a lot of things that can be done wrong in the process of hand feeding. Firstly, the formula may be incorrectly selected, it may be stored in the wrong conditions, it may be at the wrong temperature during feeding; secondly, during the feeding process they sometimes use dirty instruments and force-feed babies, which can cause aspiration pneumonia; thirdly, poor care - keeping chicks at the wrong temperature, violation of hygiene rules, uncontrolled use of antibiotics. These are just a few of many potential problems.

In a nutshell, if the chicks are kept at the wrong temperature, or the food they are offered is too cold, then their gastrointestinal tract activity slows down, which can be fatal.

If a chick is force-fed, it may resist and accidentally inhale its food, causing aspiration pneumonia. If the chick inhales a large number of food, then instant death from asphyxia will occur, and if a little food gets into the respiratory tract, the chick will suffer for several days, desperately trying to breathe, until it dies from blockage of the alveoli of the lungs.

If chicks are not properly cared for, they often develop various infectious diseases. Infection with a fungal infection or polyomavirus can lead to death.

8. Diseases arising due to the fault of the owner. Although owners sometimes really want to take a chick to an exhibition, show or show it in a club, doing this is very dangerous. The infection can enter the chick's body through the air, even if a diligent owner does not allow his pet to communicate with other birds. Many bird diseases are fatal, especially polyomavirus. Adult birds are also at risk of infection. Meetings of bird lovers, where owners and their pets are present, can become a breeding ground for the disease. Unfortunately, a bird can be a carrier of the disease if it itself shows no symptoms. Gastric dilatation syndrome, chlamydia, and polyomavirus infection can be carried by birds that appear to be completely healthy.

Remember that we don’t even know all the diseases that birds can become infected with. Many owners make the same mistake, adding a newly acquired bird to their existing ones. Regardless of how the bird came to you, it needs to be quarantined for a month, or better yet, two, and only then allowed in with the others. This is dictated by common sense - if the bird is a carrier of infection, then the stress of moving to new house may cause clinical manifestations of the disease. Not every owner can afford to conduct laboratory testing of diseases of a new pet, so quarantine is often the only measure to prevent diseases of birds already living in the house. Conversely, already living birds with a latent infection can infect newly arrived ones, so quarantine is also necessary for this reason.

Owners should understand that direct contact with a person's mouth is dangerous for birds. We carry a variety of bacteria and fungi that can cause serious illness and even death in our pets. You should never kiss a bird with your mouth open, or allow the bird to come into contact with the owner's teeth, tongue, lips, or saliva.

9. Exposure to high temperature. Exotic birds native to warm tropical countries cannot tolerate excessive heat. Children, dogs, cats, other pets and birds should never be left in a car in hot weather, even with the windows down. The temperature inside the car can quickly reach levels that can cause death.

Heat can also kill your bird in more insidious ways. For example, in the morning the owner places the cage in the shade in the fresh air, but since the sun does not stand still, by noon the bird may find itself in the full sun. If the bird does not have shelter, it may die from hyperthermia. An overheated bird begins to experience shortness of breath, and along with it, dehydration. Many birds suffering from hyperthermia will try to cool off in water if possible. If the bird's body temperature is too high, it may die. Hyperthermia can also occur if the bird's cage is placed on a window where there is no shade to hide from the sun. Chicks can develop hyperthermia if they are kept at too high a temperature.

10. Night sleep with the owners. Birds should sleep in their cage, on a comfortable perch with their paws tightly wrapped around it.

It can also get stuck between the bed and the headboard or die under the pillow. This happens very often, so why should you take the risk? While it's great to have your bird keep you company while you read or watch TV in bed or on the couch, if there's a risk that you might doze off, it's best to return your bird to its cage.

Of course, it is impossible to predict every accident that can happen to your pet, but by knowing these ten causes of bird death, you can avoid many dangers.

A few corrections and additions.
To point 2, you can add an alternative. There is an opinion that clipped flight feathers (they were the ones meant, right, and not the joint on the wing?) lead to chronic stress in the bird - the inability to fly frightens the bird. So you don’t have to trim, but then you have to be “on call” all the time, constantly remembering the bird. Or simply accustom her to walks at certain times and to voluntarily return to the cage (not to the place of captivity, but to her home!). There are different methods, the simplest is returning to the feeder. But such training, naturally, will require a fair amount of time and patience from the owner. When walking, of course, mirrors and windows should be curtained - even with the lightest tulle, it will eliminate the illusion of free space. And naturally, the window sashes should either be closed completely or covered with mesh. Only a completely tame bird that completely trusts people can be released for a walk.
It is worth adding fumigators to point 3 - there have been sad results. Not all are toxic, not all toxic are equally toxic, but don't experiment...
To point 5 - IMHO, it is worth adding a recommendation that if a bird is injured by another pet, do not wait, “or maybe it will go away on its own,” but urgently run to an ornithologist veterinarian, and if there is none, to a bird forum. In principle, there are developed drugs and dosages for neutralizing pasteurella, for example.
Correction to point 6 - avocados are not toxic, they are just monstrously fatty. The liver may simply fail, and the symptoms will be like poisoning - not surprising if you remember the role of the liver in the body.
And a general addition - IMHO, it is worth adding a point about the obligatory nature of proper nutrition. Otherwise, you often have to read something like “My parrot got sick with something, he loves beer and roach, and has been for ten years now, so why did he get sick? We feed him like ourselves - we don’t regret anything - not soup-kharcho, not cutlets ..." You start trying to explain - and in response: “Well, he ate like this all his life, and nothing happened!” On another forum, for a long time, the pigeon's owner tried to get confirmation that the pigeon died from an unlaid egg - and fed it lard, cutlets, chips... Based on the picture of the situation, it looked like the bird died from a heart attack or stroke - but the owner never accepted this version, I was very offended...

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In our last publication, we told you about the features of caring for canaries at home (you can refresh this information in your memory). Caring for these birds also includes taking care of their health. Therefore, it is this important point that we decided to pay our attention to today. So, we'll talk about how to care for the health of a canary, we will get acquainted with the most common diseases of these birds, and find out recommendations for the treatment of such avian ailments.

How to take care of your canary's health

In fact, it is much easier to prevent the development of the disease than to try to cure the bird later. Remember this simple truth, and remember it every time you want to skip the scheduled disinfection of the cage or put a dirty drinking bowl or food dish in it. The health of your canary depends on such little things. That's why, keep your feathered friend's house clean, regularly wash and disinfect all accessories from the cage, feed the canary only good, fresh, dry and clean food. Change the water in the drinking bowl every day, and when it’s hot outside, even 2-3 times a day.

For disinfection, it is better to use an ordinary soap solution, or a 1-2% solution of Lysol, Creole, formaldehyde or chloramine. After disinfection, the cage should be rinsed well with water, dried and ventilated.

If you take proper care of the canary’s health, it will delight you with its sonorous singing; if you do not take care of it correctly, the bird may get sick and die.

Below we will briefly tell you about the most common diseases among canaries, determine their cause, and also give recommendations for treating the bird. However, in any case, your feathered friend should be treated by a veterinarian, remember this.

Growths on the paws

Intestinal blockage or constipation

As a rule, this disease affects birds whose diet consists exclusively of grain. They have problems with excreting feces, they behave restlessly, and they shake their tail. In order to help the bird, it is recommended to introduce a few drops of vegetable oil into its anus using a small spherical pipette and give it a few drops of castor oil. To prevent constipation, it is recommended to choose food more carefully, monitor the diversity of the diet, and introduce more greens into the poultry menu.

Diarrhea

Like parrots, canaries have diarrhea (more about), and it can be either simple (caused by food poisoning) or calcareous (its development is provoked by microbes). Simple or ordinary diarrhea of ​​brown or green color, liquid consistency. To treat it, it is recommended to review the diet of your feathered friend. And, calcareous diarrhea is characterized by mucous, white viscous discharge, as well as the apathetic behavior of the canary. In this case, it is recommended to quarantine the sick bird, feed it with small millet, it is recommended to give rice or oatmeal broth instead of water, and taking antibiotics is also appropriate here. Daily cleaning and disinfection of the cage is recommended. In the latter case of calcareous diarrhea, the disease is difficult to treat and often ends in the death of the bird.

Upper respiratory tract catarrh and runny nose

Symptoms of this disease include rapid breathing, mucous discharge from the nostrils, and sneezing. The sick bird is placed in quarantine, they make sure that the room where it is kept is warm, they give it only warm water, a decoction of chamomile and dill with the addition of bee honey. To stop a runny nose, inhalation of eucalyptus and chamomile vapor is recommended - for this, a hot decoction is placed in the cage itself (however, be careful not to burn or scald the canary), and the top of the cage is covered with a cloth.

Prevention of runny nose and catarrh is compliance with the temperature regime, as well as the use of water at room temperature for drinking and bathing.

Metabolic disorders

If you notice that your bird eats a lot and often, but instead of getting better, it is losing weight - it’s time to sound the alarm. There are signs of metabolic disorders, and it is likely that your singing friend may die from complete exhaustion. To treat such a malfunction in the bird’s body, it is recommended to review the conditions of its keeping (make them more comfortable), maintain temperature conditions, add mealy seeds and bread soaked in milk to the diet.

Another problem associated with metabolic disorders, as well as the sedentary lifestyle of the canary, is called obesity. Symptoms of obesity in canaries are the following: difficulty breathing, the presence of fat deposits in the chest and abdomen, and lethargy. Treatment of obesity involves changing your diet and including a large amount of vegetables, fruits and herbs, encouraging an active lifestyle - buy a larger cage, let the canary fly around the room more often.

Injuries, fractures, wounds

If mechanical damage is detected, it is recommended to treat the surface of the wound with a disinfectant.

Goiter inflammation

As a result of a lack of vitamins, an incorrect diet, as well as the use of low-quality food for feeding the canary, it may develop inflammation of the goiter. The inflammatory process can be relieved by washing the goiter, and also by taking a course of anti-inflammatory drugs. However, it is better to carry out all these manipulations in a veterinary clinic.

An unbalanced diet leads not only to inflammation of the goiter, but also to vitamin deficiency. Outwardly, this manifests itself in the fact that the bird becomes inactive, boring, weakens, loses weight, and the male canary may even stop singing. In this case, you should definitely reconsider the diet of your singing friend. And, in order to make sure that this is indeed vitamin deficiency, it is recommended to undergo special tests, which the veterinary clinic will tell you about.

Very often, vitamin deficiency develops in canaries during pregnancy, this can lead to disruption of egg laying and the birth of weak and non-viable chicks.

In order to prevent the development of vitamin deficiency, it is necessary to monitor the birds’ diet and give them vitamins.

Paratyphoid

An infectious disease that most often affects chicks. Symptoms of paratyphoid fever include immobility, breathing problems, diarrhea, poor appetite, and ruffled plumage. Treatment involves taking antibiotics. However, they must be prescribed veterinarian.

Liver diseases

As a result of non-compliance with the conditions of detention and recommendations for preparing a diet (in particular, you give the bird eggs too often), an inflammatory process develops in the bird’s body, which affects the liver. Swelling and blackening are observed in the upper part of the canary's abdomen. Treatment involves placing the canary in quarantine, a diet consisting of mealy foods, lettuce and canary seeds, vegetables, herbs and fruits.

Prevention of many diseases in canaries It’s quite simple. The most important thing is to keep the food, perches, tray, and the cage itself clean. The grain must be of the latest harvest, not moldy, free of foreign odors, dry and clean. Wet food should always be fresh. The water must be changed daily, and in hot weather twice a day. The sand and paper on the pallet are changed at least twice a week. If there are several birds in a cage, then more often.

The perches are washed with soapy water once a month, 2-3 times a year, and if there are a large number of birds in the cage, more often, they are disinfected: they are scalded with boiling water, cleaned with a brush or a rag with washing powder or a 1-2% solution of Lysol, cresol, chloramine or formaldehyde. After disinfection, the cage is thoroughly washed with water and dried.

A newly acquired bird must first be placed in a separate cage, which is installed in another room, away from your other pets. Quarantine lasts one month. During this time, appearance By looking at the bird and its behavior, you can determine whether it is sick or not.

When purchasing a bird and during the quarantine period, pay attention to its development, exterior, position on the perch and plumage. The latter should be dense, smooth, and shiny. A pointed, protruding keel (it can be easily felt with your fingers) indicates that the bird is sick. Half-closed eyes, inactivity, feathers stained around the cloaca - all these are also signs of the disease. It is quite difficult to accurately diagnose it based on the appearance of the bird. It is better to have a veterinarian do this.

A white sheet of paper is placed at the bottom of the cage during quarantine. The consistency of the droppings is clearly visible on it. When birds have diarrhea, the droppings are liquid and greenish in color. In this case, you need to add a small amount of poppy seed, which has good fixing properties, to the grain mixture, and pour a weak solution of potassium permanganate into the drinking bowl. Greens and soft food should not be given to the bird at this time. For constipation, add flaxseed to the grain feed, and a drop of vegetable oil can be poured into the canary's beak and cloaca.

With improper and monotonous feeding, birds develop metabolic diseases. At the same time, the canary looks disheveled, the feather does not lie tightly and does not shine. Birds often refuse to feed and have swelling of their eyelids. Young people lag behind in growth and development. The most common metabolic diseases are lack of vitamins A, group B and D. In this case, it is necessary to improve the living conditions of the birds, give them more varied grains and soft food with more proteins, sprouted grains (millet, canary seed, wheat, etc.). You can also use complex vitamin preparations, for example, Trivit. But caution must be exercised, since an excess of vitamins is just as harmful as their deficiency. Mineral supplements include bone meal, crushed egg shells, shell rock, chalk, and calcium gluconate. In summer, sunbathing is necessary, and in winter, irradiation with mercury-quartz or erythema lamps is effective. It should be remembered that mercury-quartz lamps have rather harsh ultraviolet radiation, so they must be used with precise dosage and ensure that only the light reflected from the walls or ceiling reaches the birds. You need to start the course with two minutes of irradiation per day and continue it for two weeks, daily increasing the duration of irradiation by half a minute. Then a two-week break is taken and the course is repeated again. As a rule, two or three courses are enough for the bird to fully recover.

Sometimes canaries experience excessive growth of their beaks and claws.. In this case, they must be periodically trimmed with scissors. First, the beak and claws are examined in the light. Only the transparent horny parts are removed. Try not to disturb the blood vessels. But if this happens, lubricate the wound with iodine solution. It is safer to simply sharpen the beak with a nail file.

In some females, during the oviposition period, the egg is retained in the oviduct. The bird sits ruffled, sometimes at the bottom of the cage. Its abdomen is swollen, the cloaca is inflamed, and sometimes an egg is visible in the slightly open cloaca. It is necessary to introduce a little vegetable oil into the cloaca, then drip cold water onto the abdomen and place the bird in a warm place - under a 25-40 W electric light bulb. The bird's beak should be periodically moistened with water. As a rule, the female lays the next egg safely. Try not to crush the egg in the oviduct; this often kills birds.

Fortunately, with proper care, canaries rarely get sick and live quite a long time. There are cases where males were still singing at the age of 14 and lived to be 16 years old.

V.A. Ostapenko "Canary"

Many canary diseases have pronounced symptoms, thanks to which health problems can be identified in the initial stages and complications can be prevented. Most often, canaries have problems with feathers, paws, and the gastrointestinal tract. In this article we will tell you how to recognize a particular disease and how to cure a sick bird.

Feather cyst

Development of the disease

Sometimes canary feathers are too soft to pierce the skin. Because of this, they curl up inside the tubes - the feather bases. At these places, the bird's skin begins to rise, forming a feather cyst.

This happens if the canary’s body develops a deficiency of vitamins and minerals. Poor living conditions can also cause problems with the formation of feathers in birds: dry air, high temperature, dim lighting.

As the walls of the cyst grow, they increase in size, inflaming the tissue around them. A cheesy liquid gradually accumulates inside the tube. The feather may escape, breaking through the inflamed cyst and forming an abscess. The curdled liquid flows out and after some time dries, forming a crust.

Bird behavior

The canary is worried about boils. Trying to get rid of the itch, she begins to peck at them. The bird can also peck at an unruptured cyst. In any case, this leads to bleeding. If you don't take care of the canary, it will die from loss of blood.

Treatment options

Feather cysts can be removed surgically, so take your canary to the vet at the first sign of symptoms. An experienced doctor will open, clean and treat the wounds with antibiotics. For wounds that are too large, the veterinarian will apply stitches. You will have to process them according to his recommendations.

To prevent the canary from pecking at the wounds, put a medical collar on it.

Diversify your bird's diet with minerals and vitamins. Remember that liquid vitamin complexes are given to birds only after a year. Provide the bird the necessary conditions contents described in the article.

Weak feather disease

Weak feather disease occurs due to a lack of sulfur in the canary's body. As a result, the bird's feathers may become split. If they are severely damaged, the canary will stop flying, which will have a bad effect on its physical condition. If this happens during flights, the bird runs the risk of injury and even crashing.

To restore the structure of the feathers, give the canary flammable sulfur. Mix it with soaked grains at the rate of one gram of combustible sulfur per kilogram of grain.

Sudden loss of feathers

At any time of the year, a canary can go bald. Mostly feathers fall out on the head, covering the back of the head. There are several reasons for the occurrence of the disease: the appearance of a deficiency of vitamins and minerals, hormonal imbalance, and the decline of reproductive function. Chicks often suffer from this disease.

Typically, a bird's feathers grow back after molting. But preventative methods won't hurt. Strengthen the main food with vitamins and minerals, sprouted grains, herbs, and branches of fruit trees. Add to drinking water calcium chloride: one milligram of the drug per fifty milliliters of water. Lubricate bald areas with fish oil.

Gamasid mites (red bird mites)

What are ticks capable of?

If ticks climb into the nest, they will fall on the female hatching eggs or warming the chicks. She may run away from the nest in panic, which can affect the development of the embryos. And hatched chicks risk dying without maternal warmth.

Getting rid of pests

To get rid of gamas ticks, place a container with river sand mixed with wood ash. You can smear the outside of the cage with Disinsectal once a day. After three to four days, the pests should disappear.

Mallophagosis

How it all happens

Mallophagosis is a skin disease of canaries caused by down-eater mites. They can get to the bird from an infected individual, through untreated poultry equipment and other items brought from the street. Canaries contained in outdoor enclosures, they run the risk of catching ticks from birds flying past or chickens living nearby.

Suffering from the activity of the down-eaters, the canary becomes noticeably nervous, constantly itches, and moves from paw to paw. Often the bird refuses to eat, which is why it quickly loses weight. Without treatment, the canary may die from exhaustion.

Getting rid of pests

If you have several birds, at the first sign of mites, remove the cage with the sick individual to another room. Periodically check healthy canaries for fluff eaters.

You can rid a bird of ticks using special preparations: “Frontline”, “Arpalit”. Eat alternative way. Try to help the bird with dry reeds, which are used as a perch. Make slits on it in several places and install it in the cage, after removing other perches. When the pests are satisfied, they will hide in the cuts of the reeds.

Remove the perch, cut in half, shake out the downy eaters onto a clean sheet of paper and wrap them. The resulting lump of paper, as well as the fallen feathers, must be burned. Repeat the procedure until the reeds are empty.

Lubricate the canary's bald areas with a solution of two grams of salicylic acid and one hundred grams of twenty-five percent vodka. When caring for a patient, follow sanitary standards - treat your hands with a chloramine solution. Otherwise, you may infect healthy birds. Treat the cage and internal equipment with Disinsectal. Rinse it thoroughly in warm water.

Knemidocoptosis

What are ticks capable of?

In advanced cases, the canary may lose its plumage. If the phalanges of the fingers are damaged, inflammation of the joints will begin. The bird's legs may fail. If you don't pay attention to this, the death of the canary will be on your conscience.

Treatment of the disease

To avoid such complications, carefully monitor the canary's behavior and conduct regular inspections. If you notice scabies mites in time and start treatment, the disease will go away quickly and without consequences.

The bird should be treated with boron Vaseline, applying it to the affected areas. The medicine blocks the tunnel openings, preventing scabies mites from breathing. Smear the canary every three to four days. You can also use dimethyldiphenylene disulfide.

While treatment is ongoing, add liquid vitamin complexes to the bird’s drinking water. Clean the cage and internal equipment daily with boiling water or steam.

Pododermatitis

Development of the disease

Pododermatitis is an inflammation of the footpads of canaries. The causes of the disease can be bruises during flights, impaired blood supply to the paws, constant friction of the paws on poles of the same diameter, a sedentary lifestyle, and a lack of vitamin A. First, calluses appear on the fingers, which crack over time.

The development of the disease is facilitated by unsanitary conditions, humidity above seventy percent, temperature above twenty-five degrees. Due to non-compliance with the rules for keeping canaries, ulcers and fistulas appear on the pads of their paws. Without treatment, they begin to fester. When neglected, the bird dies from blood loss, exhaustion or infection.

Bird's reaction

The fact that the canary has developed pododermatitis is indicated by its depressed state and refusal to eat. The bird carefully steps on its paw or moves from paw to paw, sometimes squeaking in pain. If the pain intensifies, the canary begins to pull the damaged paw towards the body. There may be bloody prints where she sat. The paws sometimes swell.

Treatment and prevention

To help the canary, remove the sand from the cage tray, otherwise grains of sand will get into the wounds. Replace it with clean writing paper. Treat the wounds with Chlorhexidine or iodine. Three times a day, smear the affected areas of the paws with Levomekol. Hyoxyzone ointment will help with swelling of the paws.

If the wounds are too deep, wrap all the perches with twine, lubricating it with Levomekol in advance. “Iruksovetin” will save you from purulent fistulas and ulcers. Soda baths help a lot: one and a half teaspoons of soda per two hundred milliliters of forty-degree water. Soak the canary's paws in them for no more than ten minutes, five to six times a day.

After treating with soda, be sure to smear the wounds with Levomekol. If the bird squeaks in pain, Dioxidin-Novocaine mixture will help.

At the same time as treatment, add foods rich in vitamin A to the canary’s diet:

• fish fat;
• chicken egg yolk;
• cottage cheese;
• vegetables: carrots, beets, pumpkin, tomatoes;
• fruits: apricots, melon;
• seaweed;
• berries: wild garlic, viburnum.

After the canary's paw pad skin has recovered, place perches of different diameters with uneven surfaces in the cage. You can use tree branches that have been previously treated with boiling water. Let your bird walk around the room as often as possible to maintain good physical condition.

Abnormal curvature

Sometimes a canary will experience sudden crookedness of its paws or toes. Unfortunately, scientists have not fully studied this anomaly. But they suggest that it is associated with the canary’s sedentary lifestyle, monotonous or poor-quality diet, injuries or cuts, and inflammation of the joints.

It is extremely difficult to return crooked paws or toes to their normal position. Using splints and adhesive tape, fix the twisted limbs in a natural position for several weeks. However, results may not be expected. In extreme cases, you can contact a surgeon to perform surgery on your canary to straighten its paws or toes. But keep in mind that the bird may not survive the anesthesia.

Diarrhea

First type of diarrhea

Diarrhea is frequent, liquid droppings. In canaries it comes in two types: ordinary and calcareous.

The first type of diarrhea begins due to a cold, poor-quality, expired or sour food. With ordinary diarrhea, the droppings are liquid and brown or green in color.

To help the canary, warm it with a twenty-five-watt incandescent lamp placed two feet from the cage.

Throw away all old and lost food, remove vegetables, herbs, sprouted grains, and fruits from the menu. Give your bird a new mixture of millet, oats, canary seed and flaxseed. Also give low-fat cottage cheese, rice porridge with the addition of crushed white crackers.

During ordinary diarrhea, the canary can only drink boiled water with the addition of potassium permanganate. The solution should turn out to be a light pink color. "Biomycin" is also suitable - crush the tablet and add a few grains to the water. Feed the bird with decoctions of rice, oats, and chamomile.

If the canary's condition does not improve after three to four days, contact your veterinarian for advice.

Second type of diarrhea

The cause of calcareous diarrhea is microbes that can kill the bird even with proper treatment. With such diarrhea, the canary can sit for a long time at the bottom of the cage with a shaggy appearance. Calcareous diarrhea manifests itself in the form of a white mucus-like liquid stretching from the cloaca.

Treat the cage and internal equipment with carbolic acid. Warm the bird by attaching a heating pad to the bottom of the cage on the inside.

The diet of a weakened bird should consist of small grains of millet and canary seed. Give her a decoction of rice or oats, with the addition of charcoal. Be sure to give the canary an antibiotic - dissolve a quarter of a Syntomycin tablet in water and drop it into its beak using a syringe without a needle.

Constipation

Constipation is a difficulty in passing excrement or blockage of the intestines in different areas. Obese canaries often suffer from constipation. Also, causes of constipation can be worms, poor-quality food, high fat content in the poultry menu, inflammation of the intestines, malfunction of the liver or kidneys.

Due to internal discomfort, the canary puffs up, sits motionless, hiding its head under its wing, refuses food, puffs itself up, and squints. She is tormented by endless attempts to empty her intestines.

As a treatment, replace the grain mixture with herbs, fruits, sprouted grains, vegetables, eggs, and rice porridge. Increase the amount of flaxseed and canary seed. Using a syringe without a needle, first drop three drops of vegetable oil into the canary's cloaca. If that doesn't help, try adding three drops of castor oil.

If the result is positive, alternate vegetable and castor oil for the first two to three days, instilling them once a day. Then drop once a day only vegetable oil until the canary gets better.

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Diarrhea. Poor quality food (especially green-vegetable-fruit and soft food) causes birds to have loose, frequent, whitish-yellow or green stools, sometimes of a mucous nature. Diarrhea is caused by colds and cold drinking water.

During treatment, you should completely exclude soft and green-vegetable-fruit foods from the daily diet, leaving only grain (without colza), increase the proportion of oatmeal with a small addition of poppy seeds. It is useful to give rice porridge and fresh cottage cheese. The water must be boiled. It is recommended to add 1/4 of a biomycin tablet to drinking water, alternating water with a weak solution (pale pink) of potassium permanganate. Birds need to be kept warm and warm water for bathing should be changed more often.

Constipation. It is caused by abundant, fatty, low-quality food containing large amounts of hemp, eggs, etc. In some cases, constipation is a diagnostic sign of fatty liver and intestinal inflammation.

With this disease, the canary is unkempt, eats poorly, is inactive, and there are repeated and unsuccessful attempts to defecate. The bird should be treated as follows.

For a day or two you should not give her grain food, transferring the sick bird to a soft, green, vegetable and fruit table. Rice porridge, hemp, canary seed, and eggs should not be excluded from the diet, and the proportion of flaxseed should be increased.

If diet treatment does not give the desired effect, two or three drops of castor oil should be dripped directly into the beak.

Diphtheria. This is an infectious disease. The birds lose their appetite, lethargy, chills, and wheezing appear. Breathing is frequent and difficult. A yellowish-gray discharge comes from the nasal openings, and the mucous membranes of the eyes turn red. The beak is half open. The bird coughs and sneezes. Sometimes there is diarrhea.

When treating diphtheria, the eyes and nostrils of the canary should be washed with a solution of penicillin diluted in distilled or boiled water. Proportion - 1/4 part of a tablet per 10 cm 3 of water. This treatment is not specific, but it alleviates the bird’s condition. For disinfection, the pharynx cavity can be washed with a 3 - 4% Lugol's solution (crystalline iodine with glycerin). An alcohol solution of iodine should not be used. A sick bird must be placed in a separate cage, having previously been disinfected with a 10% creolin solution, and then shown to a veterinarian.

Tuberculosis. Infection respiratory tract, caused by Koch's wand. These microbes are afraid of light, so it is recommended to keep birds in a bright, sunny and dry room. As a rule, the disease becomes chronic.

Signs of the disease: hoarseness, difficulty breathing, poor appetite, sudden weight loss with a distinct protrusion of the sternum. When treating a sick bird, you should be given a nutritious diet with plenty of fat, eggs, fruits, vegetables, cottage cheese and sugar. It is recommended to feed grain and other foods in unlimited quantities.

Hoarseness. This is the result of the inflammatory process of the tracheobronchial muscles. It can be caused by colds, drafts, cold water, diphtheria and tuberculosis.

Specific medicines No. Sick birds should be isolated and kept in a warm room.

Add a few drops of purified glycerin solution to drinking water at a temperature of +20 - 22°. Sometimes inhaling tar and chamomile vapors gives positive results, but such treatment should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor.

Avitaminosis. The cause of vitamin deficiency is monotonous feeding with insufficient amounts of vitamins. The canary becomes boring, suddenly loses weight and becomes weaker. The males stop singing. The mucous membranes of the eyes, beak, and skin turn pale.

A sick bird should be given complete, varied food rich in vitamins, with an increase in the dose of eggs and cottage cheese. Greens, vegetables, fruits - unlimited quantities daily.

In winter and early spring, one or two drops of fish oil and blackcurrant juice should be added to the grain mixture and soft food (especially egg food), alternating with crushed multivitamins A, B, C, D.

Leg diseases. In this case, birds develop calcareous deposits in the form of growths, plate formations, sometimes with purulent discharge, most often on the front of the metatarsus and hind toe.

The growths restrict the bird's movement, which can lead to leg tumors and rheumatic diseases. Causes: itching and scabies mites.

To treat this disease, warm manganese baths with the addition of a few drops of kerosene should be used. Then use a blunt knife to remove the growths, carefully peeling off the scales. After removal, rinse the paws with a warm solution of potassium permanganate. After two to four days, apply hexachlorane ointment (twice), rinsing it off after one or two hours with warm water so that the bird does not peck off the ointment. Leg disease occurs from careless cage keeping of birds.

Obesity occurs from abundant feeding of birds with fatty, soft mealy foods, as well as as a result of low mobility and rare bathing.

In this case, canaries are lethargic, inactive, and have difficulty breathing. The males stop singing. Fat deposits are clearly visible in the chest, abdomen and back areas. In case of obesity, the bird is put on a strict diet, and hemp, flaxseed and canary seed cannot be included in the grain mixture. But in such cases it is best not to use the grain mixture at all, but to feed the bird with one colza for several days, alternating it with white breadcrumbs. Greens should be given daily in unlimited quantities. Eliminate eggs from the diet. The bird must be allowed to fly every day. It is also advisable to transfer her to a more spacious cage, which should have a perch or swinging trapeze (swing). Bathing the bird should be daily. When the bird becomes more alert, you can gradually increase the amount of feed, bringing it to the usual norm.

Most often, the feather eater occurs in females during continuous incubation of eggs or during the period of fallowing and molting. At this time, it is necessary to monitor the cleanliness of the room and cage. To avoid spreading the disease to healthy birds, it is recommended to isolate sick birds and keep them in another room.

In addition to feather eaters, canaries may have mites, which primarily infect the flight feathers.

Disinfect the cage containing the birds and equipment several times with a disinfectant solution.

Birds become weaker and in some cases even die. Bedbugs and fleas are carriers of various infectious diseases. If they are found, they must be disinfected. Disinsection measures to combat fleas and bedbugs can be preventive and exterminatory.

Preventive measures include maintaining the cleanliness of the premises and cages where the birds are located, and cleaning them thoroughly. Wet cleaning of floors (in areas where canaries are located) and washing floors with soapy water and adding three to four tablespoons of kerosene or turpentine to a bucket of water are useful.

Extermination measures include wiping cells with soap-kerosene emulsion, flicid, turpentine, naphthalizol, and kerosene. The room where the canaries were located is treated with a 20% suspension of freshly slaked lime or a 5% aqueous emulsion of creolin concentrate at the rate of 200 ml of solution per 1 m 2. The cracks in the walls are sealed with putty.

Baldness most often occurs with frequent nesting, mating and, in all likelihood, is caused by a weakening of the genital sphere of the body. Baldness is observed more often in females than in males. Baldness can also occur in young animals, when two forelocked birds (a female and a male) are taken for mating. Baldness is observed mainly on the back of the head and on the head. During the molting period, bald areas usually become overgrown.

Shedding. This is a natural biological process in the annual life cycle of canaries. The change of plumage occurs once a year, usually after the nesting period, and lasts for two to three months or more. The shedding of the feather cover occurs gradually: first, large feathers of the wings and tail fall out, and then the back, chest, and lastly the head. In some birds, this process can be painful: the temperature rises and appetite disappears.

It is not difficult to identify signs of shedding. At the same time, the birds become lethargic, their cheerfulness disappears, and the canaries fall into a drowsy state, they become chilly, often ruffle their feathers, are limited in movement, their feathers are ruffled, and the males stop singing. Caring for birds during this period should be especially careful. They should be switched to increased nutrition with high-quality grain, soft and green-vegetable-fruit foods. They require complete rest and drafts should be avoided.

During this period, it is extremely necessary to give the birds canary seed, chicken egg, multivitamins, fresh lettuce, cabbage, sprouted grains of oats, lettuce, as well as various greens, vegetables, fruits rich in vitamins and minerals, such as phosphate of lime, iron oxide, chlorine, sulfur, proteins. Special attention during molting, it is necessary to give colored canaries. Their feathers are brightly colored, and if they do not get enough carotene during the molting period, the plumage loses all its charm.

They should be given dill, parsley in unlimited quantities, red carrots, beets, red fresh non-bitter bell peppers, Forsitz grass, sprouts of various greens, canary seed, peas, rapeseed and others.

Swimming should be limited, the water temperature is above zero - 23 - 24°. For drinking, the cage must always have water at room temperature. If the birds do not have a fever or hoarseness, pieces of rusty iron or nails can be placed in the water. Sometimes it is recommended to add two or three drops of dry wine to the water. It is useful to place bird cages in the sun, making sure that the canaries do not overheat.

Signs of the end of molting: a complete change of feathers and a cheerful appearance. The males begin to sing. After molting, when the males begin to sing again, it is necessary to ensure that there are no singers with defects in singing in the room. Moulted birds, especially young ones, are very susceptible to the singing of their neighbors.

It is impossible to mate molting birds, and it is useless. Males do not fertilize females, females lay “babblers” and abandon nests. Mating is allowed no earlier than four weeks after the end of molting. If females have chicks during the molting period, they may not feed them and abandon them.

If molting occurs frequently and untimely, then this is a sign of some kind of disease. In this case, you should contact a veterinarian.