Canaries - Diseases
Bird Diseases or Bird Health Care
- Canary Information: General Care & Housing
- Canary Breeding
Canary Species- Guidelines for Buying Your Canary
- Sexing Canaries
- Canary Foods
- Canary Books
When buying new birds - whether it is a canary or any other bird -- these are the signs we should be looking for before we spend our hard-earned money. Remember also that you should quarantine all new birds for as long as possible to avoid infecting the rest of your stock. Quarantine should be an absolute minimum of 30 days.
A healthy Canary should:
- Be jaunty and brisk in movement and move freely around the cage or aviary.
- Be clean, bright & colourful in appearance.
- The eyes should be clear and bright.
- May not be singing but should be chirping and making noise.
A healthy Canary should NOT:
- Be puffed up and sitting motionless.
- Have watery or sore eyes; eyes may also be red and inflamed.
- Should not sneeze or shiver. Have watery discharge from the beak.
- Should not have droppings that are white and watery.
- Be “light” with little or no body weight. Have droppings/faeces around vent.
The following is a list/menu of the most common problems that you may come across. Remember if you keep your birds well fed with a varied diet, and quarantine new birds, you should avoid most of the diseases, which leaves just the minor problems (aforementioned from Fifecanary.org - Peter Ailwooda & James Hart):
Respiratory Signs, Chronic Depression, Weightloss: Aspergillosis (fungal Disease), bacterial infections / pneumonia, nutritional Deficiencies (Hypovitaminosis A), air sac mites, upper respiratory infections (bacteria / mycoplasma), inhaled toxins and lymphoproliferative disease, Canary Pox.
Genetic Diseases - Affecting primarily mutation and/or in-bred canaries
Isolated or Multiple Lumps - often on Wings / Back or Chest: Feather Cysts: Affecting primarily canaries that are heavily feathered, especially those with double-buff soft feathers, but is also seen in older canaries. Genetic.
Respiratory Signs / Tail-bobbing, Conjunctivitis: Mycoplasma infection. Many cases have responded well to Tylosin.
Chronic Eye Problems / Proliferative Conjunctivitis / Keratis / Chronic Corneal Ulcers, Lid Depigmentation, Cataracts, Eyelid Distortion, Scar Tissue with Feather Loss on Head / Lethargy / Weightloss /Death: Pox Virus - in some aviaries mortality involving this virus was 100%. Highly contagious. Primary carriers of this disease: mosquitoes and mites. There is no specific treatment. Antibiotics may be useful to control secondary infections, and vitamin A may aid in the healing process. Scarifying individual pox lesions may result in spontaneous remission. Topical application of astringent solutions such as mercurochrome or alcohol may be useful. Adenine arabinoside ointment a has also been recommended. Mild baby shampoo may be gently applied to any lesions around the eyes to remove scabs. Immune stimulants such as PEPE b and Echinacea may be of possible value.
Feather Loss from Head - Feather mites, male baldness, aggression, malnutrition, Pox virus.
Masses on Wings and Body - Feather cysts. May be genetic or caused by damaged feather follicles.
Masses on Head - can be caused by the Pox virus, caseated sinus abscesses or mycoplasma.
Masses on Legs and Feet - can be caused by the Pox virus, insect bites, swelling from strangulated fibers or Knemidokoptes mites.
Scaly Legs / Swollen Feet - Knemidokoptes mites, genetic, nutritional, or associated with aging.
Abdominal Enlargement - Egg binding.
Vetafarm: Treatment of Megabacteria in Budgerigars - Anthony W. Gestier
Additional Web Resources: Natural Antibiotics / Herbal Anti-inflammatories - Strengthening Your Immunesystem Naturally (human applications - discuss with your holistic vet) ... General Avian Health References ... Article: Why is Lactobacillus so important to your bird's health? ... Feather Cysts
NEED A VET?
USA: Find Your Local Avian Veterinarian
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with the AvianWeb visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the AvianWeb Webmaster.
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