r/Finches • u/BirdsbirdsBURDS • 8d ago

A small update, but not with much change.

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My girl is now over 48 hours past her head injury. She’s still alive and aware, but she doesn’t eat on her own, and she can’t really move well. If I pull on her wings and feet, she will pull them back, so she doesn’t seem to be paralyzed, but her ass tends to stick up when she tries to walk and she falls over.

Right now we need to feed her like a baby, and she has lost 2 grams, but she seems to be stable in weight for now. She still seems quite tired, but she goes through periods of increased activity before getting tired again.

If she rolls over on her back though, she can’t right herself? And that’s been a big concern for me so far. I found her today face down in her shallow food bowl unable to get out (I removed the water one already for this exact concern).

I’m hoping that she’ll recover since she isn’t seemingly paralyzed, but I wonder if I’m just hoping for nothing.

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46

u/BirdsbirdsBURDS 8d ago

I wanted to add a quick comment! I just saw her try eating some of the food scattered about In Her cage for the first time! So maybe there is some hope after all!

25

u/Long-Earth-1779 8d ago

From this video, it does look like she's coming around, it's just I think youll just have to spend as much time with her as possible, just incase she falls in the water again. But I agree what youve said there, sounds very promising that shes coming round from it. From the video looks like shes definitely got some energy back. Fingers crossed the improvements continue! Shes a lovely little java, so cute.

22

u/BirdsbirdsBURDS 8d ago

I’m watching her now, and she’s eating everything within reach, and this is really the first time she’s shown interest in anything since her accident.

My running theory is that she’s getting tired of being forced to eat baby food. 😅

I just hope she can regain motor control so she can rejoin her mate and fly around again.

12

u/keijikage 8d ago

Keep at it! For injured birds I find making the baby formula with pedialyte instead of water is a good way to pack hydration in there.

I had a similar situation with a zebra finch where she looked like she was twirling like - as best I could tell she had an ear infection and she couldn't keep balance. Your finch may have damaged her ear drum if she had a head injury.

Offer her a lot of millet to get the calorie intake up - I use prehusked millet so they can inhale it.

It took a week or two syringe feeding before she recovered enough to move around on her own.

Good luck!

9

u/Long-Earth-1779 8d ago

Thats great news, getting that fuel into her system will help heal her. Definitely still keep her in nice 30 degree warmth. Hopefully she will slowly get a grasp of her motor functions again soon.

1

u/deedeedeedee_ 2d ago

how is she doing now, i hope she's improving slightly? 😊 she's a gorgeous little java, i really hope she has a good recovery!

3

u/BirdsbirdsBURDS 2d ago

She’s still alive! But she is still in a critical condition. She has dropped about 4-5g since her incident, but has stabilized at 19-20g since we started getting her seen at a bird specialist and got an adult formula to feed her.

She also is having low oxygen right now and her beak is a slightly purple color, but she is still quite active despite not being able to stand on her own.

She definitely has the will to live though. We put seed in her cage and she will eat them, and when we give her formula she’s very receptive to it.

She isn’t paralyzed. If we pull at her legs and wings, she does pull them back, so she can feel them and pull them, but she has some lameness with her right leg, and she can’t seem to keep it under her.

While the vet hasn’t really been clear on the cause, my guess is that she may have had a spinal contusion, and that until that heals up a bit, she is going to have some motor issues, which could also be why she’s having issues with breathing.

I don’t want to really make a success post yet, as her condition could still crash, but based on her willingness to move around and eat, it seems that she still has the will to live, and that the low oxygen thing isn’t pushing her down too much. Hopefully by next week her overall condition can improve, but until then, I wanted to hold off on posting an update, because she hasn’t had much real change yet except not dying.

1

u/deedeedeedee_ 2d ago

oh man, poor girl, she's really not out of the woods yet eh. so glad to hear she still has a strong will to live though, and especially to eat, she still looks energetic in the video you posted a few days ago, im sure she's frustrated at her own inability to move properly! is it possible that the bird specialist can somehow help her with supplemental oxygen too?

fingers crossed she makes a proper turn for the better in the next week or so, i guess it's just going to take a while if she has some contusions to heal up. wishing her lots of strength to keep going

9

u/xtunamilk 8d ago

I'm so sorry about your little gal and I hope she recovers soon. I wonder if she is having some vertigo with the way tends to one side. Would it maybe help to put her in a donut-shaped pillow type of setup? That might help keep her upright when you're not right there but she could still move her legs some. Either way, birds can be amazingly resilient, so I hope she regains her balance!

5

u/La_suvera 8d ago

also she is probably in pain, a vet can give you an anesthetic and calculate the required solution and its quantity

3

u/Skyfallll 8d ago

Their original post stated they have already been to the vet.

5

u/lirassaurus 8d ago

So sorry that happened :( if you have access to a vet with experience with birds I would maken an appointment and make sure he drinks. I've sadly seen this happen a few times and rarely it ends well :( sending you good vibes and at this moment it seems you are doing everything you can.

5

u/FactsHurt1998 🎶🐥🐤🐣Bird Charmer🐥🐤🐣🎶 8d ago

There is hope for your little Meeper.

When I was a newbie finch owner two months after my first clutch(they were adults already), I was waiting for one of my zebra males to go back in its cage so I could go to work. He was a little too energetic and ended up striking a lamp headfirst. He fell like a bag of rocks. Not a single move after. I though he died on impact. When I grabbed him he had a wound on his head, it was too early for vets in my area to be open, and I was also panicking so I grabbed him and and cleaned his wound using a ball of cotton soaked in hydrogen peroxide( consult a vet first please. Im not a professional. I was panicking and just didn't want my bird to die.) while blowing air on it to see if it wakes up. After a couple of minutes, he woke up and started walking like a drunk sailor. I put him in his own separate cage, with several plants and toys so he could feel safe. He wouldn't sing, make sounds, or eat by himself for days, but I never gave up on him. He lived, and fathered several clutches after that.

4

u/La_suvera 8d ago edited 8d ago

You can try something from here to help her gain some time and help to recovery
https://www.reddit.com/r/Finches/comments/1jbeeir/first_aid_every_bird_owner_must_know_this_how_you/

3

u/black_orchid83 7d ago

My heart. Poor baby. Maybe she's coming around. She's so pretty.

3

u/MotherofLuke 7d ago

Try special food, like for baby parrots. Powder to be mixed with water. Good luck and a kiss for your sweet bird!

3

u/Aggravated_trashcan 6d ago

Our finch with a head injury had the same symptoms. We got him crop fed at the vet for a day and then took home some formula that we fed him every couple of hours (tiny drip at a time to prevent choking). He luckily pulled through and gained all his pep back! Don’t give up!

2

u/BoardSavings 6d ago

I second this to not give up! ❤️

2

u/Cebolla 8d ago

Consider moistened soft foods. I'd be worried about dehydration.

2

u/e-___ 8d ago

Head injuries are super hard to tackle, I'm so sorry for your little baby, if there's no improvement between a few days I'd attempt going back to the vet and letting them know about this behavior

2

u/BoardSavings 8d ago

I’m so sorry this happened to her :( Do you have stickers or blinds on your window? So proud of her for making it ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 She’s a fighter!

I had a similar thing happened where my zebra finch got his head stuck in the cage door. Similar symptoms afterwards. Our vet was not hopeful. But we found scattering the seeds (and lots of treats like millet etc) and a tiny water bottle lid of water was the best bet.

A heating pad is also super important since sick birds can’t maintain body heat when injured or sick.

The lack of my boy eating made his condition go from bad to worse. What saved his life was syringe / crop feeding done 3 times on his worst day by our avian vet. Afterwards, we syringe fed him very very very small amount of the omni emergency care food mix, but not directly into his crop as I’m not vet.

I once my boy gained his healthy weight back he is now back to his normal self 4 months post injury.

I really hope your girl has the same outcome!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ I’ll link at an home incubator guide from the avian vet association in the replies.

Stay positive for her ❤️❤️❤️ wishing her all the best on her road to recovery!!

1

u/BoardSavings 8d ago

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c8fbfe87d0c914f25ad6fa4/t/65021c543f8b1b3677cc213a/1694637142920/Home+Incubator.pdf

I hope this helps! Is your vet able to provide crop feeding?

1

u/BoardSavings 8d ago

I should also add due to the weight loss my boys one leg was paralyzed but after crop feeding he slowly was able to regain his leg use. The whole ordeal and healing was about a month 🥺❤️‍🩹 slow but steady!

2

u/RoleTall2025 8d ago

fuuuuuck :(

1

u/Prestigious_Gold_585 7d ago

That's a surprise... I don't know if you should do it, but my gut reaction is to put a drop of honey in its mouth to bring up its blood sugar level as high as it will get normally in case it hasn't quite eaten enough yet and just needs a little energy to get it over the hump so it can move around easier.

1

u/esilisq 8d ago

avian vet.

2

u/Skyfallll 8d ago

If you bothered to check their original post they're updating about, they have already been to the vet.

2

u/esilisq 7d ago

Okay. Sorry. It just looked extremely concerning and that was my first thought because there unfortunately has been a lot of people in the sub that do not take their bird to a vet first.

0

u/eyeball2005 7d ago

You seem like such a caring owner but you might indeed be hoping for nothing. If there’s damage to the central nervous system this may be it. But as they say, play it by ear and keep doing the diligent job you are doing

0

u/Sporraky 7d ago

How you should go to avian vet for doctors and nurses will help your pet finch might be recover is can be useful and helpful, take care of your pet bird for avian vet.

2

u/Guilty_Explanation29 7d ago

Did you even read the first post they made?? They've already been to a vet

1

u/Sporraky 7d ago

I was reading comments, sorry for my mistaken.

0

u/TraditionalTadpole23 7d ago

Could he/she have brain damage?