Canary and finch diseases
65 diseases of canaries, Gouldians, zebra and society finches.
Husbandry
- Egg bindingThe female sits on the floor or in the nest fluffed up with closed eyes
- Chronic egg layingMany eggs one after another with no rest
- Egg yolk peritonitisSwollen belly containing fluid
- Cloacal prolapseRed tissue protruding from the vent
- Feather pluckingFeatherless areas (head, back, chest)
- Overgrown claws and beakThe claws curl or catch on the wire
- Heatstroke / heat stressPanting and open beak
- Cold stress in adult birds and chicksFluffed-up appearance and sleeping on the floor
- Teflon fume poisoningSudden death of several birds
- Lead and zinc poisoningRegurgitation and diarrhea
- Poor ventilation, ammonia and dustSneezing and chronic respiratory signs
- Injuries and fracturesDangling leg or drooping wing
- Band constricting the legSwelling of the leg under the band
- Continuous molt / soft moltFeathers fall all year without completing
- Wasting (the bird wastes away)The breastbone is prominent like a knife
- Chick throwing or nest abandonmentChicks on the floor
- Infertile eggs and embryo deathThe egg shows no veins when you check it with light after 5-7 days
- Splayed legs (spraddle legs)The legs go to the sides and the chick cannot stand
- Crop stasis (in hand-feeding)The crop is full and does not empty
- Night frightBirds thrash in the cage at night
- Excessive breeding stressThe female weakens and molts poorly
Parasitic
- Air sac mites (tracheal mites)Clicking or wheezing with breathing (more obvious after movement or handling)
- Face and leg mites (scaly face/leg mange)White or gray crusted scales on the legs and toes (a "fringe" look in canaries and goldfin
- Red mites (poultry red mite)Anemia (pallor) and weakness, and sudden death of chicks in the nest
- Feather lice and feather mitesEaten feathers or small holes in them
- Coccidiosis (bloody/intestinal diarrhea)Diarrhea (may be green or contain blood)
- Atoxoplasmosis (black spot disease / enlarged liver)Young chicks (especially after weaning) fluff up and die
- Trichomoniasis (ulcer/canker)Not eating and difficulty swallowing
- CochlosomosisGouldian chicks (1-4 weeks) dry out and die
- GiardiasisAbundant, bulky droppings (like popcorn)
- RoundwormsWeight loss even though the bird is eating
- TapewormsWeight loss
- Avian malariaFluffed-up appearance and sudden weakness
Bacterial
- Bacterial enteritis (E. coli and relatives)Watery or green diarrhea
- SalmonellosisDiarrhea
- Mycoplasmosis (sinusitis and eye infection)Swollen, closed eye or tearing (often in one eye)
- Chlamydiosis (psittacosis)May be symptom-free (carrier)
- Avian tuberculosisChronic weight loss even though the bird eats
- CampylobacteriosisChicks dying in the nest
- Contaminated water infection (Pseudomonas/Klebsiella)Respiratory or intestinal inflammation
- Bumblefoot and skin infectionSwelling and redness of the foot sole
- Yersiniosis (pseudotuberculosis)Sudden death or difficulty breathing
- Eye inflammation (one closed eye)Swollen, closed eye
Viral
- Canary poxDry form: wart-like nodules on the featherless skin (eyelid, beak, legs)
- Polyomavirus in finchesDeath of chicks in the nest
- Canary circovirus (black spot)Young chicks die with a swollen belly
- Paramyxovirus (PMV-3) in GouldiansOften mild, but sudden death is possible
- Newcastle disease (similar to avian plague)Lethargy and weight loss
- Avian influenzaSudden mass death
- West Nile virusLethargy and not eating
- Herpesvirus (eye inflammation in Gouldians)Eye inflammation and swollen eyelids
Nutritional
- Vitamin A deficiencyNasal discharge and sneezing
- Calcium and vitamin D3 deficiencyThin eggshells or eggs without shells
- Vitamin E and selenium deficiencyPoor fertility
- Iodine deficiency (thyroid enlargement)Wheezing and clicking with breathing because the gland presses on the syrinx
- Obesity and fatty liverYellow fat visible under the abdominal skin
- Riboflavin (B2) deficiency - curled toesChicks' toes curled inward
- GoutSwollen joints and toes with white-yellow nodules
Genetic
- Feather cysts (lumps)A yellow lump under the skin containing cheese-like material, usually on the back or wing
- Lethal double crest geneAbout 25% of the eggs die or hatch weak chicks with defects
- Inbreeding depressionLower fertility and more empty eggs
- Hereditary hearing impairment in the MalinoisImpaired hearing of high frequencies, which may affect song learning