Poor ventilation, ammonia and dust in canaries and finches

Cause: Accumulated droppings, humidity, poor ventilation, and cigarette smoke, incense and air fresheners · Type: Husbandry

Other names: Ammonia smell

Symptoms

• Sneezing and chronic respiratory signs
• Eye inflammation
• Increased disease in general

How it spreads

Not contagious.

Diagnosis

The smell of the room.

Treatment

Cleanliness and ventilation. Merck says cigarette smoke, air fresheners and incense harm birds. (All under veterinary supervision.)

Prevention

Clean the drawers 2-3 times a week, ventilate from the top, and no smoking in the bird room.

Season

Winter (windows closed)

Treatment and doses are decided by an avian vet after an exam; Zajel does not publish doses.

Other diseases

• Egg binding
• Chronic egg laying
• Egg yolk peritonitis
• Cloacal prolapse
• Feather plucking
• Overgrown claws and beak
• Heatstroke / heat stress
• Cold stress in adult birds and chicks

Sources

• merckvetmanual.com
• KB (not web-verified this session): widely repeated aviculture/breeder consensus; treat with stated confidence
• merckvetmanual.com