Night fright in canaries and finches

Cause: A sound or movement (cat, mouse, car) in the dark · Type: Husbandry

Other names: The bird is startled at night

Symptoms

• Birds thrash in the cage at night
• Feather bleeding or fractures, and sometimes eggs or chicks are broken

How it spreads

Not contagious.

Diagnosis

History.

Treatment

First aid for injuries and stopping bleeding. (All under veterinary supervision.)

Prevention

A dim night lamp, and wire against cats and mice.

Season

Year-round

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

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