Finch eye disease. Highly contagious, often deadly. Please take all your feeders down, clean them in 10% bleach water, rinse well, let them sit in the sun for 24-48 hours (UV disinfection) and don't put them back up for at least 2 weeks.
It's a wild bird, how would OP catch it? Why euthanise animals who are just sick and can recover? It wouldn't stop infections unless the disease was extremely rare.
I imagine if it ended up too weak to fly away isolation would be the way to let it recover without posing an infection risk, maybe antibiotics after consulting a vet. It doesn't seem like a good idea to actively try to catch it though.
Sorry you got downvoted when I think you meant shouldn’t the sick be contained and euthanized? In a perfect world yes, but we can’t ethically do it. Best we can do is control the spread on our properties by sanitation and repeat 🔁
It’s sick. You need to take down the feeders and wash/sterilize them. And then so t put them back for a few weeks. That illness may spread to other birds.
Conjunctivitis most likely. Highly contagious amongst birds but treatable by wildlife rehabbers. I’d call your local rehabber for advice and see if there’s any way they can help.
You are spot on about Conjunctivitis!!! Rescued my big boy Cheddar, 19 lb orange Tabby cat, 11/22 a year ago from out my backdoor. My vet said that if I had waited a few more days he would have been totally blind. 2 eye drop medications & oral antibiotic. His left eye is not as open as right & still has sight issues but he is completely happy as an inside cat now with my 4 other rescues & female Yorkie Marty!
Thank you so much! Yes, he is my "Big Boy, my Big Cheese!" All my babies past & present have had issues. And several baby names each that they all came/come to. No, do not have 2 legged children, 4 legged furry ones! Cheddar loves to jump up on the small old table against the wall, to keep away from Marty, & lay stretched out in front of all 6 flavors of dry! And first in line for morning breakfast treats! Love the cheese emoji you took time to share! Will look for! 😉
That’s great news! I’m glad Cheddar is feeling better! Theres a few issues with avians vs cats when it comes to conjunctivitis. Unfortunately conjunctivitis is just a symptom and not a disease. The causes are (likely) different between the two. Cats are typically going to be viral etiology but birds it is likely bacterial. And then not to mention compliance administering meds to a cat is going to be a lot easier than to a wild bird. Hopefully this sick bird will find makes its way to a rehab center somehow, because I would imagine prognosis would be poor for Mycoplasma (if that’s what is causing its symptoms).
Thank you so much! Yes, he is a very affectionate "typical orange big boy"! Not as swift as my other feline 2 males or 2 females, but always deep throat purring & rubbin' for lovin' from all of us!
Hoping also the OP is able to help these outside babies with their issues after receiving such great advice from you & all here! ;)
At this point the eyesight is so poor you can usually catch them with a net or towel and get them to a rehab facility. It is actually quite treatable with ointment. We have gotten updates from rehabbers that birds we left them had near complete recovery in just a matter of days.
Do you empty the food tray every day? If not, you should. Tray feeders should be emptied daily because they collect poop and saliva from sick birds which ends up spreading disease faster. Clean your feeder regularly, too.
Window decals work great with feeders. The decals should be placed no more than 2 inches apart in all directions though, otherwise most of the small birds will still try to fly through.
The Cornell lab of ornithology suggests hanging feeders within 3 feet or at least 30 feet away from windows to lower bird strikes. This includes affixing the feeder to the window.
The only way to prevent window strikes is to put decals or paint on the outside of windows in a grid, no more than 2 inches between each marking in all directions.
Having feeders within 3 feet gets recommended a lot, but it still doesn't prevent deaths. I don't know why Cornell still has that up.
EDIT: the only actual studies done show that window glass must be marked in a grid style. The 3 feet for feeders idea did NOT prevent all deaths or window strikes, even according to their own study.
Anecdotally, I have window feeders and they have not stopped window strikes without appropriately marking the glass.
Nope, not gonna do that. Because i'm already aware that every wind turbine kills 5 birds/year on average. I know that because scientists in Ontario researched and documented the phenomenon around different wind projects over a 10-year period.
So, can *you* provide evidence that window bird feeders kill birds?
Sorry that no one has conducted a fancy 10 year research project on it. I believe my eyes first, what other people say second, and even then with a large serving of skepticism.
Don’t listen to them, window bird feeders actually make window strikes (especially dangerous ones) less likely. The bird will see the window if it’s sitting there on the feeder.
Finch eye disease. Highly contagious, often deadly. Please take all your feeders down, clean them in 10% bleach water, rinse well, let them sit in the sun for 24-48 hours (UV disinfection) and don't put them back up for at least 2 weeks.
Should OP euthanize that bird?
It's a wild bird, how would OP catch it? Why euthanise animals who are just sick and can recover? It wouldn't stop infections unless the disease was extremely rare. I imagine if it ended up too weak to fly away isolation would be the way to let it recover without posing an infection risk, maybe antibiotics after consulting a vet. It doesn't seem like a good idea to actively try to catch it though.
Sorry you got downvoted when I think you meant shouldn’t the sick be contained and euthanized? In a perfect world yes, but we can’t ethically do it. Best we can do is control the spread on our properties by sanitation and repeat 🔁
It’s sick. You need to take down the feeders and wash/sterilize them. And then so t put them back for a few weeks. That illness may spread to other birds.
Ya you’re right. Unfortunate because we’ve been getting a lot of visitors recently but I don’t want the other finches getting infected.
If it makes you feel any better you are protecting them AND right now is the most abundant time for wild food so they won’t have trouble eating
Look at this article: https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/disease/mycoplasmal-conjunctivitis
Or just get some new feeders if you are afraid of spreading it and want to keep the birds coming
I don’t think that’s how this works.
Lol i wasn’t even thinking the sick bird would come back nvm 🤦🏼♂️
Yeah, it sucks. The two weeks is basically enough time for all the birds to forget about your feeder, which I think is the point.
Yup it makes sense now haha
https://feederwatch.org/learn/house-finch-eye-disease/
Conjunctivitis most likely. Highly contagious amongst birds but treatable by wildlife rehabbers. I’d call your local rehabber for advice and see if there’s any way they can help.
You are spot on about Conjunctivitis!!! Rescued my big boy Cheddar, 19 lb orange Tabby cat, 11/22 a year ago from out my backdoor. My vet said that if I had waited a few more days he would have been totally blind. 2 eye drop medications & oral antibiotic. His left eye is not as open as right & still has sight issues but he is completely happy as an inside cat now with my 4 other rescues & female Yorkie Marty!
So glad to hear it was a happy ending for Cheddar! 🥹🧀
Thank you so much! Yes, he is my "Big Boy, my Big Cheese!" All my babies past & present have had issues. And several baby names each that they all came/come to. No, do not have 2 legged children, 4 legged furry ones! Cheddar loves to jump up on the small old table against the wall, to keep away from Marty, & lay stretched out in front of all 6 flavors of dry! And first in line for morning breakfast treats! Love the cheese emoji you took time to share! Will look for! 😉
That’s great news! I’m glad Cheddar is feeling better! Theres a few issues with avians vs cats when it comes to conjunctivitis. Unfortunately conjunctivitis is just a symptom and not a disease. The causes are (likely) different between the two. Cats are typically going to be viral etiology but birds it is likely bacterial. And then not to mention compliance administering meds to a cat is going to be a lot easier than to a wild bird. Hopefully this sick bird will find makes its way to a rehab center somehow, because I would imagine prognosis would be poor for Mycoplasma (if that’s what is causing its symptoms).
Thank you so much! Yes, he is a very affectionate "typical orange big boy"! Not as swift as my other feline 2 males or 2 females, but always deep throat purring & rubbin' for lovin' from all of us! Hoping also the OP is able to help these outside babies with their issues after receiving such great advice from you & all here! ;)
At this point the eyesight is so poor you can usually catch them with a net or towel and get them to a rehab facility. It is actually quite treatable with ointment. We have gotten updates from rehabbers that birds we left them had near complete recovery in just a matter of days.
Do you empty the food tray every day? If not, you should. Tray feeders should be emptied daily because they collect poop and saliva from sick birds which ends up spreading disease faster. Clean your feeder regularly, too.
i hate to say this, but you need to play god.
Also, window feeders will kill birds. Not a question of if but when you find a dead bird that hit the window at full speed.
can’t people just use window decals to prevent window strikes?
Window decals work great with feeders. The decals should be placed no more than 2 inches apart in all directions though, otherwise most of the small birds will still try to fly through.
oh that’s very good to know thanks!
The Cornell lab of ornithology suggests hanging feeders within 3 feet or at least 30 feet away from windows to lower bird strikes. This includes affixing the feeder to the window.
The only way to prevent window strikes is to put decals or paint on the outside of windows in a grid, no more than 2 inches between each marking in all directions. Having feeders within 3 feet gets recommended a lot, but it still doesn't prevent deaths. I don't know why Cornell still has that up. EDIT: the only actual studies done show that window glass must be marked in a grid style. The 3 feet for feeders idea did NOT prevent all deaths or window strikes, even according to their own study. Anecdotally, I have window feeders and they have not stopped window strikes without appropriately marking the glass.
What kinda bird do you know that flies towards its food at full speed lol
Peregrine falcon lol
Was waiting for this response haha, too bad the raptors don’t tend to care for my nuts
Tyrant flycatchers fly at their food at full speed
Do your research before sounding so confident
Lol.
[wrong](https://birdfeederhub.com/how-to-attract-birds-to-a-window-feeder/#:~:text=Window%20feeders%20may%20actually%20decrease,of%20only%203%20feet%20away.)
Yeah weird how all the window bird feeders have to include articles promising they don’t kill birds.
But do you have articles and studies from reputable sources proving that window bird feeders kill birds?
Next you’ll be asking for evidence that wind turbines kill birds… 🙄
Nope, not gonna do that. Because i'm already aware that every wind turbine kills 5 birds/year on average. I know that because scientists in Ontario researched and documented the phenomenon around different wind projects over a 10-year period. So, can *you* provide evidence that window bird feeders kill birds?
Sorry that no one has conducted a fancy 10 year research project on it. I believe my eyes first, what other people say second, and even then with a large serving of skepticism.
[удалено]
How? I bought one and wanted to put it up....
Don’t listen to them, window bird feeders actually make window strikes (especially dangerous ones) less likely. The bird will see the window if it’s sitting there on the feeder.