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Re: Help, help, help
Posted by Pam on 10/14/05

Thank you Michael,
I hated losing her because she was so beautiful. I keep a
cuttle bone in the avairy, but I will start adding greens and
egg shell as well.
Thanks again

On 10/14/05, Michael L wrote:
> On 10/14/05, Pam wrote:
>> We found our favorite female Fench dead this morning. She
>> had literally eaten out her back-end. The feathers were
>> all missing and her internal organs were hanging out. What
>> would cause her to do this ?
>> Thanks
>
> Pam,
> Your finch did not "eat out her back-end." What happened is
> known as a prolapsed cloaca. This is usually the end result
> of a finch or other bird that has been laying an excessive
> number of eggs. It can also be the result of a bird that
has
> had laid many eggs in the past even if it didn't result in a
> problem at the time. It can also occur in a bird that has
> never laid an egg but is trying for the first time and the
> muscle is weak.
> Lack of calcium in the diet is usually the problem since
> calcium not only helps in that actual shell formation, but
> also serves as a major component of muscle contraction which
> is necessary to expel an egg. If the bird has had to strain
> to lay eggs, and you might have not been aware of this at
the
> time, it weakens the cloaca and eventually causes it to
> rupture and expel itself from the bird's body from the
strain
> of pushing.
> As far as the plucked feathers, the bird probably picked at
> her backside because of what happened to the cloaca. While
> the plucking is coincidental, it is not a direct relation to
> what happened.
> If it is caught in time, and the bird is not dead when
> finding it, it can be reinserted by a vet and a small stitch
> put in for it to heal. Usually once this happens, and if
the
> bird survives, breeding or egg laying is not advisable.
> Sorry to hear what happened to your finch. If you have
> others, please make sure that they are being supplemented
> with adequate calcium sources such as cuttlebone, crushed
egg
> shells, or a liquid form in the water.
> Also, there are dark greens such as kale, collards, turnips,
> broccoli, etc. that are rich in natural calcium.
>
> Michael L

Posts on this thread, including this one

• Help, help, help, 10/14/05, by Pam.
• Re: Help, help, help, 10/14/05, by Michael L.
• Re: Help, help, help, 10/14/05, by Pam.