# Very sick adult sparrow



## Pawbla

Hi again folks! I need your help.
About an hour ago I came back from school. I opened the door and I saw just one male house sparrow, but he didn't look bad. On of "my" dogs (not mine but he's at home while he recovers from a severe case of scabies, hehe) came running towards me and I saw this little sparrow try to fly (he was between me and the dog). He landed with one wing still open on a small tree. I picked it up without problems.
I gave it to my sister for one minute while I changed the eared dove to another cage (the cage where she is now can't be used for small birds because they can escape) and she said "hey... isn't it dead?" and for a minute we thought it was. So you can imagine the condition the poor bird is in. He didn't even grasp my fingers while he was on my hand...
He is thin, his belly is full of dirt and poop, and he smells like a dead camel. He's adult though. And I don't know how to open a sparrow beak to rehydrate him :/. But I'll leave some water for him in a plastic feeder.
He's also really weak and sometimes falls over his sides. And he's terrified.
I gave him some pellets some minutes ago (I only have pigeon mix and I fear it's going to be too big for him) and while he's really weak I've just seen him fly/run/crash on the pile and start eating desperately. He took a while to notice them, though, but he ate a good amount of them.
Is it just hunger? I don't think so, why would a sparrow who had food available daily would starve to death? My neighbor feeds sparrows daily! Right in front of my home.

Picture 1
Picture 2 (sorry, cage was in the middle).
Picture 3


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## spirit wings

could be anything wrong with him, if he is eating that is a good sign, I would get him some wild bird food and give that untill he seems strong and then let him go. someone will want you to medicate him, but not sure how one would know which med to use.. or if you do have a rehab person or place near, you could call them to see if they have meds for such small birds on hand.


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## Charis

If he's smelly...it could be salmonella or canker. Have you looked in his mouth? I know not such an easy thing to do with a sparrow.


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## Pawbla

I am actually really afraid to handle him because every time I pick him up he's so afraid that he looks dead... and I've seen more than one bird dying when they are picked up (not sure why, but they seem to die from being scared. Sounds silly though, so maybe something like heart attack). So he ends up lying on the floor of the cage after trying to grab him.
I've just tried again but I can't, his beak is very strong. I tried to put my nail between the two parts of the beak but no luck.

Do you think it would be good to clean his belly? I'm not sure if it's not obstructing his cloaca.

Is the smell from those two different? Could you describe the smells?

Ps. Nope, I am the closer thing to a rescue in this city xD.


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## spirit wings

they go into shock when they think they are in danger by being handled so the less the better IMO, give him a wash though and put him on some heat with the wild bird feed and water cover the cage and see if he gets stronger and then you can release him.


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## Feefo

Pawbla, you could try asking *Dr Plumas* 

Cynthia


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## Charis

Pawbla said:


> I am actually really afraid to handle him because every time I pick him up he's so afraid that he looks dead... and I've seen more than one bird dying when they are picked up (not sure why, but they seem to die from being scared. Sounds silly though, so maybe something like heart attack). So he ends up lying on the floor of the cage after trying to grab him.
> I've just tried again but I can't, his beak is very strong. I tried to put my nail between the two parts of the beak but no luck.
> 
> Do you think it would be good to clean his belly? I'm not sure if it's not obstructing his cloaca.
> 
> Is the smell from those two different? Could you describe the smells?
> 
> Ps. Nope, I am the closer thing to a rescue in this city xD.



Both smell very bad. I would 
clean him up so you can make syre he isn't blocked. Do call the vet Cynthia suggested. I think it's very likely this poor bird need antibiotics.
I had a House Sparrow companion, Sparkle, for 8 years and think they are such charming little birds.


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## Pawbla

I can't actually call him since I think he's in another country, but I'm going to contact him via facebook.
I cleaned him a bit but I can't even distinguish where bones start and where the poop starts. But it's definitely not blocked now. He had fresh poop coming out.
I left him in the bathroom so he can be alone. The least thing he needs right now is stress.

Is enrofloxacin the med for salmonella? I'm just checking what I have just in case. I really don't want to need to go to a pet shop on sunday because they will be closed.


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## Pawbla

Yep, he's in Peru.

I'm under the impression that he won't go past this night unless I do something. But how can I medicate a bird if I can't open its beak?


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## Charis

You have to pry the beak open with you finger nails. Not easy and you must be gentle. If he isnt eating, you can warm some applesauce and put it at the side of his beak in small amounts.


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## Pawbla

I managed to open it! He ate fine.
It's definitely canker from I could see. I could see a small yellow thing before he snapped his beak (and half ate my finger).

He also has some external parasites.

Metronidazole? How much?


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## Pawbla

I think he's dying.


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## Charis

How big are your pills? Do you want to try or do you think it's best at this point to let him go? You're there...you can see him.


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## Charis

I am going to be unavailable to help you for seveal hours. I suspect the sparrow weighs about 25 gms. Perhaps someone else can help you with the dosage if you decide to treat him...if it isn't too late.


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## Pawbla

I suspect it may be too late, but I'm going to try. I can't sit doing nothing . I would feel guilty.

I have 500mg pills. According to my calculations I have to give him between 1 and 1,5 mg. I'm not sure if I gave him more, less, or what :c. It's imposible to treat birds this small!

Metronidazole should be water soluble :c.


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## TAWhatley

I think that is Pox, Pawbla, and not canker. If it is pox, then the meds aren't going to do anything unless there is something else going on. That bird is old/big enough that I KNOW it is a challenge to try and help it. Provide seed and water for it, keep it safe, and hope for the best. I don't mean for this advice to sound flip or glib, but there's not really much more you could do. Let's all look at the pics again .. those appear to be pox lesions to me.

JMO

Terry


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## Feefo

Hi Pawbla,

Yes, Dr Plumas is in Lima, he is the one that treats rescue birds (including pigeons) for Tatiana of *Albergue de Aves "Divino Nino Jesus"*  so he is knowledgeable about the illnesses that affect wild birds in SA as well as exotics. And he has given advice on Facebook. But it always a question of him being available and logging

From what I have read on the internet sparrows aren't much affected by canker, but pigeon pox is common. *Clara Correa* might also be able to adise on what it is most likely to be.

(Added: I see you have already asked Clara  )

Cynthia


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## Pawbla

What he has in his face in the pics wasn't pox, I think it was bread from the man that feeds sparrows in from of my home (that's a guess though). I easily removed them when I touched his beak.

I'm not sure if he's eating or not. Sometimes I think he is, sometimes I think he isn't. I'm not sure if he's better, worse, or exactly the same... I'm just trying to keep him hydrated and hope for the best. I provide him food but he won't eat it when I handfeed (I think he's too scared for that). However I think he's less smelly (or maybe I got used to the smell).

Dr. Plumas told me to go to the vet. As I said in countless occasions, sadly there are no vets for birds here :c.

Yeah, Clara was unsure 

What should I do, then? Should I stop all treatment? Keep with the metronidazole? Change over to treat salmonella, which is far more common? Maybe give a broad spectrum antibiotic just in case? Or what?

I checked his throat again but I didn't see what I saw the first time. Maybe I got it wrong?


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## Charis

Metronidazole is an antibiotic. If you did see canker and you have been treating the bird, I'm not surprised that the spot you saw is gone.
Is he pooping? How many per day?


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## Feefo

You can give Baytril and Metronidazole at the same time. Here they are often prescribed together for canker. The Baytril dose for passerines is 15mg per kg bodyweight orally twice a day, or in water 100-150 mg per litre. The dose for metronidazole (for passerines)is 50 mg per kg twice a day or 200mg/l drinking water for 7 days.

Did you contact the vet that Plumas recommended? He thought she might know of someone in your town with experience of birds. Lower down his page he refers to her as the best avian vet he knows.


Cynthia


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## Pawbla

Sadly the bird died .

I contacted this dr. but she hasn't answered yet. I'd like to know anyways for the next time.

He was not pooping a lot. The poop started to be kinda yellowish yesterday. I mean, not yellow, but more mustard looking than brown.

Well, I'm going to get Ronidazole as soon as I can because I found out they sell it in the capital. Sooo yeah, as soon as I can, I will buy it.

Metronidazole is an antibiotic, but how broad is it spectrum? Enro is probably better for that.

I wish I would have known before so if it was not canker maybe I could have treated him for another thing. If it was salmonella/canker suspected maybe it would have been better to treat for both, right? But I know for the next time.

Poor thing, so much agony for nothing.


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## Feefo

I am sorry it didn't make it, Pawbla. Little birds are so much more difficult to pull through than pigeons, they are much more fragile. 



> I wish I would have known before so if it was not canker maybe I could have treated him for another thing. If it was salmonella/canker suspected maybe it would have been better to treat for both, right? But I know for the next time.


It is so difficult to tell what is wrong with them quickly enough to save them, even having an examination by a vet, growing cultures etc does not always produce an answer and even if it does it doesn't come in time. We often have to rely on what we can see, guesswork and the balance of probabilities. Even post mortems often don't reveal the cause of death even though whoever carries them out can see so much more than can be seen in non-invasive tests.



> Metronidazole is an antibiotic, but how broad is it spectrum?


*Metronidazole* has a limited spectrum but is very effective against canker and hexamita....my vet also prescribes it for gut bacterial infections in the dogs .



> I contacted this dr. but she hasn't answered yet. I'd like to know anyways for the next time.


That is a good idea. Gradually we can build up networks that will help the birds.

You gave the little sparrow the best care possible, unfortunately often we only find birds when they are so ill that the chances of recovery are slim. We don't know whether what he had was treatable. But the important thing is that we don't give up on them.

Cynthia


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## Pawbla

Feefo said:


> I am sorry it didn't make it, Pawbla. Little birds are so much more difficult to pull through than pigeons, they are much more fragile.


Yeah, and the dosing is more difficult, and since they are wilder they get more stressed . Poor birdies.



Feefo said:


> *Metronidazole* has a limited spectrum but is very effective against canker and hexamita....my vet also prescribes it for gut bacterial infections in the dogs.


Reading the "cons"... makes me so NOT willing to use it . I found out that if I go to Buenos Aires I may be able to get ronidazole, and in INDIVIDUAL PILLS . Awesome for rescues, because you treat one at a time, not flocks.



Feefo said:


> That is a good idea. Gradually we can build up networks that will help the birds.


Yeah, I was talking about this with Clara, and we decided to make another forum (besides PT which will always be my number one reference, you all know so much!) for bird rescuing in Argentina. There we can help each other on where to get stuff you normally wouldn't be able to find, what alternatives can be used (we don't have Kaytee for example), and we wanted to make a list of bird-friendly vets in the country.



Feefo said:


> You gave the little sparrow the best care possible, unfortunately often we only find birds when they are so ill that the chances of recovery are slim. We don't know whether what he had was treatable. But the important thing is that we don't give up on them.
> 
> Cynthia


Thanks for the kind words. I feel bad for him but I didn't exactly have my hopes up when I caught him. He looked pretty bad... but I'd rather try than leave him to be eaten by a cat or a hawk. And thus saving a cat or hawk, maybe? You never know how your actions will influence other beings.


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## altgirl35

i'm sorry i missed this pawbla, i'm overloaded with baby birds and i'm sorry to hear the bird didn't make it, thank you for trying to save him


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## Feefo

> Yeah, I was talking about this with Clara, and we decided to make another forum (besides PT which will always be my number one reference, you all know so much!) for bird rescuing in Argentina. There we can help each other on where to get stuff you normally wouldn't be able to find, what alternatives can be used (we don't have Kaytee for example), and we wanted to make a list of bird-friendly vets in the country.


That is an excellent idea! 

Cynthia


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## Pawbla

Thanks!

Altgirl, it's spring there, right? Busy times :S. I'm sure you must be totally overloaded.


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## altgirl35

i am, i have pretty much lost count, lets see.
i have
4 baby robins
2 baby blue jays
4 baby crows
2 baby piji's
1 baby sparrow
1 baby injured nuthatch
2 baby grackles
1 baby cowbird
1 baby housefinch
1 injured adult barn swallow.
1 injured adult yellow billed cuckoo
so far i have released
3 starlings
8 sparrows
5 gray squirrels
and i have 3 red squirrels out in pre release.
so i don't get on the puter much, lol
okay i'm off to feed again and again and again and again


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## Pawbla

Wow. Just, wow. You're truly amazing . I'm guessing you must work from home?


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## altgirl35

girl! i havn't been able to work in 3-4 weeks! i do work from home, hopefully i can do some work tmrw, the most frequesnt feeder is the bluejays and i just got them up to every hour. so i'm finally getting some decent breaks in between feedings, plus i stopped taking anymore for now


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## Pawbla

Well, yes, it's almost dangerous to your health :S.


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