# Need help with a Sparrow



## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

I have a sick little sparrow near my feeder. It seems to be blind it tries to rub his eye or side of his face on the ground to possibly rub something off. It looks like he has eatenbecause his crop looks sort of full and he did a poop. Is there anything I can do for it ? It doesnt fly away when I go right up to it. Can anything be done ?


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Can you try to catch it?


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

Im sure I can. I just didnt know if its the right thing to do.


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

yes please if you can catch her, she probably has conjunctivitis or pox, but you won't be able to tell or help her until you catch her.
when you do catch her, have a box ready with seed and water, put her in and leave her alone for at least an hour before you mess with her to let her settle down


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

I will catch it if I can. My husband is concerned that it may be something my Ferret could catch. Is this possible ?


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

Now it seems that there is a mother that is watching over it. The blind bird made it up to the feeder and the other bird sat next to it and seemed to feed it.


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

i doubt its something your mammal pets could get, but u should always treat them as if they have something you could get with common sense hygiene.
i would still try to catch her to get a good look at her, both of the illnesses i mentioned are very contagious to others of her species and possibly others of similar species.
it would be good to get her out of the population at the very least to protect the healthy birds that visit your yard and feeders


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hey, Gina! Good to see you posting againl Yes, please catch this bird and post back here.

Terry


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

I was unsuccessful at cathing it yesterday. But I believe I saw another one with the same symptoms with the eyes and lethargic. I sm watching out today for them. I took the feeders and soaking them in water with bleach. I am going to post a pic of one of the birds. Thanks Terry, I am very thankful this site exists.


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

*Pics of eyes*

Please tell me I am not wrong about this being a sparrow. He must be able to see a little, he made it onto the feeder ok.


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## sesamestick (Dec 4, 2008)

Gina, that is a female house finch.
The eye infection in house finches since 1994 is MYCOPLASMAL CONJUNCTIVITIScaused by Mycoplasma gallisepticum.
Much study has been done on this disease & you should find a lot on the internet.
Most finches do not die if the disease... they usually starve to death or are killed by accident or predators.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I thought it was a finch. That's sad. Is it treatable if you can catch the bird?


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

yes it is treatable the hard part is the catching


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Thanks Jodi


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

I caught him. I filled the feeder and all the birds went crazy. He got hiself on the feeder. I walked up picked upthe feeder lowered it in a bucket and he never stopped eating. Didnt know he got caught. Now What ?


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

He now knows he is caught. I Sorry, She knows. When she got done eating, she tried to get out of the bucket. She ate alot. Isnt it important for her to drink ? Is there somebody near Riverside that can help. I am not experienced wth birds. The only experience was Punkin the Pigeon last year.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

What is Riverside near?


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## sesamestick (Dec 4, 2008)

You're only 40 miles from Terry..... can you get to her??? Terry would have the experience with this eye problem. Call Terry & see if she would take the little girl in.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

sesamestick said:


> You're only 40 miles from Terry..... can you get to her??? Terry would have the experience with this eye problem. Call Terry & see if she would take the little girl in.


Thanks. I was just going to suggest Terry. But wasn't sure how close she was.


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

This is my problem my car needs a power steering pump. Iwent to Terry's wth Punkin last year. My phone # is 951-660-6630. If anyone can come closer to Corona or Riverside call me. I am going to go down stairs and check on her. She is on the patio. What she is in isntthe most secure.


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

How important is water for her. She isnt making any noise and Im too afraid to take the towel off the top of the container.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Please bring her inside. It isn't safe to leave her out overnight.


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

I brought her in but she is in one of those paint buckets (20 gallon) with no water and a round bird feeder house that is almost as wide as the bucket. with a towel over it. How do I get water in there ?


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

I am in need of advise because this bird can fly unlike the baby pigeon Punkin. How do I go about resituating the bird in a more suitable container ? and get water to it without freaking her out?


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

I called Gina a few minutes ago .. we've got a bit of a plan for getting the bird settled with food and water and will tackle the rest of the logistics tomorrow.

Terry


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

oh good glad you got her! not sure if you have transferred her to another cage yet, make sure you get the cage or container ready, and make sure it's a small enough container to be able to grab her when treating her.
keep the towel over the top and slowly pull out the feeder if it will make it easier for you to get her.
then keeping the towel over the top just put your arm in to grab her


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

Well I think she looks a little better today. She has been in a dark bathroom all day. she pooped a coupel of times and she is sitting onthe edge of her water bowl. I am still looking for a way to get her to Terry's. I was going to try wiping her eyes with a warm rag because she has a seed shell stuck to one of them, but she freaked out when I tried to pick her up.


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

if you have any eye antibiotic you could start treating her, it should give her some relief, ya they freak out always when we need to handle them just try to do it quickly and put her back


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

I dont have any antibiotic. I do have collidol silver. I read on another post that collidol silver helps this.


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

I live by the magnolia bird farm and they sell tetramiacin ointment. Should I get that ?


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

i have never used the collidol silve so i'm not sure how well it works for this disease, i used a triple antibiotic eye ointment so the tetramiacin should help 3xday then 2xday once she starts imporiving.
for severe ones i also give baytril for 10 days.
you should also take down your feeders and clean them in 10% bleach water solution, if you see any more you may want to take down all the feeders for a while.
you can sprinkle food on the ground instead if your worried about the feeder dependent birds


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## gbbalcuns (Mar 13, 2008)

The little bird died last night. Im very sad and sorry that I wasnt able to get her to help in time.


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

aww i'm so sorry, thank you so much for trying to help her


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## leosmith678 (Apr 30, 2010)

I am grate that you have shown pics of your sparrow. It really helped to diagnose its illness. She is not fit. You should at consult a good bird or animal doctor who can prescribe you some antibody to prevent it from infection or illness.


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