Avian Influenza

pansyface

Does anybody know what to look for in garden birds if you think that they might have bird flu?

We have 6 robins in our garden, all very friendly. This morning, one was sitting on the top step by the front door waiting for his breakfast. But when I opened the door he just sat there. It was as if he hadn’t seen or heard me. When I threw a handful of bird food down he hopped over to eat it but not in that jaunty robin sort of a way.

His feathers are smart, he wasn’t drooling or coughing.

This afternoon, he’s still by the front door, hasn’t moved from there all day. He’s now sitting on the ground under a lavender bush. He’s hunched with his wings drooping a bit and he’s “puffing”. Still eats a bit of bird food if I throw it to his feet.

Dovefromabove

The RSPB website says this:

What should I do if I find a bird which might have bird flu?

Symptoms of infected birds include swollen heads, a lack of coordination and gasping for air. 

Anyone who finds a wild bird that appears to be sick or dead should under no circumstances touch it. Instead, they should call the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on 03459 33 55 77 to report the bird.

If a captive bird is suspected to have bird flu it must be reported to Defra, as failure to do so is an offence.

Any captive birds which die must be disposed of safely, with advice on how to do so available here. 

For more information, please visit the government's website here.

pansyface

Oh thanks, dove.

Well maybe he doesn’t have flu then.

He looks perfectly normal apart from not shifting from the same spot all day.

No lack of coordination. No swollen head. He just looks like he could do with a hot water bottle and a few hours in bed. 😕

tui34

@pansyface  Awwww  Poor wee thing.  Hopefully he is just a bit tired.  

A couple of weeks ago, when out walking with my dog - a Border Collie - who likes to gallop ahead, I saw the dog lying down looking at something.  It was a shining turquoise Colibri or Hummingbird stark against the clay path swivelling its head almost 360°.  It didn't seem to want to move, so I picked it up.  I had gloves on.  It was quite happy to be carried with its head sticking out of my hands, but I though what on earth can I do with it once home?   I noticed it had no tail feathers so planned to make a straw nest outside yet away from predators.  Just as I got to the gate - it flew off!!  Never seen it or any of these beautifully coloured birds since.  

I hope your wee birdie is just tired.

pansyface

Ooh what a wonderful thing to find. Do you have humming birds in France? I never knew. I hope yours survived.  

I know the robins here are beginning to joust for partners. Maybe this one lost a fight and is feeling down.

tui34

Maybe it had escaped from someone's menagerie as I have never seen one here before! Anyway, it's free "as a bird" now!!

Buttercupdays

Bird flu is most prevalent in ducks and and geese and other waterfowl, small garden birds are apparently rarely affected. We have a lot of mallard who are technically wild but spend their winters with us on our pond. So far have seen no sign of infection amongst them

pansyface

He’s still there. Still pecking at bits and pieces on the ground.

Other birds come around and mooch for scraps and he just hops out of the way and comes back after they’ve gone.

Yes, maybe he’s at the end of his road. As you say, Slippery Elm, what more could anyone ask for than a tummy full of suet and sunflower seeds? 😕

floralies

We have had this with birds in the winter ie the odd Goldfinch and Chaffinch, they seem to come to where there is food on the ground when they are not well and fluffed up, maybe at the end of their life.

pansyface

Yes, we have two diseases here that are endemic.

I can’t remember their names but they both affect finches, especially chaffinches.

One disease rots their feet until they just have stumps.

The other affects their airways and they can’t swallow food and seem to froth at the mouth.  

All our chaffinches suffer from one or other of these diseases all the time.

But robins have never so far been affected by anything.

pansyface

Little robin survived the night, sitting on the ground under the lavender bush.

This morning, he looks a tiny bit chirpier. Eating and hopping about. Haven’t seen him fly or flutter though.

Luckily our cat doesn’t have a clue about hunting. She went out to her litter tray yesterday evening and just looked at him for a moment and then moved on to “the matter in hand”.