A healthy canary makes a lively and cheerful impression. Birds that are thin, or whose feathers on the underside of the tail are not clean, may have ailments. The feathers must fit well, the bird must not be puffed up. It must also not breathe audibly or with an open mouth. When the feathers of the belly are inflated, no dark red or dark purple spots may be visible. If you see a sick canary, take immediate action. Catch the bird in question from the cage and place it in a special sick cage. By separating the bird, you can keep a better eye on it. At the same time, you also prevent it from infecting other birds and you can treat the bird individually for its illness if necessary. Place food and water with the bird in the sick cage and ensure a pleasantly warm temperature. It is also a good idea to mix dextrose into the drinking water if the canary is weakened. The sugar is quickly absorbed and provides an extra energy boost, giving you or the vet more time to find out what the bird has. If you know how to do this, you can administer the diluted glucose using a crop needle, so that the canary will definitely and immediately ingest it. This way you can also easily deworm the canary or administer other medication. Birds that are in poor condition but do not yet show serious symptoms of illness can also be given a vitamin/mineral cure. Giving further medication yourself is reserved for bird keepers with a lot of experience, because you will only make the bird’s condition worse if you make the wrong diagnosis. Unless you have a lot of experience with sick birds, take the bird to a specialized vet.
Egg binding in birds
We speak of egg-binding when the female bird cannot lay her egg. If there is egg-binding, the female leaves the
