What does it mean if my Finch is puffed up?

This means the bird is cold and is likely ill unless your house is below 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit or has just recently been over air conditioned.

Birds do not shiver if they’re cold, they instead fluff up their feathers to keep body heat trapped in air layers between the feathers. Think down comforter or jackets for yourself and what great insulators fluffed feathers are even for us mammals.  Continue reading →

Why do my birds keep getting sick with the common cold or other minor infections?

First of all, birds do not have what humans call a “cold”. For birds, it can be a Chlamydial organism, a Mycoplasma organism, or bacterial infection (many types of bacteria can cause respiratory disease).

Wild finches get Chlamydia psittaci which clogs up their sinuses and upper respiratory tract, making it difficult if not impossible to eat. There has also been Mycoplasma infections which do much the same thing.

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