Obesity in Birds

[Pluvius]

I am not sure whether this is specific with Greenfinches but recently there seem to be more and more obese Greenfinchs. Sometimes they are so sluggish in my window feeder that I can catch them.

Is there such a thing?

[lulie]

Hello,
I have never heard of obese greenfinches, can you post a picture at all of them. If you can honestly catch them then it sounds disturbing. May be they are ill and this leads to them bloating and thats why they are easy to catch. I really don't know what to think, even wild birds that become tame enough to eat out of your hand probably wouldn't let you actually catch them. Can really only think they are ill.

[Mary]

I'm wondering if they could in fact be sick? They may be suffering from something like Salmonella, where symptoms include lethargy and fluffed-up feathers which would make them look fat. Have you, or anyone nearby, found any dead birds? There is a good thread on bird disease http://birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=67323.

[kevside]

http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/helpingbirds/health/sickbirds/greenfinches.asp

does this match the description

[nialltkeogh]

Sounds like your Greenfinches are suffering from Trichomoniasis...

Its a parasite living in the upper regions of the Greenfinches digestive tract. Symptoms include lethargy, loss of appetite, fluffed up appearence (hence the obesity question?), and often fluid seeping from eyes/bill.

I have seen a few Greenfinches in my garden with it.

Take down your feeders, clean them and don't put them up for about a week (ie. so the infected Greenfinch vacates your garden/ or has time to die!)
Also empty your bird bath...dessication kills the parasites.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/helpingbirds/health/sickbirds/greenfinches.asp

See Ya,
Niall

[KnockerNorton]

Sounds like your Greenfinches are suffering from Trichomoniasis...

Its a parasite living in the upper regions of the Greenfinches digestive tract. Symptoms include lethargy, loss of appetite, fluffed up appearence (hence the obesity question?), and often fluid seeping from eyes/bill.

I have seen a few Greenfinches in my garden with it.

Take down your feeders, clean them and don't put them up for about a week (ie. so the infected Greenfinch vacates your garden/ or has time to die!)
Also empty your bird bath...dessication kills the parasites.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/helpingbirds/health/sickbirds/greenfinches.asp

See Ya,
Niall

I agree. Far from being obese, they are starving to death. when you catch them, feel the 'keel' along the breastbone and how sharp a ridge it is. This should be plump and full of muscle on either side with no sticking-out ridge, like your sunday chicken.

It's impossible to tell how much fat a bird is carryuing just by looking at it, as they're covered in feathers. It's like to count the freckles on a person's head underneath the hair, from 10 paces.

[Pluvius]

There are two of them and they hog the sunflower feeder. It is as though they dont know when to stop. I have not found any dead apart from occasional flying into picture window. I have upto 20 goldfinch, coal,great, blue tits, chaffinches, Robins, dunnocks, house sparrows, loads of greenfinch most who look the right size. a Pair of siskins that have visited daily for last two months. the daily fly thhrough of a Sparrowhawk and have even seen a willow warbler in the last few days actually landing at the feeder but not obviously eating any thing.

[Clive A]

Your birds are indeed suffering from Trichomoniasis,they will allow a very close approach and are almost certainly going to die. Clean your feeding area as described and leave off the feeding for a week or two, pay particular attention to your water. This was a huge problem in my area last year, but thankfully seems to be much less so this year.

[DaveN]

There are two of them and they hog the sunflower feeder. It is as though they dont know when to stop. I have not found any dead apart from occasional flying into picture window. I have upto 20 goldfinch, coal,great, blue tits, chaffinches, Robins, dunnocks, house sparrows, loads of greenfinch most who look the right size. a Pair of siskins that have visited daily for last two months. the daily fly thhrough of a Sparrowhawk and have even seen a willow warbler in the last few days actually landing at the feeder but not obviously eating any thing.

It's best to take the advice offered by others on this thread so far. Some of the birds you mention are susceptible to it aswell and if you carry on feeding you will surely see more birds suffering as a result. We lost quite a lot of Chaffinches and Greenfinches and it's not a pleasant sight.

[young ian]

There are two of them and they hog the sunflower feeder. It is as though they dont know when to stop. I have not found any dead apart from occasional flying into picture window. I have upto 20 goldfinch, coal,great, blue tits, chaffinches, Robins, dunnocks, house sparrows, loads of greenfinch most who look the right size. a Pair of siskins that have visited daily for last two months. the daily fly thhrough of a Sparrowhawk and have even seen a willow warbler in the last few days actually landing at the feeder but not obviously eating any thing.

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You say that there are two of them. Eating,it is as though they don't know when to stop. Well, if they are indeed eating as you say. Then I suggest
that they are o.k.
My reasoning being thus:- If infected with Trich's, they would not be
able to ingest such a quantity of food.

Ever hoping I'm right,
young Ian.

[Clive A]

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You say that there are two of them. Eating,it is as though they don't know when to stop. Well, if they are indeed eating as you say. Then I suggest
that they are o.k.
My reasoning being thus:- If infected with Trich's, they would not be
able to ingest such a quantity of food.

Ever hoping I'm right,
young Ian.

They will be trying to eat but the disease leaves them virtually unable to swallow.The facts that they appear puffed out and allow such a close approach all point to Trichomoniasis. Other signs to look out for are drooling saliva and matted feathers around the bill. Ask yourself this, what healthy bird would allow you to almost pick it up?

[Nightranger]

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You say that there are two of them. Eating,it is as though they don't know when to stop. Well, if they are indeed eating as you say. Then I suggest
that they are o.k.
My reasoning being thus:- If infected with Trich's, they would not be
able to ingest such a quantity of food.

Ever hoping I'm right,
young Ian.

Birds are small creatures and they can lose heat quickly and the fluffing up is not necessarily diagnostic of a single disease. Trichomoniasis is common in greenfinches but they would show some of the same symptoms with salmonella too. A sign of tricho is that the birds cannot swallow seed but they will still try to eat whereas birds are often sluggish with salmonella. Whatever the case, it may be advisable to clean everything up and think about withdrawing the food for a few weeks.

[nialltkeogh]

The importance of cleaning your feeding areas cannot be overstressed!

Finches feeding on scattered sunflower seeds under the feeders are suseptable to infection from the bird droppings left by those on the feeders above.

Swelling of the feet (Bumble foot) can be a result of this. The best means of prevention is raking the grass/cleaning the patio under the feeders every now and then.

I have had Greenfinches with Trichomoniasis and Chaffinches with Bumble foot in my garden in the past but havn't seen any sick birds in about 2 years since I started a cleaning regime.

See Ya,
Niall