Trouble at my feeder.

[searobin]

For about a week now I am seeing House Finches with some kind of eye problem. First I was thinking injury but now I’m convinced this is an infection which effected only House Finches. Besides cleaning the feeder and surrounding area what else should I do. How should I clean it? Should I stop feeding them for a while?

[BarbaraM]

Here's a response tht KC Foggin posted to a similar inquiry two years ago:

What you are seeing in your finch is the Finch Eye Disease. From all indications of what I am seeing this year, it is worse than ever. Over crowding can spread this disease quickly. If you are seeing more than one bird infected, it might be a good idea to remove any feeders that are not open. Tube feeders tend to spread this quicker as there is a smaller opening for the birds to get to the seeds and this spreads the disease quickly. Scrupulously clean feeders will also help in keeping this problem down but it is hard if you are keeping yours clean and your neighbor is not. I have resorted to removing all feeders for a couple of weeks to disburse the population and cut down on the problem. It's hard to do but sometimes necessary.

Hope KC's suggestion helps. There's probably more info in other threads if you do a search on Finch eye disease. Barbara

[alcedo.atthis]

"For about a week now I am seeing House Finches with some kind of eye problem. First I was thinking injury but now I’m convinced this is an infection which effected only House Finches. Besides cleaning the feeder and surrounding area what else should I do. How should I clean it? Should I stop feeding them for a while?"

Some information on the link below.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/05/22/HOGAA6OE5T1.DTL&type=printable

This link will lead you to Cornell where they are requesting survey help on this subject.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/hofi/

All information supplied adds to the overall knowledge of the subject.

Regards

Malky

[searobin]

Thanks

[bluetit]

Don't worry too much about closing down the feeders at this time of year, there's plenty of food out there. Worse if it was during the depth of winter.
Does anyone know whether this disease is more prevalent in the summer?
Bluetit

[searobin]

Don't worry too much about closing down the feeders at this time of year, there's plenty of food out there. Worse if it was during the depth of winter.
Does anyone know whether this disease is more prevalent in the summer?
Bluetit

Thanks Bluetit. The feeder is down for at least a week.
As to your question, I think many diseases are dormant during cold weather and I saw no sign of it last winter.

[searobin]

[i]"
This link will lead you to Cornell where they are requesting survey help on this subject.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/hofi/

All information supplied adds to the overall knowledge of the subject.

Malky

Thanks again.
I already signed up and will participate.