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Chaffinches with 'poorly' feet ! (1 Viewer)

D

digitalbirdy

Well-known member
Both I at home and my wife at work 12 miles away, have noticed that we frequently have Chaffinches with 'strange' feet on our respective feeders.

I have tried looking through binoculars to see what the 'club foot appearance' actually is. It appears as if these have a foot which has got some sort of massive growth all over it.

The good news is, despite this they do seem to manage to just about hang on to a branch and feed.

Currently my wife has 2 at work like this and I have one at home.

Question 1: Is this very common, or do we have a high incidence?

Question 2: What is it, and what is causing it?

Final question: ...we have never seen any other type of bird with anything like this. Is this something that Chaffinches are prone to getting?

Many thanks

Adrian
 
I saw several last year in the New Forest with deformed feet, but as Vectis says they appear quite normal otherwise. I have quite a few feeding at home in Warwickshire and they all seem free from this disease.

Tom
 
Hi Vectis & Chalky

Thanks for your quick response.
Well it seems like it may be common.

I ought to try and get a 'good' photo (not easy**) and post up to see what anyone can make of it.

** Especially since a month ago, when the siskins moved in, the chaffinches have remained a little more scarce!

If anyone else can shed some light on this 'feet syndrome' I would much appreciate it. I just hope its not the start of some horrid disease that could wipe them out :eek:(
 
digitalbirdy said:
I just hope its not the start of some horrid disease that could wipe them out :eek:(
Click to expand...


I remember seeing a Chaffinch (or maybe two) with a club foot on holiday near Mull in 1985. So if it is a horrid disease, it doesnt seem to be working on the population very fast!
 
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I think this is a papilloma virus. I believe it is not life-threatening, it just causes these benign deformities that you're seeing, although in humans, papilloma virus infection has been shown to be one of the main causes of cervical cancer. What can be done about it I'm not sure, since it's spread sexually. A general clean and disinfection of the feeding station might help.

A bit of web-searching found a few spectacular, not to say gruesome, examples of papilloma virus infection in humans and rabbits :

http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~hollidac/jacksforreal.html

http://cellar.org/iotd.php?threadid=13555
 
Here is a pic of a Chaffinch that I took least year with poorly feet.
 

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Hi Clive thanks for those links. Yes it looks like the same disease that poor guy has got.

.... and well done Roy for getting that photo - a perfect example of what I am seeing.

Adrian
 
Hi all. Finches can suffer from a fungal infection of the feet, known as bumble foot or fur foot. Here is an extract from an email I received from RSPB when I saw a female chaffinch at our feeders with the same problem:-

"Chaffinches are often seen with a parasitic condition known as bumble foot or a fungal attack called 'fur foot'. The infection is not directly fatal but it can cause a loss of agility and make the individual vulnerable to predators. Advanced infections can cause the loss of toes but there is evidence that the birds can recover naturally. I even received an image of a male chaffinch that had lost all his toes, yet the bird was clearly in good condition. Unfortunately, there is no way of treating wild birds even though there are treatments available for captive birds. "

I hope this helps you all.

Just to let you know that every day I look at the finches around our feeders to ensure they do not have the same infection and so far, to date, they have all been clear. We try and keep our feeders and feeding areas clean, which helps to keep the infections away.
 
We get them up in County Durham too .
In our garden it appears to be one family of chaffies ,and though some also had overgrown feathers of one leg (like one sided knickerbockers) in the main its a large granular webbed area on one foot ,they seem to survive the winters and bad weather ok ,but as we've been seeing them now for about five years,we presume the condition is hereditary .
It just looks as if the bird has stepped in hot wax then had sand poured over the foot
 
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