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Sick house finch at my feeder

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From: Connie Volante
City:
Tinley Park, IL
I have a sick female house finch feeding at my feeder and I have noticed she is seeing with only one eye! I have been able to put my finger up under her and she will sit on my finger while she eats. Her eye looks like she has conjunctivitis. I'm worried. Over the past weekend I also found a dead golden finch yearling . It looked ok just dead =( What should I do ?

 
Extension Message
From: Laura Kammin
Visiting Extension Specialist, Pollution Prevention
Extension-Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program
lkammin@illinois.edu
Conjunctivitis is contagious to other birds. I'd recommend taking the feeder down and washing it thoroughly in hot soapy water, rinse with water, then rinse the feeder w/ a bleach solution (1 part bleach and 9 parts water), and let dry completely. Rake up any old seed under the feeder and dispose in the trash. Try to wash the feeder at least weekly. If you have many feeders, try spacing them out so that the birds have room to spread out. For the house finch, just keep providing clean food and seed at the feeder.

 
From: Connie Volante
City:
Tinley Park, IL
I have scrubbed all my feeders including my humming bird feeders and my birds bath with hot soapy water and bleached them and racked up all the old seed and spaced out my feeders like you suggested . I hope this helps . Thank you for your help =)

 
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