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Sharon Thomas
Onley, VA, United States
The unusual behavior of this American Goldfinch caused us to look more closely. He did not fly away at the approach of a hawk like the other birds did. Closer inspection revealed eye disease in both eyes.
Eye problems
Same individual American Goldfinch with eye disease evident in both eyes.
Is there anything to be done for this? We have a gold Finch acting the same way . I am concerned the others will catch it. Do I need to bleach the feeders? Any insight would be appreciated .
Hi Brenna, We have a lot of helpful tips on our Sick Birds and Bird Diseases page. This most important thing is to minimize the risk of infecting other birds by cleaning your feeder area thoroughly – scrub all debris from feeders and soak in a bleach solution. If you see several sick birds, take down all your feeders for at least a week to give the birds a chance to disperse. Remember that prevention is the key to avoiding the spread of disease and that you should regularly clean your feeders even when there are no signs of disease.
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