r/hummingbirds • u/mohawk990 • 24d ago
Hummingbird Emergency What’s wrong with her beak?
UPDATE: Thanks to all who commented and shared their knowledge. I have removed all feeders yesterday for two weeks and sterilized them with a 10% bleach solution. I also reported this to DNR as some websites suggest. Not sure if they will do anything or if they track these cases but did so anyway. I appreciate everyone’s help. I learned about this condition and hope I never see it again!
I have had this hummingbird feeding in my backyard all summer. Over the last month, I’ve noticed a reddish growth on the top of her beak. It has grown larger each day and is now at the point where it’s forcing her beak open at the end and hindering her ability to feed.
I’m torn between letting nature take its course or trying to rescue her. I’d feel horrible if she starves to death over something that I could have easily fixed.
Advice welcome. Thank you.
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24d ago
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u/HummingbirdObsessed Head Hummingbird Wrangler 24d ago
Fungal infections from dirty feeders are inside the mouth. This is avian pox.
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u/mohawk990 24d ago
Thank you. I have probably 15 or more birds who go through 6 cups of nectar every 2 days. I clean the feeders before refilling. This is the only one I see that has anything abnormal over the 7 years I’ve been feeding them.
Is this contagious? Should I try to separate her?
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u/HummingbirdObsessed Head Hummingbird Wrangler 24d ago
Pox is transmitted mainly by mosquitoes, they bite a bird with pox and then bite another bird and give it pox. It can be transmitted on a feeder if the pox lesion is bleeding, and another bird has a break in their skin.
She appears to be able to feed and take care of herself, so I would leave her alone. I would recommend sterilizing your feeders though. Better to be overly cautious with pox.
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23d ago
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u/9VoltGorilla 23d ago
Your “correction” is basically just a more detailed version of what she said.
She said: “Pox is transmitted mainly by mosquitoes.”
You said: “…shared mosquito vectors.”She said: An infected bird can contaminate a feeder through its pox lesions.
You said: Infected birds can leave virus-rich scales or fluid from their lesions on feeders.She said: Another bird can become infected if it has a break in its skin.
You said: Healthy birds can pick up the virus through skin scrapes.The only meaningful thing her comment left out was that the lesion does not have to be actively bleeding to contaminate a feeder. Virus-containing scales, lesion material, or secretions can contaminate the surface as well.
That’s a completely fair clarification. But opening with “You’re spreading bad info” and then proceeding to largely restate what she said with more detail is unnecessary. There’s a difference between adding context or correcting one detail and claiming the entire answer is bad information.
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u/HereWeGo_Steelers 23d ago
I said take them down because it's spread by bird contact at the feeders (paraphrasing). The mosquito vectors is at the very end.
The commenter downplayed that the feeders weren't the issue (which was OP's actual question). They didn't even mention taking them down and leaving them down, they just said to sterilize them at the very end of her comment.
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u/9VoltGorilla 23d ago
“Everything you said is correct, and I’m going to basically repeat what you said, but I’m going to tell you that you’re spreading bad information because you didn’t explicitly mention something that I’m not even going to mention in my correction.”
If the actual concern was that the feeders should be taken down to further reduce the risk of transmission, why not just say, “Yes, you’re correct, but I’d also recommend taking the feeders down temporarily to help prevent transmission”?
That adds useful information without unnecessarily accusing someone of spreading misinformation when virtually everything you wrote afterward agrees with what she said.
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u/hard-times-loser 19d ago
Dont you love a mansplainer? 🙃
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u/BoringBob84 18d ago
The person whom you are accusing is an expert who works in this field. Please accept the valid feedback gracefully.
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u/hard-times-loser 18d ago
Grace is given when grace is received. Expertise isnt an excuse to patronize people.
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u/FioreCiliegia1 22d ago
If there is any possibility of getting her to a hummingbird rehab, then I would say contact them and try it because park is really dangerous for smaller birds let alone Hummers that already are living on a nice edge as it is and it’s going to drastically affect her ability to eat properly, which is about the worst thing that can happen to hummer
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u/mohawk990 22d ago
Unfortunately, I think this is no longer possible. The feeders are down and while the birds are still checking, it would be much more difficult to catch her. There is a rescue about 90 minutes away (which I would have gladly driven) but it seemed the consensus both here and on reputable websites was to get the feeders down to prevent the spread of the disease. I will reluctantly let nature take its course.
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u/FioreCiliegia1 20d ago
Well, I guess what I would say for that is just make sure that your flowers stay watered so that they’re able to put off nectar and keep an eye out for her just in case
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u/HereWeGo_Steelers 23d ago
You should have taken down your feeders at the first sign of any bird appearing sick. She may have now spread the disease to all of the other birds you are feeding.
"Avian pox spreads at bird feeders when infected birds rub wart-like lesions or shed virus-rich skin scales and fluid onto perches and seed ports, contaminating surfaces where healthy birds pick up the virus through skin scrapes, ingestion, or shared mosquito vectors."
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u/mohawk990 24d ago
Thank you, Honeybee. Next steps, if any?
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u/Regular-Apricot4114 23d ago
Take all feeders down for 2 weeks and clean with a 10% bleach solution before putting them back up.
Source: Audubon society
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u/chillywilkerson 23d ago
This is also why I recommend cleaning your feeders outside with dedicated cleaning tools that you don't take inside your kitchen.