Cockatiel Egg and Chick Thread

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Kieran's crop is so bad right now that he's having to swallow constantly to keep the fluid down. He's at risk of aspirating that fluid that's coming up his throat. He NEEDS to have his crop emptied and flushed. I'm talking to the breeder about whether I should try to do it myself, or take him to the vet as an emergency- the vet who is in today says she has experience with birds and can empty his crop, but she also misdiagnosed Tallulah more than once, including the day Tallulah died. You can see why I'm reluctant. At the same time, she would have syringes at her disposal to stick down into his crop and suck out the bad stuff instead of having to hold him upside down and squeeze it out. I honestly feel like if I had the right syringes (need a long rubberized tip) I could do it myself.

Good news is if we get this taken care of ASAP, there's a good chance he'll be just fine by tomorrow. If we wait, he can aspirate or the infection can take over his whole body and kill him.

I bought some new pellets for Arthur and Poppet and some freeze dried veggies and Arthur is scarfing down the pellets (and some of the veggies) like no tomorrow, so that's good. The pellets are bright colored, shaped like fruit, and smell fruity. They're actually nutritious too. I tasted one and it's like a way less sweet Fruity Pebble cereal piece.
 
Just wanted to update- we're off to the vet! Wish us luck! I am armed with lots of information and the breeder's phone number in case the vet needs guidance.
 
We're home! Poor Kieran got his crop emptied. It was very traumatic for both of us. Picture tiny baby bird crying with a metal thing crammed down his throat and foamy, yeasty baby food pouring out of his mouth while he choked and coughed. It took a good 20 minutes for him to stop coughing after :( He's begging to be fed now though. The vet didn't do anything with the other 3 chicks but good news is their crops are emptying without any help (unlike Kieran's). I have no idea if their crops are healthy or not. They aren't doughy anymore, but maybe they're too liquidy? I have no clue!
 
The contents of his crop were full of yeast, and yeast is the #1 killer of baby birds :( I will try to remain optimistic. I really hope we don't lose Kieran or all of them. I'm going to have to try my hand at hand feeding them here in a few minutes because they need a bunch of things added to their formula.
 
Thanks for the good wishes, everyone! Please continue to think good thoughts for my babies. I love them. I don't want them to die.

I finally got everyone fed. Kieran got some Alka Selzer water and the other chicks got formula mixed with a variety of other things. Kieran's water went pretty uneventfully, but Teddy was being uncooperative with the eating. Neeja was fairly cooperative, but as I slowly pushed down the plunger of the syringe, it suddenly squirted out a ton into his mouth. He miraculously did not inhale the food, but it sure scared me! Phoenix was actually easiest to feed even though he has an itty bitty mouth because he was giving me the feeding response and swallowing very eagerly. That's good!

All in all, it took almost an hour and a half. Gather utensils. Wash. Disinfect. Prepare food. Get to right temperature. Feed babies. Clean babies. Wash utensils. Disinfect. Essentially did it twice though since Kieran was fed something different. I have to feed him actual baby food here in half an hour, then we'll wait 2 more hours and feed him more baby food, then he can finally go back to his parents. I put the other chicks back with their parents about 20 minutes ago and they got fed right away. Mama and daddy are happy to have their little ones back after 4 hours away!

For now poor Kieran is sitting all alone in a cardboard box on top of a heating pad. His parents aren't supposed to feed him for several hours so he has to be away from them. He keeps chirping sadly. He will get to go back to them in about 3-4 hours.

Tomorrow and the next day I'm supposed to supplement all 4 chicks with the special formula twice a day. I hope it goes well and that everyone gets better!

Side note, is this what parenthood is like? I did not go to bed last night because I was worried about the chicks and haven't slept at all today. The whole day was devoted to the babies. I'm so tired. All I've eaten was a small handful of the Just Tomatoes brand freeze dried veggies that I bought for the birds!
 
Peg, I do not think I'm cut out to be a breeder! They may not like it, but Arthur and Poppet are definitely going to be separated after this. They won't be alone of course, they'll have a birdy friend and I'll put their cages next to each other so they can still see each other and everything. I just hope they don't decide to double clutch. It's very common and the mama usually starts to lay the next batch of eggs when the chicks are about 6 weeks old. I don't think I'd have the heart to shake up the eggs (which would top them from developing). Birds sometimes even try to triple clutch! If they DO have a second clutch, I will separate the parents when the next batch of chicks are 4 weeks old or so and probably leave Poppet with them. She'll be more experienced at motherhood then and can feed them alone, possibly with some help from me. Females can store sperm in their bodies for over a week so they'd need to be separated early enough that she wouldn't be storing any sperm to lay more eggs.

Little Kieran has been fed his baby food and seems happier. He's stopped chirping and finally went to sleep, poor exhausted little baby. What a terrible day for him. At least he didn't die today! Before I fed him, Arthur was chirping and he was chirping back. How sweet is that? The other 3 babies are all fed and asleep in the nest box while the parents are eating. Kieran can go back to the nest box in about 2-3 hours after I feed him 1 more time. He'll spend the night in the nest box, then I'll have to keep him in the brooder tomorrow to monitor his pooping and feed him the special baby food. It has garlic, cinnamon and ginger in it so it smells interesting.
 
SnowyShiloh wrote:
Side note, is this what parenthood is like? I did not go to bed last night because I was worried about the chicks and haven't slept at all today. The whole day was devoted to the babies. I'm so tired. All I've eaten was a small handful of the Just Tomatoes brand freeze dried veggies that I bought for the birds!
Click to expand...

:hugsquish:yep! you're getting the idea of what us parents put ourselves thru! says she who has just finished rescuing one of our swallow fledglings. they have all flown but are still returning to the nest. i could hear flapping coming from under a pile of toys ready for the bootsale:( some careful dismantling of the pilerevealed a small petrified swallow. he is now perched and preening:)

hope everybird is faring well and will continue to send good wishes:pray:


 
I feel for you and you made me feel quite sick the thought of having to suck it out of there crop we still have the 1 chick just wondering if the others are going to hatch or not. I dont know if its something you can get in the USA but we use EMP REARING FOOD its egg based they can either have it dry or mixed fingers crossed for you and sending good vibes across the water. thinks you need either alot of :caffeine or your :bed:
 
It looks like Kieran is not better and Teddy probably has it now.

Neeja and Phoenix are looking pretty good and both have gained a good amount of weight since yesterday.

For Kieran and Teddy, I may have to empty their crops myself today. We are not going back to that vet. I should have trusted my instincts. She did not empty Kieran's crop using a good/safe method and there's a good chance she punctured one of the air sacs in his crop, based on how he's ballooning up with air. Yay, spent $150 for her to injure my baby bird. A good vet would have drained him properly and actually looked at the other chicks- when I saw what she did with Kieran, I didn't WANT her to do her "magic" on the others.
 
Okay... I'm gearing up to empty Kieran and Teddy's crops using the "hold upside down and squeeze" method... Please wish us all luck. Kieran is doing very poorly. He's dehydrated now and the veins on his crop are getting big and angry and red, which means he's in very serious condition. He WILL die if I don't empty his crop, but he has a chance at surviving if I do. I feel so sad for him, he is our first baby and I love him so much. Hopefully emptying Teddy's crop now will do him good, he's nowhere near as severe as Kieran right now. He now actually weighs the same as Kieran and looks just as developed even though they're 2 days apart and Kieran's crop is heavier.
 
Oh no...I'm praying from here.

My pm box is open if you need a place to cry or vent...you know that - right?
 
I got them both emptied. It actually went smoother than when the vet did it. I'm sure the babies didn't like it, but they weren't choking for 20 minutes after. They kind of coughed a little but were okay. Then I gave them some anti yeast stuff and massaged their crops and Teddy threw up :( Poor baby.

I have the option of giving Kieran sub q fluids, but he only needs 1 CC in each thigh and my syringes are giant 60 CC ones meant for bunnies. And I think my needles are too big.

This is all very difficult :( Thanks for the good thoughts, everyone :(
 
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