I got fledgy!!

[Strawblady2000]

LOL...sorry, I had to!

Well, today's the day. My first parent-raised gould fledgy! He/she is so cute...I could just eat im up. Not really, but you catch my drift, lol.

3 left in nest, as one died over the weekend from an accident, I believe.

[laurab]

Whay...hay, way to go!! :-P :-P

[PAUL HEARN]

Nicely done Nikki,

I catch your drift even though you are completely mad in the best way possible.:lol:

I am really pleased for you.:wink:

Good luck with the rest of them.

Paul.:-D

[Strawblady2000]

Thank you!!

Nice to have baby goulds again.




Pass the salt and pepper please.

[kenny]

hi nikki
well done mate,i am really pleased for you

ken

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Nikki,

Do you have an update for us?

Paul.:grin:

[kenny]

hi nikki
paul is right they must have grown a bit by now.how about some pics please

ken

[Strawblady2000]

Hello Kenny and Paul,

I apologize for not being here...our house was hit bu lighting on Friday night and it fried the LAN card in the computer. Tis the season, lol.

Anyways...I have good news and bad. Another chick died on Saturday.

3/4 chicks fledged within the same 24 hours...the last took a couple days longer. All were doing well, except the one that fledged last. He never quite got perching right, was inactive, closed eyed, fluffed up, etc. and would do this regurgitation motion every now and then.

I watched him for a couple days, and he went downhill fast. We had no electricity until Saturday afternoon...so I couldnt put him on a heat pad or under a light. I wrapped him in a cloth diaper and held him for much of the day to keep him warm. I crop fed him, medicated him and put him back once he perked up.

Later that evening, I went to feed him and before I placed the needle, he spit up a long shoelace of mucous (I mean about 8 inches long) and died.

So, I've go tthe rest of the flight and the flock under observation. I'm treating with Ronex (anti-protozoal) and may have to start a round of antibiotics IF I notice any other birds becoming ill.

Right now I;m just waiting to see if anyone else comes down with whatever it is. It could be stress that caused a secondary infection...it could be yeast based, or something else. Not sure, but Im a little panicked.

I know sometimes things happen, but it is still hard to lose a bird in your hand.

I do have pics that I took last week...and as soon as I find the patch cord for the camera, I'll upload them.

Thanks everyone...for listening to me vent, lol.

[kenny]

hi nikki
its always a great shame to here of somone losing a bird but ,i think everyone on here has been through it and knows exactly how you feel.it doesn`t matter how long you have been keeping birds it still hits you hard when you lose one all you can do is carry on and count your blessings that the others are ok.when you said it had been lightening i thought you were giong to say it had night fright as you are lucky you didnt lose more(ask laura about that ) these things are sent to try us mate !

ken:-(

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Kenny,

Thanks for the encouragement.

Ya know, nearly 2 weeks ago, I lost another chick from this clutch. It was stormy the night before he died and he was the one who kept falling from the nest. Still makes me wonder if it was frights or if he was sick and I just couldnt tell because he was in nest.

I am surprised that we did not lose any to frights...the pole that it hit is about 15 feet from the bird's window. They would have had a clear view of the actual strike!

I cant imangine the chock of what Laura woke up to the next morning! Scares the crap outta me thinking about it! And...hats off to you Laura for not scrapping your bird projects after that!

Well today....isnt looking good. One chick is quite sleepy and inactive. And, my hen is pumping her tail a bit. She does this when she's about to lay, but I dont think any eggs are emminent...so, my guess it is respiratory.

Finished the antiprotozoal treatment...starting antibiotics today.


Oh...and someone said that when they are sleepy it means they are dehydrated. And, in order to get the juvies to drink, the best way to do this is to place them in a shallow container of water for them to bathe in...when they preen afterwards, they will get water from this. I thought that was a neat idea and would work...but if they arent feeling well, wouldnt chills from being cold be a drawback?

Anyways...this is just this mornings' observations.

grrr.

[kenny]

hi nikki
i know this is late because of the server fault but remember when you put young birds in water even if its shallow put some stones or pebbeles in the bottom so they can still drink but not drown.

ken

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Kenny,


Thanks for the tip...I'll have to use it next time. I did not try this with the water. I did mist him with a spray bopttle, but he was to sick to preen himself. So, yesterday morning, I've given myself a crash course in crop tube feeding and have been keeping him alive by feeding him every 3 hours. He'd have died if I didnt Of course, I may be prolonging the inevitable.

I pulled him from the flight and have him on heat in a hospital cage. If he makes it, will be a couple weeks of handfeeding him.

Now, to add insult to injury....the hen has laid again!

[kenny]

hi nikki
i have been down the hand feeding road, it is very rewarding when it works but it is very tiring and time consuming but well worth it.and with the hen laying again well thats just typical of birds

ken

[Strawblady2000]

Thank you Kenny,

It isnt too bad so far...he's 5 weeks old tomorrow...so he should be at this maybe another weeks or 2 tops...that is IF he makes it. Little perkier today, but still has squitts that are odd colored.

I think one of the hard parts of crop-feeding that isnt emphasized enough is the dangerof aspiration. Certain death that comes with the best intentions.

I found an interesting step by step on crop feeding...I'll post the lkink in case anyone needs to reference...or bookmark it for the future.

http://www.birds2grow.com/art-cropNeedlesSmBrd.html

I think this is the one with the pictures, etc.

[kenny]

hi nikki
have you tried using a syringe with some eggfood in side ,i used this to raise a zebra finch earlier on in the year.when it was hungry it just opened its beak and i pumped a small amount at a time into its beak ,it was still filling its crop but giving it a chance to breathe in between food .i just made a very runny mix with warm water and filled the syringe and it took it all succesfully

ken

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Kenny,

I've been using a handfeeding formula. I cant get a begging response out of him, though I've tried like mad!

Of course, this is the second day of this, so he probably is wondering what the hell is going on!...One minute Im hungry...next minute Im stuffed.

I'd love to be able to get a feeding response from him, though. The eggfood sure would do him good.

Right now, he's also on Megamix (decreases PH to prevent crop yeast, etc), NV Podwer (energy supplement that's sugar-free to prevent yeast growth) and antibiotics. Not sure if they are helping though...so my next trick is to try grapefruit seed extract...more natural, safer and a wider spectrum option.

[kenny]

hi nikki
i had a small coffee bean grinder and ground up the eggfood first so it would not block the syringe,but using the grinder helped me put a lot of stuff in that would do it good but stuff that it could not normally eat because of its age.i put in calcium tablets from the health food shop aswell as brewers yeast tablets and some millets which ground up to a very fine powder in the grinder ,i then seived it to get all the rubbish out again that might block the syringe.i might add that the one i fed was about a week old so i had to open its beak by hand and squeeze a very small amount into its beak.once it got the taste i could not shut the thing up it got so as soon as it saw me it threw itself on the floor as chicks do and begged me to feed it even when it wasn`t hungry.i hope you get to that stage as it is very very rewarding i would just try opening its beak by hand as i did and put a small amount in with something like a matchstick or something similar you never know it might just kickstart it

ken8)

[Strawblady2000]

Hiya Kenny,


Well...THAT went over like a fart in church.

I was pretty excited, but it would eat no matter what. I think my problem is that he's sick and not just abandoned...so his appetite isnt up to par.

Well, I will give him some peace until his next feeding. BUT...you've definately given me ideas for either tomorrow or my next handfeeding excursion, as well as some other things to put in his formula.

I think it would be adorable to have a chick beg for food when I walked in.

Thank you Kenny...I'm kinda winging it on this one. Any adivce or tips sure do help!!!

[kenny]

hi nikki
i am really sorry it didnt work this time but maybe when it is really hungry it just might take some .the thing is once you get some goodness into it ,the more it will perk up but its getting the stuff in there in the first place.i forgot to say that my little orphan only had half of its top mandible

ken8-)

[Strawblady2000]

Half a mandible, huh? Wow!

Im not giving up that easily!!! He's due for another feed in an hour. I will probably crop feed him the rest of the day...I think he's still pissed and probably wont cooperate, lol. But, I think tomorrow mornings first feed anfter the long night...I will try again. If he's not hungry then, well...we'll go from there.

I guess right now, Im happy to get some formula, liquids, nutrients and meds into him. Like I said, I really think Im prolonging the inevitable, but I cant quit now.

Just trying not to get attached, if you knwo what I mean!

[kenny]

hi nikki
yeah i know what you mean about getting attached ,mine used to fly on to my shoulder if it was out of the cage and it also would fall asleep in the bottom of my rolled up t shirt while i was walking around

ken:roll:

[Strawblady2000]

AAAWWWWW....how sweet!

Ive read so many stories about tame finches. I almost bought a big bird a few weekends ago...just to have a PET bird...glad I didnt, as that would be another log in the fire, lol.

Thanks so much Kenny.

Think Im going to have a stroke by weeks end...been smoking too much (outside, not inside, of course) and worried endlessly.

But, as someone recently told me...as much as we hate it, as a breeder, we're GOING to lose birds...if it isnt from one thing, it'll be from another. All we can do is our best.

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello Nikki,

I'm sorry to have picked up again on this thread so late in the day,:roll: but obviously between yourself and Ken you know what to do in order to give this chick the best chance.

Fluids are extremely important in getting this Bird rehydrated enough in order to beg for food, but I would suggest Pro-Biotics instead of Anti-Biotics at this stage.
It is far more important to boost the good gut flora with a young Bird with the use of Pro-Biotics rather than Anti-Biotics.

And if the Bird is reluctant to beg for food, then force feeding may be required, but on a personal level I do question saving a Bird that would die due to natural selection in the wild, this is something I have battled against for many years.
In my earlier years of Bird keeping/breeding I have made every attempt to help in saving the life of chicks that have experienced difficulty in surviving, with the view that any Bird that put's up a fight to survive deserves all the help I can give it.

I stand by this view, but then again what standard of life would this Bird have if it was to live but never get the chance to re-produce?

Paul.

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Paul,

Honestly, at this point, I dont think ANY-biotic will help. Honestly, hes suffering pretty badly, barely clinging. If I could bring myself to do it, I'd help him along...but I cant, even though I dont think he'll make it.

All I can do for now is just take this as a learning experience. As birdkeepers, it is something we know all too well.

It just sucks.

Im near certain the cause is protozoal. Hes now got a secondary respiratory infections...crackled breathing at times. Its really just a matter of time before he goes.

Oddly enough, Ive not had a problem with my fostered goulds, despite bengies disease and all...but my parent raised clutch is not having much success at this point.


I see completely where you are coming from about natural selection. I agree, and as much as I know that helping the weaker of the species can backfire for the whole of the species, its hard for me to do nothing.

Thanks Paul...I know you all understand.

:(

[Waxbillman]

your exactly right Nikki

no living thing on earth can escape the envitable ending. whether it years, decades for centuries every living thing will die one day, in many different ways, some living only short lives other far exceeding anything predicted. death is a part of life, something us humans fear, as it is the un-known.
As someone on another forum said if you keep live-stock then without doubt you will have dead stock somewhere along the lines, sometimes you can do your very best to look after your birds and they still don't live, thats how it goes.

Matthew

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Matthew,

It is just one of the hard facts of life, I suppose.

Well, the little guy passed on overnight. I knew it was coming...I went to feed him last night and once he opened his mouth, it was evident what was going to happen. He had lots of froth in his throat. So, I just put him back and left the heat on for him. Nothing more to do for him.

While chicks will continue to hatch and others will continue to die, I'm not so much dwelling on this part. But what scares the poo outta me is the thought that an entire flock can be wiped out by a single illness. Losing 2 birds to illness certainly has me on red alert for the others.

Tempted to pull the eggs (hen started laying yesterday) and pitch them out. While she never became ill, I may wait a bit with this pair. I could foster...but why risk anything getting passed. Opinions anyone?

Thank you to everyone...I sure have learned ALOT this week. First serious bout with illness...first experiences with actual crop-feeding. So...I'd say I havent walked away with nothing.

Will be keeping my attention on this flight...and focusing on the new chicks that have hatched. Looks like there's more berry babies!

[laurab]

Hi Nikki

so sorry to read of your loss, I can understand your reasons for trying to save the little one; those maternal instincts are always with us.

[Strawblady2000]

Thanks Laura. I certainly learned alot this week.

Good luck with you and your cardinal.

[kenny]

hi nikki
really sorry to here about the loss of your young bird,its a great shame but i am afraid its something you have to get used to

ken

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Kenny,

Isnt THAT the truth!

Thanks again, Kenny.