# Parents overfeeding one chick.....



## Mimi0212 (Feb 6, 2012)

I've searched the forum and didn't find information on parents overfeeding, so I'm asking here. My apologies if it's a previously asked question :blush:

My tiels laid 3 eggs and two have hatched already, the third seems to be ready to hatch any moment. I've noticed that the parents seem to be overfeeding the older chick, the crop is always full and it seems like it's going to explode. The younger chick on the other hand is the total opposite, the crop never seems to be full and the amount of food inside is very small. Last night I had to hand feed it a bit, because it had not been fed, and the older chick was stuffed already and still being fed some. Today was somewhat different, the parents seem to be feeding it, but not enough compared to the other chick. Crop is never full it only contains small amounts of food. Is it possible that they can be overfeeding the older one? This worries me, not only because overfeeding might be dangerous, but also because the third chick is going to get the short end of the stick, especially since the second chick seems to be in the same situation already.

Is this something to be concerned about? If it is, what should I do? Can I help feeding the younger chicks? Not completely hand feed them, but help the parents out? If I can, should I wait until their little crops are completely empty before giving them formula?

Sorry for all the questions, hope I can get some help. Thanks in advance.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Posting some good clear pix's of both babies would help. 

Also describe the crop and contents. The crop should be firm, not hard to the touch. When pressing a fingertip onto the crop when removed it should not leave an impression/dent from your fingertip. Hard can lead to dehydration.

The skin is semi-transparent....surface skintone should be uniform in color, with no prominent veins showing.

If not firm feeling, is it soft feeling? 

If soft feeling crop can you see the crop contents....are they well distributed in the crop or settling at the bottom with fluid on top. If separation of contents it could be an indication of sour crop.


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## Mimi0212 (Feb 6, 2012)

srtiels said:


> Posting some good clear pix's of both babies would help.
> 
> Also describe the crop and contents. The crop should be firm, not hard to the touch. When pressing a fingertip onto the crop when removed it should not leave an impression/dent from your fingertip. Hard can lead to dehydration.
> 
> ...


Thank you for replying! Here are some pictures, I tried to take two of chick #2, but unfortunately it came out blurry. I felt the crop and it felt firm to the touch and did not leave an indentation. The parents actually fed the small chick this time. The pictures below were taken a bit over an hour and half ago.

Chick # 1



















Chick # 2










These pictures of chick # 1 were taken 10 minutes ago. When I took him out of the box, the parents were feeding him. While I had him with me, they fed the younger chick. I didn't take a picture of him this time, but when I took his older sibling out of the box, his crop had a lot less food than when I took the first picture.

Chick # 1
































































Hope these pictures help, and I hope I'm not just being crazy worrying too much  Thank you again


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

The parents are doing a GREAT job feeding them. The crop skin and texture/mix of the food looks good. At this age up to 7-10 days old the crops will be packed with food, and look overfed. As long as it has the feel, look and texture it does now there is no need to worry


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## Mimi0212 (Feb 6, 2012)

srtiels said:


> The parents are doing a GREAT job feeding them. The crop skin and texture/mix of the food looks good. At this age up to 7-10 days old the crops will be packed with food, and look overfed. As long as it has the feel, look and texture it does now there is no need to worry


You are amazing!! Thank you so much!! I can go to bed in peace  What a sigh of relief, I was so scared, even my husband was a bit worried LOL!! Again, thank you so much, you've been very helpful with me since I joined. I'll keep an eye on them, and if I notice something that freaks me out, I hope you will not mind answering my questions again :blush:


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Aw they look so cute


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## Mimi0212 (Feb 6, 2012)

lperry82 said:


> Aw they look so cute


 Thank you!! I have 3 now, their last egg hatched this morning


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Congrats on the new babies!


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## Mimi0212 (Feb 6, 2012)

srtiels said:


> If soft feeling crop can you see the crop contents....are they well distributed in the crop or settling at the bottom with fluid on top. If separation of contents it could be an indication of sour crop.


I'm back :blush: I hope you get to see this message SRTIELS. I was checking the chicks right now, and noticed that the smaller one seems to have a lot of liquid in his crop. I'm attaching a picture, hope it's clear enough. If it is sour crop, what should I do? Should the parents keep feeding it? 


__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

srtiels is the best person to advise on this, but in the meantime you can go to this thread: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27514 which has links to articles that she wrote about sour crop and other food-related problems in babies.


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## Mimi0212 (Feb 6, 2012)

tielfan said:


> srtiels is the best person to advise on this, but in the meantime you can go to this thread: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27514 which has links to articles that she wrote about sour crop and other food-related problems in babies.


Thank you!!!!!!! I'm a bit worried


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

OK....it looks like the parents may have fed some extra water. The skintone of the chick is good, the thinness and translucency of the crop is excellent, with no apparent veins. Right now I would suggest to just keep an eye on the chick, and see how the crop looks in a couple hours. Sometimes parents can feed excess water, which is their way of flushing out the digestive tract as the baby digests.


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## Mimi0212 (Feb 6, 2012)

srtiels said:


> OK....it looks like the parents may have fed some extra water. The skintone of the chick is good, the thinness and translucency of the crop is excellent, with no apparent veins. Right now I would suggest to just keep an eye on the chick, and see how the crop looks in a couple hours. Sometimes parents can feed excess water, which is their way of flushing out the digestive tract as the baby digests.


Thank you! You were correct, a couple of hours after I posted this, I didn't see any more water in there just the normal stuff. So far the parents are doing nicely with the chicks, hopefully things keep going this smooth. They're feeding all the chicks now, the older one is always stuffed, but the younger ones get their fair share  Thank you again, you've been extremely helpful.


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## Alida (3 mo ago)

Mimi0212 said:


> I've searched the forum and didn't find information on parents overfeeding, so I'm asking here. My apologies if it's a previously asked question 😊
> 
> My tiels laid 3 eggs and two have hatched already, the third seems to be ready to hatch any moment. I've noticed that the parents seem to be overfeeding the older chick, the crop is always full and it seems like it's going to explode. The younger chick on the other hand is the total opposite, the crop never seems to be full and the amount of food inside is very small. Last night I had to hand feed it a bit, because it had not been fed, and the older chick was stuffed already and still being fed some. Today was somewhat different, the parents seem to be feeding it, but not enough compared to the other chick. Crop is never full it only contains small amounts of food. Is it possible that they can be overfeeding the older one? This worries me, not only because overfeeding might be dangerous, but also because the third chick is going to get the short end of the stick, especially since the second chick seems to be in the same situation already.
> 
> ...


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## Alida (3 mo ago)

I have the same issue. Three babies each born 2days apart. The oldest just died looking very overfed. He was also much bigger than the other two. Now I'm worried about the other two.


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