# Urgent advise needed



## type.rst (Oct 17, 2010)

I have a pair who laid 5 eggs which all hatched. 2 chicks died yesterday, but the other 3 looked healthy. 

But today i checked the nestbox and 2 chicks appear to be very weak and lifeless and the other one seems healthy, these chicks are only a couple days old. The crops look small, its 9pm now i would have thought they would have been larger as they would have had their evening feeding. 

I have 2 other pairs with 2 chicks each which seem to be doing well, can i move the 2 weak chicks into the other nest boxes? will the other parents feed these chicks?

Any help would be appreciated.


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## Bert (Jan 22, 2011)

Most parent cockatiels easily accept other chicks.
But if I were you I'd be careful placing these chicks in other nests.
They could be carrying a disease and transmit it to other birds.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

First exam the babies. The first thing you want to look for is if the skin color is normal color or very pale. At this age, and if you have had rainy weather there could be a chance/risk of red mite attacks. If pale a little Brewers yeast or a tiny amount of B-complex mixed with water and carefully fed a drop will help with color. If just weak before you move them to another nestbox mix a little honey with some warm water and carefully feed them a drop or two. this will give them a little energy. Also if their crops are empty you might want to handfeed them a little formula so that their crop is 1/2 to 2/3 ful before you place them in another nest. This way there is still room in the crop for the foster parents to add to.


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## type.rst (Oct 17, 2010)

Sadly i have not got any hand rearing formula at the moment as i had trouble locating a decent brand, ive only just ordered some online an hour ago. I will go to my local pet shop and buy some cheap brand in the morning. Is there anything i can give them in the mean time if i bring them inside now like a homemade mix?

I just hope they survive by the morning. Will the other cockatiels accept these chicks easily? i dont want them abandoning these and their own chicks in the confusion.

Thanks


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

I you can find any powdered rice baby cereal at the grocery store (baby food section) you can mix this up and give them some with a drop of honey added to it. I have used this in a pinch when I ran out of formula.


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## type.rst (Oct 17, 2010)

I will go to the pet shop and buy the hand rearing formula the first thing in the morning, i will feed them for a couple of hours till they look healthy again an then i will place them under another pair. I just hope the 2 chicks survive by the morning.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

If they're weak now your best bet is the get the rice stuff now...otherwise they might not make it til morning. When babies get weak the parents will try to feed them and babies without a feeding response make the parents frustrated and the babies get a bruised beak from it.


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## type.rst (Oct 17, 2010)

So what do i need? Rice for babies in a power form?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Yes its a baby rice formula...


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## type.rst (Oct 17, 2010)

I went to the local store and i managed to get the baby powdered rice. I went to get the chicks out and i noticed only one was very weak and with almost an empty crop. The other had more in its crop and appeared to be more active. So i only got the weaker one out the nest box as i do not have a brooder yet.

I hand fed the chick till its crop was a decent size, i put it in a shoe box with shavings in with the top partly covered, i have turned the heating up for that room so its nice an warm in there. Hopefully if it survives by the morning i will be putting it into a different nest box.

I have attached two pics of the chick after i had fed it.


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## Cryren8972 (Oct 3, 2007)

The temp needs to be warmer in the box so that the baby can digest the food in it's crop. Do you have a heating pad to put under the box? Or a light put over the box?


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

The baby is showing signs of malnutrition and subtle signs that it is starting to stunt. Hopefully it will be fine til you can foster it in a nest, BUT I would advise that you check and assist feed it a couple times a day to get some more nutrients into it.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

I copied one of your pix and added it to a collage. I don't have the type added to the collage...but if you look at your baby and the one I added to the illustration you will see some similarities, such as the extended thin wings, white hocks to the legs, and a curling of the toes, eyes and skull are oversized. 

All these are signs of malnutrition that will shorty lead to stunting and/or death if not corrected. Malnutrition does not mean that you are not feeding your birds well. What it may be is that the parents are just picking a few foods to feed or not enough, therefore the little one is not getting enough of a good balance of nutrients. Another cause for this is if the throat or mouth is impacted with food. This can block further feedings from getting into the crop, which can quickly starve and kill the baby. so also check the mouth.

Included in the collage is my Spice Remedy. You can get any brand at the grocery store, but use the 3 shown and mix in a small jar. In order to turn your baby around you will have to assist feed it several times a day if you foster it into a nestbox with other babies. Add a pinch of the Spice mix to each feeding.... This will help boost the immune system and act as preventative treatment id stress triggered a secondary yeast and/or bacterial infection.


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## type.rst (Oct 17, 2010)

The chick looked alot more active this morning and i have put it in another nest box an hour ago. I am going to get some hand rearing formula now and i will try to find the spices, i will assist feed several times a day, hopefully the chick shall survive. Thank you


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## Cryren8972 (Oct 3, 2007)

How are they doing now?


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