# Chick is not growing :(



## hodoro (Nov 17, 2012)

Hello,

I have 2 orphan chicks, older one is 21 days old, the other is 19 days old. Younger is chick is not growing, he is 20-22 grams now and for about one week. The older one is 35-40 grams. 

Once i realized that he has digestive problems because his crop was overstreched and was not getting smaller. I flushed the crop and now he is digesting. I started to take more care about heat of the formula and environment.

This is my first time breeding and i did not expect such thing that chicks mother would die and father will give up. 

I feed babies 4 or 5 times a day 1/10 of their weight. They are digesting what they eat. The older one is ok, he is growing up but the younger one is not. 

He beggs for food when his crop gets empty, he used to have a weak neck but now he can carry his head. His droppings are looking healthy, green. But as i said, he is not growing. His wing feathers are growing very very very slow (2-3 mm for about 1 week) He is not going good but also not going bad 

Here are some pictures of them:


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Since you fixed the crop issue, he should be OK now. Its just going to take him longer to grow up. He will eventually be just as big as his sibling, but it may take him a full year to reach it. Keep doing what you're doing and don't give up. He's looking great!


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## hodoro (Nov 17, 2012)

roxy culver said:


> Since you fixed the crop issue, he should be OK now. Its just going to take him longer to grow up. He will eventually be just as big as his sibling, but it may take him a full year to reach it. Keep doing what you're doing and don't give up. He's looking great!


thank you for your reply. Why is this happening to him? I will not give up on him but i always fear that he is sick and he won't make it. You say it takes one year to be grown as his sibling, it is really a long long time.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

There are links to several articles on feeding and development problems at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27514 It might be helpful to read them in case there's something there that is relevant to your situation. The baby looks bright-eyed and alert, which is good. I'm not an expert on judging skin color but I think he looks OK, and I don't see abnormal-looking veins in his crop.

I think the older baby is underdeveloped too, but not as badly as the young one. The article at http://www.justcockatiels.net/watch-me-grow.html shows what babies should look like at different ages. Your baby's feather development isn't too far behind schedule but his weight is very low. It should be at least double. Maybe it's just the lighting, but the skin on the older baby's head looks like it's very dark red, which is a sign of dehydration.

What kind of food are you giving them? It should be commercial handfeeding formula for parrots. If that's what you're giving them, the next question is how thick are you mixing it? It shouldn't be too thick or too thin. If you scoop some up on a spoon and then tilt the spoon, it should run off slowly. 

What temperature is the formula? It will be most digestible at 102-104 F.


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## hodoro (Nov 17, 2012)

tielfan said:


> There are links to several articles on feeding and development problems at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27514 It might be helpful to read them in case there's something there that is relevant to your situation. The baby looks bright-eyed and alert, which is good. I'm not an expert on judging skin color but I think he looks OK, and I don't see abnormal-looking veins in his crop.
> 
> I think the older baby is underdeveloped too, but not as badly as the young one. The article at http://www.justcockatiels.net/watch-me-grow.html shows what babies should look like at different ages. Your baby's feather development isn't too far behind schedule but his weight is very low. It should be at least double. Maybe it's just the lighting, but the skin on the older baby's head looks like it's very dark red, which is a sign of dehydration.
> 
> ...


First of all, i read the pages you shared, thank you. I could not find a commercial handfeeding formula in my area so i am making it at home, maybe this is the point that i'm doing wrong. I think i'm doing right with the heat (i use digital thermometer ) and densitiy (i can add video for your comments)

My baby suffered some digestive problems but he could get over it (and i also learned about density and heat of food). 

In my formula, content is like this:

-baby food cereal
-little peanut butter
-applesauce (sometimes different fruits like banana, carrot purees)
-powerade (pedialite is not sold in my country)
-one or two drop vitamin (vet recommended this.)
-very little calsium (also vet recommended this)

i learned about this formula from here: http://www.cockatielcottage.net/formula.html 

Can you comment about this formula and advice me a commercial food so i can order from out of my country online. 

And also yes, the older babies skin color is as seen on photos, so you say he has dehydration problems? I know he is also under-weighted. Maybe it is because of the formula i am using. He was well fed by his parents when his mother was alive but he did not process well after his mother died (mother died 1 week ago)

Please help me, their mother died and I want them to live. I'm reading from internet how to raise them but there are lots of information and i get confused sometimes


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

What country are you in? Different handfeeding formulas are available in different regions of the world, and I don't know whether it would be easier for you to order from North America, Europe, Australia, or somewhere else.

It's basically impossible to make a well-balanced handfeeding formula at home. There are several recipes on the internet but all of them are meant for temporary use only, to give the babies enough calories until you can get a commercial handfeeding formula. 

Can you get nutritionally complete pellets for adult birds in your country? If you can, you can crush them into powder and mix it with water, and use that as a handfeeding formula. It's not quite the same nutrient balance as handfeeding formula (babies need more fat and protein than adults do) but it will be better than a homemade recipe. It would also be available very quickly. One disadvantage of ordering handfeeding formula is that it might take a long time for it to be delivered.


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## hodoro (Nov 17, 2012)

tielfan said:


> What country are you in? Different handfeeding formulas are available in different regions of the world, and I don't know whether it would be easier for you to order from North America, Europe, Australia, or somewhere else.
> 
> It's basically impossible to make a well-balanced handfeeding formula at home. There are several recipes on the internet but all of them are meant for temporary use only, to give the babies enough calories until you can get a commercial handfeeding formula.
> 
> Can you get nutritionally complete pellets for adult birds in your country? If you can, you can crush them into powder and mix it with water, and use that as a handfeeding formula. It's not quite the same nutrient balance as handfeeding formula (babies need more fat and protein than adults do) but it will be better than a homemade recipe. It would also be available very quickly. One disadvantage of ordering handfeeding formula is that it might take a long time for it to be delivered.


I'm in Turkey (europe), i've googled for brands and i think the zupreem and kaytee are good brands but there is no shipping to Turkey. Can you advise some european brands so i can order from europoen countries. 

Will the correct formula help my chicks grow faster and healtier?


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## hodoro (Nov 17, 2012)

This product (versele laga) is available in my country. 

Does anybody know about it? It is available here, if it is ok, i will order it right now? 

Thanks


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## KerriMac0216 (Apr 7, 2013)

Protein, fat and fiber are very close to the brand I use might be worth a try


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Versele Laga is a European brand. I'm not familiar with the European brands, since I'm in the US. Maybe our European members will know more about it. It looks like a good brand from what I can see on the internet so it should be OK to use it. They have been in the bird food business for more than 40 years. They presented a paper on handfeeding formula at a parrot symposium (see http://www.versele-laga.com/Nutri/N...aga/PDF/ScienceLibrary/ParrotsHandfeeding.pdf ) and they have a scientific library on their website with articles about bird nutrition (see http://www.versele-laga.com/Nutri/N.../BE/EN/Scientific_library.jsp?lng=3&mkt=11963 ). So it looks like they take their business seriously, and their products seem to get good review from users.


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## Aleena (Jul 11, 2020)

hodoro said:


> Hello,
> 
> I have 2 orphan chicks, older one is 21 days old, the other is 19 days old. Younger is chick is not growing, he is 20-22 grams now and for about one week. The older one is 35-40 grams.
> 
> ...


My cockatiel chick is just like the smaller one. His feathers are growing day by day but the chick is not growing. Please can anyone help me in that


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## AroraAB (Aug 9, 2020)

Aleena said:


> My cockatiel chick is just like the smaller one. His feathers are growing day by day but the chick is not growing. Please can anyone help me in that


Hi,
What is the age pf your cockatiel chick on the day you posted this .. and since what age is it with you?

and how is it now?


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## Adil Khan (Jun 29, 2021)

roxy culver said:


> Since you fixed the crop issue, he should be OK now. Its just going to take him longer to grow up. He will eventually be just as big as his sibling, but it may take him a full year to reach it. Keep doing what you're doing and don't give up. He's looking great!


By my experience I brought hand feeding from market so I faced this issue Then I thought why not I make my own feeding farmola 50gm almonds 200 gram Millet 200 gm pulses 50 gram sunflower seeds & 3 egg shells make floor in mixer grander & store in conterner when u feed mix this farmola in warm water and feed with siringe and don't feed till neck 3ml for every 3 hours and given time to empty it's feed in every 24 hours ones


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