Underdeveloped linnie

[Caza66]

We decided to pull Pickles from the nest last Sunday as I was concerned he wasn't being fed. He was 21 days old and weighed 30g. He was also breathing a bit heavy so is on a course of septrin. His sibling peaches died at 12 days old of pneumonia. We are still waiting for test results for the cause of the pneumonia to determine whether to not breed from that pair again.

Anyway, he is taking formula well, on 4 feeds a day and ranges from 7g morning feed, 10-12g at lunchtime, 10-12g tea time and then 8g last feed. His weight has been up and down and today is 32g. He should be on 3 feeds a day now but I am reluctant to do this. His breathing us still a bit clicky and still has a bit of a snotty nose but it is improving slowly. Waiting to speak to the vet thus morning. Should I treat him as a younger chick and go off his development rather than his age? This is him this morning at 27 days old.

 

[CheekyBeaks]

If he is underdeveloped and not gaining weight appropriately then I would suggest feeding to suit his development level rather than by age. I'm not familiar with Linnie's as they are still very uncommon here in Australia so not sure what weight he should have reached by now. How quickly is his crop emptying? If you can sneak a fifth feed in comfortably I would be tempted to try that to help get some weight on. I would also suggest adding some probiotics to the formula and even some electrolytes a couple of times per day to ensure he is well hydrated while he gets over the pneumonia, they will also help to boost the immune system.

@melissasparrots may be more familiar with Linnie's and be able to help you more

 

[Caza66]

Thanks Anne-Marie, that was my thoughts too. I will order some probiotic (I think avipro is the most bought one over in the uk). He should be weighing about 55-60g by now, so really under developed. Although he is getting his wing feathers through and has a little green mask. He was also exercising his wings and preening.

 

[melissasparrots]

Yes, I would feed according to their development. I don't think there is such a thing as a certain number of feeds a baby should be on at any particular age. Sometimes I have nearly weaned babies that are getting 4 smaller meals a day as opposed to two larger meals. I just go with what the bird seems to need. If he's acting like a younger baby, then feed him like a younger one. Especially if his crop is moving fast enough to allow for more feedings, or he's crying, or due to illness he isn't hungry enough to take as much each feeding as he needs to support growth. It sounds like the vet probably did a culture and sensitivity and they are waiting for it to grow enough to show what the baby has and what drug treats it best. If it turns out he has something bacterial, I'd also culture the parents and treat them. If its genetic, then that is good reason not to breed the parents again. But, if they are sublinical carriers of a bacterial infection, then you need to treat that both for the sake of the parents and any other birds you might get which could also become carriers on exposure to that pair. Once the pair are treated and assuming there isn't any environmental contaminant in water or food, or yet other birds in the house that are also carriers that can reinfect the treated pair etc, then you shouldn't have to worry about it again unless you have a breakdown in sanitation or husbandry that is causing the problem.

 

[Caza66]

Just an update on pickles. He is now 40 days old and doing okay, of sorts. He has been on septrin for 10 days because of a snotty nose. This hadn't cleared up after this course so took him back to the vets because he also developed a head tilt. The vet put him on a course of synulox for a further 10 days (3 days to go). His nose is still slightly snotty and his head tilt has swapped sides. His balance is poor but then at times it is ok. He was just sat on my finger preening himself. I don't know if his head tilt is down to an infection in his ear or it has passed to his brain. He is still on 4 feeds of 10-14g a feed but his weight is still extremely low (37g) but he may be putting his energy into fighting this infection.

His sibling who died of pneumonia was pm'd and tested by beak and feather, aspergillosis and one other that I can't remember and they were all negative.

Just waiting until he has finished his abs. Is it possible to keep him as a special case with his poor balance assuming the URI clears up?

 

[Caza66]

Sad news. Pickles was breathing worse yesterday morning and his head tilt was worse and accompanied with head shaking. We took him to the vets where he was put to sleep.

So sorry pickles, I thought you would have pulled through. Fly free with kiwi

 

[Newbie GCC]

So sorry. Was really hoping he would pull through. Poor little guy.

 

[Birdbabe]

I'm sorry.

 

[rocky'smom]

i am so sorry for your loss.

 

[melissasparrots]

So sorry for your loss. You really should consider getting a culture done on the parents to see what bacteria exactly is causing this. And/or do a full necropsy on the chick. If two babies died like that, you likely have a disease in your flock. Chances are high you can treat for it and be done with it and never have the problem again. Also possible the chick aspirated, but that would be uncommon for a parent fed baby and even less common for two of them to have aspirated from their parents.

 

[Caza66]

We have spoken with the avian vet who has said that it is more likely a genetic thing that is causing low/no immunity in the babies as the parent(s) would be carriers and not displaying signs. We have decided not to breed these pair again. The tests showed negative results for polymer circovirus, asper or pbfd which are the most likely nasty diseases that possibly could have caused the pneumonia. None of the other birds are showing symptoms, although being adults with more of an immune system.

The necropsy on peaches and kiwi showed that there were lesions in their lungs so these were the tests the vet thought most likely. To do a full culture would cost a lot of money and at the moment we just can't afford it. We have just had to pay out £2000 for the dog to have an MRI scan, he has to have another test on Friday and possibly a spinal operation. The bathroom floor has also rotted away which is resulting in a new bathroom. I will be keeping a close eye on my birds health and am going off the vets recommendations. Thank you for the concern, your thoughts and kind wishes.