Hi Everyone. I purchased a cockatiel chick yesterday, and I'm hoping to get some advice/reassurace. Backstory: the baby was supposed to be 4 weeks old, but when I got him home I thought he looked younger. Spoke to the breeder who then said he was 3 weeks, but I think he looks more like 2.5. She had a lot of babies going and might just not have kept track. Bottom line is, I've got a much younger baby to care for, which is beyond my experience (I've finished off hand feeding plenty of older babies before without issue). I don't want to give him back if I can help it because I'm not super confident with the breeder either.
I weighed him when I got him home yesterday and he was only 49g. I've been feeding him a good formula, using a candy thermometer to ensure that it is not too hot or cold. He has a great appetite but I'm mindful of not overfeeding him. I weigh him before and after feeds.
I guess I'm a bit confused about how much to feed him. If he is 3 weeks, he is underweight and one guide I saw said at that age they should have 7-10cc per feed. However, if you use the 10% rule he would only be having 5cc or so. He's been eating 6-7ml, and while I want him to grow and be healthy, I'm worried about stretching his crop. You can see in the photo that is sags down quite a bit (nearly 2 hours post feed).
I've got the brooder humidity above 75% and the temp just right, but he seems dry (and with red skin) and his crop had not completely emptied this morning (11pm feed to 7am feed). The crop is not overly yellow and there wasn't evidence of yeast in the mouth, but I still worry about crop health because I know they can go downhill fast. So today (on his fourth feed here) I used coconut water and a drop of apple cider vinegar just in case. He took that just fine (6ml) but after the feed I did notice a bit of an air bubble next to his shoulder blade on top. It had gone down within a few hours of the feed (you can barely see it in the photo). I'm using an extremely short syringe, cannot see how that could have punctured him. Could a trauma from the syringe be the only reason for the air sac? I am happy to bring him to the avian vet, but I may be totally overreacting! It's cold here so would rather not bring him out and stress him if it's not necessary.
Sorry this is a bit of a rambling post!
I weighed him when I got him home yesterday and he was only 49g. I've been feeding him a good formula, using a candy thermometer to ensure that it is not too hot or cold. He has a great appetite but I'm mindful of not overfeeding him. I weigh him before and after feeds.
I guess I'm a bit confused about how much to feed him. If he is 3 weeks, he is underweight and one guide I saw said at that age they should have 7-10cc per feed. However, if you use the 10% rule he would only be having 5cc or so. He's been eating 6-7ml, and while I want him to grow and be healthy, I'm worried about stretching his crop. You can see in the photo that is sags down quite a bit (nearly 2 hours post feed).
I've got the brooder humidity above 75% and the temp just right, but he seems dry (and with red skin) and his crop had not completely emptied this morning (11pm feed to 7am feed). The crop is not overly yellow and there wasn't evidence of yeast in the mouth, but I still worry about crop health because I know they can go downhill fast. So today (on his fourth feed here) I used coconut water and a drop of apple cider vinegar just in case. He took that just fine (6ml) but after the feed I did notice a bit of an air bubble next to his shoulder blade on top. It had gone down within a few hours of the feed (you can barely see it in the photo). I'm using an extremely short syringe, cannot see how that could have punctured him. Could a trauma from the syringe be the only reason for the air sac? I am happy to bring him to the avian vet, but I may be totally overreacting! It's cold here so would rather not bring him out and stress him if it's not necessary.
Sorry this is a bit of a rambling post!
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