Urgent 4 babies, only 3 full crop? HELP!

[Kirkhoff]

I got 4 little babies a week ago; the 2 oldest are 7 days, then there's a little lutino 6 days old and another baby 5 days old.
The lutino has always been a bit smaller and less fluffy than the others, but the mom has fed them all well and kept them warm - until today, I have checked this morning, this afternoon and this evening (just 10 minutes ago) - all but the little lutino have full crops, the lutino have not have anything in it's crop the whole day and seem to be getting weaker (shaking).
I'm so confused as what to do! What do you think would be best for the little one? I'm afraid I will wait too long. This is the mom's first living clutch.

 

[Kirkhoff]

This is one with food in the crop.


Here is the lutino:

(I usually never take them up, but I wanted to show a picture).

I'm so nervous

 

[iamwhoiam]

If you really feel that the parents are not feeding the lutino then you are probably going to have to pull it and feed it yourself. When was the last time you noticed it had a full crop? If it's not being fed, then you will need to take over from the parents. Have you ever handfed before? If not you need to contact an experienced breeder or vet so you will know what you are doing or maybe you can find someone to take the bird in and feed it.

 

[Anne & Gang]

looks like you are going to have to pull that one and hand feed.

 

[Kirkhoff]

No, I have never handfed before (only an sick adult parrot) - I have that formular somewhere. I'm just scared I will do more harm than good by pulling it, but I can't leave it to starve either.
The only brooder I have is a big brinsea brooder for eggs?
This morning the baby had a little food in the crop, next time I checked the others had been fed but not the lutino. Now it looks like on the picture..

 

[Kirkhoff]

I don't know anyone who knows how to handfeed, I only know aviary bird keepers and there are not many bird people around.

 

[Kirkhoff]

What do you think when you look at the photo? It has been like that the since this afternoon.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Is there an avian vet in your area or can you even call a vet school such as the University of Berlin/Freie Universitat or another to perhaps direct you to one? Maybe there is even a bird club you can contact.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Both of those babies look stunted. How big are the older two babies?

If you cannot find someone to teach you how to handfeed. Its time for you to do some extensive research.

YouTube is the best way to get a visual on how to handfeed if you cannot find anyone to teach you.

Google is your next best friend on learning all the necessaries of handfeeding.

Is this your pairs first clutch?

 

[Kirkhoff]

There are no avian vets nearby, I can try and call my own vet to ask. They tend to see to my cockatiels.

 

[Kirkhoff]

The male have had several clutchs before, the female have had eggs before but this is her first living clutch. She is 2 and the male 4 years old.
This afternoon I refilled their feeder with a lot of egg food. The previous days the babies have had big yellow crops.

 

[Kirkhoff]

I have never seen the dad feed the babies, only mom.
The one on the first photo is 7 days old, it looks stunted? They grew so nicely with full crops until today.

 

[Bokkapooh]

It takes quite a few days for a baby to become stunted. If the first pic is of a 7day old chick. Yes, its quite stunted.

Please youtube on how to handfeed young cockatiels. Many videos on YouTube. Along with google searching informative topics, so you become best prepared to handraise the whole nest. And ofcourse if you're able to talk with a knowledgeable person in your area, will benefit you and these chicks.

 

[Kirkhoff]

Oh, these are Red Rumped parrot. It's my aviary pair and their babies.
My tame birds are cockatiels, they have a baby of their own.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Sorry, I mistook them for tiel babies. I have never raised red rumps or know anything about their sizes as babies.

One thing I do notice is that perhaps you're bothering this pair too much by checking up on the babies and the parents too much. Especially if this is their first clutch together.

 

[Kirkhoff]

Oh sorry for the confusion. I check the babies once each day, the reason I checked more today was because the empty crop of the little one

 

[Kirkhoff]

I made some formula and fed it to the mom, she loves it (she was fed by me when she was sick last year) - appereantly she went and fed the babies right after, so they all have big full crops now. I've placed a bunch of egg food just beside her nestbox, so she doesn't have to fly too long - as the male appereantly don't help with feeding. That helped a lot, so I think that was the problem!

Thanks a lot for your concern!

 

[Birdbabe]

Still keep an eye on them though, glad that seemed to help.

 

[maddie]

I am SO glad you found a solution

My Sally has raised 3 chicks on her own (she and Teq is not a love pair, and she doesn't want him near her chick) and I have from time to time offered her some formula too, to help both her and the chick cope. Being as good as a single mom takes a toll on her and she flatly refuses any help from Tequila.
So a bit of formula, she licks off a syringe, seems to help and we've seen her offer it on directly to her young one. Then, when chick leaves the nest box, we've offered the chick some formula too, not enough to take over feeding, just a bit on the side. It has also helped us bond with the young one and make him/her used to being handled.

I hope I will never have to handfeed for survival, but if the day comes, I will surely manage. Just need to sort out the amount and the frequency, and for that, I will absolutely turn to all the wonderful and knowledgeable people on this forum.

Yep, that's you guys!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Happy to read that you were able to help out by feeding mom. Good thinking on your part!! If mom is not getting enough to eat then, of course, there is not enough to feed the babies. Keep us updated on how things go.