Urgent Emaciated baby 'tiel.

[angelbabe]

Hi all, I am a newbie member living in New Zealand.

2 days before Christmas, I was chosen by an adorable baby 'teil, whom I guess to be around 10-12
weeks old.

Last week, it has had a bacterial infection, which was treated with Baytril injections. We do not have specialist avian vets here, but the vet I have chosen is extremely experienced.

Since having baby Spirit, it has always seemed very light weight, and it's keel has always been noticeable. Now it's keel is extremely sharp.

Baby seems to be reasonably happy, clear eyes and nares, and active. green poop, with no staining in the urates.

I see it eating seed, but it never seems to be much.

Next week, I will be adding a variety of fruits and veges to the shopping cart, for fresh chop, to encourage new tastes.

How can I fatten baby up? I'm feeling very stressed, as I don't want to lose this precious
young soul.

 

[Kodigirl210]

Welcome & I’ll be the first to admit I’m no expert but the Tiel seems to be right at the weaning age and it’s possible it may not have been completely weaned. You might try seeing if it will still take formula or maybe more experienced members have an ideal.

@iamwhoiam ?

 

[Shezbug]

Welcome

 

[Birdbabe]

I would feed baby formula to get the weight up, they do lose while weaning, but, shouldn't be so thin that the keel bone is sharp.. maybe baby is a late wean,,,try new soft yummy foods first thing in the morning, but if baby dosent eat, then give formula. You must show baby the yums and pretend to eat them, baby will get the idea...also, if you can, weigh baby every day, first thing, on an empty crop, record the weight, and make sure it's going up.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Might want to see if it wants hand feeding formula. Your baby cockatiel might have regressed into needing formula again.

 

[MiniMacaw]

I agree with the hand feeding advice. My macaw “should have been” weaned when I brought him home, but I ended up hand feeding him for almost a full year due to regression and his need for comfort feedings.
I would be on top of weighing daily and also offering soft, comforting foods through out the day.
Good luck with this little one and please keep us updated.

 

[rocky'smom]

Do you have gram scale? Weigh him in morning before feeding him. Do this every morning. In a pinch low to no iron human baby cereal will work, mix it with sweet potatoe puree, Apple sauce unsweetened, any type veggies you can get as long as it's low iron. You are going to have feed this babe every few hours, as soon as it's crop empties.

 

[Ripshod]

and also offering soft, comforting foods through out the day.

Boil an egg for 12 minutes. Make sure you remove all the membrane (the skin-like bit) along with the shell then mash it up fine. If your tiel isn't taking food from a bowl offer it between finger and thumb. If necessary make bobbing movements with your hand as if it's regurgitating (like a parent). As the tiel is underweight offer more yolk than white. For now there's no way your tiel can eat too much egg. Throw away whatever remains after 3hrs.

 

[angelbabe]

Thank you everyone. I have just won an auction on our local equivalent of Ebay, containing, among other things, new 1.5 kg soft food, a new packet of millet, and egg and biscuit mix. Yippee, I'm sure these foods will help. While in town tomorrow, I will go to the pet store, to find hand rearing formula. I have just also just won a basic hand rearing kit, which will be very helpful, until the kit I plan on buying from Ebay arrives Ebay kit has syringe, several sizes of feeding tubes, (ultra small will be used, until i get the hang of that kit) kaytees exact, and other useful items. Also planning to buy a digital scale, for daily weight checks. I will keep everyone updated.

 

[angelbabe]

I would feed baby formula to get the weight up, they do lose while weaning, but, shouldn't be so thin that the keel bone is sharp.. maybe baby is a late wean,,,try new soft yummy foods first thing in the morning, but if baby dosent eat, then give formula. You must show baby the yums and pretend to eat them, baby will get the idea...also, if you can, weigh baby every day, first thing, on an empty crop, record the weight, and make sure it's going up.

Hmm late wean could be a possibility, as baby was last hatch, out of the clutch.

 

[Kodigirl210]

@angelbabe - can you please tell me if you have experience hand feeding with syringe? The only reason I ask is that it is risky for people who haven’t been taught and even sometimes risky for those who have. Aspirating the food is a very real possibility, as the baby is so small & it would be sad after everything you two have been through to deal with that as well. You might consider using a handfeeding spoon instead. Using a spoon might also keep your little one from regressing to total baby bird behavior. It’s just a thought. If you have hand fed by syringe prior then it will definitely be more quick & easy. I wish you the best of luck!!!

 

[angelbabe]

Thanks for your care and concern. When I was in my 20's and 30s I worked with rescue babies, of all species, so have syringe fed before. I am also exceptionally careful when handling any babies. It is just that I haven't used that particular feeding kit before.

 

[Kodigirl210]

Beautiful! Then I would definitely look at getting some formula into him. At the end of weaning my CAG (Just last week) I used finely ground up high potency pellets on the advice of my vet rather than formula. He said it would greatly increases the chances of success when transitioning to the actual pellet & he was absolutely right. Sif loves her pellets above all other food now

 

[angelbabe]

Hi all, baby Spirit's soft food arrived today, I made some up, and it ate very well I intend though to buy some Kaytees exact, for a supper/bedtime meal, and some egg and biscuit, to offer, for variety, as well as fresh chop. Hopefully those precious grams will be gained back quickly. Happy Mama tonight

 

[iamwhoiam]

Hope all will be well with the baby.

 

[angelbabe]

Spirit update. We've had a 2 week wait, for our Kaytees Exact to arrive, but it finally has. Yippee! Meanwhile baby has been having "cereal" (soft food), chop, millet and seed. Also today, 2 sample packets of Roudybush arrived, nibble and crumble. I offered a taste of crumble, and that was eagerly taste tested. That was after a fairly decent nibble at some "cereal". I have just been a bit anal and reboiled all of the hand feeding equipment, despite everything having been in a sealed airtight container, and put it all back into a freshly washed container. I intend to give a late night feed of Kaytees tonight, to digest over night. Hopefully this is the start of little Spirit gaining weight.

 

[sunnysmom]

Great news. I hope he gains weight soon.

 

[angelbabe]

Can someone please tell me what the dose and method of administering is, for Spirit, and an adult hen, of Aviverm. Both are in seperate homes. I have syringes that I can use, to correctly measure doses.

 

[Kodigirl210]

@angelbabe - I’m sure it’s not what you want to hear but the best thing to do is to ask your vet. The birds are so tiny it could be dangerous not to get it right. Especially with Spirit trying to get back on his feet. ​