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baby mousebird needs help

fielies

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Hi.I am new here and thought you guys might be of great help and intresting to talk too. I live in South Africa and I'm trying to get some info about mousebirds. They are not really kept as pets in our country as the are indigenous and some people see them as pests. Recently during a storm my cat brought me a baby bird that probably fell out of a nest as she is horrible at catching birds (luckily). I found pics on the internet and know it is a mousebird but dont know which specie it is. I think its less than a week. I've been feeding it a popular hand raising feed thats available in the coutry mixed with some Gerber baby food (fruits). I feed him every hour. He has been doing well. I can see how the feathers are changing and growing. I'm just very scared about overfeeding. Can anyone just give me advice on how much food he should recieve during a day and any other advice you might think that can benefit the little guy?
Thanks alot.
 

Babybreau

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Talk to srtiels, she is our resident mousebird expert!
If you make a few more posts, like in the welcome area, then you'll be able to post pics and we can help better with the pics.
 

J*M*L

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Awww... I hope SRTiels sees this post soon... :)
 

TITANIS

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:welave: Narissa! :)

Susanne will reply with answers to your mousebird questions a little later. You won't find a person more knowledgeable on this family of birds, so hang in there. :)
 

waterfaller1

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How wonderful, you are a gift from heaven! You do not know how Susanne and I have spoken of wishing we had someone to talk to from Africa about our beloved mousebirds! WAKE UP Susanne! She will be along soon to help. Like Titanis said, you won't ever meet another person as knowledgeable about these awesome little birds. I know he should be fed quite often, you want to use something like a q-tip to feed. Too easy to aspirate with a syringe. Susanne will fill you in on all you need to know. I am so happy you have joined us! I hope we can help guide you through. :hug8:
Woohoo:dancing:
 

srtiels

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Hi...AND WELCOME!!!

Keep the little one warm and something fuzzy like a feather duster to snuggle into.

OK regardless of what species it is it is very important to empty the bird of feces either prior or after feeding. Have you noticed the little one pointing its rump or little tail up? If so what you do is take a kleenex, Q-tip, or your fingertip and massage the vent until it poops. In the nest the parent birds do this to help thge baby poop. The parent birds eat the feces, and many times it is fed back to the baby when they feed it food. You do not have to feed it back, I was just explaining what partents do. So Make sure that each time fed (either prior or after) the baby is stimulated to poop. I failed to do this on one, and I suspect I lost it from an intestinal impaction.

As to feeding....if you touch it on the side of the beak does it give a feeding responce? They will ususally flutter their little wings and their body looks like it is vibrating. You can chop up fruit into tiny sized peices and use a tweezers to place the fruit in the babies mouth when it begs/opens it's mouth for food. In addition use your commercial handfeeding formula, mixed with mashed or baby food fruits to syringe or feed from a tiny paddle or spoon.

Mousebirds do not have a crop, like parrots, which will hold quanties of food. The have an expandible esphogus, so they will only hold about 1cc or so of food at a time.

OK...PLEASE try and post a digital pix of your baby...TOP and SIDE VEIWS. I can get an idea of what species it is. And also time/amountsd to feed. I'm suspecting possibly a speckled, which I do not work with, but I do know there are some mousebird rehabbers in Africa....I can look up email info, if needed.

My other concern is cat saliva on the baby. This could be a problem. Do you have any access to penecillin...just in case, if needed for an infection?
 
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srtiels

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Ok...from the mousebird book: feeding. Commercial formula with stained baby food mixed to the consistancy of a slurry

7-9 days 0.5cc every hour

9-11 days 1.0cc every hour

11-15 days 1.5-2cc every 1.5-2 hours

15-21 days 1.5-2cc
plus bits of fruit every 2-2.5 hours

21-weaning fruit and
soaked pellets every 2-3 hours
 

waterfaller1

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It's 3:41 is Johannesburg,S.A.
Narissa,where are you?:)
 

srtiels

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OK...as to posting a pix. If you look at the bottom of the window that you are typing a message in you will see the button: Go Advanced Click on it it will bring up a new responce window. Scroll down past the reply box and you should see a button that says Manage Attachments...click on browse, to find a pix or pix's stored on your computer. Once you have selected the pixs, click on upload, wait till the boxes where the files where empty from the attchment window, close the window, and them finish the post and hit reply.

ALSO...if you can post a pix of the leg or a foot I may be able to tell if it is dehydrated or not. In the meantime you might want to use some electrolytes or pedialyte as the water to mix it's formula. This will help with hydration.
 

srtiels

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It is the COMBINATION of vit C and iron sources that is the major problem. NO citrus fruits should be given to the little mousebird. Iron in small degrees is needed for digestion and other body functions. It is when it is combined with C sources in the diet, the C binds the iron in the body. Vit E acts as a depletor of iron.
 

srtiels

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Another thought... If you have a scales that weighs in grams this will be very helpful. On an average a white-backed baby will gain 2 grams a day. A blue-naped baby will gain 3 grams a day. Since I do not have speckled, which are the largest of the mousebirds, I would hazard a quess of them gaining 4+ grams a day. I beleive growth of the red-faced would be similar to the blue-naped.

But a scales, if you weight daily or 2X a day, will let you know how the baby is doing. It should gain weight every day, prior to feeding, and after stimulating them to poop.. If it stays the same weight for 1-2 days this can be an alert to a problem. I am only 2 years into breeding mousebirds and have found them very hardy little birds, but chilling, and dehydration can have a negative effect on their health.
 
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fielies

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Firstly thanks to everyones advice. I really appreciate it.
I do stimulate pooping after every feeding. it seems like the little one poops just as much as being fed.
There is a very good feeding response. I dont even have to touch the mouth.
To get penicillin can be a bit difficult. Vets in the area wont sell me any and they only suggest feeding recovery diet from hills that you feed dogs and cats after surgery. But there was no break in the skin.
I did attach the pics. hope it helps. I do feed every hour and 0.5cc. The baby starts falling asleep again directly so thus doesnt want to accept more food and I dont force feed. The current body weight is 17 grams.

I stay in Pretoria

Thanks again for everyones help!!!
 

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waterfaller1

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AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!:hug8::heart:
 

srtiels

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OK...you have approx a 10 day old Blue-naped baby. 17 grams is VERY underweight. The baby should be approx 28-33 grams for the size of your little one.

OK...that is GREAT you have a feeding responce and am stimulating the feces. Can you get any meal worms, termite eggs, termites, ANY insects for protein? Squish them up and add them to his formula. If you can not get insects then hardboil an egg, mash it and add some to the formula. Also at this age you can also use a tweezers to hold bits of fruit and offer it to the little one inbetween feedings.

I currently have a blue-naped baby in the nest that was 10 days old yesterday (pix below). On another thread I have been posting daily pix's of the growth.
 

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srtiels

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NOTE: I looked at your baby again, and the red-faced species looks the same as the blue-naped. Look at the back of the head, behind the little rust colored area...if a blue-naped a faint pale blue-turquoise should be apparent...if not a red-faced. red-faced are slightly heavier than the blue-naped as babies. And added protein source will be very benefical for the growth. Also some type of minerals. I beleive alot of animals in Africa dig deep around termite mouinds. 'Possibly' a tiny pinch of this dirt in the formula (?just a thought) I noticed that my parent birds will include a tiny bit of sand and some stuff that is called Fullers Earth with the food they feed back to the chick.

Also you might place some fresh sand under the baby. it can use this to groom itself.
 

srtiels

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Ok..also at this age the eye can fully open. When the chicks eyes are open is it alert and observant of what is going on? A drop of honey added to the formula may give it some added energy.
 

srtiels

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Oh...and in looking again, the light weight may be dehydration.

Use electorlytes as the water to mix the formula. Since fruit is used it is hydroscopic...which means that it will suck away fluids in the body, so you MUST maintain fluids. This is more important than foods.
 

Missi

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WELCOME Narissa! :hug8: We hope you'll stay with us! Your presence is definitely a gift from Heaven, as Carole stated! I am also a BIG mousebird fan! We hope you can give us daily (or even more often) updates & photos & that you will stay here with us! The more mousebird lovers, the better :swoon: Your baby is a lil dawl. It sounds like you are on the right track. Susanne is the best! Carole too. Lets get that baby's weight up & keep it alive! :highfive:
 
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