Pictures Baby Speckled Mousebird

Amy Pierce · 4/15/14

He opened and closed his foot tonight! Taking it as a sign of good things to come

CrystalLeo · 4/16/14

Yeay! That's a good sign!

Let us know how he's doing this morning kay

Amy Pierce · 4/16/14

I found Twitch today with a severely swollen, red and blocked vent. There is a large poo stuck in there. I've been massaging and gently pressing and he's been able to pass a bit, but I can tell he's really straining and struggling

It must be so painful :sad10:

Anne & Gang · 4/16/14

CrystalLeo · 4/16/14

Oh no! That could very well be the cause of his lame foot! I wonder if you could give him something that would make his tummy run and push it all out and clean out his digestive system.
Could it have been there since yesterday?

Amy Pierce · 4/16/14

There are a few poops in the cage, and they're from last night because I cleaned it right before bed. I feel terrible because I was in such a rush to go pick up 4 new orphans that I just checked how his foot was doing and fed him. He was eating well so it probably wasn't affecting him then. When I got home he was excited and I checked him and that's when I saw it. He's passed a lot now and its not so dry! I'm giving him water with a dropper too because I think he's a bit dehydrated. He's obviously been battling to get to his water!

CrystalLeo · 4/16/14

Shame poor thing, it's very possible cause that was my second guess, that he was dehydrated and the poo got hard and stuck, kind of like when we humans don't drink enough. Keep giving him some water through a dropper. Try getting him a lower bowl with water so he can get his head over the rim. I think that should be able to help him a bit more.

snada · 4/16/14

Hi Amy that also happened to Tweety when she was very young too. I found when Tweety ate to much banana she would have alot of trouble passing her poo so I started to give banana 2/3 times a week instead of everyday. I gave more pawpaw when I didn’t give the banana and her poo went back to normal. Now that she is older I do give her banana every morning. How is Twitch now? Hope Twitch is ok :hug8:

Amy Pierce · 4/16/14

Thanks @snada !! Ya I was also advised to give less banana and more paw-paw, cos that's a pretty good natural laxative. He's doing much better now, sitting in mom's lap and getting some cuddles

much more alert now. Shame he would close his eyes to desperately strain earlier

I'm SO relieved he's doing better. He seems so much more relaxed now!

I've been meaning to ask you, how did Tweety act when she was wanting to nest/lay eggs? Nimh has a hanging material nest that he sleeps in at night, he never goes in during the day but the other day I was watching him and he sat in the bottom sort of shuffling around and making little "trrrr" noises. I think he may actually be a she :facepalm:

Amy Pierce · 4/16/14

With a push and a little squeaky fart, Twitch did a nice, fairly easy "self-poop". He will still be under close monitoring for the next few days!

snada · 4/16/14

@Amy Pierce I’ve been told the females are much more nervous than the males. Tweety has always been a very jumpy bird, everything seems to scare her. About a week or so before she laid, she would fly to the top of the aircon with loo roll and started to tuck it in around her. She started to spend most of the day just sitting up there watching the world go by. Then one day she seemed to be very panicky most of the day and nothing seemed to calm her down. About 6pm I went to check on her and she was sitting on her platform I have in her cage panting with her tail up in the air. At first I thought she was dying and I panicked and picked her up. I saw that she was straining, I looked at her vent and saw she was trying to push an egg out. I put her back in her cage and she laid the egg. :wideyed:

She hasn’t taken much interest in the egg at all. She did try and tuck tissue around it for a few days after but never sat on it.

Tweety will be a year old on the 2nd of May. I know someone else who has a mousebird and thought it was a male, 3 years later out popped an egg. I also have a tea towel I use for a nest and Tweety crawls up into it at night to sleep as well. I have a platform in her cage that she uses quite a lot to rest and where she laid her egg.

I am so happy that Twitch is doing much better and they sure do love their cuddles.

Tweety is cuddling under my sweater right now snoring

Can I ask what the orphans are you picked up today?

Amy Pierce · 4/16/14

Wow, it sounds like she didn't really know what to do as a pretend mom! I don't find Nimh nervous. He just loves to be around people and will hop to the first person he can! and if he's on the other side of the room exploring he will always come flitting over to me! I don't know how old he is, how long the previous people had him for or how he even came to be theirs in the first place. I sort of wonder if males would be "paternal" if there was no female around? I know some birds will build nests even with no mates, but I don't know if it applies to mousebirds! He does try pull my hair out when he burrows himself into my neck, but not the kind of "Ok I'm taking this now" kind of pull, more like preening I think. :geek:

I had no clue birds could snore :coffeescreen:

I can just picture it! Twitch is on a hot water bottle now sleeping (and twitching). He's had a few very small meals. I just checked his vent and no swelling or straining so I'm hoping the constipation has passed! At least he is comfy now

He gave me a right panic today though!

My little orphans are either Bronze or Red-backed Mannikins! I have raised one of each now (Flea and Nugget) who share a cage and get along very well despite being different

I'm not too confident in ID'ing the orphans just yet, because when I first got Nugget I was convinced he was a Bronze until he turned into a Red-backed, and with Flea I was convinced she was a Red-backed until she turned into a Bronze

They look very similar before they get their adult plumage! I'm sort of hoping these babies will be Red-backed (although I will love them no matter what

) because Red-backs are just so much easier to wean! I had a bugger of a time weaning Flea :bag:

CrystalLeo · 4/17/14

LOL Ai shame, do you have pics of the orphans? I would love to see them!
I'm so glad that Twitch is doing so much better!

Is his foot still unresponsive?
I also can't really imagine a bird snoring :bored:

would be super funny!

Amy Pierce · 4/17/14

My little Twitch took a turn for the worst during the night

I found him this morning weak and barely responsive. He tried to eat at first, but eventually just closed his eyes as he lay in my hand. I was fearing the worst but after a while he tried to move and opened his little eyes and asked for food again. I thought maybe he was getting better but he closed his eyes again and is now just lying and shaking, even though I have him on some heat

My heart is breaking. I feel utterly useless, knowing there is nothing else I can do except just hold him and be with him :crycry:

Anne & Gang · 4/17/14

snada · 4/17/14

How is Twitch doing now? Sending lots of hugs your way :hug8:

CrystalLeo · 4/17/14

Shame! I hope he pulls through!
Don't know what we would do without our little star. :cry3:

Let us know how he's doing!

Amy Pierce · 4/17/14

Thanks everyone :hug8:

He has fought so hard today, and there have been a few times where I thought he wasn't going to make it, but he pulled himself back everytime. He still isn't 100%, but he seems to be slightly better. I've had him on a heating pad all day, and I've been giving him some natural meds for constipation. His abdomen is hard, but there isn't anything in his vent like yesterday. I think there may be some blockage further up

I think if he makes it through tonight, he will have a good chance of recovering.

I don't want him to suffer, so I think if he stays the way he is for more than a few days without showing any signs of improving, I may have to consider having him put to sleep. It breaks my heart to think of him no longer being with me, but it hurts even more to see that tiny little body struggle. But I will give him every chance to recover, I won't be hasty in making the decision.

He is such a strong baby. I've seen weak birds but I've never seen them pull back from the brink like this little guy

CrystalLeo · 4/17/14

Such a fighter! He really wants to stay where he is. Keep going with your treatment! Is he also drinking a lot so his food doesn't get hard in his digestive track?
Hope little Twitch pulls through!

Amy Pierce · 4/17/14

He's on formula now and I've made it quite runny so he's getting a lot of water from that

I've been putting drops on his beak as well so he's definitely getting plenty of water. I'm checking his vent often and using a wet earbud to stimulate it like I did when he was a baby, but he really isn't passing a lot which is why I think there could be a blockage

I just hope he passes it. Tonight's going to be a long, hard fight for both of us

Pictures Baby Speckled Mousebird

Sprinting down the street

Sprinting down the street

Sprinting down the street

Riding the Skies

Sprinting down the street

Sprinting down the street

Sprinting down the street

Strolling the yard

Sprinting down the street

Sprinting down the street

Strolling the yard

Sprinting down the street

Sprinting down the street

Sprinting down the street

Riding the Skies

Strolling the yard

Sprinting down the street

Sprinting down the street

Sprinting down the street

Sprinting down the street