Care for a 35 day old cockatiel ?

[Haroobom]

Okay, now that I'm a bit more calm and going through the photos and comparing to the bird now, I can tell that the crop did go down and is probably 2/4 of the size it was last night after feeding. I think that in a few hours I'll check again. Meanwhile I'll go get the papaya and electrolytes. I've also researched the papaya cream and most comments claim it works so I'll try to keep my hopes up and save the little baby.

 

[Haroobom]

No. At one point in time in every 24 hour the crop must empty completely. Usually overnight, so when you go to feed for the first time of the day, the crop is completely empty.


Yes, you heat it like it is formula. Watch the facebook video link, it seems a little clearer.
Skin the papaya, scoop out all the flesh and seeds into a blender, add a little pedialyte, then blend, he says not to make too liquidy because when you heat it, it will get more liquid on it´s own. So only add a little of the pedialtye.
Just offer it on a spoon and see how much the bird eats. Don´t over fill the crop.

Hi, me again. I placed a plastic lid in the tub with a bit of bird seed and he is EATING or at least trying to. Should I keep the lid, or remove it? Given the state of his crop.

 

[Zara]

I´m concerned. From my understanding here, the crop has not been completely empty since the night before last. (Please correct if I´m wrong).

If the crop only went down

2/4 of the size it was last night after feeding

then it did not empty once in the 24 hour window, and now you have given more food?

Remove the food, the crop needs to empty completely.

 

[Haroobom]

I´m concerned. From my understanding here, the crop has not been completely empty since the night before last. (Please correct if I´m wrong).

If the crop only went down

then it did not empty once in the 24 hour window, and now you have given more food?

Remove the food, the crop needs to empty completely.

Yes that's correct, I already took the seed out, and only fed 3mL of the papaya cream with the spoon method. I will leave him alone for the time being. I got the oportunity to message a facebook breeder from another state and said my bird looks fine (?) But I can still feel a bit of contents in the crop, I'm not sure what to do about that, only wait and hope it absorbs now that the papaya was given. I'm sorry for being a nuisance I'm just trying to do everything I can to save the bird. I thought it was a good sign he wanted to look for food on his own... He does look active when I'm around the tub, and his poops look fine. I hope he was just overfed given that he is 35 day old and should only be fed 3 times a day...

 

[Britnicorn]

Yes that's correct, I already took the seed out, and only fed 3mL of the papaya cream with the spoon method. I will leave him alone for the time being. I got the oportunity to message a facebook breeder from another state and said my bird looks fine (?) But I can still feel a bit of contents in the crop, I'm not sure what to do about that, only wait and hope it absorbs now that the papaya was given. I'm sorry for being a nuisance I'm just trying to do everything I can to save the bird. I thought it was a good sign he wanted to look for food on his own... He does look active when I'm around the tub, and his poops look fine. I hope he was just overfed given that he is 35 day old and should only be fed 3 times a day...

You’re not a nuisance, we all want to see your little guy thrive

 

[Zara]

Ok. Let the crop empty now you´ve given some of the papaya. Once the crop is empty completely, you can feed papaya mixed with formula. Then keep reducing the amount of papaya and increasing the formula for those 4 next feedings.

Again, it´s not just the frequency, it´s the amount you´re giving too that will determine how long until it is digested.

Weigh your bird once the crop is empty. Then feed the bird 10% of this weight at every feeding. So for eg. if the chick weighs 50g, then they should be eating approx. 5CC (some might want 6 which is ok) .
Remember that your bird will weigh approx 10% more each day from the prev. day, so you will need to weigh your bird every morning so you know how much they weigh.

This is a great website for cockatiel info, plenty of articles to read:

ask-noodles.com

This domain may be for sale!

www.ask-noodles.com

 

[Haroobom]

Ok. Let the crop empty now you´ve given some of the papaya. Once the crop is empty completely, you can feed papaya mixed with formula. Then keep reducing the amount of papaya and increasing the formula for those 4 next feedings.

Again, it´s not just the frequency, it´s the amount you´re giving too that will determine how long until it is digested.

Weigh your bird once the crop is empty. Then feed the bird 10% of this weight at every feeding. So for eg. if the chick weighs 50g, then they should be eating approx. 5CC (some might want 6 which is ok) .
Remember that your bird will weigh approx 10% more each day from the prev. day, so you will need to weigh your bird every morning so you know how much they weigh.

This is a great website for cockatiel info, plenty of articles to read:

ask-noodles.com

This domain may be for sale!

www.ask-noodles.com

This is him after the papaya, his energy has increased through the day so I hope he feels better after it. Will now take a nap and hopefully his crop looks better. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Haroobom]

Not sure if anyone is reading this, but I will continue to update the thread as a coping mechanism for me and hopefully it helps someone in the near future ?

The baby bird is still alive. Yesterday I massaged the old contents from the crop out. I put the back of the bird against my palm and gently massaged the crop upwards. After that I fed HALF of what he normally gets, so that was 4 cc of papaya cream and a bit of formula. By nighttime the crop was empty, so I fed 6 cc of papaya and a bit of formula.

Today morning (7 am) the crop was almost empty and his poops look normal, a bit watery from the papaya ( I guess) but he was CRAZY energetic in the morning once I pulled the cover off the box. He tried jumping out, so I guess energy is a good sign ?

I fed about 6-7cc of the papaya with a bit more of formula about 1 part papaya to 0.3 parts formula (normal is 2:1 according to kaytee) and the crop was full but SMALLER than what it looked on the pictures uploaded yesterday, as of right now (13:44) he got his second feeding for the day. 8cc of papaya with formula, 2 more papaya and formula mixtures and then he will go back to water+formula.

Even after feeding he will make the hungry noise for about 5 minutes and then rest for a while. He does normal cockatiel noises but QUIETER (I'm not sure if that's good) but he gets loud when he is hungry, I resist and wait couple hours more after he starts screaming just so the crop has more time to absorb.

A breeder and a facebook group told me he looked fine, so that gave me a bit of hope. I will not give up on this baby.

That's everything for now, thanks if anyone took the time to read.

 

[Britnicorn]

Awww! I’m so glad to hear he’s doing so well again. He sounds like a little dinosaur
It’s normal for babies to beg for food for awhile after they eat, it takes them a bit to realize they’re full.
It’s also normal for babies to sound different than grownup birds. Phoenix used to chirp so loud for food it’d make my ears ring, but other times he’d be quiet. So silly

It helped my budgie to play background music when he was getting fussy for food before it was time to eat. I played some Lofi music for him and he’d usually calm down, you could possibly try that? They’ll also cry if they know you’re in the room at all, they see you as a food source and will automatically beg for food if they see you.

And yes please keep us updated!! I’m routing for the little guy!!
Have you named him yet? You’re doing so great!!

 

[Haroobom]

I did a new post, things aren't looking so great after all... I think i might lose the little one.

 

[Britnicorn]

I did a new post, things aren't looking so great after all... I think i might lose the little one.

Oh jeez I’m sorry what’s going on?

 

[Haroobom]

I got a gram scale, he is half the weight he needs to be

 

[Britnicorn]

I got a gram scale, he is half the weight he needs to be

It’s okay. When Phoenix was 5 days old he was supposed to weigh around 10 grams but he only weighed 2.5(the same as when they first hatch). It took him awhile to catch up, and he’s a week behind in growth, but he’s doing good!! I’m pretty sure Zara had a stunted bird too. Just be sure to always keep the crop full, and only let it empty once a night. And never feed more than 10% of their body weight per feeding, you don’t want to over stretch the crop.

How’s his behavior doing tonight? Did anything change, or is it just the weight concern?

 

[Haroobom]

I was clearly overfeeding him and extending his crop. I feel so shizzty right now, I'm not sure what to do, but I will travel to the next city to an avian vet, hopefully she will keep him for the time being, I'm also job hunting to pay for whatever the cost is but i'm sure it will be high

 

[Britnicorn]

I was clearly overfeeding him and extending his crop. I feel so shizzty right now, I'm not sure what to do, but I will travel to the next city to an avian vet, hopefully she will keep him for the time being, I'm also job hunting to pay for whatever the cost is but i'm sure it will be high

It’s okay! We all make mistakes, you were just doing your best and that’s all anyone can ask for.
It may be good to take him to the vet if you’re concerned, but make sure you’re able to keep him warm. Is it a long drive? It might not be worth it..

 

[Haroobom]

2-3 hours depending on the traffic but I think it might be less since it's a sunday and I'm the only appt the vet has for the day, I'm willing 100% to hand him over knowing they will do a better job. What do you mean it might not be worth it?

 

[Britnicorn]

2-3 hours depending on the traffic but I think it might be less since it's a sunday and I'm the only appt the vet has for the day, I'm willing 100% to hand him over knowing they will do a better job. What do you mean it might not be worth it?

Drives are very stressful for birds, and keeping it warm for a baby bird is a battle in itself

 

[Haroobom]

Drives are very stressful for birds, and keeping it warm for a baby bird is a battle in itself

I did not think about that at all. I fear you are correct and I will put further stress. I do think I need a vet though, I'm so grateful you and Zara have answered my questions but internet help can only go so far. I am at loss and don't know if I should proceed with the appointment

 

[Britnicorn]

I did not think about that at all. I fear you are correct and I will put further stress. I do think I need a vet though, I'm so grateful you and Zara have answered my questions but internet help can only go so far. I am at loss and don't know if I should proceed with the appointment

Trust your instincts dude, if you truly feel like the vet is the best option then you’re probably right. Do you have any way to keep the baby warm in the car? I always had the heat on full blast when I was transporting Phoenix (before he was feathered at all, I had the heat up so high [at 98°] I ended up throwing up ) but since he’s got feathers it should be easier to keep him warm

 

[Britnicorn]

Also, are you positive there’s no avian vets in your area? I didn’t think I had any in my town, but I went around calling places and it turned out one of the veterinarians that worked at a non-exotic vet clinic actually had a huge background with avian vet-med