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Helping a stunted baby, white marks in neck

Daniki

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Hey, so I've taken in a 3 week old parent raised baby due to his growth being stunted. I've had him 3 days, am an experienced handraiser and have raised stunted babies successfully before - aware it's touch and go. His hydration is improving and has gained some weight.

This is something I've never seen before. There's white lumps in his neck area. Anyone know what it could be? I'm concerned and want to give him the best chance.
 

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Mockinbirdiva

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Hey, so I've taken in a 3 week old parent raised baby due to his growth being stunted. I've had him 3 days, am an experienced handraiser and have raised stunted babies successfully before - aware it's touch and go. His hydration is improving and has gained some weight.

This is something I've never seen before. There's white lumps in his neck area. Anyone know what it could be? I'm concerned and want to give him the best chance.
Have you tried wiping with a moistened q-tip to see if it comes off? Is it just the one spot shown in the photo or are there more? Since you've hand fed before I'm guessing you would recognize any formula that may have gotten on the skin.
 
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Daniki

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Have you tried wiping with a moistened q-tip to see if it comes off? Is it just the one spot shown in the photo or are there more? Since you've hand fed before I'm guessing you would recognize any formula that may have gotten on the skin.
It's internal, not external unfortunately. It's the strangest thing I've seen.
 

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Welcome to the Avenue Dani :)

It almost looks like a seed and a smushed seed. I´m sorry, I do not know. If the lumps have been there the whole three days, I would get a vet to take a look.
 
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Daniki

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Welcome to the Avenue Dani :)

It almost looks like a seed and a smushed seed. I´m sorry, I do not know. If the lumps have been there the whole three days, I would get a vet to take a look.
Thank you. I actually read here quite a bit! Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It looks like a foreign body or something?! Never seen it in my life and such an odd spot. I've raised a lot of birds, including stunted ones and never have I seen such a thing.

Only reason I've hesitated to take him to a vet is that it's winter here and he starts shivering not long after being removed from the brooder as he's so tiny. I don't want to risk him being so vulnerable. Might call the vet and see if she'll take a look at a photo and her opinion on whether to bring him in.

He did have a massive crop full of seeds when he was taken from his parents by my friend... so could be. How they'll get it out of his I assume wind pipe if that is it I don't know.
 

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Might call the vet and see if she'll take a look at a photo and her opinion on whether to bring him in.
That sounds like a good option.

He did have a massive crop full of seeds when he was taken from his parents by my friend... so could be. How they'll get it out of his I assume wind pipe if that is it I don't know.
Hmm maybe a tube and syringe (like used in gavage feeding) to extract it, or massage it down. Again, as we don´t really know what it is, best leave it for the vet to take a look.
Hopefully it is not too serious, whatever it is.
 
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Mockinbirdiva

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It's internal, not external unfortunately. It's the strangest thing I've seen.
Indeed a mystery! Keep us posted on the baby's progress and what you end up finding out about it.
 

Daniki

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Thanks guys, I've called the vet and emailed the photo for her to look at. I do have a crop needle small enough which I already used to hydrate him when i first took him and it doesn't appear whatever it is in his esophagus, as the crop needle did not budge it or hit it. That's the most bizarre part. The vet was confused by that as if it was in his esophagus surely it would have moved!
 

Mockinbirdiva

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Thanks guys, I've called the vet and emailed the photo for her to look at. I do have a crop needle small enough which I already used to hydrate him when i first took him and it doesn't appear whatever it is in his esophagus, as the crop needle did not budge it or hit it. That's the most bizarre part. The vet was confused by that as if it was in his esophagus surely it would have moved!
It's hard to see well in your photo. Does it look like a seed or two embedded in the skin or maybe a fungus?
 

Daniki

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It's hard to see well in your photo. Does it look like a seed or two embedded in the skin or maybe a fungus?
It looks like tiny hard pieces of something, they are quite round. I've seen fungus before and I know there are many kinds but to me it doesn't look like a fungus and it's not growing, changing, or anything. In real life (I've attached a clearer photo but it still looks different to irl) it's like these tiny various sized defined bits sitting under the skin in his neck on that side.

I can't move them. They have not moved with feeding. They are just there. So I don't believe they're in the esophagus at all. Maybe the trachea and he inhaled seed parts but surely he could not survive this long with those fixed in there?! ‍♀
 

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Mockinbirdiva

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Totally weird. The only other thing I would think it could be would be small bits of bedding material. There are those occasions parent birds accidentally feed some of the bedding to a chick. As is... parent feeds baby and a bit of that food is on the beak... baby rests head in the bedding and a bit of the nesting material sticks to the beak... parent feeds the baby again and the bedding material goes in with that feeding. It does happen. But .... you say they feel round so I'm inclined to think they are whole seeds. Something to keep an eye on so it doesn't result in a foreign body infection. Hopefully an in person inspection by your vet can determine what it exactly is and whether or not it poses a health problem.
 

Daniki

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Totally weird. The only other thing I would think it could be would be small bits of bedding material. There are those occasions parent birds accidentally feed some of the bedding to a chick. As is... parent feeds baby and a bit of that food is on the beak... baby rests head in the bedding and a bit of the nesting material sticks to the beak... parent feeds the baby again and the bedding material goes in with that feeding. It does happen. But .... you say they feel round so I'm inclined to think they are whole seeds. Something to keep an eye on so it doesn't result in a foreign body infection. Hopefully an in person inspection by your vet can determine what it exactly is and whether or not it poses a health problem.
My vet and the specialist vet have both said to place him on antibiotics right now until he's bigger and it's safer to bring him in. He is so tiny that if it is indeed a foreign body in the trachea he would not be likely to survive the procedure to remove it
 

Mockinbirdiva

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My vet and the specialist vet have both said to place him on antibiotics right now until he's bigger and it's safer to bring him in. He is so tiny that if it is indeed a foreign body in the trachea he would not be likely to survive the procedure to remove it
Sounds like a logical and safe plan. Keep us updated with the baby as it grows.. and photos too!
 
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