Is my baby lovebird Stunted?

[la_phloraa]

Hello i have a baby lovebird which is 18 days old but he doesnt look like an 18 days old lovebird .... when I figured out that he isn’t growing as fast as he actually should , I started handfeeding him since that he gained a little weight but he is still very small and his eyes just opened today a tiny little bit ... what should I do ?

i can show u a videos of him so yall can see the growth

 

[Zara]

I´m really struggling to believe this is an 18 day old bird. Your chick looks like a bird of just a few days old.

If you aren´t mistaken on the dates, I would contact your vet.
Be sure they are getting sufficient nutrition.
What formula are you using?
What do the other chicks look like and weigh?

 

[la_phloraa]

it’s really an 18 days old chick my lovebird had 4 eggs one wasn’t fertil and 2 died in shell and he was the only one who hatched and I use Nutribird A21

 

[Zara]

Sorry, I just saw the video. I thought the image of your chick weighing 3g was 18 days old. I´ve just seen there´s growth.
Let me go fish out some pics of one of my little one who grew slowly.

 

[Zara]

This was my little girl at the same age yours is now, you can see she was still pink,



A day later,


Be sure to keep your little one warm. It is so important. A nice brooder lined with aspen shavings and a heat pad. If the little one is still in the nest, be sure there's lots of bedding for warmth.
Nutrition and warmth are crucial right now.

 

[la_phloraa]

no problem and thank u very much I will make it and yes I keep the chick warm but I have a question should I feed her more often ? I feed her every 3,5 to 4h when the crop is empty do u think it is enough ?

 

[Zara]

The bird in the pics I posted was the first I had to feed around the clock because I fed her from 5 days old.
Check in often, and when you see the crop is emptying , feed the bird. Just allow once overnight that the crop completely empties, but during the day you can feed when there´s a little left in. Don´t wait for it to empty every time.
I can´t tell you a schedule because it will vary for each bird. But when the crop is getting low on food, fill it up

 

[la_phloraa]

Ok thank u soo much u have helped me a lot I thought it always have to be completely empty thank u so much

 

[Zara]

No. Just once per 24 hours. It´s important they are not with an empty crop many times throughout the day - that could have hindered some growth.

Is the hen brooding the chick?

 

[la_phloraa]

Okay and no I took her out since yesterday because the hen would feed the baby the seeds without crushing them and the crop would be very hard and not empty after 4 hours and the hen would leave the chick in the nest sometimes for a while alone without keeping him warm

sry for the grammar I’m from Germany and my English is not perfect

 

[Zara]

ok, just be sure you are monitoring the chick and keeping him warm. Without warmth he cannot digest food.

 

[la_phloraa]

 

[la_phloraa]

He is doing better and gaining weight I got a question are his feets normal ?

 

[Pat H]

The bird in the pics I posted was the first I had to feed around the clock because I fed her from 5 days old.
Check in often, and when you see the crop is emptying , feed the bird. Just allow once overnight that the crop completely empties, but during the day you can feed when there´s a little left in. Don´t wait for it to empty every time.
I can´t tell you a schedule because it will vary for each bird. But when the crop is getting low on food, fill it up

Boy, it's been SO LONG since I've hand fed a LB.. But since I want to do so again... these comments are very good! Thought I remembered that it could cause bacterial growth if food remained in the crop when filled up again; but if you're saying to allow it to empty 1x/day... then OK?
Thank you for your knowledge!!!

 

[Zara]

are his feets normal ?

Get a hold of the chick in one hand securely, and stretch out the feet, gently but firmly. be sure you are not bending them back or hurting the bird.
(Let me know if you don´t understand this well, maybe I can try to make a video)

I would do the stretches every hour.

 

[la_phloraa]

Ok yes I understand I will do it

 

[la_phloraa]

I’ve tried it but can u make a video so I can see if I did it right ?

 

[Zara]

Sure. Just give me a little while because everyone is sleeping

 

[la_phloraa]

No problem thank u

 

[Zara]

Sorry, that took me a while because my partner took a business call and I had to mute the video,

I hope you can see, though I know it´s not the clearest angle. Stretch the toes first , then open the foot from the inner parts of the toes (not the ends, or they will bend weird). My demo bird is a little harder to do her feet because she scrunches them. You little one should be eaasier to do it to.

You will want to be in contact with your vet too. Have them look at the little one, you may want to consider taping the foot if the stretching doesn´t help.