Is my baby thin?

[Perry]

This is Rango, my second cockatiel but my first baby tiel. First off, I would like to say the problem I am having is that my baby almost died. I missed a late night feeding, and woke up to a barely conscience bird. He has since been revived but I wonder if he is thin for his age. The only clue that I have to his age is that in the next three weeks to 5 weeks he is suppose to be on seeds from the shop I bought him from. He acts hungry constantly except when he is asleep. And lately he been kind of placid, the picture above was taken without hurting him or upsetting him at all.
I have previous experience on baby food preparation from a baby qauker parrot but I come to this forum cause my best friend is a cockatiel and not a quaker parrot. I can not really afford a avian vet right, and saved what I had to get him. I had a tiel named Cheeko who died from a dog, a sad story that has tragedy all over it. Please help me better understand my featherless friend's current health.

 

[suncoast]

Do you have a scale to weigh him? You don't need a state of the art bird scale, a food scale from Walmart will do the job. He looks awfully young to me and if he is crying he is hungry and you need to be feeding him. I don't have to tell you that you can't skip another feeding. How often are you feeding him? What brand of hand feeding formula are you using? Is he in a hospital cage, perches, food and water down low with 3 sides and the top tented for warmth? Hopefully Susan our Tiel expert will get on here or somebody can PM or email her.

Ginger

 

[Bokkapooh]

Oh my, verrry skinny. And the feather growth is horrid. How often do you feed him and what's the consistency of the formula. Have you been offering pellets, seed, veggies and millet spray?

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

Firstly, hello and welcome to AA. You came to the right place. I am going to say that yes your tiel baby looks a bit thin. His keel bone is quite prominent from what I can see in the picture. What kind of food are you feeding him? How many times are you feeding him? How much are you feeding him each time? If he is constantly crying then he might be needing to be fed more or he could have an infection of some type. Do his poops look ok? He could also be a little dehydrated. You could try putting a little bit of unflavored baby pedialite in formula to see if her perks up. I remember when Squeeky was that age he was very active and moved around a lot. I think weighing him on a scale would be a good idea to see what his weight actually is. Chicks should be getting about 10% of their body weight at each feeding. You can check out this page with weights for cockatiels Breeding Cockatiels, baby cockatiel, average weight gain chart, average weight of cockatiel chicks. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. I am pretty familiar with raising cockatiels.

 

[Perry]

Hello to those who are responding so quick, I thank you very much for your quick and informative responses. Me and my wife have been feeding him only every 4 hours until his crop has gotten puffy in the first picture in the first post. The above pictures are what he is being fed, and the other is the cage we keep him in. Just yesterday we start feeding him a small amount of junk (carrots, brocoli, spinach, lettuce, and hard boiled egg all grinded up to a fine pulp). And post video if needed of his slow reactions to give you all a better idea but it sounds like you understand. I don't have access to a scale, so I am unable to weight him at the moment.

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

Ok that is the same stuff that I fed Squeeky. Now when you say you feed him every four hours is that just during the daytime or do you feed him a night time too? Another question, when you feed him does his crop start to go down or does it stay full for long periods of time? Are you offering him water besides what is in the formula? How thick is the formula you are feeding?

 

[suncoast]

Okay you need to get those wood shavings out of there. It's possible he's ingested them and they are impacting his crop. Second, I know you said you can't get him to a vet, but I would strongly suggest you try your best to get him to an avian vet today. When we bring a pet home we make the pledge to take care of them and that includes being able to get them the medical help they need. I don't like his looks. Is he pooing? What color are his poos? How does he sound when you put him up to your ear? Is he weezy or does he sound congested? Are his eyes and nares clean?

Ginger

 

[suncoast]

Also you need to get a thermometer and make sure his food is between 105 - 110 degrees, any colder and he will have slow crop, any hotter and you will burn his crop.

Ginger

 

[Bokkapooh]

What is the consistency of the formula?

How warm is the house?

I recommends getting rid of that bedding he is on, use newspaper, and offer a dish of pellets, seed, chopped veggies and millet spray. The formula needs to be like applesauce in consistency.

 

[Perry]

ok, he eats every 4 hours night and day, and his crop seems to stay half full even if i try massaging his crop a little. I do not offer him water because I think he gets it from the formula and the formula is applesauce consistency. Sometimes poos white clear and other times he poos dark green thick. Eyes and nostrils are ok and he is not wheezing or has a slow heart rate. I guess I did a big no no on the formula and tested with my finger, I figure what is hot and safe for my finger is safe and good for him. The house is at 72 F and he is given junk which is veggies and stuff.

 

[suncoast]

Where are you located? Do you have an avian vet or can we help you find one? How old is your bird?

Ginger

 

[Perry]

Something I forgot to mention is that he had to be taken from his mother because she plucked his feathers. He didnt eat for me at first time feeding him at the end april, I had to kind of forced feed him some. Its just been an hour after feeding and he still has a full crop. I got some help and will take him to the vet this evening, I will let you all know what they say. He is sluggish at the moment and looks as though he wants to sleep.

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

It sounds like he might either have an impaction or maybe an infection causing the food not to digest properly. Either way if he has either of these he should be taken and seen by a vet to get him the proper care. He will need medication if he has an infection.

Edit: Good luck on the vet trip. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Perry]

I am located in Rolla, Mo., we are going to take him to Rolla animal hospital this evening.

 

[suncoast]

I wouldn't wait until this evening. This sounds like an emergency.

Here's a list of avian vet's in MO, it would be best if he could get in to see one of these or have your vet do a consult right away.


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Missouri

Chesterfield:

Dr. Kersting - Bird Medicine and Surgery

132 Four Seasons Shopping Center, Chesterfield, Missouri 63017 - Tel. (314) 469-6661
​

Gladstone:

Corey A. Entriken, D.V.M., Gladstone Animal Clinic

7027 North Oak Trafficway, Gladstone, MO 64118 - Tel. (816) 436-1100
​

Grandview:

Dr. Julie Burge, Avian Vet - Burge Bird Services and Burge Bird Rescue

13833 S 71 Hwy, Grandview MO 64030 - Tel. 816-356-4700
http://BurgeBirdServices.homestead.com
http://BurgeBirdRescue.homestead.com
​

Independence:

Dr. Jay Schweizer, Avian Vet - Chrysler Animal Hospital

12440 E New 40 Hwy, Independence, MO 64055 - Tel. (816) 358-2857
​

Kansas City:

Dr. William Suuedmeyere - Kansas City Missouri Zoo

6700 Zoo Drive, Kansas City, MO 64132 - Tel. (816) 871-5728
​

Nixa:

Dr. Hardy - James River Animal Hospital

1870 N Deffer Dr, Nixa, MO 65714 - Tel. (417) 725-1997
​

St. Louis:

Dr. David Kersting - Avian Vet

132 Fours Season's Shopping Center, St. Louis, MO 63017 - Tel. (314) 469-6661
​

Webster Groves:

Gwen Heist - Webster Groves Animal Hospital

7979 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, MO 63119 - Tel. (314) 968-4310

Ginger
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[Anne & Gang]

I also would not wait until t his evening..it sounds like he has something called "sour crop"..please mention it to the vet.

 

[Dani]

Good Luck! Let us know how he is. The vegetables you grind up and give him are not "junk" they are good and very healthy, just a little too soon to be introducing them. (I think)

 

[Perry]

I went to the vet and he confirmed that the bird was underweight. We was given vitamins and precise instructions on how to feed him better. Thank you all for helping us so much, we keep posting on how he is doing but is there a different section I can post this to since it is no long an extreme pre-vet emergancy?

 

[Perry]

Good Luck! Let us know how he is. The vegetables you grind up and give him are not "junk" they are good and very healthy, just a little too soon to be introducing them. (I think)

Lol that is my nickname for it cuz it smells so bad after mixing it all together.

 

[Anne & Gang]

glad you got him to the vet...post on cockatiel corner ..we would lovet o hear updates and more pictures.