[PetLover72]

Hello - I am a brand new member....just joined today. I have a pair of tiels that recently hatched their first egg which came as a huge shock to me. I was told if I didn't provide the right tools for an egg to hatch, they wouldn't...well one did!

So here I am - with a sweet little "guy" that hatched around Feb 17th-18th and I am scared to death. Mom and Dad have been doing a great job with him, but last night it looks like the male pulled out a bunch of the baby's feathers on his head and neck so after being counseled by a local pet store I decided to take him out and begin hand feeding today.

Here's my issue - he is totally inflated (before I tried feeding for the first time.) I have been online researching what a normal full crop should look like and this isn't it. The pictures do look similar to a ruptured air sac/sour crop and I have no idea what to do. The nearest avian vet to me - if I could even afford the appt. - is almost 2 hours away. If anyone has advice that could help me I would very much appreciate it!!

~Erika

 

[PetLover72]

Thank you for posting that link - I'm afraid I still have questions and would still love any responses people may have...thanks in advance!

 

[PetLover72]

@aebbie - yes but I'm new here...trying to figure out how to upload pictures...

 

[PetLover72]

Pictures

Here are a few pictures of the baby. I took him away from his parents because overnight last night one of them apparently plucked out a lot of feathers on and around his head and neck.

 

[PetLover72]

More pics...

 

[PetLover72]

Hi Susan - thank you for your responses!!
Regarding:"crop feels gassy, and very soft and fluidy, and there are veins apparent" - answer to this is yes...veins are apparent and feels very fluidy and gassy. I can see liquid floating in some of it. I took baby out of cage as of 11:00AM this morning and this is what he looked like - I would say it's about the same as he looked last night.

I went to my local pet store and spoke to a "cockatiel person" there who sold me formula and gave me a couple of pipettes for feeding. I was afraid maybe the baby was hungry so I did feed him a little of the formula, maybe one small pipette full - but he was not very receptive to it so I stopped and got online and now joined here hoping for help.

I've read so many things online here - even someone that suggested trying to poke a tiny hole in the air sac to deflate it - I know I am in no way qualified for this so of course I did not try to do it. I was hoping to find something I could give the baby orally that might help.

On your advice, I will start searching for a local breeder to see if I can find someone to help.... I feel horrible!!! I thought I was doing all the right things with this little baby.

 

[PetLover72]

Here are pictures of my little one at different stages so you can get an idea of his progress...

 

[PetLover72]

Ok so a vet is not possible in the next 12 hours so I want to try to follow the steps given in your link. I need to run to the local CVS drugstore - I will get Alka Seltzer and some syringes and what else? If you can quickly respond to me with a list of everything I might need to buy at a drugstore or pet store right now I will leave immediately to go get them... meanwhile I am reading all the info I can find on your site...

 

[PetLover72]

Sorry - I hadn't read your responses before I posted last. So I will get those syringes, a heating pad, alka seltzer...and?

As for the bedding - I was afraid I wasn't I wasn't providing the right things. There is a different nesting material than shown in the first pic with the paper towels...I had him in a small cardboard box on the floor of the cage, but he kept getting out of it so I took it out. This baby was the only one to hatch out of three eggs - and please remember I was not tying to have babies. I was told if I didnt supply nesting materials the eggs would not hatch. I feel just awful - will have to have my boyfriend drive me to get the supplies because I am crying too hard to drive. Thank you SO MUCH for offering what help you can.

 

[PetLover72]

Okay - in a panic trying to save my little guys life I tried to do the "turn him upside down" method of getting the stuff out of his crop and it seems to have worked - although there still seems to be a bit more in there....see attached picture. Not sure where the seeds in this pic came from as I feed my cockatiels a ZuPreem pelleted food? Thanks so much for the help with the shopping list - I'm off to get everything including the spice mix ingredients now. Susan I will definitely take you up on your offer of talking to me on the phone in a little while!!

 

[PetLover72]

Hi again Susanne - I don't give the birds any bread, but I have been giving them a nestling supplement so I guess that's where the seeds came from - good to know! I haven't ever been able to get my adult tiels to accept any fruits and veggies even though I have continued to try introducing them...I have also given millet spray here and there.

So here are pics of what I got out shopping - also a pic of the bedding I have been using for the baby and the new little plastic "cage" I just got at the store - shown with heating pad on it in an "L" shape. Heating pad has a low, medium, and high setting - which is best?

NO ONE here in Mass. carries catheter tubing - I went to Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens and they all said it has to come from a hospital supply place only. I bought different size syringes and aquarium tubing in case I could make that work??

 

[PetLover72]

Ok re-read your posts and saw I need to keep the heating pad on low!

 

[PetLover72]

Thanks Susanne it was great talking to you, too! Thanks a million for the support! The Alka Seltzer treatment went well and he's already pooped so now off to mix up formula for a feeding - he's begging to eat like crazy!!! *fingers crossed!*

 

[PetLover72]

Good morning. Ugh - I am still worried sick about the little one. He seems starving so I feed him but the crop just inflates again every time and I still see the little red veins everywhere. I feel like his crop needs to be emptied again but then I feel like he will starve. He definitely seems to continue to dry out and does not seem to be rehydrating at all. He is still loudly begging for food, though. I am looking into finding a vet this morning once 8:00AM hits. Ugh. I am a terrible bird mom.

 

[PetLover72]

Thank you Dally...

 

[PetLover72]

As I'm on hold with my local non-avian dog vet to see if they can help me administer sub-q fluids, I wanted to post a picture of what I hope is something positive - poop! I put white tissue under him in his little nest so I could clearly see if he did anything and here's the result...thoughts?

 

[PetLover72]

I want to mention that I cleaned the cage up the second after I took this picture to show you!

 

[PetLover72]

Thanks again Susanne! Vet appointment in two hours - will post an update!

 

[PetLover72]

Again, Susanne, I can't thank you enough for all your help and advice.

I just got home after being away with baby for 5 hours driving all over to get help. First stop: the avian vet. I stressed that I wanted to get him fluids so that's what we got there - some sub Q fluids with B Vitamins in them. The vet said he thought this bird breeder about a half hour away from his office would be able to help me the most so he sent us there. Her name is Edna and she owns a shop called The Crystal Parrot. She was pretty disgusted with me like I was this flaky idiot that took on a baby bird when I shouldn't have and told me all the things she thought I had done/was doing wrong. The vet warned me she'd be like this, so I just let it roll off my back.

She said the powdered Kaytee baby food the store sold me yesterday was crap, and she sold me different powdered formula with another supplemental powder to add to it for vitamins and to help with hydration. She fed the baby for me and I was relieved to see I had been feeding him the exact same way. She said every 4-5 hours and she didn't seem too worried about his crop and didn't think it looked "sour" at this point.

So, please wish me luck as I continue to hand feed the little guy and try to do everything in my power to make sure he grows up healthy and happy....thanks to the folks here for the responses and support!!

 

[PetLover72]

Thanks LPerry and Crinklepot! Crinklepot how did you create such a cool signature with the colorful bird pics??