Cockatiel Egg and Chick Thread

[Pipp]

Are the other chicks far away from them so they're not a distraction? Can they hear, see or sense them?

Maybe they're concerned that they've fallen out of the nest and they'll settle down if they take a look outside the cage or if the babies are farther away?

I don't know anything about birds, but I have a yard full of nests and predators. I can't imagine birds 'mourning' because so many are lost. The birds around here are only upset while the chicks are on the ground or while there's a predator around. Once a chick is taken by a predator, the parents go back to tending to the others.


sas ray:

 

[Pipp]

PS: Will a warm rice sock or snugglesafe help?

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Pipp, those are good ideas. I made it so they can't see the chicks in the brooder. I don't know if that's why they wouldn't stay in the nest box, but Arthur is in with the chick now. I'm a bit alarmed because I've been hearing lots of feeding noises. If they overfeed the chick, his crop will stretch to much and lead to what the other chicks have. Who knows, maybe that's what caused the others to be sick.

Ohhhh, great. Paul just got home with ONE of the prescriptions. It was $130! The vet or pharmacist made a very serious mistake- they gave us about 1 1/2 CUPS of this medication! On the bottle it says to feed 5 ML twice a day. The babies' crops can't even take that much. Each chick is only supposed to get .1 CC twice a day. So I have enough medicine for probably a couple thousand chicks! And it was not inexpensive! What the heck happened?! Do they refund if they made such a big mistake? I called the vet office and the receptionist (the same rude one as before) said she'd call back but they close in less than an hour and of course will not be open tomorrow or Monday.

Is every single thing going wrong that possibly can? I'm surprised Paul wasn't killed in a car accident or something on the way home!

 

[Pipp]

Yikes, I hope they get that straight ASAP, I'd call the pharmacy and vet back until you get an answer. One the meds are opened, I dont' think they can take them back, may not even be legal.

:clover:

 

[Pipp]

PS: The pharmacy is a better bet because I think they have to power to only fill a percentage of the prescription.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Alright, I called the pharmacy. Talked to a very nice guy who knew exactly what medication I was talking about. He said he was super skeptical when he got the fax from the vet with the dosage amount, so he called the vet office. He by name mentioned the very rude receptionist who I've dealt with today. He said he asked the receptionist to verify the amount, and the receptionist went back to ask the vet, who confirmed it. So it's not the pharmacy's fault for giving us a ton of medicine. Also they can't take back 2 of the bottles and give us a refund.

If the vet office does not call back before they close in 15 minutes, I'm going to be calling them bright and early on Tuesday when they open again. There's no way we're going to accept paying $100 extra for their mistake. No what makes it even sadder/funnier/something? I needed either this medicine OR the Nystatin. Not both. Thought I'd get both because it would be good to have them on hand. The Nystatin cost $10.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Just checked on Phoenix. His crop is wayyyy too full. Way to go, birdy parents This is one of the worst days I've ever had.

 

[Pipp]

Just try and de-stress. :hug1

You don't want the little guys to sense your tension, and there really isn't much you can do than go with the flow. Do your best to help out, but try not to get too emotionally involved, which is way easier said than done, I know. But most of this isn't in your control. You're doing as well as humanly possible, but the key word is 'human'. You're not the parents, nor mother nature (as much as we try to be).

All you can really provide is gentle guidance and just hope for the best.

Even if they were flying around the jungle, the outcome would probably be the same.


sas ink iris:

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Pipp, I know you're right. It's so hard not to get attached and not to want to help. I wish Arthur and Poppet and I could just understand each other and I could explain to them what's going on.

I'm going to do intensive intervention stuff with the chicks for a couple of days, and if it doesn't help, I'm just going to give them back to mom and dad and let things happen as they will. As much as I want them to live and be healthy, I can't make that happen.

Going to go take care of the babies now!

 

[SnowyShiloh]

I have emptied Teddy's and Neeja's crops, flushed them, emptied them again, and given Teddy sub q fluids. Thankfully he didn't make horrible noises when I did it. Kieran was having a stress reaction when we gave him fluids

I've called the vet office 4 times to figure out how much of this medicine to give them since the directions on the label and the directions the vet gave me are very, VERY different (1 of the doses is 500 times bigger than the other). Each time I've talked to someone and they've said the vet would call me back, but they haven't yet. I am annoyed. These babies need their medicine sooner rather than later! I mean, it's been almost 3 hours since I first called them! The chicks are sitting here crying for food, but I have to give them the meds when their crops are empty for them to work properly.

 

[Pipp]

I'd Google the med and the doses, it should be fairly apparent if the difference is that great.

:censored2: vet!


sas :clover:

 

[JadeIcing]

I can not say what I think of this vet office.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

I feel the same way. Darned vet! I don't want to go that clinic again, but I think I probably will because they're open on the weekends and they're at least somewhat capable sometimes

Good news is I figured out the med amount. When I called the vet the last time, it went to the after hours emergency vet and they helped me figure out how much to give. What a relief! As a slightly unfortunate side note (that doesn't compare at all to the much more unfortunate things that have happened lately!), as soon as I opened the cap to one of my 3 giant expensive bottles of Fluconazole, I *instantly* recognized the look (thick and white) and scent (disgustingly orangey). When I was about 4, I had to take this medication for a while, and I hated it so fiercely that I gagged when I had to take it and have never been able to stomach orange cream ANYTHING since. The medicine was thick and chalky and had the horrible orange flavor. Makes me shudder. If it makes the babies get better though, I'm okay with it.

Teddy and Neeja also got fed a thinned down formula. Just a little, made with an electrolyte solution and with BeneBac added. They made things infinitely easier by actually wanting to be fed and cooperating. Bad thing is I'm not supposed to feed them again until their crops have emptied, and while the crops are smaller than they were right after I emptied them (interestingly enough), they still have food in there. Adding food to food that hasn't been digested is bad. It will all just go sour. But they're crying for food and acting like they're starving

Also I will never complain about being afraid to give sub q fluids to a bunny again. I remember I was a mess when I gave fluids to Rory the first time. Sticking a needle into the skin of a 25 gram bird who does not want to be stuck and then actually delivering the fluids without tearing the paper like skin is wayyyyy harder.

 

[JadeIcing]

Man I wish this was going a lot smoother for you. It is just not fair knowing you are going through this.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Alicia, it seems like I'm cursed with animals or something... I always go into pet things really optimistic! It's so pathetic hearing the babies cry for food in the brooder Breaks my heart. Things like the floor creaking and the faucet turning on sound like crying baby birds. I fed them again less than an hour ago, but their crops aren't empty so their tummies aren't getting the food. They get meds again in 20 minutes. I hope the medications kick in soon. I gave Teddy sub q fluids again, it's very nerve wracking. In some ways worse than emptying crops because there's this big long needle that could go right into him, and he struggles... His skin tore a tiny bit (he's fine, can't even see where it is) the first time I did it and the mental image of his skin bleeding keeps coming back to me. I think I'm going to give Neeja fluids too next time.

In case anyone is curious, this is where I have to stick them. I have to do it on both sides too because you can only get in a little in each spot. This picture is from my breeder contact.

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/...bies in Trouble/injection-site-for-fluids.jpg

Poor little babies

 

[JadeIcing]

I believe that certain people are trusted with animals that will be here a short time because they will love them unconditionally. They will grieve but take away so much from that brief time. *hugs*

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Ali, I hope I can make my pets' lives better. It seems like the ones that I've loved the most urgently are the ones that don't stick around for long. Like my little Mae Mae who has been gone for 2 years but I still think of her very often, and my cockatiel Little Bird who lived 3 short years.

I took pictures of Kieran all through his sickness to show to my breeder contact, but I haven't posted pictures because they're so sad. I'd rather people see him when he was healthy and growing. But I took this picture of Neeja tonight and I think it's really sweet, even though he's ill. He looks so trusting somehow... The babies aren't hissing at me anymore. They're excited to see me. Neeja was probably the hissiest of all the chicks (and Phoenix is the least hissy), but he doesn't really hiss at me any longer.

Little Neeja, 9 days old (or technically 10 since it's Sunday now):

and him waving "hi"- his foot was down right before and right after the picture was taken!

Just a bit of sweetness in the middle of a lot of sadness.

 

[TinysMom]

I LOVE that photo - see - that's CUTE....it shows personality and expression and is....adorable.

 

[irishbunny]

I'm sorry you lost Kieran Those last pictures you posted are so cute though! I hope the rest of the babies make it.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Peg, I'm glad you think they're cute now It made me smile! And Grace, thank you for your thoughts for Kieran and I'm glad you like the pictures of Neeja.

I have some good news. I'm trying not to get too excited, but... Neeja's and Teddy's crops are emptying on their own! Slowly, yes, but it's a start, and both babies gave me the gift of poop. Neeja has gone 3 times in the past couple hours and Teddy 3 times as well. This means they're digesting. Neeja's first poop was red (because of the pellets the parents are eating, the next was red and green (green is from the formula they've been eating) and the most recent one was all green. They're clamoring to be fed now. I'm going to wait a liiittle longer, but am eager to feed them. I'm trying to remain very cautious in my optimism, but this is surely a good sign especially since Teddy went for a good 8 hours without going.

Normally I wouldn't discuss poop, but I know bunny folk don't mind!