Cockatiel Egg and Chick Thread

[Nela]

So sorry Shiloh... I was afraid to look at this thread. Bleh Fly free lil one

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Thanks, Nela I miss my baby Nico. I buried him yesterday and need to get something to mark his grave. Poor baby.

I have good news though! Izzy's crop emptied in 5 1/2 hours this afternoon, compared to his regular 9- 9 1/2 hours. The past 3 feedings it took him 7- 7 1/2 hours to empty. I'm really, really hoping the 5 1/2 hours thing isn't a fluke and his crop function continues to improve. The faster his crop empties, the more often he can eat, and the more nutrients he gets so he should start gaining weight! He was actually DOWN a gram this morning.

The past couple of days since Nico died I've been asking God to please either take Izzy quickly so he doesn't suffer or let him start to get better. I also asked Nico more than once to look over Izzy and Phoenix and try to get Izzy healthy.

 

[Michaela]

Shiloh I've been following this thread for a while now but never posted.
I'm so sorry about the babies you lost. You tried so hard for them, can't imagine how it feels.
I really hope Izzy improves. And Phoenix is adorable! I would quite like a Cockatiel at some point I think.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Michaela, thank you for posting I appreciate it! And thanks to everyone else who posts in here, too.

A hand raised cockatiel is a great pet! Make sure you get one that has been hand raised AND seems very tame. A bird can be advertised as hand raised but still be afraid of humans either because they weren't handled much in spite of being hand raised, or as soon as they stopped eating formula they stopped being handled. A cockatiel needs to be eating on its own completely for at least 2 weeks before being sold so that can mean a fair amount of time of them not getting human contact before they're sold.

Phoenix is such a joy. I put him in his little bird diaper and he hangs out with us on the couch for about 2-3 hours every evening. They are messy though- their down feathers disintegrate over time and become this horrible white dust that coats everything. I HATE the dust! That's the worst thing about them I think.

Izzy has me completely confused. We was doing so well with his crop yesterday, but then he went 10 hours between feedings during the night and STILL didn't empty all the way. 10 hours is longer than it took a week ago! But then it took him 6 hours to empty this afternoon. So odd.

 

[kherrmann3]

I'm sorry to hear about little Nico. I know how frustrating and depressing it is when you loose little ones like that. I used to breed hamsters, so on a smaller scale, I understand the feelings of, "WHY!?" :hug:

On the other hand, I am glad to know that little Phoenix is doing OK. On my flight to Costa Rica, I was telling my mum about him, and she has two cockatiels, so she was rooting for the little guy to make it! In fact, she asked me about him the other day when she called, but I hadn't had the time to come online and read up on him! I'm glad he's doing OK (and grew out of the awkward pokey-feather stage ). Let's hope that Izzy follows in his older brother's footie-prints!

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Now both my babies are sick! I think Phoenix has a crop infection based on how he's acting, so I'm going to call the vet when they open in a little while. Hopefully this is the last health issue he'll have for a long time.

Izzy has what we think is a wad of yeast in his crop. Yeast is what we battled with the other babies and I was fortunate in that Izzy did not have yeast until a couple days ago. It's one of the top killers of baby cockatiels and his chances of surviving have dropped big time because of it. I don't get mad often, but I am MAD about this darned yeast! It popped up right as he finished a 10 DAY round of anti-yeast medicine, too! Like he had just had his final dose of the medicine. I've tried breaking it up other ways, but it isn't working. I'm going to have to feed him vinegar water and massage the lump to break it up, then stick a syringe with a long, flexible tip down into his crop and try to suck out the yeast, then repeat a couple more times with water and vinegar to flush the crop. I've never done anything like this before and am worried about puncturing his crop, but my breeder friend has told me exactly how to do it. I'm going to need Paul's help. Poor little Izzy.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

And Kelly, thanks for the reply! Good to know people are thinking of my babies and it's so nice that your mom asked about Phoenix Tell her Phoenix is a little sick right now but I think he'll recover!

 

[kherrmann3]

Ugh! Those darn yeasty-beasties! Poor little guy's throat must feel so yucky. Here's hopin' that he pulls through soon! :clover:

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Well, we're back from the vet! Phoenix is a brat. He decided to have a miraculous recovery. $150 for nothing. His poop went from being runny and bright green to perfectly normal, and his crop was normal (well, packed with millet but not full of fluid like this morning), and he was bright eyed and didn't make the watery cry. Instead he showed off for the vet big time and asked for me to scratch his head for the first time! She did a fecal gram stain and it came back normal. I'm very glad for that and hope he really IS better. She said if he starts seeming unhealthy again we can bring in a poop sample and she'll test it.

I got the DNA sex results! Phoenix is a boy, just like I thought! Izzy however is not an Isidore- SHE is an Isadora My little baby girl, awww. I'm thinking of calling her Isadora Belle (say it out loud) but can't decide if that's too cheesy or not. Izzy went to the vet with us and you should have seen all the squealing when the vet techs saw how itty bitty she is. There's no denying she's super cute, but her tinyness is because she's so sick so it's not as cute to me.

I'm about to go try to break up the yeast wad in Izzy's crop and suck it out with a syringe. I'm nervoussss! Wish me luck and that I don't puncture her crop, eek!

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Oh God, Izzy breathed in vinegar. She's been coughing and I can hear it in her lungs. She's huddled with her eyes closed and is trying to get as close to my face as possible. She isn't dead but I'm crying uncontrollably because I feel like I killed her... Aspiration is a very bad thing, ESPECIALLY with something like vinegar and aspiration pneumonia will probably set in now. It must hurt her so much. I'm so sorry, baby girl! I'll never forgive myself for doing this to you!!

 

[kherrmann3]

Aww, it's not your fault. :hug: You were just trying to help her out as much as you could. You never know, it could just be stuck at the opening and making the crackling breathing noise. Just remember, you didn't do it on purpose. Just keep her comfy and warm for now. Extra snuggles never hurt. :clover:

 

[SnowyShiloh]

My breeder friend called me when she read what happened and we talked for 20 minutes. Based on how Izzy is acting and where the crackling sound is coming from, she thinks Izzy just breathed in a little and it's in her sinuses rather than in her lungs. She doesn't think Izzy will die from this but we're going to put her on antibiotics. I really hope she's right and Izzy will not die from this! Her digestion has sped up too so hopefully Izzy will be okay after this incident and the yeast will go away and she'll start gaining weight.

 

[missyscove]

Shiloh remember no matter what happens that everything good in the lil' birdies lives has been because of you. I'm in awe of all you've done for them - how much you learned in such a short time.
:hug:

 

[JadeIcing]

What they said. You are a awesome mommy. They are lucky that they are in your loving hands.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Thanks, guys. It really means a lot to me. It's so hard not to blame yourself big time when something like this happens. Isadora is doing okay. She seems to be having trouble chirping and makes a funny sound when she eats so of course I'm worried. If she doesn't die from pneumonia from this time next week, I think she'll be okay. Or at least won't die because of aspiration pneumonia!

Little baby is 4 weeks old today. Tiniest 4 week old ever! She should be learning to fly here soon and start to peck at real food, but I don't know if that will happen since she's so little. I found a supplement on a website that is very calorie rich and supposed to help sick baby parrots put on weight, my breeder friend agrees it would be good to buy so I'm going to do that. Hopefully it will make a difference! It's very calorie dense. Izzy needs all the help she can get, she's soooo skinny. Based on the weights of her siblings when they died, she has about 10 grams to lose until she reaches the point where she just won't be able to live. She's 35 grams right now and I pray every day that she doesn't lose weight and waste away like poor Nico, Kieran, Teddy and Neeja. They felt practically weightless when they died and the 10 additional grams on Izzy actually feel fairly substantial in comparison.

 

[hartleybun]

JadeIcing wrote:

What they said. You are a awesome mommy. They are lucky that they are in your loving hands.

"here here" you are doing the best for your birdies ray:

 

[BooLette]

Snowy, I just caught up on this thread, and I am so sorry for your losses.

Phoenix is gorgeous! You must be so proud! I hope that the other babies make it! I'll be rooting for ya'll.ray:

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Thanks, Boo and Donna!

And, what you guys are REALLY interested in- PICTURES! I hadn't taken any in a few days of the birdies, don't know why. As you can see, Miss Isadora is looking more like a real bird all of a sudden! Isn't she darling? She can perch on fingers too

Tippy toes!:

from the back:

And the jealous big brother (his beak is blue because of a new toy):

Aren't my babies cute?! I'm going to try to get some of both of them together tonight so you can see the size difference.

Also, Izzy's chirping better today and her feeding response sounds more normal. Phew! The antibiotics are making her poop kinda green which is disturbing (green is bad) and I'll be happy when she's off of them.

 

[Mika77]

Oh my! they are so cute:heartbeat: I just love cockatiels, have two of them (actually should be cleaning their cage right now but somehow ended up on the computer, happens sometimes). Have I talked to you on Talk Cockatiels? I have talked to someone on their that also belongs on RO, not sure if it was you. Anyway, all your birds are beautiful and those babies are too cute.

 

[kherrmann3]

Aww! Those pictures are so sweet! :hearts: And hooray for Izzy's footie-control allowing her to perch on fingers! It cracks me up how "knobby" their little nosies look when they are little. Mr. Phoenix is quite the handsome little boy, isn't he?

:inlove: