What's wrong with their feathers?

[karimw]

Who won the eggs? Anyone close to me?

I would have loved to bid, but I've got CrystalCreek eggs in my bator now. maybe next time..

 

[JustAChickenLittle&More]

What eggs? Geez....my computer must have been down. Shucks.

 

[alicefelldown]

The lovely NicoleRM won the auction and a box packed full of eggs was mailed to her today!

for a good hatch!

 

[welasharon]

We shall all join together to wish good egg vibes to her and her hatch. We expect regular updates naturally!
sharon

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Send your good thoughts to my dear Liza, a silkied pullet that Kathy sent to me this fall. She's never been super well, but has declined somewhat steadily over the winter. She's in a shed, and gets a special diet of egg and high protein feed. She's been wormed, and had a couple courses of antibiotics. I just have no idea how to fix her. She looks extra thin and weak tonight.

Her beak looked a bit overgrown, so I got a file and some clippers and trimmed it back a bit. I hope it will allow her to eat more. I'm really avoiding putting her down due to the rarity of these birds, but if she gets any weaker without passing, I may have to.

On a brighter note, my F1 boy is very fertile, and is now living with some pure black Ameraucanas. Not the ideal mating situation, but if I grow out some of his daughters and mate them back to him, at least some of those chicks will be silkied.

Fingers crossed for some progress from ANYONE working on these birds this year. Spring is almost here, my friends.

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
It may be time to break out my favorite tool: baby parrot formula.

These birds are so rare, I'd even tube feed to see if that could get her over the hump.

My birds are finally starting to put on some heft, on a diet of 30% gamebird starter, 30% Farmers' Helper Ultra Kibble, and 30% scratch, with 10% scraps, including some tuna, whitefish, tons of nuts and greens, etc. They always have peanut/woodpecker suet cakes available.

It's rough going, but they are looking pretty good. They need a LOT of fat. That's why I have the suet cakes.

I'm about to start adding quinoa to their diet, too- I suspect there may be aminos they need, and hope that and sweet potatoes should help out.

Blondie (Roo #1, big guy, Splash) and Tuco (Roo #2, med guy, Calico) are finally named. They are the 2 main dudes from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Their crows sound just like the theme sound from the movie...

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Quote:
It may be time to break out my favorite tool: baby parrot formula.

These birds are so rare, I'd even tube feed to see if that could get her over the hump.

My birds are finally starting to put on some heft, on a diet of 30% gamebird starter, 30% Farmers' Helper Ultra Kibble, and 30% scratch, with 10% scraps, including some tuna, whitefish, tons of nuts and greens, etc. They always have peanut/woodpecker suet cakes available.

It's rough going, but they are looking pretty good. They need a LOT of fat. That's why I have the suet cakes.

I'm about to start adding quinoa to their diet, too- I suspect there may be aminos they need, and hope that and sweet potatoes should help out.

Blondie (Roo #1, big guy, Splash) and Tuco (Roo #2, med guy, Calico) are finally named. They are the 2 main dudes from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Their crows sound just like the theme sound from the movie...

Maybe I'll cook up some quinoa before bed. I have a chef friend that can save me fish and seafood scraps from his restaurant. So frustrating!

How would you recommend hand feeding? Getting a tube down into the crop and filling it up by force? It seems like 1 mouthful at a time might take for ever. She tries to eat all day long. I'm just not convinced anything goes down. She does well with the scrambled eggs. At least she attacks them. Maybe a quinoa, egg and fat breakfast are in order!

 

[ChooksChick]

You can get a larger-sized rubber tube from your vet (bigger around than a pencil) for feeding that is rounded on the tip, with holes out the sides of the end. It's like a 'kid-feeding tube' but rubber, not plastic, and fits snugly on the end of a 60mL feeding syringe. Let me know if your vet can't get you one, and I'll get you one from mine. In the short term, you can get a kid-feeding tube and syringe from a vet supply online, and that will work for 60 mL baby parrot formula at a time, straight down the gullet into the crop. The smaller tube is scarier, as the crop is only one molecule thick and you have to be very sensitive to use NO FORCE so you don't hurt her...that being said, I've done it twice or three times a day for years for my roo I recently lost (loss not related to that!). The tube will need to go down into just above where you usually feel the largest amt of food in her crop, then you mark that on the tube at her mouth with a piece of medical tape so you have it straight for easy reference.

She'll probably take 180 mL or more a 2x-3x a day, if you mix it thin enough to administer in the kid tube, but you can mix it with less water in the larger tube, as the holes are bigger. That way she won't have the watery poop, too.

It will put weight back on her, and if she's got a bad beak, you might be able to work on her beak to get it to where she can eat well. My experience is that if you don't think you can get her back to self-feeding, you'll be committing to years of this maintenance, no vacations, no pet-sitter, etc. It's brutal on the family, and you can't stop just because you're not well or don't feel up to it...

It's worth it if you think it's temporary. You might be able to mix the formula into a putty consistency so she can pick it up. Also, if you trim her beak back a bit regularly, the cuticle will recede and you can have more ability to clean it up if you need that. Have a styptic on hand when you go to trim, every time.

Good luck!

Quote:
It may be time to break out my favorite tool: baby parrot formula.

These birds are so rare, I'd even tube feed to see if that could get her over the hump.

My birds are finally starting to put on some heft, on a diet of 30% gamebird starter, 30% Farmers' Helper Ultra Kibble, and 30% scratch, with 10% scraps, including some tuna, whitefish, tons of nuts and greens, etc. They always have peanut/woodpecker suet cakes available.

It's rough going, but they are looking pretty good. They need a LOT of fat. That's why I have the suet cakes.

I'm about to start adding quinoa to their diet, too- I suspect there may be aminos they need, and hope that and sweet potatoes should help out.

Blondie (Roo #1, big guy, Splash) and Tuco (Roo #2, med guy, Calico) are finally named. They are the 2 main dudes from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Their crows sound just like the theme sound from the movie...

Maybe I'll cook up some quinoa before bed. I have a chef friend that can save me fish and seafood scraps from his restaurant. So frustrating!

How would you recommend hand feeding? Getting a tube down into the crop and filling it up by force? It seems like 1 mouthful at a time might take for ever. She tries to eat all day long. I'm just not convinced anything goes down. She does well with the scrambled eggs. At least she attacks them. Maybe a quinoa, egg and fat breakfast are in order!

 

[ChooksChick]

One more thing- in cold, these birds' fluff doesn't hold the body heat in the way it should. If she's out in the cold as she gets weaker, you'll surely lose her. I'd bring her in just a bit longer to get weight on her, then let her go back out when we're warmed up and she's fattened up.

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Thanks Renee.

I have a friend in vet school, so I'll ask him tomorrow. He's generally of NO help in these type of matters however....

Her beak isn't crossed, but the bottom bill was a bit too long. I feel like she can't pick things up well despite trying. I'm going to try to make a paste of some of the ingredients you mentioned, and see if she will go for it tomorrow. Otherwise, I will explore the force feeding. I don't plan on doing this for the rest of my life, but for a few weeks/months to get her on her feet again, sure. I'm perfectly willing.

She's in a heated shed, so she's not stressed by cold. Maybe if I get a few ounces on her, and get her out in the sunshine for spring, she'll gain a little vigor.

I sure hope these traits fix themselves in the next generation. I'm sure it's just a product of inbreeding... My F1 was as sturdy as can be. I have quite a handful of EE's that he fathered before I took him to the country. Sadly, none of my Ameraucanas were laying before he got too loud for my neighbors. Luckily, I have good friends who will house my breeding projects!