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Post by germaine on Feb 10, 2012 16:12:52 GMT 10
I posted a few weeks ago about the new cockatiel babies I got.
This is going to be a really long post, but there are lots of details...
One of them passed away while learning to fly (R.I.P), so we got another sibling as the other bird was crying for days for his mate.
They are about 7 weeks old now, and the second bird we bought is fine. He is weaned and happily eats seed and whatever else takes his fancy.
The original baby on the other hand just CONSTANTLY harrasses me for hand rearing mix!!
It is to the point where I don't really like going into the loungeroom anymore because as soon as he sees me, he will start crying and fly over to me and cry in my ear until I give in and either give him some hand rearing mix or some conifer, which he still cries whilst eating (reason for why I don't just put him in his cage will follow...)
I have a 6 week old conure aswell that I am hand feeding. When I am making up his food, I hear the cockatiel chirp, then sure enough he flies over and cries in my ear. It is near impossible to get him to stay off my shoulder when there is food around. I have to put him somewhere far away and make a mad dash to the bedroom and close the door so that I can feed the conure in peace. Otherwise, the cockatiel will be in the room aswell crying and crying and crying, and coming over to take the food from the spoon instead, and when I try to avoid him doing this, he gets nippy.
When I put him and his sibling away at night time (in a temporary large box) I can see them BOTH eating seed. I try not to look too much because then the naughty bird will stop eating and just start crying again. During the day, he will not have a bar of it!
We just bought a second hand new cage for them both to go in, but we need to do a few alterations over the weekend as I don't feel it is entirely escape proof. Although, even if we DO put him in his own cage, how will I know he will eat the seed and not just starve himself? Only on a rare occassion will I see him nibble at some seed during the day, and that's only until he sees me, then it's back to the routine of flying to me and crying.
I try not to let him see me watching him when he eats the seed, but sometimes he just knows.
I think I have given all of the details so far, but I may have missed something out.
BTW, I give him some hand rearing mix sometimes once or twice a day just to shut him up, and incase he really is starving. I know some birds take longer to wean, but my baby conure doesn't even cry for food as much as this bird!!
What can I do??? He is driving me INSANE!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by germaine on Feb 10, 2012 16:59:24 GMT 10
I forgot to mention aswell that it is also to the point where we can't watch TV in peace either.
As soon as I come into the room, he will just sit on my Galah cage and cry and cry and cry and cry and cry and cry and...you get the idea!
He doesn't always fly over to me to cry, usually he will just sit there and cry.
I hope someone replies soon. I have had to deal with this for 2 weeks and I can't take it anymore!!!
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Post by madaussie on Feb 10, 2012 19:35:19 GMT 10
well if it was me i would feed the bird give him some hand rearing mix once or twice a day just to shut him up he mght be hungry and it wont hurt to feed him just for peace of mind that he is not starving
and put it out of site so you can have sum peace
i find they just stop crying when they are good and ready i see the problem as breeders weaning them to fast you have to remember if they where with the parent birds they would get feeds for a few weeks after fledgling.
jjjj
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Post by germaine on Feb 10, 2012 20:17:50 GMT 10
Thanks madaussie!
Sometimes he even cries himself to sleep, and continues to cry a little even while sleeping.
I fed him earlier and about 30min later I went to watch TV and he just sat there crying and crying again. I put him away in my room so that I could atleast watch TV. He is now sitting on my shoulder crying while I type this.
I don't understand though, he only cries when he sees me?
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Post by madaussie on Feb 10, 2012 21:01:19 GMT 10
Well he thinks your mum as you feed him .
jjjj
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Post by avinet on Feb 10, 2012 21:15:16 GMT 10
He almost certainly has a Candida infection - a yeast-like fungus that gets into the crop and digestive system and makes the bird always feel hungry. Have you been weighing him? If so how much doe he weigh, and does he feel thin around the keel bone? Chances are he is just mouthing the seed and not actually eating it. After he has been "eating" seed have you felt the crop to see if there is any seed in the crop? Are you also giving it vegies etc to eat besides seed? One of the problems is that it seems to make their throat sore so they want to eat but it appears to hurt to actually swallow - especially solid food so they mouth the food without swallowing. The treatment for Candida is Nylstat Oral Drops - the liquid formula used for treating human babies with thrush (a type of candida in humans). It is available from a chemist, an S3 drug I think so a name and address is needed. Tell the chemist it is to treat candida in a baby bird, and the dosage is 0.5 ml 3 times a day, to the mouth 30 minutes before hand feeding. Use a syringe or the dropper that comes with it to squirt the stuff into the back of their throat - they hate the taste but they have to take their medicine  And you should be feeding the baby 3 times a day until it is over the infection - about 5 to 7 days normally. There is a chance it isn't Candida - other less common problems such as the parasite Trichomoniasis, or a bacterial infection, could also be a cause but with cockatiels it is usually Candida. If there is any doubt it would have to see an avian vet for accurate diagnosis. And I get the impression from you comments it has not had a cage up to now - a cockatiel baby is best put into a cage rather than a box around or a little before it reaches flying age. That helps them to wean more easily from my experience - and I've hand raised near a thousand baby cockatiels over the last 20 years. My preference is to have them caged once they are pretty well feathers - at least 7 to 10 days before I expect them to fly for the first time. He cries when he sees you because he is hungry and you are the source of food - he is crying to be fed. cheers, Mike |
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Post by germaine on Feb 11, 2012 20:31:23 GMT 10
Thanks alot avinet!
Oh wow, I didn't even think of Candida. I have actually been giving (well I have stopped now) my baby Sun Conure Nylstatin to hopefully avoid sour crop (I was advised by the breeder to do this).
I'm actually starting to think that I just haven't been feeding him enough. Usually I just give him what I think his crop can handle (he seems pretty greedy with his hand rearing mix), but yesterday and today I fed him until he wouldn't take anymore (I spoon feed) and he has barely cried all day.
Either that, or he is just making me look like a crazy bird lady infront of my husband haha (he only cries during the day when nobody is around. When there are other people, he is as quiet as a mouse) Hmm...
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Post by germaine on Mar 2, 2012 15:52:35 GMT 10
Me again!
I still need help with this teil!
My husband and I went interstate for 8 days and left our pets in the care of friends. I told them to keep an eye on the 'trouble maker' and if he cries for hand rearing mix to give it to him.
They told me he never cried for it and was eating seed, so I thought everything was alright.
Anyway, when we came back I instantly saw that he had lost a lot of weight. You can see his chest bone(?) sticking out unless he fluffs his feathers.
I asked the breeder I got him from about this and she told me to get some electrolytes to perk him up. She told me to give him about 5m and to warm it up a little and then try feeding him hand rearing mix about an hr later. I did this and he ate a little, but not as much as he usually does.
He ate more of it today, and I will keep feeding him the mix until he is a healthy weight again, but then I still have the same problem of him not really eating seed?
I see him pick at it a little, but I can't really say if he eats it. I only notice his crop is full after I give him the mix.
He doesn't act sick at all. He still flies around and plays with his friends.
Any ideas?
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Post by vankarhi on Mar 5, 2012 18:16:35 GMT 10
Me again! I still need help with this teil! My husband and I went interstate for 8 days and left our pets in the care of friends. I told them to keep an eye on the 'trouble maker' and if he cries for hand rearing mix to give it to him. They told me he never cried for it and was eating seed, so I thought everything was alright. Anyway, when we came back I instantly saw that he had lost a lot of weight. You can see his chest bone(?) sticking out unless he fluffs his feathers. I asked the breeder I got him from about this and she told me to get some electrolytes to perk him up. She told me to give him about 5m and to warm it up a little and then try feeding him hand rearing mix about an hr later. I did this and he ate a little, but not as much as he usually does. He ate more of it today, and I will keep feeding him the mix until he is a healthy weight again, but then I still have the same problem of him not really eating seed? I see him pick at it a little, but I can't really say if he eats it. I only notice his crop is full after I give him the mix. He doesn't act sick at all. He still flies around and plays with his friends. Any ideas? I am thinking you might need to get him vet checked..........how old is the tiel now?? I think the ones I have finished raising were weaned by around 10 weeks (possibly earlier)......although I do re member one I had who refused to wean until around 6 months old  |
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Post by germaine on Mar 5, 2012 18:30:01 GMT 10
I would say that he would be around 3 months old now? I've bought him another fruit and nut treat stick because I know he likes them, and I have seen him picking at it a little. I also chuck some seed and crushed pellets at the bottom of the cage as I've noticed he picks at them a little.
I also realised that the breeder wouldn't have wormed him when I got him at 4 weeks old, so I am worming him now. I just hope he drinks the water!
I've also found a bird vet which I will have to find out roughly how much it will cost to be seen first. I know money shouldn't be an issue when your pets are in need, but my husband and I are going through something personal and it isn't cheap!
My husband has also told me (which I am highly angry about) that if the birds condition worsens, that he will let him go because he doesn't want to see another pet die. I of course don't accept this, so I am going to ring the vet tomorrow to see how much it will cost to be seen, and I will somehow take the bird on the sly.
Like I said, he doesn't act sick, but I can tell that something isn't right.
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Post by vankarhi on Mar 5, 2012 20:47:30 GMT 10
Putting food all around his cage is a good idea, I used to do that with my babies when I was weaning them. Have you tried him on millet sprays? They seem to like them too. Also if you can try to get some sprouts into his cage they do seem to like them usually. It is possible that he is just slow to wean if he is only 3 months old but I think Mike also suggested he might have a "yeast" infection???
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Post by Laraine on Mar 7, 2012 15:30:44 GMT 10
I agree it is time to take him to an Avian Vet to find out if he has some underlying problem. I have found with tiels sometimes they are crying for food for a few months when you would think they would be weaned.
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Post by Robyn on Mar 7, 2012 15:58:42 GMT 10
Apart from Mike suspecting Candida & i am hoping you are treating him for that. I think you have tried to wean this bird to soon & he has regressed. If that is the case you have to go back to 3 feeds a day & then slowly drop a feed & so on. Until the bird starts to eat himself. Sprout some sprouting seed mix for him, give him a chunk of corn on the cob also the celery leaves. But most important feel his crop each evening to see if he has any seed in there. And never put him to bed with his crop empty.
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Post by germaine on Mar 12, 2012 11:57:29 GMT 10
Well I took him to an avian vet who told me that he was underweight (which was obvious) and that he may have clamidiya or a bacterial infection. He is on antibiotics for the next 2 weeks.
I had already treated him for candida. I gave him 1ml of nystatin 3 times a day, half hr before feeding him. I did this for 5 days.
I also sprouted some seeds for ALL of my birds, but my galah was the only one that seemed interested. I offer this tiel sooooo many things, but all I ever see him eat is a treat stick or the rearing mix I give him.
I have started to get him to eat the rearing mix on his own now. I make it more 'chunky' and put it on a small container lid at the bottom of his cage, and he eats it himself (almost as if he was eating seed from a bowl). I have started mixing some pellets in with it so that he can get a taste for pellets and hopefully start eating them out of the regular feeding bowl himself.
I was literally JUST reading about how I may have forced weaned him, or weaned him too soon and it makes sense. I was told to continue hand feeding him anyway to bring his weight back up, so hopefully he can wean properly this time around.
He is still far from 'perfect', but with the few changes I have made so far, things look to be improving.
Thanks everyone for your help!
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Post by owszat on Apr 4, 2013 21:49:47 GMT 10
Hey Germaine, I have just read all the posts here and was wondering how you are going with your birds? Very interesting how you are getting him to eat, I hope that all is well now. Regards |
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And you should be feeding the baby 3 times a day until it is over the infection - about 5 to 7 days normally. 
