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Post by wallylennybirds on Jan 22, 2014 13:15:39 GMT 10
Hi All i am a newie to this forum but need some advice,
I have breed my first baby princess parrots and they are just gorgeous but these two have had a hard start to life already being they would maybe be about 3 months old i guess.
My question is this, it seems one or both parents have plucked the babies almost bald and even had blood and nasty wound to one of their wings, they are very good parents in every other way, why would they do this.
At first i thought maybe it was another bird so took all the others out but happened again and have now taken the babies out and they doing well but not looking terribly pretty at the moment. hope someone can give me advice as to whether they lacking something in there diet or such?
PS. the parents are both green colours but the babies new growth of feathers on there backs are yellow very pretty, will they stay that colour or change later.
Thanks
Jo
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Post by avinet on Jan 22, 2014 21:06:13 GMT 10
Hi All i am a newie to this forum but need some advice, I have breed my first baby princess parrots and they are just gorgeous but these two have had a hard start to life already being they would maybe be about 3 months old i guess. My question is this, it seems one or both parents have plucked the babies almost bald and even had blood and nasty wound to one of their wings, they are very good parents in every other way, why would they do this. At first i thought maybe it was another bird so took all the others out but happened again and have now taken the babies out and they doing well but not looking terribly pretty at the moment. hope someone can give me advice as to whether they lacking something in there diet or such? PS. the parents are both green colours but the babies new growth of feathers on there backs are yellow very pretty, will they stay that colour or change later. Thanks Jo Hi Jo, Sorry to hear about the problems your baby Princesses are having. Just what makes some birds pluck their babies is always a bit of a guess. Sometimes it seems to be because the hen wants to go back and lay another clutch - a particular problem with budgies. Other times it is perhaps a behaviour learned for being themselves plucked by their parents. Other times it can be stress from other birds in the aviary. Often we just don't know. One thing that is very common is that once a parent has plucked their babies they will do it for every clutch afterwards. That means that at the first sign of babies being plucked they need to be removed for hand rearing - that would often be at around 14 to 20 days for a Princess. Princess babies are easy to hand rear - a lot of fun in fact - as you would expect they have plenty of personality. Oen thing I need to know is what their diet is - seed or pellets - what and how often do they get fresh food - do they get browsing stuff regularly? I am a little concerned to hear that the babies have yellow feathers on their backs - do you know anything about the parents history - are they normal greens or do they have splits to other colours? If they are not carrying genes to produce yellow babies then there may be a health issue - yellow feathers that do not have a mutation cause can often indicate a liver problem. Do these babies appear healthy and active - apart from their poor feather condition of course. By now they should be flying - are they good flyers? Ignoring the yellow feathers for now but they may well look a bit of a mess until they go into their moult at around 8 to 10 months. Can you put any photos of the babies up here for me to see? Princess Parrots in general are good parents - but I did have one pair that plucked babies - I am including a photo of one of their babies that was hand reared - you can see it was plucked on the back before we got to remove it form the nest box. cheers, Mike  |
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Post by wallylennybirds on Jan 23, 2014 10:00:33 GMT 10
Hi Mike, thanks for the reply,
My babies are on seed but i do give them fresh fruit or vegetables every day, im not sure what you mean by browsing stuff as i am very new birds, had shown and breed dogs for years but this bit different.
I know nothing about the parents history as i got them from a local bloke who buys and sells for others but dad is all green but mum does have very pale yellow on her chest so could that be where it comes from as both very very healthy and quite feisty, they will scream and bite and put up real fight when i had to catch them.
They are not flying as its almost like there wing feathers have been trimmed and no tail feathers either, i feel bad because this happened a couple times before i realised it was the parents and not the other birds.
I tried to get photos up but this damm computer i just cant load them, will keep trying.
They are a beautiful placid bird and both parents very friendly but i would hate this to happen again but i dont want to get rid of the parents either, i guess hand rearing not so bad if i had too as just finished raising a baby magpie that had fallen out of nest in our huge gum tree and we have four cats so thought i would give it a chance, now every time im outside i have my little shadow boris the magpie right behind.
Thanks again for your help as i just want these two babies happy and healthy.
jo
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Post by avinet on Jan 23, 2014 21:09:08 GMT 10
Hi Mike, thanks for the reply, My babies are on seed but i do give them fresh fruit or vegetables every day, im not sure what you mean by browsing stuff as i am very new birds, had shown and breed dogs for years but this bit different. I know nothing about the parents history as i got them from a local bloke who buys and sells for others but dad is all green but mum does have very pale yellow on her chest so could that be where it comes from as both very very healthy and quite feisty, they will scream and bite and put up real fight when i had to catch them. They are not flying as its almost like there wing feathers have been trimmed and no tail feathers either, i feel bad because this happened a couple times before i realised it was the parents and not the other birds. I tried to get photos up but this damm computer i just cant load them, will keep trying. They are a beautiful placid bird and both parents very friendly but i would hate this to happen again but i dont want to get rid of the parents either, i guess hand rearing not so bad if i had too as just finished raising a baby magpie that had fallen out of nest in our huge gum tree and we have four cats so thought i would give it a chance, now every time im outside i have my little shadow boris the magpie right behind. Thanks again for your help as i just want these two babies happy and healthy. jo Hi Jo, Sounds like they are OK for diet - browsing means providing branches from shrubs such as Grevillea, wattle, or Bottlebrush for them to chew and pick at - they will often enjoy the flowers from the Grevilleas for instance and gain additional nutrition in the process. I assume from your description that the wing feathers are present but just shortened by the parents biting them short. Are the tail feathers there as well but just as the stumps? I am a little concerned by these yellow feathers - abnormal yellow feathers is often caused by a liver problem - sometimes it can be caused by a virus that attacks the liver and can result in wing or tail feathers falling out constantly as they grow again. If the birds have the stumps of the feathers and they have been bitten off then the yellow might just come from the stress caused by constant plucking by the parents, causing an upset in the liver function, which over time should resolve as the liver repairs itself. cheers, Mike |
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Post by wallylennybirds on Jan 24, 2014 11:06:37 GMT 10
Hi Mike,
one of the babies has just starting growing the tail feathers again the other which had his wing quite badly chewed had no feathers or stumps on his tail but i can just see some now it has also still a couple bald patches on his back but slowly i see improvement, not sure how his little wing will go as was a nasty wound.
Do you suggest anything that i should be given them for this liver problem they may have or is it just a watch and see.
They are actually in with my two hand reared conures at the moment and let me tell you these two babies are the boss if conures (who are very good natured) come to ground these blokes let them know they dont believe in sharing there food bowls at all.
i would love for you to see photo of them but can only take with phone at the moment.
Thanks again for all your advice and help
Jo
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Post by avinet on Jan 24, 2014 21:04:24 GMT 10
Hi Mike, Do you suggest anything that i should be given them for this liver problem they may have or is it just a watch and see. It will just be a matter of wait and see - the liver is very good at regenerating itself after injury or disease if the cause of that damage is removed. My vet in Brisbane has a good herbal concoction for treating the liver - I am not normally a fan of alternative medicine but this liver tonic does really work. I would just wait and see - hopefully the two birds will recover their feathers OK and be fine - but it may well take a moult or two before they are completely normal. cheers, Mike |
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