is this normal?

[kim1]

My father has three chicks in the nest about 5 weeks old, the parents where keeping them full untill 4 days ago, dad has been checking them at different times of the day in case they are being feed early and their crops emptying before he checks them but it doesn't matter when he checks them the older two are always empty and the youngest has very little in it's crop, they are loseing a little bit of weight and their keel bone is beginning to protrude, he is worried that the intense heat in Rockhampton is keeping the parents from feeding them, I don't know much about parent reared birds as I handraise most of mine and any that are parent raise I don't really handle so I don't know if this is normal or not, its his first lot and he doesnt want to risk loseing them.

[eckie]

it sounds like he might have to pull them for hand rearing they shouldnt always be empty.
i wouldnt risk loosing them especially if they are loosing weight and bones are starting to show.
i would pull them.

[kim1]

Thanks Ekie, he has pulled them and they are worse than he thought quite emancipated, and starving, he gave them probiotic and spark with warm water to get their crop going then after 1 hour some diluted food and they gulped it down like there was no tomorrow, so he will begin slowly thickening the food mix over the next 24 hrs untill it is at normal consistancy.

[eckie]

good to hear they are ok
luck he pulled them now then
or he might hasve lost them.
let me know how they go
jamie

[jeremy]

it shouldn't have been the heat that was keeping the parents from feeding them because there are a lot of ringneck breeders in rocky but i guess it was just one of those things. Good luck with the handrearing

[kim1]

The babies are doing well and gaining weight, glad he pulled the as these are his first lot.