Help! 4 week lovebird not taking handfeed formula

[lovebird_friends]

Hi,

I am trying to hand-feed a 4 week old baby which does not even open the mouth after a bit of formula, afterwards whatever I put in her mouth she just throws it off. I am required to for feed her but I am unable to fill the crop for last 24 hours. You can see the bird in the pictures I posted. Also I noticed that the baby's poop has no faeces. What can be the reason for this? Is it sick?

Also when it sleeps at night for last couple of days it spreads legs, and the head drops down, all my lovebird chicks sat down on the brooder when they slept before. Why is this baby sleeping with a drooping head? Any help from expert breeders will be appreciated.

*I have handfed lovebird previously and I know the correct temperature and handfeed mixture, there are other babies too and they are all fine so there should be no problem with hand feeding formula or temperature of brooder.

In the pictures you will see that the bird has made a mess, I took the pictures after feeding her and as I told her I need to force feed as she will not accept food for last 24 hours.

Picture of the bird: https://imgur.com/UL5HLQe
Picture of bird: https://imgur.com/Hk55wSw
Picture of faeces: https://imgur.com/WbNGX2O

 

[abababa]

The immediate question you need to figure out is whether the refusal of food is a cause or a symptom.

As you know, sick/stressed birds don't eat. Focus on working out if (s)he's sick as a priority as otherwise (very carefully) tube feeding whilst building a bond to alleviate her stress will gradually solve the problem. The splayed legs/drooping head could be ataxia or weakness; possibly from lack of food/vitamin E, but it could also be due to infection, injury, heavy metal toxicity, etc. There is also the sad fact she's still at a high-risk age, so it could be something congenital.

Does the bird seem otherwise lively during the day? Is it perching and moving around ok when awake? The poop is not that unusual in the circumstances - if all she's accepting is liquid formula, what goes in is, er, what comes out.

You may be fast running out of time if the refusing food is a symptom of something serious and antibiotics/antifungals/etc. are needed. If you have access to an avian vet for a thorough checkup now would be the time.

 

[lovebird_friends]

The immediate question you need to figure out is whether the refusal of food is a cause or a symptom.

As you know, sick/stressed birds don't eat. Focus on working out if (s)he's sick as a priority as otherwise (very carefully) tube feeding whilst building a bond to alleviate her stress will gradually solve the problem. The splayed legs/drooping head could be ataxia or weakness; possibly from lack of food/vitamin E, but it could also be due to infection, injury, heavy metal toxicity, etc. There is also the sad fact she's still at a high-risk age, so it could be something congenital.

Does the bird seem otherwise lively during the day? Is it perching and moving around ok when awake? The poop is not that unusual in the circumstances - if all she's accepting is liquid formula, what goes in is, er, what comes out.

You may be fast running out of time if the refusing food is a symptom of something serious and antibiotics/antifungals/etc. are needed. If you have access to an avian vet for a thorough checkup now would be the time.

Thanks for your answer. Yes the bird is lively during the day when she is awake. What concerns me is the drooping head when she falls asleep and the dis-interest in hand-feeding food.

 

[wrench13]

Any news? That chick needs food in her crop! Have you done gravage feeding?

 

[itzjbean]

Oh no!

How warm is the temperature of your formula? hopefully around 100 degrees F?

How is the consistency of your formula? At 4 weeks a lovebird should be well on it's way to becoming a big strong bird and will be eating some on its own. If the formula is too hot or cold, expired, not the right consistency, these could be reasons why the bird is not eating.

How long have you been feeding it like this, since birth? 2 weeks? Just started taking it on?

Sometimes a sick baby will refuse all formula, and in this case it NEEDS to see a vet asap! Please keep us updated.