Newly hatched babies keep dying

[Nav]

Hello,

I could really use some help here. I have two conures pineapple (female), green cheek (male). They had a batch of eggs about 11 most didn’t make it or was still yellow. After the first two eggs I noticed my Rosie wouldn’t sit on the eggs and the male would move them. I bought an incubator and we had success with them. We ended up with more eggs and bought a brooder as we couldn’t keep them in the incubator as there was no space. It also rotates.

first one lasted almost 2 weeks and randomly passed away while we hand fed it. The second one we tried with Rosie and she broke its beak and it died. We continued to hand feed. The third one passed away. Randomly in the brooder box.

After a while now we have two eggs left. Two days ago one hatched after 12hrs we started feeding every two hours, 2-3 drops until its crop was a bit extended. It wasn’t really popping and came out the egg with a protruding belly button. Today the last egg was hatched and then the other bird died after feeding!

What are we doing soo wrong we need assistance as these are my babies and this is really sad!

Is it the temperature, feeding schedule, should I put this last one back in the incubator with the steam? The food not diluted enough? Is there something specific I need to do after feeding ?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I'm sorry youre having such trouble. It's so sad when a baby dies. I lost one at four days old a few months ago and don't know why. I've successfully hand raised budgies from hatching so ill try to help you figure it out. Let's start with a few questions.

What instrument are you using to feed them? Syringe, eye dropper, spoon something else?

What temperature is the broader/incubator kept at?

What temp is the food you're feeding? What's the consistency of the food?

Are you making fresh food for each feeding?

Do the chicks have a good appetite?

 

[wrench13]

I have zero breeding experience, Donna obviously has some and is successful at it. I would suggest you try to find a parrot breeder in your area and see if they will share knowledge with you. Is this a commercial venture or just a hobby type situation? From what I have read, breeding parrots is not an easy thing to get right, despite what one might think (hey birds in the wild do it without people to help). Good luck!

 

[Nav]

I'm sorry youre having such trouble. It's so sad when a baby dies. I lost one at four days old a few months ago and don't know why. I've successfully hand raised budgies from hatching so ill try to help you figure it out. Let's start with a few questions.

What instrument are you using to feed them? Syringe, eye dropper, spoon something else?

What temperature is the broader/incubator kept at?

What temp is the food you're feeding? What's the consistency of the food?

Are you making fresh food for each feeding?

Do the chicks have a good appetite?

Hi Donna,
I thank you for responding! I used a syringe feeding one drop at a time. We've tried filling the crop a bit. Feed is very thin as per Kaytee bottle. Made 3x a day. Alarms set for every two hours.

They all had good appetite and good poops. I feel two maybe aspirated. Idk I'm still in shock and so super depressed about the whole situation. Sadly they all passed one by one its a complete fail and I feel horrible.

Everyone knows me as the bird whisperer lol I've had birds for over ten years but never had babies before.

As people come to me for advice all the time I have a different issue that maybe you can help me with. My lash girl bought a green cheeked conure that's was 4 weeks old now at 6 weeks old its not eating as much. When she got it was eating 1 1/2 syringes of the kaytee food. Now barely one syringe. Has great poops. I've seen videos of the bird playing, interacting, climbing, and walking.

What can she do?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I would never feed a baby bird of any age with a syringe. All it takes is one wrong move and the baby will die. I feed using a small plastic spoon, heated and bent into a funnel shape. This allows the baby to eat at his own rate with no risk of choking or aspiration. I did purchase feeding syringes with a tiny plastic spoon adapter (Amazon) to allow me to push food into the tiny spoon from the syringe as the baby eats what he wants.

I mix my formula in a shot glass so I can make small amounts and throw out the leftover after each feeding. I use a meat thermometer to ensure the temp is between 100 and 105.

I've used Kaytee formula but lately I prefer Higgins InTune. It's rice based instead of corn based like Kaytee.

Do you have a thermostatically controller incubator or brooder? What temp are you keeping the babies?

Your friends green cheek, at six weeks old, is past his big rapid grown spurt so its not unusual that he eats less. You don't say how big the syringe is? 10cc? Is he picking at any seed or pellets? Anyone hand raising a baby bird should have a gram scale and weigh the baby regularly. As long as the 6 week old isn't losing weight and it's weight is within the normal adult range he's eating enough. Again. I wish she wasn't using a syringe. A 6 week old can aspirate and die. I know of many instances like that. It's not worth the risk to a baby bird's life.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

The key with handfeeding safely is to let the baby take the food into its mouth, don't put food into the baby's mouth. The incubator or broader with hatched chicks should be at 98 for a couple days. Then 96 for about three days. Then 94 for about three days. Then drop the temp 2 degrees every three days until the temp is about 86. Babies that are too hot will pant.

 

[Nav]

I would never feed a baby bird of any age with a syringe. All it takes is one wrong move and the baby will die. I feed using a small plastic spoon, heated and bent into a funnel shape. This allows the baby to eat at his own rate with no risk of choking or aspiration. I did purchase feeding syringes with a tiny plastic spoon adapter (Amazon) to allow me to push food into the tiny spoon from the syringe as the baby eats what he wants.

I mix my formula in a shot glass so I can make small amounts and throw out the leftover after each feeding. I use a meat thermometer to ensure the temp is between 100 and 105.

I've used Kaytee formula but lately I prefer Higgins InTune. It's rice based instead of corn based like Kaytee.

Do you have a thermostatically controller incubator or brooder? What temp are you keeping the babies?

Your friends green cheek, at six weeks old, is past his big rapid grown spurt so its not unusual that he eats less. You don't say how big the syringe is? 10cc? Is he picking at any seed or pellets? Anyone hand raising a baby bird should have a gram scale and weigh the baby regularly. As long as the 6 week old isn't losing weight and it's weight is within the normal adult range he's eating enough. Again. I wish she wasn't using a syringe. A 6 week old can aspirate and die. I know of many instances like that. It's not worth the risk to a baby bird's life.

 

[Nav]

I would never feed a baby bird of any age with a syringe. All it takes is one wrong move and the baby will die. I feed using a small plastic spoon, heated and bent into a funnel shape. This allows the baby to eat at his own rate with no risk of choking or aspiration. I did purchase feeding syringes with a tiny plastic spoon adapter (Amazon) to allow me to push food into the tiny spoon from the syringe as the baby eats what he wants.

I mix my formula in a shot glass so I can make small amounts and throw out the leftover after each feeding. I use a meat thermometer to ensure the temp is between 100 and 105.

I've used Kaytee formula but lately I prefer Higgins InTune. It's rice based instead of corn based like Kaytee.

Do you have a thermostatically controller incubator or brooder? What temp are you keeping the babies?

Your friends green cheek, at six weeks old, is past his big rapid grown spurt so its not unusual that he eats less. You don't say how big the syringe is? 10cc? Is he picking at any seed or pellets? Anyone hand raising a baby bird should have a gram scale and weigh the baby regularly. As long as the 6 week old isn't losing weight and it's weight is within the normal adult range he's eating enough. Again. I wish she wasn't using a syringe. A 6 week old can aspirate and die. I know of many instances like that. It's not worth the risk to a baby bird's life.

Hi,
Yes, we bought an incubator and brooder immediately after realizing the parents abandoned the eggs. I do believe we bought the wrong brooder and the temperature fluctuates by it self 1-3 degrees and shuts off after 8hrs so we are constantly monitoring it. We usually tried to keep it at 36. The incubator was at 37. I was using a plastic spoon but i was concerned with how much was coming off the spoon. I was using a 1ml syringe with the tiny tip. I totally understand what your saying though. I'll go back to the spoon.

As for my friend, I believe she's using a 10ml. Now the bird takes maybe half. Turns its head and wants to play, climb, preen it self or cuddle. She ended up buying pellets but the bird isn't interested. Should she try soaking it?

 

[Nav]

The key with handfeeding safely is to let the baby take the food into its mouth, don't put food into the baby's mouth. The incubator or broader with hatched chicks should be at 98 for a couple days. Then 96 for about three days. Then 94 for about three days. Then drop the temp 2 degrees every three days until the temp is about 86. Babies that are too hot will pant.

Thank you

 

[Nav]

I have zero breeding experience, Donna has some and is successful at it. I would suggest you try to find a parrot breeder in your area and see if they will share knowledge with you. Is this a commercial venture or just a hobby type situation? From what I have read, breeding parrots is not an easy thing to get right, despite what one might think (hey birds in the wild do it without people to help). Good luck!

Hello,
No, not a hobby. We've had birds for over 10 years but this is a first. We weren't trying to breed them at all. We got a friend for our Rosie when he was just 3 months old. Rosie had laid 8 eggs before but all were infertile as they were not mating and Peppi was young. When they started mating and laying eggs we expected them to be with the eggs and new babies but unfortunately, it didn't work out that way leaving us to try and figure all this out. We spent hours researching, days without sleep, worrying etc. Unfortunately, we learned some sad lessons.

Thank you for your response.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Hi,
Yes, we bought an incubator and brooder immediately after realizing the parents abandoned the eggs. I do believe we bought the wrong brooder and the temperature fluctuates by it self 1-3 degrees and shuts off after 8hrs so we are constantly monitoring it. We usually tried to keep it at 36. The incubator was at 37. I was using a plastic spoon but i was concerned with how much was coming off the spoon. I was using a 1ml syringe with the tiny tip. I totally understand what your saying though. I'll go back to the spoon.

As for my friend, I believe she's using a 10ml. Now the bird takes maybe half. Turns its head and wants to play, climb, preen it self or cuddle. She ended up buying pellets but the bird isn't interested. Should she try soaking it?

If a baby is kept too warm it will die. When a baby is newly hatched it should be kept at 36. A few days old it should be kept at 35. A week old at 34. Ten days old at 32-33. Two weeks old at 31. When feathers start opening up at 30. When feathered, 28. An unreliable brooder makes me very nervous.
Do you have Amazon? If so. I have a couple recommendations. I have two egg incubators that can also be used as brooders. I got my syringe spoons on Amazon too.

Using bent spoons is messy for sure and you must wash the baby's face, neck and breast after each feeding. Formula dries like concrete. I've never measured the volume my babies eat because it's impossible when using a spoon. I feed on demand until they’re full. That's the way parent birds do it. It's possible to overfeed when a baby is very enthusiastic so I watch its crop and stop when it looks full and feels full but not too firm.

As long as your friends baby is not losing weight, eating less is fine at 6 weeks old. The worst thing she can do is try to force him to eat more! Weaning can be challenging. Pellets for weaning should be tiny. Harrisons high potency superfine are excellent. I mix them with thick formula and offer them on a bent spoon. When the baby is most hungry, morning perhaps, he should eagerly eat the mixture but you can't put it through a syringe or it will clog. Moistening pellets with warm water would make them more appealing than dry but toss out any moist foods that are not eaten right away. Does your friends baby pick at seed? Millet spray? I would offer the 6 week old cooked brown rice mixed with some formula to try to get it to eat "solid food". Make sure you tell her to wash any food off the baby's face, neck and breast.

Do you have access to an avian vet?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

How careful are you with food temperature? 38 to 41 is perfect. If you use a microwave to heat, make sure its stirred very thoroughly. Hot spots will burn the crop.