SilverSage
New member
- Sep 14, 2013
- 5,937
- 96
- Parrots
- Eclectus, CAG, BH Pionus, Maximilian’s Pionus, Quakers, Indian Ringnecks, Green Cheeked Conures, Black Capped Conures, Cockatiels, Lovebirds, Budgies, Canaries, Diamond Doves, Zebra Finches, Society F
Some of you remember that recently amjokai and I rescued 18 budgies, with 8 of them still being in the nest. It was our first attempt at hand feeding, and we were told by a local breeder that it sounded like the babies suffered from crop stasis, or at the very least yeast in the crop. We were terrified we were going to lose them all, but miracle of miracles, most of them made it.
We lost 3 of the adults right away, we are not sure from what. We called the vet about bringing them in, and basically got a very non-committal answer that could be summed up as "we could give them a basic exam but we aren't sure if we could tell you what is wrong (pretty concerning coming from the main vet clinic on the island, the one that has the reputation for being the only real avian vet) and it will cost you $90 per bird just to walk in the door, and for the test you will have to sell your kidneys on the black market. But again, we may not know..."I have never had someone tell me so many times that they couldnt help me but would still charge me money.
One of the babies, we named her Malulani which is a Hawaiian name with many meanings, including "Divine Protection" which is what we wanted for her. She was doing well when she developed a yeast infection in her mouth, which we were able to treat but in the mean time she lost a lot of weight and became incredibly weak. We were able to treat the infection and she began eating and gaining weight again, but she took a dramatic turn for the worst and died (after yet another phone call to the vet, more of the same "well we could try but who knows what she could have she will probably die. So sorry."
The remaining 7 babies and 7 adults are doing well. We are waiting on blood test results for Psittacosis, Polyoma, and Beak and Feather Disease tests on several of the birds. In the mean time they are under strict Quarantine.
All but the youngest two have weaned, and those tow are basically eating halfheartedly twice a day, I expect this to be the last week of hand feeding. Most are eating pellets, and all are eating seeds. I would have preferred not to offer seeds, however 4 of the babies had warped beaks, we believe this was due to the vast amounts of feces caked on their faces when we got them (also huge balls of poop on their feet, to the point that they could not even pull their legs underneath them). The worst of the cases was a baby whose beak was literally turned upward like a shovel. Now only the two worst show any signs that anything was wrong, and they are improving. We have high hopes that they will straighten out, but amjokai and I each plan to keep one of the two most warped babies. Mine is named Hooah, and is white with blue patches and hers is named Ducky and appears to be a grey-wing green. Ducky was the worst, with the upturned beak.
Here are pictures of Ducky then, and the way he looks now. Honestly, the first picture doesnt show how bad it was, and the new one makes it look worse than it is, but I think they are still worth showing.
We lost 3 of the adults right away, we are not sure from what. We called the vet about bringing them in, and basically got a very non-committal answer that could be summed up as "we could give them a basic exam but we aren't sure if we could tell you what is wrong (pretty concerning coming from the main vet clinic on the island, the one that has the reputation for being the only real avian vet) and it will cost you $90 per bird just to walk in the door, and for the test you will have to sell your kidneys on the black market. But again, we may not know..."I have never had someone tell me so many times that they couldnt help me but would still charge me money.
One of the babies, we named her Malulani which is a Hawaiian name with many meanings, including "Divine Protection" which is what we wanted for her. She was doing well when she developed a yeast infection in her mouth, which we were able to treat but in the mean time she lost a lot of weight and became incredibly weak. We were able to treat the infection and she began eating and gaining weight again, but she took a dramatic turn for the worst and died (after yet another phone call to the vet, more of the same "well we could try but who knows what she could have she will probably die. So sorry."
The remaining 7 babies and 7 adults are doing well. We are waiting on blood test results for Psittacosis, Polyoma, and Beak and Feather Disease tests on several of the birds. In the mean time they are under strict Quarantine.
All but the youngest two have weaned, and those tow are basically eating halfheartedly twice a day, I expect this to be the last week of hand feeding. Most are eating pellets, and all are eating seeds. I would have preferred not to offer seeds, however 4 of the babies had warped beaks, we believe this was due to the vast amounts of feces caked on their faces when we got them (also huge balls of poop on their feet, to the point that they could not even pull their legs underneath them). The worst of the cases was a baby whose beak was literally turned upward like a shovel. Now only the two worst show any signs that anything was wrong, and they are improving. We have high hopes that they will straighten out, but amjokai and I each plan to keep one of the two most warped babies. Mine is named Hooah, and is white with blue patches and hers is named Ducky and appears to be a grey-wing green. Ducky was the worst, with the upturned beak.
Here are pictures of Ducky then, and the way he looks now. Honestly, the first picture doesnt show how bad it was, and the new one makes it look worse than it is, but I think they are still worth showing.
good to hear.
