Tiny the cockatiel

[lisascannell]

Hi everyone,
This is my new cockatiel, Tiny. She weighs about 56 grams and is the size of a budgie. No, I do not collect tiny cockatiels it just so happened that this bird needed my help and her previous owners could not provide it.

She is five months old but looks like a baby and her feathers have not developed properly, so she has never flown. She has a tiny stump for tail feathers.
She has been to the vet and he said her heart and lungs are strong and healthy and she is well hydrated. She is in the vet today to get tests run to make sure there are no other illnesses. The vet said her feet are a little red and the poops a bit gritty
She's so cute and happy and playful however I've got my fingers crossed today that when I pick her up all is good news! I'm feeling really nervous. I have only had her for a week and she is being kept in a quarantine cage.

 

[lisascannell]

Further, can someone tell me what mutation it is? Obviously it has some pearling on it, but there are so many different types like pearl pied etc...
To me it looks like a male pearl that is molting out the pearl. :20:

 

[Terry57]

What a little sweetheart! So glad you added her/him to your flock

 

[lisascannell]

Terry it's so unbelievably cute. I just want to treat it like a baby!!

 

[lisascannell]

When the vet gives her the all clear I'm debating about whether I can cage her with the other tiels. I can monitor for bullying but could she fall and hurt herself??

 

[Terry57]

I would think that she will be off balance with her tail like that, but I'm really not sure.
I think if it were me that I would keep her separated until she gets all her strength back. That way you can monitor her to see how well she gets around as well.

 

[Girl4Jesus83]

Tinie tiny itsy bitsy baby birdie! Please keep us updated with lots of pics. He/she is beyond cute!

 

[lisascannell]

Yay! The vet nurse just rang with the results. She has a minor bacterial infection which they say is common in hand fed birds. She needs five injections of antibiotics and they said she should be fine.

 

[MikeyTN]

Tiny is a Pearl! I'm worried about her for you why she's looking the way she's looking at 5 months old. You gonna have to give her some nutritious food to boost her up. Hand feeding her wouldn't be a bad idea either cause I feel she's still malnourished. If she would still do formula I would feed her 2-3 times per day.

 

[lisascannell]

Thank so much Mikey. Do you think it's a male? I have no problems with hand feeding her as she is like a baby to me. I have a vet appointment in two hours so will ask the vet about that

 

[lisascannell]

I'm pretty sure the person who hand raised her have no idea as 1 she appears malnourished and 2 she has bacteria from being hand fed

 

[MikeyTN]

I have no idea on the sex part so that you'll have to wait for a bit. I do feel she needs to be fatten up a bit before she hits her molt cycle cause that would be harsh on her. I hope the vet visit goes smoothly. I'm really curious what caused the bacterial infection as the only thing I can think of is that they weren't keeping her in a clean environment, not heated the water enough to mix with formula, let the formula get cold, etc. It's hard to say....

 

[lisascannell]

I will let you know what he says as I've only spoken to vet nurse so far and she said its likely from being handfed.

 

[MikeyTN]

Bad practice most likely if that's the case! I hope the best for Tiny at least she's under your care now.

 

[lisascannell]

Thanks Mikey!!! Strange but Tiny really liked being in the car this morning she was wolf whistling and making an assortment of nice sounds!!

 

[MikeyTN]

Might be a boy after all carrying on like that in the car....

 

[lisascannell]

Seen the vet he has a high level of some bacteria which should be blue under the microscope but his is red! He said the bacteria is not common in this country. He said it's completely treatable. As for his size he thinks once we get this issue fixed he should grow. Vet seems to think I may have a little boy

 

[lisascannell]

Also he said he is not contagious

 

[Dusty]

Best of luck with Tiny

 

[lisascannell]

Thanks Dusty she's going to be just fine the vet said, and she's not in any discomfort whatsoever! She's on injectable antibiotics so they kick in really quickly