this poor chick is nearly 4 weeks old he has poor feather development and i took mum out about 4 days ago as i thought she was plucking him as he had bald patches starting on his head and a few other feather injuries and spots of blood. anyhow dad has been looking after him since then and more feathers lost and although he seems healthy and alert he doesnt look so good, what could be the problem here? do i take him out of nest and handfeed now or leave him and hope for the best with dad....

http://images.trademe.co.nz/photoserver/12/27602112_full.jpg

Is there any other chicks in the nest and if so are they like him?

NO HE IS THE ONLY BABY FROM THE CLUTCH. THIS IS MY FIRST CLUTCH OF BABIES SO NOT TO SURE WHAT THEY SHOULD BE LOOKING LIKE BUT AFTER SEEING PICS OF OTHER BIRDS ON THE NET AT ABOUT THIS BIRDS AGE HE DOESNT LOOK GOOD. I AM FINDING ALL THE LOST FEATHERS ETC IN THE NEST BOX. DAD DOES NOT SIT WITH HIM JUST GOES IN AND FEEDS THEN GOES AGAIN. THEY ARE ALSO IN AN AVIARY BY THEMSELVES SO NO OTHER BIRDS AT ALL AND HE IS INSIDE.

No this isn't normal, the poor little thing.

 

I suggest you make an appointment with your avain vet to get him and the family checked. The first that comes to mind is Beak and Feather disease.

My guess is French Moult. I had my whole clutch diagnosed with it last year. Could be wrong but looks very similar......

No this isn't normal, the poor little thing.

 

I suggest you make an appointment with your avain vet to get him and the family checked. The first that comes to mind is Beak and Feather disease.

 

I was thinking the same. If there is others like him they would have to be tested.

 

4 week old chick is supposed to look like this.

 

This is a 19day (nearly 3 week) old chick. In fact they are the same bird. Tiny.

 

Your chick is about 3 week in development. A bit behind.

Edited September 23, 200618 yr by daz

WHAT TO DO! I HAVE READ THAT IM TO CULL ALL BIRDS, I HAVE JUST STARTED OUT (HAD BIRDS FOR ABOUT 8 MONTHS AND FIRST SEASON BREEDING) AM NOT DOING WELL IVE JUST BEEN TO THE VET AND GOT THE STUFF FOR SCALY FACE AS SOME OF MY BIRDS HAVE THAT I HAVE JUST DISCOVERED AND NOW THIS, IF I WAS OFF TO THE VET FOR ALL THESE PROBLEMS I WOULDNT BE PAYING THE MORTGAGE IM NOW SERIOUSLY THINKING ABOUT GETTING RID OF THE LOT AS THIS IS ALL TOO MUCH, I FEED VERY WELL LOTS OF FRESH VEGES AND FRUIT GOOD CLEAN SEED ETC ETC AND STILL GET HIT WITH ALL THESE PROBS I THOUGH BUDGIE BREEDING WOULD BE A NICE STRESS FREE HOBBY THAT WOULDNT COST TOO MUCH AT THIS RATE THE STRESS IS EXTREMELY HIGH AS ARE POSSIBLY THE UPCOMING VET BILLS AND HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO JUST KILL THE BIRDS?

you dont need to cull the birds but unfortuatly you can not breed from the parents again if it if french moult as for vet bills well cant help you there its a fact of life when you keep animals if you want to look after them properly the chick could lead a very good healthy life

Could you please not type in all capitals, i'm finding it hard to read.

 

I'm sure there are alternatives to culling your birds. There must be. It could be something else entirely too so you really do need to get the little guy to a vet for testing to see what's wrong. Keep us posted.

Sorrry to be the bearer of bad news but I was told I had to cull my birds as French Moult is extremely contagous. I was advised also not to breed from their parents.

you do not need to cull if you did the whole birdroom would have to be done you have to ensure the parents and the young are never given the chance to breed sell them give them away but tell people that they will never be able to breed them

Give the birds a chance. Don't cull as Hath put it.

Don't cull the birds, just stop breeding. As you've now learned, raising animals costs money. The vet is a basic part of the expense and it's never cheap. It's a stressful, hard hobby to undertake. A better one for you may have been stamp collecting.

 

All kidding aside, I suggest you consider NOT breeding, getting these birds vetted and if you don't want them, rehome them BUT make sure the new prospective owners know about the nature of their health problems.

 

And most importantly, get them tested. You have to know what you're up against before treating it properly. I wish you the best of luck.

well thanks for that ill keep stamp collecting in mind! (NO NEED FOR COMMENTS LIKE THAT!) what i need now is further info on this and how it is spread.... and so far you are the only person to tell me breeding is stressful and hard work! what do i do with the other birds, i have 2 on nest that have not been in with the infected pair or chick for a while since before the chick was hatched anyway will they be o.k do i just wait and see?

Well I for one didn't feel the need to point out that since you had already found that out. Yes breeding budgies can be stressful when things go wrong. I'm sorry that this problem has cropped up with your first chance at this hobby, most times it can be enjoyable and rewarding watching these little pink blobs turning into beautiful and cheeky birds.

 

With this it's a bit of wait and see if other chicks that are growing or about to hatch will so the same problem. Are you breeding in cabinets (single pairs in each cage) or colony breeding (out in the aviary)

 

We are not vets only people with some hands on knowledge on the care of these animals, we will always state that a bird should be seen by an avian vet. I will return after finding my health book for info on this problem.

Edited September 24, 200618 yr by Nerwen

I agree that particular comment wasn't necessary. Sorry for the sarcasm.

 

If you could call up an avian vet, I'm sure they would agree to speak with you in detail about your troubles. Costs nothing to get some advice and maybe they can cut you a break on the cost as well. You never know.

 

I do wish that it was more emphasized how expensive and stressful breeding can be. I don't even like referring to it as a hobby as I can't see how anyone does it without it taking up a significant part of their actual *life*.

 

I hope things turn out well for you and your budgies.

thanks. stressed is all and worried about these poor birds. i have moved mum back in with dad seeing as it wasnt actually her plucking him. i have put the baby on the ground in the aviary with fresh seed and water and he was eating seed within a matter of minutes so that is great. he is a neat little chap very friendly and used to us now as we have been handling hime for a while. i have aviarys that are about 1 meter square by 2 meters high. i have 2 pairs in of of these (that aviary is actually a little bigger in width) and i have another one in the aviary with some of my cockatiels so iw ill keep things like that and not introduce any birds to anyone elses cage etc till this is all sorted and i see how the chicks hatch from the other 2 pairs. im still a little confused as to how contagious this is and how other birds catch this, are we humas safe from it? as me and the kids are always handling the baby. i will keep fingers crossed and whatever happens he will be kept as the family pet and will be moved to a cage on his own in few weeks when i think he is able to cope on his own. hopefully he will grow some feathers! also i have noted he has dried blood in the ends of the feather closest to the body, i did read somewhere about plucking all feathers but wouldnt that be painful for the bird? he still has down and no feather pins under the tummy area at all.

Before you get much more stressed out, have you actually had the bird diagnosed with either French Moult or PBFD? It might be a possiblity, but to me the baby looks very plucked. With only one chick and no other birds around, coupled with the fact that this is the first clutch in what I'm guessing are untried parents, it is not surprising they are not quite sure what to do with him. In a clutch of baby budgies, the first one sometimes is not fed as well initially because the noises of the babies are what seems to drive the parents. With only one chick that condition is not met. He looks like he is being fed, but if he is 4 weeks old, within the last week the parents probably began planning for the next clutch. In their (parent budgies) eagerness to start a new family, sometimes babies get plucked. He looks like he has normal feather growth on his head, and the down is regrowing in. He does have normal looking feathers on the wings too. I do see the blood, and as you said in your original post if he has injuries and blood spots on him invairiably one or both of the parents is/are the culprits. Also you say you are finding his feathers in the nests box. This indicates to me he is capable of growing them normally. French Molt will not cause bodily injuries on the bird. A few questions before you go much further off the deep end...

 

1. How old are the parents?

2. How often do you check the nest box?

3. Has anything at all changed in their immediate surroundings?

4. Has anything happened that could be termed a stressor as far as the parent birds are concerned? (other pets - ie cats or dogs in the house that might be allowed near their aviary?, or being near a window where they can see outdoor cats or hawks?, or any construction going on in the house or outside?)

 

I'm sorry to hear that your first attempt has resulted in some difficulties. Don't let it put you off the hobby - if it truly brings you joy give yourself a chance to get a little more knowledge and another plan of action if things don't go well the next time around. It is true you will not get rich breeding birds and might be lucky to break even.

 

If you are able, please post pictures of your setup and parent birds. Maybe someone here might be able to see something you are not aware of and give some more suggestions. If you haven't already, I'd at least call your avian vet and explain what the baby looks like and that you believe the parents are plucking him, but that you are concerned about French Molt or PBFD and ask if he needs to see the baby. I agree with everyone else that you do not need to cull the birds.

 

In the meantime, try to keep the temperature where he is a little on the warmer side, as he will become chilled more easily without all his feathers. If he will eat on his own, you could also try keeping him in a cage by himself (you can put it in the aviary if it is large enough) to see if the feathers begin to regrow normally. Just be sure he can crack seeds on his own. At 4 weeks you can also begin to wean him onto other foods, like cooked rice or couscous with cooked carrots and peas (no added salt or butter or seasonings though) and put some soaked seed or millet in with it to get him to recognize it as food. And please keep us posted as to what the vet says.

 

And welcome.

okay I looked up PBFD disease and the first feathers that show affected are the down feathers ( the fluffy ones) they appear as 'stick's' since this little one has a nice covering of down feathers, also this is seen in older bird rather than nestlings. A avain vet is the best to check for this still, but the signs on this little one doesn't seem to match what I am reading. I hope this calms you a bit.

o.k that sounds promising, i will call the avian vet i spoke to yesterday re the scaly face and see what she says. i have also noticed since putting him on the floor of the aviary that he is scratching like mad and looks like he may even be picking at his own feather or they are annoying him like mad in the least and he is trying to do something about it. reason i did not think he is plucking himself is cause all the feathers on his head are gone and he cant pluck those. also i read something about mite getting in through the feathers and that what makes them bleed, i just pulled one of his tail feathers and it was black with blood right down to the base, does this mean anything? will take pics of mum and dad now....

missmad

Try this. Let the clutch finish and place the chick in a separate cage. Monitor him. Take a second clutch from the parents and monitor the outcome. The second clutch hopefully will have more chicks and you can see the results is they are being plucked or if there is a problem. Are you open breeding or closed breeding. (Each pair in a separate breeding cage)

Daz, I kind of have to disagree here. She is obviously worried and stressed from all this, the last thing she needs is another clutch of budgies who will potentially have problems. If they're being badly plucked she'll end up having to handfeed them. If they are being born with french molt ...well that would be really sad to allow the parents to continue producing unhealthy babies.

 

I think the best course of action is to just figure out what's going on with this particular chick. Time and the avian vet will tell.

got to agree with eterri i wouldnt use the hen again at all if it is french moult shell be a carrier and if she is plucking it is 99.9% impossible to stop a hen plucking once she starts especially to that degree i would get the chick checked if its not french moult then i would use the dad but im afraid the hen would be retired from breeding

I understand what your saying but that is using the assumption that it is french moult. What if it is a case of plucking. Should all the birds be culled because the hen is a plucker? Wouldn't it be best to check with a vet to see what the real cause is? or at least do the experiment?

Wouldn't it be best to check with a vet to see what the real cause is? or at least do the experiment?

 

 

yea thats what i said

 

i would get the chick checked if its not french moult then i would use the dad but im afraid the hen would be retired from breeding