I have just taken my show chck out of the nest to give her a check after being away since yesterday. I have discovered she has th beginning of an underbite. It i only very minor and I'm wondering if this is something that will correct itself once she is using her beak for more like climbing around cage bars and cracking seed, etc or whether I need to do something (if I can). Help!! i just want this girl to get over her dramas and get on the show bench so much after all we've been through. I'm planning on taping her toes tomorrow

That happens when food is caught inside the beak and allowed to build up heat. Some of them slip through the cracks when we are busy and dont check inside beaks and this is what happens. Once you have your first it makes you super paranoid and you check more closely in all future batches. I have had a couple too.

I believe DrNat has made suggestions before on how to try and correct it. In my experience lower beak keeps growing at a rate of knotts and top beak tucks into it. You have to keep cutting the lower beak back every 2 weeks or so. This wont be your first chick on the show bench unfortunately. But best of luck seeing this one through its disabilities.

I don't think that's the cause of the problem this time Kaz, how long would the food have to be there? I have been checking their beaks regularly and there still isn't any there now I check their beaks every day as I have been getting a good view due to the top up feeds I've had to give

I think only a day. But if this is the budgie with other issues, wasnt there also a calcium deficiency for whatever reason with a couple of the chicks ? Might be why this one has a few things going on. Some parents, no matter what you supply to them, dont process it to the chicks all that well despite our best efforts.

 

Next under 14 yr old who comes on this forum saying breeding is easy...we will know what to tell them, wont we ?

Sigh, I refuse to give up on her yet, I'm going to do everything I can think of to try and give this chick a normal life, she'll get her orthotic leg braces on tomorrow and I'm going to try a few things for her beak, such as encouraging her to chew on a ittle branch to put forward pressure on her top beak. Since it's only very mild at this stage and has only become visible today, with some fast intervention you never know...

Hey MB, I feel for you.

 

If it's not one bloody thing, it's another - BUT when things do work out it's wonderful! :parrot:

 

I agree with Kaz, it seems you have some issues with this nest - or at least this chick in particular. Try fostering it to another nest if you can, maybe it's a nutritional thing, but do keep up the calcium whatever you do.

This chick is already in a foster nest after it's original dramas which started in the parental nest I'm now trying to play catch up and fix the problems which is bad start has caused before they become fixed

This chick is already in a foster nest after it's original dramas which started in the parental nest I'm now trying to play catch up and fix the problems which is bad start has caused before they become fixed

 

Well that sucks.

 

Good Luck!

tell me about it! It is by far the best chick of all the ones that survived so I am desperate to do everything I can

I have a messy feeder hen who i have to pull food from inside the chicks beaks twice a day

 

I really hope this little chick turns out okay. I feel your frustration - i had one thing after another too - seems the season for what can go wrong, will

 

I hope its all upwards and onwards from here.

tell me about it! It is by far the best chick of all the ones that survived so I am desperate to do everything I can

 

Noooooooo! What did I say, IT IS ALWAYS THE BEST ONES THAT GIVE US THE MOST GRIEF!!!!

If its any consolation I had two chicks in a nest where parental feeding was bad and I had to move them. They were failing too...the chicks were weak and legs floppy, feet with no grip. I thought they would die. I upped the calcivet in the foster parents water and I gave a drop to each chicks beak per day...the eldest of those two is now going great guns and the youngest is getting there. Very similar situation as you are experiencing. Bad parents can ruin a chick and sometimes its too late when you notice their issues.

 

PS the two chicks I speak of are the grey chicks in Omelettes and Studs nestbox...the photos are in that topic.

okay, well this is where I am at, I have made a tiny little corrective prosthesis for her beak which I will put on her only when supervised(which is most of the time except at night), the idea of it being to push the tip of her beak up and forward slightly into a norml position, if it looks to be causing any other issues I will of course discontinue it straight away, her parents won't be able to feed her properly with it on so I'll feed her myself

 

I will trial it for about four days and then decide whether it has really helped, her feet prosthesis will probably go on tomorrow as I think I've upset her enough tonight

:anim_19: for the effort

Time will tell whether the effort is worth it but the way I see it it's also a great chance to learn something and if it works well it's great to know something can be done to help these sorts of chicks.

 

For both sets of prosthesis I'm using soft plastic (like the type tupperware is made of) as it's light weight and won't cut into her feet, the edges have been rounded off so their are no sharp bits to cause problems

Well that sucks.

 

You have a way with words!! Lol Love it

 

Good luck MB you deserve it with the trouble you are going to.

She has her beak and one foot done and is tucked up on the heat mat in a tub of rolled oats with her little sister for cuddles I'll see how this foot travels for a day or so and if it looks promising I'll do the other foot (which isn't quite as bad)