Breeding and raising chicks seems to have taken a toll on Finnie. I've been keeping my eye on her, but today she has gone downhill. She has been spending more time outside of the nest box than usual, although she goes in to feed the chicks often. But this afternoon, I noticed that she seemed to be really tired, and was sleeping on both feet on the perch, kind of hunched down.

 

When it was time to turn out the lights for the night, I just felt wrong about leaving her. My first plan was to keep a warm light on her where she was sitting, and check her in the morning. I figured that taking her to a hospital cage would put too much stress on her, and if she stayed with Donovan, he could feed her.

 

But then she went into the nest, presumably to feed chicks, and I realized that she will get no rest if I don't take her out. So she is now set up in the hospital cage, with a 40watt light bulb near her.

 

In the last couple of days, her cere has gone completely white, and today it looks like her beak is discolored, just below the cere. It kind of looks like a bruise.

 

Also, she has been going through a LOT of water, and it has made her poops watery.

 

I'm not really sure what else to do for her. It's Saturday night, so there won't be any vet available until Monday morning. I guess I'm hoping I can make her comfortable enough to help her pull through until then. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Oh, and I'm hoping Donovan will be able to manage feeding the chicks. They are all around 3 weeks old. Not ready to leave the nest yet, but getting closer.

hey hows the minerals in the cage going

has she been toughing them

do your birds get sun with out window or something blocking it

has she lost wait

' is she eating well enough

lack salt and minerals can cause runny nest

 

 

hows she seem now

hey hows the minerals in the cage going

has she been toughing them

do your birds get sun with out window or something blocking it

has she lost wait

' is she eating well enough

lack salt and minerals can cause runny nest

 

 

hows she seem now

 

 

Well, they have a finger draw with oyster shell powder, and one with bird charcoal. It's hard to tell if they take any, but if so, it's not enough for me to have to replace it.

I add liquid calcium plus vitamin and mineral powder to their soft food, but honestly, I can't say that they ever touch the soft food. I thought they would start eating that a lot once they were feeding babies, but they don't.

They also have cuttle bones, and lately the bored cocks have been chewing those to bits.

They get no daylight, so I've tried to compensate for that by using fluorescent light bulbs and also full spectrum light bulbs, both kinds shining on each cage, and their water has vitamins which contain D3.

She seems like she is always eating. That pair goes through a lot of seed, and they gnaw down their carrots and whatever vegetables I give them, but they don't touch the soft food. Donovan feeds her a lot, and up till yesterday, the chicks always had stuffed crops.

I've never added salt to their diet. I'm not sure how much or in what form.

 

She spent the night in the hospital cage, mostly near the lamp, judging by the location of the poops. (Which some were black and tarry, and some where just white liquid overnight, but now this morning they have changed to a reddish brown and are wet and gloppy.)

She looks a little less stressed, but not okay.

She seems to have lost some weight, not by the look of her, but by feel, and when she perched on my finger, her feet felt cold. (Even though she's been sitting by the lamp.)

Also, she nibbled on some millet after I gave her some this morning.

 

Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm also worried about the chicks, because Donovan won't go into the nest box to feed them. I tried hand feeding one, but it was too afraid of me to eat. It flopped all over, and even fell into the food. So now instead of fed, it is cold and wet. (I wiped it off as best I could.) I'm going to have to work on my feeding skills, because right now I feel like a total failure, and the chicks will starve if I can't do better.

Ohh Finnie, I'm sorry to hear your little Finnie seems so unwell. I'm afraid I am unable to help with what may be going on with her, but want you to know I hope she gets better

 

I was wondering though - if Donovan isn't feeding the chicks - could you possibly put them in with another hen and her chicks? Foster them out maybe?

 

How did you try feeding them? When I first started feeding my littlest one - I used a syringe and dribbled the food into the corner of it's mouth. It sucked it up quickly and eagerly, but unfortunately I euthanised it as after a week it wasn't growing at all - it stayed the same size as when it came out of the egg. The other little one I crop fed but now it's back in it's nest box with mum.

 

I'm sorry I'm not much help

Thank you for the well wishes, Amy.

 

Finnie's chicks are too old to foster to the other nests. They are quite big and almost fully feathered. The other nests only have chicks 1 week old and younger. I found it fairly easy to get a pinky chick to eat from a syringe/pipette, but the older ones struggle and fight. But I will keep trying. I think maybe I just have to be more firm and hold their heads still better.

Donovan should be feeding them if they are almost fully feathered. Try putting them in an ice-cream container on the bottom of the cage, he should see them and feed them.

He seems to be feeding them now. I went down around 9:15 pm to feed them one last time before bed, and they all looked like they had decently full crops. I fed them a little anyway, just for practice, since I am hoping to get them used to the syringe, as a way of helping Donovan out. The one with the least full crop seemed to actually eat. The others were I think too full.

 

Finnie is holding her own for now. I've seen her eat, and she has moved around a little bit. I will re-evaluate her in the morning.

I hope Finnie makes a speedy recovery. I'm glad to hear Donovan has taken over with the feeding of the chicks.

hey hows the minerals in the cage going

has she been toughing them

do your birds get sun with out window or something blocking it

has she lost wait

' is she eating well enough

lack salt and minerals can cause runny nest

 

 

hows she seem now

 

 

Well, they have a finger draw with oyster shell powder, and one with bird charcoal. It's hard to tell if they take any, but if so, it's not enough for me to have to replace it.

I add liquid calcium plus vitamin and mineral powder to their soft food, but honestly, I can't say that they ever touch the soft food. I thought they would start eating that a lot once they were feeding babies, but they don't.

They also have cuttle bones, and lately the bored cocks have been chewing those to bits.

They get no daylight, so I've tried to compensate for that by using fluorescent light bulbs and also full spectrum light bulbs, both kinds shining on each cage, and their water has vitamins which contain D3.

She seems like she is always eating. That pair goes through a lot of seed, and they gnaw down their carrots and whatever vegetables I give them, but they don't touch the soft food. Donovan feeds her a lot, and up till yesterday, the chicks always had stuffed crops.

I've never added salt to their diet. I'm not sure how much or in what form.

 

 

GB, I was hoping you would see my answers to your questions and have some advice for me, say, on what I could be doing better. This has got me to thinking about my feeding regimen, since the soft food is basically wasted.

 

I was going over what I put in the soft food, and what is different about it this year than last year, because they ate last year's version.

I figured out, that I have not been giving them the egg-biscuit mix in the food. Instead, I've been using the powder mixture that I read about in a chick feeding topic, a while back. But I realized, that I do not have whole egg powder in my mix, so they have been deprived of the nutrients found in eggs.

Also, there must be something in the powder mix (or it could be the liquid calcium) that is putting them off the soft food. I don't know what it could be, but in the interest of getting them to at least eat the pureed vegetable part, I have stopped putting the powder and the calcium in. And I baked up some egg-biscuit, and am giving that separately. (They have been tearing into it. )

 

Now I am thinking that I need to be adding the liquid calcium to their water, since it's not in the vegetables, anymore. Does anyone know if I can put the liquid calcium and the vitamins in the water together, or should I give them on alternating days?

I think the calcium and vitamins would be fine in the water together.

How is she doing Finnie? I wouldn't know about puttign vitamins and clacium together, as my birds only get calcium sorry.

hey hows the minerals in the cage going

has she been toughing them

do your birds get sun with out window or something blocking it

has she lost wait

' is she eating well enough

lack salt and minerals can cause runny nest

 

 

hows she seem now

 

 

Well, they have a finger draw with oyster shell powder, and one with bird charcoal. It's hard to tell if they take any, but if so, it's not enough for me to have to replace it.

I add liquid calcium plus vitamin and mineral powder to their soft food, but honestly, I can't say that they ever touch the soft food. I thought they would start eating that a lot once they were feeding babies, but they don't.

They also have cuttle bones, and lately the bored cocks have been chewing those to bits.

They get no daylight, so I've tried to compensate for that by using fluorescent light bulbs and also full spectrum light bulbs, both kinds shining on each cage, and their water has vitamins which contain D3.

She seems like she is always eating. That pair goes through a lot of seed, and they gnaw down their carrots and whatever vegetables I give them, but they don't touch the soft food. Donovan feeds her a lot, and up till yesterday, the chicks always had stuffed crops.

I've never added salt to their diet. I'm not sure how much or in what form.

 

 

GB, I was hoping you would see my answers to your questions and have some advice for me, say, on what I could be doing better. This has got me to thinking about my feeding regimen, since the soft food is basically wasted.

 

I was going over what I put in the soft food, and what is different about it this year than last year, because they ate last year's version.

I figured out, that I have not been giving them the egg-biscuit mix in the food. Instead, I've been using the powder mixture that I read about in a chick feeding topic, a while back. But I realized, that I do not have whole egg powder in my mix, so they have been deprived of the nutrients found in eggs.

Also, there must be something in the powder mix (or it could be the liquid calcium) that is putting them off the soft food. I don't know what it could be, but in the interest of getting them to at least eat the pureed vegetable part, I have stopped putting the powder and the calcium in. And I baked up some egg-biscuit, and am giving that separately. (They have been tearing into it. )

 

Now I am thinking that I need to be adding the liquid calcium to their water, since it's not in the vegetables, anymore. Does anyone know if I can put the liquid calcium and the vitamins in the water together, or should I give them on alternating days?

 

 

sorry um i was sort of in space for a while their

i would use solivet in water

i cant spell it i will look up in get back to you

pm me if you like we can talk in more depth

about your feeding plan

i got an idea may help

hey hows the minerals in the cage going

has she been toughing them

do your birds get sun with out window or something blocking it

has she lost wait

' is she eating well enough

lack salt and minerals can cause runny nest

 

 

hows she seem now

 

 

Well, they have a finger draw with oyster shell powder, and one with bird charcoal. It's hard to tell if they take any, but if so, it's not enough for me to have to replace it.

I add liquid calcium plus vitamin and mineral powder to their soft food, but honestly, I can't say that they ever touch the soft food. I thought they would start eating that a lot once they were feeding babies, but they don't.

They also have cuttle bones, and lately the bored cocks have been chewing those to bits.

They get no daylight, so I've tried to compensate for that by using fluorescent light bulbs and also full spectrum light bulbs, both kinds shining on each cage, and their water has vitamins which contain D3.

She seems like she is always eating. That pair goes through a lot of seed, and they gnaw down their carrots and whatever vegetables I give them, but they don't touch the soft food. Donovan feeds her a lot, and up till yesterday, the chicks always had stuffed crops.

I've never added salt to their diet. I'm not sure how much or in what form.

 

 

GB, I was hoping you would see my answers to your questions and have some advice for me, say, on what I could be doing better. This has got me to thinking about my feeding regimen, since the soft food is basically wasted.

 

I was going over what I put in the soft food, and what is different about it this year than last year, because they ate last year's version.

I figured out, that I have not been giving them the egg-biscuit mix in the food. Instead, I've been using the powder mixture that I read about in a chick feeding topic, a while back. But I realized, that I do not have whole egg powder in my mix, so they have been deprived of the nutrients found in eggs.

Also, there must be something in the powder mix (or it could be the liquid calcium) that is putting them off the soft food. I don't know what it could be, but in the interest of getting them to at least eat the pureed vegetable part, I have stopped putting the powder and the calcium in. And I baked up some egg-biscuit, and am giving that separately. (They have been tearing into it. )

 

Now I am thinking that I need to be adding the liquid calcium to their water, since it's not in the vegetables, anymore. Does anyone know if I can put the liquid calcium and the vitamins in the water together, or should I give them on alternating days?

 

Personally I would give on alternative days or 3 days calcium, 3 days vitamin pulse medicating. Vetafarm does have a schedule of products that can be combined. Just going o check what they say about their calcium supplement combined with their vitamin supplements......Just had a squiz - Vetafarm info shows that THEIR calcivet can be combined with any of their vitamin range.

Edited September 30, 201014 yr by nubbly5