I was so excited, this is my first breeding year, my second clutch to start hatching and as they progressed I had an Albino and a Lutino - cool! But the Albino fledged early - think she was the 2nd or 3rd chick but now think 2nd. She wasn't feeding and I had to hand feed for a day and then she started to feed herself. 3 days later Chick #1 fledged and had funny feathers hanging from the wings. Today Chick #3 fledged and has no tail feathers. Chick #4 and Chick #5 (Lutino) seem to have different feather problems again, the Lutino not having enough wing feathers, Chick #6 seems to be okay. The parents don't seem to have any problems with their but I'm no expert so there could be.

 

 

This is the first fledged chick - my poor Albino:

 

This is Chick #1 (sleeping with the breeze waking him/her!)

 

This is Chick #3 who fledged today (looking like one of my Chinese Quails!)

 

These are the last of the 6 chicks from 7 eggs - Chick #7 (by my thumb) looks normal to me?

Unfortunately you do have french moult going through. Best course of action usually is to shut down breeding entirely and not breed for around 6 months.

Unfortunately you do have french moult going through. Best course of action usually is to shut down breeding entirely and not breed for around 6 months.

 

Thanks for the confirmation (I guess). Absolutely heartbroken.

 

So I have a breeding pair Coco and Charlie in the house, their first two chicks are in a cage next to Cinnamon and Marvin's first three to fledge (french moult) are they contaminated too. Coco and Charlie with their next clutch are at the other end of the house - are they okay?

 

Do I take the nesting boxes out that are empty - I have 6 - Box 1, 2 and 3 have chicks 5 weeks old and younger (one of them the french moult chicks). Box 4 and 6 are empty but box 5 has a pair nesting but this is their second clutch and they are infertile again I think. There are 2 male quails in the bottom of the aviary - are they contaiminated too? So do I remove some nesting boxes or wait the next until the younges has fledged (Sunday 12 December the youngest will be 5 weeks).

 

Do I have to sterilise the aviary and nesting boxes? I read somewhere to throw out the french moult nest box or do I have to throw them all out? I also have a rabbit hutch behind the enclosed bit of the aviary with Chinese Quails and chicks and eggs - will they be contaminated too or okay. Some feathers from the aviary are going on the hutch.

 

What else do I need to do?

Unfortunately you do have french moult going through. Best course of action usually is to shut down breeding entirely and not breed for around 6 months.

 

Thanks for the confirmation (I guess). Absolutely heartbroken.

 

So I have a breeding pair Coco and Charlie in the house, their first two chicks are in a cage next to Cinnamon and Marvin's first three to fledge (french moult) are they contaminated too. Coco and Charlie with their next clutch are at the other end of the house - are they okay?

Its a virus so most likely but not necessarily. It can affect some and not others visually. others can carry but not lose feathers.

 

Do I take the nesting boxes out that are empty - I have 6 - Box 1, 2 and 3 have chicks 5 weeks old and younger (one of them the french moult chicks). Box 4 and 6 are empty but box 5 has a pair nesting but this is their second clutch and they are infertile again I think.

Remove nestboxes ? Yes, I would

There are 2 male quails in the bottom of the aviary - are they contaiminated too?

Some species arent affected. I think your quails will be fine

 

So do I remove some nesting boxes or wait the next until the younges has fledged (Sunday 12 December the youngest will be 5 weeks).

they are fledging age anyway......4-5 weeks fledging age

 

Do I have to sterilise the aviary and nesting boxes? I read somewhere to throw out the french moult nest box or do I have to throw them all out? I also have a rabbit hutch behind the enclosed bit of the aviary with Chinese Quails and chicks and eggs - will they be contaminated too or okay. Some feathers from the aviary are going on the hutch.

I dont think you can rid the virus this way.....its a virus not a contaminant..................

What else do I need to do?

Start again later next year and dont add any new birds

So do I remove some nesting boxes or wait the next until the younges has fledged (Sunday 12 December the youngest will be 5 weeks).

they are fledging age anyway......4-5 weeks fledging age

 

Umm, no the youngest 3 of the 15 aviary chicks are only turning 3 weeks old today and this weekend. They are from the other 2 nesting boxes next to the french moult nestbox. I have only had 3 of the 15 fledge so far so still 12 to fledge.

 

Thanks for all your advice Kaz.

French moult is a virus so if you handle chicks from one nest and then move onto the next nest you will spread it, the best solution is to have a bucket of hot water ans soap where the breeding cages are and wash your hands between nest. When birds out taken out you should disinfect nest boxes and breeding cages.

Its definitely french moult. Here is a post I made on another thread:

 

No cure as french moult is caused by a virus. The virus will be present in all your flock as it is endemic in a lot of countries and aviary birds. It usually shows up when you breed in summer, go too many rounds, breed with poor/inadequate nutrition or breed with unfit birds. The virus does not affect adult birds, they are carriers it affects baby and young birds. The earlier they are affected the worse the damage is as the damage is dependant on the strength of the immune system at the time the virus is acquired. Young babies will be killed by it and often are found dead with full crops, however autopsy would reveal internal damage and swollen organs. The older the baby the less chance of dealth although in most if not all cases the virus will ALSO do unseen damage to internal organs and may shorten the life and vitality of the bird affected (when young - adult birds are NOT affected this way if they are infected when adults). If the baby survives it may or may not have delayed or slowed development (due to internal damage to organs and stress on the system). What we typically SEE of this virus is the affect on the developing feathers as the virus travels in the blood and developing feathers are rich in blood. The virus attacks the feather follicles in a similar way to the organs, causing inflammation, swelling and damaging healthy cells. The result is a severely stunted or mutated feather growth and usually there is so much inflammation the feather will fall out. In some cases french moult babies bleed from the feather follicles and are extremely sensitive to touch because of the pain and swelling in the wing. The age at which the baby acquires the disease affects how severely the feather growth is affected. Some will lose feathers all over the body and they may never regrow, most lose flight feathers and tail feathers, only some which regrow and even then they are often oddly shaped and painful to grow because of the damage to the follicle. In some cases only a tail feather is lost, but do not doubt that this bird is now a carrier.

 

Birds do not constantly shed the virus, typically they shed it during times of stress (sold to new aviary, change of feed, moulting, breeding, feeding babies, sickness). Since it is shed when stressed, it is typically passed on to the youngest babies, as the older babies will be putting the stress on the parents with demand feeding. How many birds are affected is random. Some people get a whole nest of affected babies, others only one or two in each nest box. It might affect your first round, but not your second.

 

The virus is in your aviary, there is nothing you can do to get rid of it. It will come with new birds you buy in as well, so the risk of getting babies with french moult is FAR higher when you put down newly purchased birds to breed as they are doubly stressed - first by the move, second by breeding. Management of the virus is simple, do not over crowd (stress) your birds. Ensure your feeding regime is adequate for the needs of the birds, especially when breeding but also during the moult. And of course stay on top of sickness and treat affected birds quickly.

Edited November 26, 201014 yr by Dean_NZ

French moult is a virus so if you handle chicks from one nest and then move onto the next nest you will spread it, the best solution is to have a bucket of hot water ans soap where the breeding cages are and wash your hands between nest. When birds out taken out you should disinfect nest boxes and breeding cages.

 

Oh blow! That would be right - they were the first nestbox I handled every time, then the other two nestboxes. I will add the photos of the others but I think the last nestbox may have the youngest chick with FM as it has a reggae feather happening! Thanks for your help.

good luck with your fm babies

hope it gets better

 

Alpaca-boy.