Eclipse

[Robyn]

I will be picking up 5 new babies looks like they are 3 weeks old and will be handfeeding these little guys as of tomorrow. I will be keeping one and naming it Eclipse. My grandma also wants one and I will rehome the other 3 after they are 12 weeks old.

[spiritbird]

Oh I wanna see them please. Can you get photos? Good to see you posting again.:th_smile:

[Robyn]

Photos will likely be available as of Monday/tuesday

[Robyn]

So I thought it over last night and I emailed the lady I was supposed to get eclipse from and told her I am currently only comfortable taking the 2 waiting to hear back. I don't mind the 2 1/2 hour drive to get them but I don't feel comfortable taking on 5 babies right now. Waiting to hear back.

[Mr Peepers]

I hope it works out and you get a couple to hand feed. I'm like spiritbird I would love to see pics or videos if you get the chance. :th_smile:

[Robyn]

She really wants all 5 to go together and I really do want one of the babies I have seen she won't just let me have 2 sooooooo here I sit being conflicted.

[Mare]

Heyyy..go for it! I'm assuming these are cockatiels? :). If you don't have the time, that's one thing..if you do, well,, could be an adventure and fun!

[Robyn]

I am really thinking about it cause I do want that one. I got the same feeling when I saw it that I got when I saw Carolina and Riley.

[Robyn]

So I have all 5 babies, and one major question. They have been home for 10 hours now and still aren't begging for food (won't eat either I have tried twice now I will try again in a couple hours) and they still have food in their crops. They were last fed about 13 hours ago (from the parents) I know this isn't normal. Any ideas on how to fix this? I just raised the temperature in the brooder as I read that if they brooder is too cold it could cause the crop to empty slower. I have been making sure that the formula is 105 degrees using a brand new digital candy thermometer.

[Mare]

Hmm..I'm sorry I don't have an answer to you question, Robyn :(. Be sure you have them isolated from your other birds..just in case..

[Cedardave]

What is your brooder temperature?I didnt catch how old they are.They will not empty their crop unless the temperature is high enough.Be sure they are warm.Formula temp sounds good.If they are very young,you may have to wake them up to feed.I would be getting concerned after 13hours of not eating...especially if they still have food in the crop.Im thinking here the very young ones eat about every 4 hours.They wont eat if they arent hungry.They wont be hungry until the crop gets empty.You dont want food sitting in the crop for to long.

[Robyn]

The oldest is about 3 weeks the youngest I'd say is about 2. The brooder temp is 85°

[Cedardave]

Have the crops started to empty? I would touch them to be sure they havent begun to harden...if they have syringe some water into them.The first thing is to be sure the crop doesnt harden and disallow digestion.If there is still food in the crop, you may consider raising the brooder temp another degree or 2.Please know I am a breeder and not a vet.Im simply suggesting what I would do.Its very important they get nutrients sooner than later or they may not survive.If the crop is still as full as it was earlier,they arent processing whats in it and a vet may be your best option at least to speak to.They are pretty young and small to be travelling all over...I would suggest against that.

[Robyn]

I just increased to 90 degrees I got some mostly water formula in twilight (one of the oldest ones) about 1cc so far getting some in each one slowly. I also added overly little gaterade to it. The crops are not hard and they are emptying slowly probably due to them not being at the right temperature

[Robyn]

So I got all of them to eat atleast 1 cc of a mostly water formula. However Eclipse the smallest ate about 6cc's so that's good. I have noticed if I have the brooder higher than 85 degrees the chicks start panting indicating that it is too hot.

[Cedardave]

As long as their crops are emptying every few hours,keep the brooder at 85.Start slow so they get used to cycling food thru.Dont over feed and risk there being to long a time between feedings.Smaller amounts of fresh formula more often will digest faster than larger amounts less often.Start out with a liquidy formula so they dont dehydrate in the brooder...it will also get their systems used to processing the food.

[Robyn]

So its been about 2 hours since I fed them and Eclipse's crop is almost empty and he ate the most. So I suspect they will be crying for food shortly

[Mr Peepers]

So its been about 2 hours since I fed them and Eclipse's crop is almost empty and he ate the most. So I suspect they will be crying for food shortly


Sounds like things are going good now! Good luck. :th_smile:

[Robyn]

Yeah things are much better outside of finding a comfortable/safe temp for them I fed them all a little more and its been less than 2 hours now and he's crying for food for the first time. Last time I saw him trying to get his siblings to feed him. Going to make the formula thicker this time. Midnight sun has started trying to attack my hands so that's a good sign

[Cedardave]

Try not to rush thickening up the formula.

[Robyn]

The formula is still plenty liquidy but this last feeding wasn't see through.

[Robyn]

I'm trying to add pics on here but can't However for those of you who are members on Avian Avenue you can see pics of them under my receiving babies post

[Robyn]

So for the first time I got 3 out of the 5 to get a full feeding in.

[Lady]

Sounds like things are going well, that's great!

[Robyn]

I had 5 hungry birds tonight. None of them ate as eagerly as Eclipse but they were all hungry and ate more than they have since I brought them home.

[Mr Peepers]

I had 5 hungry birds tonight. None of them ate as eagerly as Eclipse but they were all hungry and ate more than they have since I brought them home.


Sounds like its going much better! Great!

[Robyn]

So here's an update on the 5 babies. I have people interested in all 3 that will be rehomed. I really wish I could keep Twilight along with Eclipse because those two are always together. Twilight also helps preen Eclipse and breaks up the sheath on his pin feathers. Anytime Eclipse cries Twilight comes running. However I do have to rehome him because a lady already paid a deposit on him and the money I will be getting from rehomeing these 3 will go towards fixing my car.

[Lady]

So maybe your Grandma will take Twilight?

[Robyn]

I wish she would he's one of the tamest and will step up for my niece but he's not the one they like so sadly twilight will be rehomed elsewhere.

[Robyn]

Well one person backed out on two of the babies but I have somebody else interested in one on saturday. As Eclipses feathers are coming in I am starting to believe Eclipse is a White face cinnamon pearl pied I know he's a whiteface pearl pied cause he's face feathers are all white (similar to Riley) his tail feathers are yellow and he has the spots or pearls but I'm noticing some brown in his feathers as well.

[Mr Peepers]

I'd love to see some pics if you have them. :th_smile:

[Robyn]

Sadly as I was preparing to feed eclipse today he was doing his typical begging he couldn't wait for me to fill the syringe. Before I even got to fill it he went limp and died.

[Cedardave]

Sorry to hear that.

[PlaxMacaws]

I'm very sorry, Robyn. Baby birds are so fragile. Condolences to you :,(

[kendrafitz]

I'm so sorry.

[Mr Peepers]

Oh no, how sad I'm sorry for your loss Robyn. :(