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Help needed with baby pionus!!

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Help needed with baby pionus!!

Postby Jane79 » Wed Aug 03, 2016 9:45 am

Hi there,

Sorry to not be doing the proper introductions, but I really need some help!

Last Wednesday evening I brought home a baby blueheaded pionus. I purchased her from someone that I know to be a very reputable breeder. I am not one to happily line a breeders pocket when there are are so many birds in need of homes,all but one of my birds are rehomes or rescues, and for various reasons which I won't go into now - but they involve things like trauma in the birds- are not birds that I can really interact with, despite my best efforts. Two of them I can interact with, but they are very bonded to each other, which is great, the others I love dearly for what they are, and am just happy that I am able to give them a good home. That said, I have, for so long, dearly wanted a bird that could be a real companion for me, one that would enjoying being with me and interacting with me. To this end, about a month ago I bought an adult female blue headed pionus. I discovered very quickly- the very next day infact, that she was sick, tail bobbing constantly, with visibly laboured breathing. After a month of extremely expensive and tedious treatment with a two week stay at the vets and two weeks with us ( in which time I completely fell in love with her), an x ray was taken and aspergillosis of the lung, in a very advanced stage was diagnosed. The poor girl had to be put to sleep. It was an absolutely heart breaking experience, but one that I would repeat in a heart beat, to end her suffering.

After this, I decided I wanted another female pionus as my special companion bird. I think I was partly acting out of grief but for whatever reason, I wanted one.

The previous year my partner and I had spent in excess of £2,000 taking precautionary measures to protect my flock from psittacosis, when one of them tested positives for the anibodies - or something like that, but anyway, none of the birds were or have been sick, but we had to do the responsible thing. And then this poor sweet girl cost us another £1000, plus, to get, and to treat. The reason I am going into this, is to illustrate why my partner insisted we go to the best breeder we knew of, one that carried out all the blood work etc, and one that we knew to the very best of our knowledge would sell us a healthy baby, no issues, no trauma. I have to make that clear, as I do feel strongly about not having got a rescue or rehome, when there are so many needy birds. my partner put his foot down.

Anyway, the breeder told me that the baby may regress a little with her weaning when she came home, and gave us some formula. I had a few years ago, rescued a baby cockatiel that had been sold to a family without being properly weaned, and I finished his weaning. This was done with a syringe, and was fairly straight forward, and only lasted a few days, so I figured I would be able to handle offering the baby pionus a spoon with formula. She was spoon fed.

The baby ate nothing for two whole day, and on the third took formula. The breeder at this stage told me to give her no more than three feeds a day, so this is what I have been doing ever since. I did not expect this. I thought i would just be topping up her regular feed, and providing some comfort with the warm formula.

I never know if I am giving her too much or too little, the breeder has stopped responding to my calls and messages.

She gets covered in this formula, and I cant get if off while it is still soft, as I cant mess around with the crop when it's full, and when the crop is empty she will not let me get if=t off with warm water and cotton pads, I have tried towelling her, everything. She get a lot off herself, but I am so worried about bacteria growing from the hard dried formula. I think I will have to take her to the vets to get her cleaned up, but I can ill afford to do this after what we have just spent on our other dear girl, and anyway, I certainly can't take her every few days to get cleaned up, so this needs to end quickly.

She isn't touching the normal food I am offering, and cries all the time when she can see mw, which I am told in normal or baby pionus, but this is really stressing me out, mostly because I know how distressed she is.

I want to do my very best not to screw her up physchologically, and i don't want to force wean her, but this really has to end soon. She does snuggle up with me sometimes and stops crying.

She is only just 12 weeks old, and through reading I have found that most pionus don't wean till 16weeks.

Could somebody please give me some advice. I am a worrier at the best of times, and I am going out of my mind. I would certainly take her to the vet if I have to, but I wonder if I am just over reacting, and all this could be fairly easily resolved.

I hope to hear from someone soon, and I will be SOOOO grateful!!!!!

Thank you!!!!!
Jane79
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 2
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: two blueheaded pionus, two cockatiels, one ring neck, one rock pebbler parakeet (regent parrot).
Flight: Yes

Re: Help needed with baby pionus!!

Postby Wolf » Wed Aug 03, 2016 11:16 am

I am very probably not the best person to try to answer you about this as I must admit to not having this species of parrot or in having any real experience with birds this young. But I do understand your concerns and worries in this matter. It is very likely that by the time you read this that someone with more experience than I have, meaning that they have at least had experience with handfeeding birds this young, will have replied with the help that you are requesting.

I do have some thoughts that might or might not prove to be helpful to you. The first is to try having a slightly damp rag on hand when you spoon feed your bird and perhaps just offer it so that the bird can wipe its own beak with it to begin with. The other is to perhaps try to place the weaning formula in a small dish and try to get the bird to eat from the dish, it should create a lot less mess. I do not know how thick the formula is that you are feeding the bird but I do know that as the bird grows that the formula should begin to be made a little thicker as the bird requires more nutrition and the thicker formula contains more than the thinner formula. This may account for why the bird is still begging for more food even thought you are feeding it and its crop gets full. It simply can't get enough nutrition with the formula being too thin. I also know that the bird should receive about 10% of its body weight at each feeding of the formula.

As to the other birds that you have, they are all classified as aviary type birds except for the other pionus that I am not even certain that you still have. In fact after reading your post I am not very sure about which birds that you still have. But I did want to say that being an aviary bird does not mean that they can't be good companion birds, but it does mean that they would require much more personal attention than the companion species do and that even then they will not bond as tightly to a human as they will with another bird.

I want you to know that we will do all that we can to assist you as much as we can and to let you know that you should feel free to ask for as much information as you want and need.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: Help needed with baby pionus!!

Postby Pajarita » Wed Aug 03, 2016 12:23 pm

First of all, welcome to the forum! And, secondly, don't worry that we will think badly of you for getting a baby! I do advocate adoption over buying mostly because of exactly what you stated, namely, that there are so many birds out there homeless, but also because of precisely what happened to you with what should have been a good breeder but ended up been not so good, right?

Now, let's see if we can help you. First of all, Wolf is right, 10% of her weight (you need to weigh her every day at the same time and keep a record) is what they eat BUT thickness is important, too (at this age, she should be eating a thick cream consistency). But, if she asked for an extra feeding every now and then, i would not stick to the 'three times a day', I would feed her as often as she needs. As to the mess, I well know what you are talking about! I once had to fly from NJ to Ca to pick up a bird and left my husband in charge of handfeeding a baby bird and, even though I was out for only 24 hours, by the time I came back, the poor baby had a hard helmet of dried-up formula on all of its head -it was a miracle his nares were not obstructed! What I did was I misted his head with warm water and wiped as much as I could for, say, no longer than 5 minutes at a time but a few times a day in order to clean him up. I know that you are afraid she is going to get stressed out but birds are fastidiously clean animals (it's a survival trait and, as such, hard-wired into their brains) and I am sure that been all dirty with stiff globs stuck to her plumage is not making her happy. And, as long as the room is warm and you do the cleanings early enough for her plumage to be completely clean by the time she goes to bed, it should be safe enough (but do give it enough time because while the contour feathers dry fast enough, the down doesn't).

I would eliminate the spoon and use a syringe (MUCH cleaner because you control where the tip goes). I would also offer her two different kinds of soft food served fresh and warm twice a day as well as the formula (soft food is simply food that is soft and easily digestible - things like polenta, oatmeal (the old fashioned kind only), couscous or pastina mixed with baby food and even gloop which is also fed to adult birds).

Aside from that, keep her VERY warm at all times (90 degrees - I recommend a heating pad and not lights), don't expose her to light unnecessarily (their eyes need darkness to finish developing) and keep her company as much as you can (putting them on one's lap with a hand lightly resting on them usually comforts them greatly).


And, please, let us know how it goes. We all worry about everybody's birdies in trouble out there and greatly appreciate it when the members give us updates...
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Help needed with baby pionus!!

Postby Jane79 » Thu Aug 04, 2016 11:28 am

Wolf and Pajarita! Thank you SOOO much for taking the time to help me, I am so grateful.
I have taken on board your advice, and will let you know how she gets on.

Many thanks again!
Jane79
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 2
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: two blueheaded pionus, two cockatiels, one ring neck, one rock pebbler parakeet (regent parrot).
Flight: Yes


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