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Rosella hatchlings just not making it!

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Rosella hatchlings just not making it!

Postby TPR » Wed Dec 07, 2016 12:13 am

I have a small collection of Eastern Rosellas.
Two pairs have been breeding well; twice a year for last two years (2014 and 2015). But this year, all hatchinglings off both pairs died within 24 hrs after hatching. This has happened without exception for two consecutive broods of both pairs. The little ones just don’t make it beyond the first day! The parent birds are very healthy and with good parenting experience. All eggs are fertile and the process of egg pipping and hatching happens very smoothly and I do not handle the new borns.
All other conditions such as diet, water, cage location, nesting boxes have remained the same. The only abnormality I can notice is that the abdomen of these dead hatchlings is somewhat dark green in colour (no distension). Havn’t been able to get hold of an avian vet so far. Please advice. Thank you.
TPR
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Re: Rosella hatchlings just not making it!

Postby liz » Wed Dec 07, 2016 7:12 am

Though I do not approve of breeding I can feel your pain.

I have a flock of misfit and handicapped Cockatiels. One who has no visible mate nested and hatched one baby twice. She let them die. She would push them out of the nest as soon as they hatched. That birds mother sat on them to keep them warm but did not feed them.
Are your parent birds doing the same? If they know there is something wrong with the baby they will let it die.

16+ years ago my sister gave me her female Cockatiel, Amy. He mate had got out and flown away so she did not want her anymore. I had no knowledge of birds and did not know there were forums that could help. My rescues have grown to 12 Cockatiels and 2 Amazons. I am so grateful to the members of this forum for educating me about my birds and helping me when I run into a problem.
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Re: Rosella hatchlings just not making it!

Postby TPR » Fri Dec 09, 2016 12:26 am

Thanks for your post!
What baffles me is that, this is happening to two different pairs at the same time and for successive broods.
Was wondering if some sought of bacteria /virus/helminths is infesting their nesting boxes/ nesting material, which is affecting the chicks as soon as they pip the eggshells. Still waiting for an avian vet.
Thanks for your help, feels better when you know that you're not alone with such experiences. :hatching:
TPR
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Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Re: Rosella hatchlings just not making it!

Postby Wolf » Sat Dec 10, 2016 7:39 am

I really don't know all that much about breeding birds, parrots or others. I do know that their diets need to change in accord with the seasons as well as which part of their life cycle they are in, such as breeding, raising their young and so forth. The diet of the parent birds directly affect the health of their offspring. Yes it is possible that there are bacteria on the shells of the eggs that the young are unable to fend off once exposed to it during their hatching, or that they may be being exposed directly from the parent birds, but it is equally possible that the parents diet is inadequate to the task of properly raising the young. Nutrition deficiencies could be from a lack of protein to the vitamin/ mineral balance being wrong. There are so many things that can go wrong and it will probably take blood work on the parent birds and check up by the avian vet as well as patience to find the cause of this issue.

One other thing that I would suggest is that you try to do some in depth research into the mating habits of this species of parrot in the wild as well as the manner in which they raise their young and what their diet is during this stage of their life as opposed to the remainder of the year. Most parrots only raise one clutch of young per year, could this two clutches per year be causing any of this problem?
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Re: Rosella hatchlings just not making it!

Postby Bird woman » Sat Dec 10, 2016 1:38 pm

Have you had your birds vet checked , or any blood work done on them to make sure they haven't contracted something and are both pairs housed in the same area? BW
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Re: Rosella hatchlings just not making it!

Postby TPR » Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:39 am

Thank you all for your responses, your suggestions are sincerely appreciated, a check by a vet and patience should reveal the problem. Will get back to you with the developments. Thanks again!
TPR
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Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Re: Rosella hatchlings just not making it!

Postby Pajarita » Wed Dec 14, 2016 4:49 pm

I don't know where you are located geographically speaking but, if you are in the Northern Hemisphere and this just happened, the birds are breeding out of season and, although this works a couple of seasons, eventually, it catches up with the birds and you end up with problems.

When chicks are born alive (not dead in egg) and have no visible sign of anything wrong, the most common reason is that the mother is not feeding them (they last quite a few hours because they still have the 'food' from the egg). The black spot in the abdomen is usually a symptom of circovirus.
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Re: Rosella hatchlings just not making it!

Postby TPR » Sun Dec 18, 2016 9:52 pm

Hey, that's a very scientific explanation, yes I am from the northern hemisphere.
Wow this forum is awesome, I'm glad to have access to it. Thank you!
TPR
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