FINCHforum

My husband and I are hand-feeding a baby bird. Our societies had manage to hatch an egg, and were raising it. We definitely did not want to take the baby bird, but one day after it was about a week old I peeked in the nest and noticed that its crop was bulging abnormally with food. the bulge was easily about a third of the size of the bird and looked like a tumor... We took the baby out and thought its best shot at life would be if we hand fed it. We researched how to do so on a bunch of websites and to our amazement, the baby recovered completely from its bad case of slow crop while under our care.
Today, after about a week of diligently caring for him, my cat managed to sneak his way into the bedroom we have been keeping him in while I took the baby bird out to feed him. I did not realize the cat was hiding in the bedroom and I put the baby back and shut the door. About ten minutes later I hear the little baby peeping very distressed and to my absolute horror I find him on the floor and out of his little dish and the cat looking very guilty standing right next to him. I scooped him up and looked him over and don't see any punctures or cuts, but part of his back looks a little redder than it did before. Is there anything I should/can do? I made a very dilute blend of soapy antibacterial water and carefully washed his back off and then gently rinsed him off (just in case there was any cat saliva on him). The closest avian vet is on the other side of the state and is around a five hour drive away so that really isn't an option. He didn't fall from very high, not even two feet but he's just so delicate of thing... If anyone has any advice on what (if anything) I can do for the little guy please let me know. I'm so attached to the little guy and want to do everything I can for him.

most babvy birds recover very quickly from injury, providedthe cat did not puncture the skin. There is a safe water based strilizer called aviclens which you can use on the red area, otherwide use diluted sterilizer to clean human baby milk bottles- one brand is milsons. Let me know how the red area goes o/n

kotomi wrote:My husband and I are hand-feeding a baby bird. Our societies had manage to hatch an egg, and were raising it. We definitely did not want to take the baby bird, but one day after it was about a week old I peeked in the nest and noticed that its crop was bulging abnormally with food. the bulge was easily about a third of the size of the bird and looked like a tumor... We took the baby out and thought its best shot at life would be if we hand fed it. We researched how to do so on a bunch of websites and to our amazement, the baby recovered completely from its bad case of slow crop while under our care.
Today, after about a week of diligently caring for him, my cat managed to sneak his way into the bedroom we have been keeping him in while I took the baby bird out to feed him. I did not realize the cat was hiding in the bedroom and I put the baby back and shut the door. About ten minutes later I hear the little baby peeping very distressed and to my absolute horror I find him on the floor and out of his little dish and the cat looking very guilty standing right next to him. I scooped him up and looked him over and don't see any punctures or cuts, but part of his back looks a little redder than it did before. Is there anything I should/can do? I made a very dilute blend of soapy antibacterial water and carefully washed his back off and then gently rinsed him off (just in case there was any cat saliva on him). The closest avian vet is on the other side of the state and is around a five hour drive away so that really isn't an option. He didn't fall from very high, not even two feet but he's just so delicate of thing... If anyone has any advice on what (if anything) I can do for the little guy please let me know. I'm so attached to the little guy and want to do everything I can for him.

I forgot-make sure you keep him warm-What do you keep him in?

The buldging crop ment that the parents were feeding him, maybe a little to well since he was the only baby. Warmth is important to help him heal and get over the shock and to digest his food. If you can I would place him in a small cage or glass tank with a screen lid to keep the cat at bay.

It sounds like the parents were feeding so maybe with the next clutch they will have more young and will do a great job. I have seen zebras and societies over stuff chicks and continue to feed them until weaned, the young were fine.

The bulging (even if it looks like a "tumor") is completely normal -- being that the little bird was a only child, the parents were probably extra dedicated. Next time, it might be best to ask before acting so quickly, as it seems removing the baby from the parents has done more damage than good. I would attempt to give the baby back to its parents and see if they will continue to feed. Regardless of what anyone says, there's nothing better than parent-raised. Parents know best. If inflammation continues, some light neosporin may help. Good luck.

i should have mentioned it in my first reply. When feeding, baby birds eat a large amount when they can get it because they dont know when the next feed will be. An overstuffed crop is completely normal and can be very large. The parents may take it back

Thanks a bunch for the replies,
He made it through the night and seems to be doing fine today. he's acting like himself again. For the record, I did a good bit of reading before I elected to take him away from his parents. I haven't had the adult birds very long and the only thing they would eat was the crappy seed feed that they've been eating at the pet store I bought them from. When I realized they managed to hatch a baby I started putting egg food and sprouts in the cage with them, but they won't touch the stuff and still won't (and yes, I realize now I should have started offering it much, much sooner...). I could literally see his crop filled with undigested seeds. His crop didn't empty at all for over 8 hours... I sincerely doubt he was getting the nutrition he needed and I honestly don't think his parent's were keeping him quite warm enough. I may have been over reacting, but when I first took him out he wouldn't even peep (and he had been quite the peeper before) he seemed really weak and did not move much at all. Once he managed to pass everything he was peeping and active and looking much better. I just really didn't want the same thing to happen again. Trust me, I'm going to do everything I can to give those birds a better chance at successfully raising a clutch on their own after this. But I'm going to make sure they're actually EATING what they need by then. Any advice on how to get them to try new foods? I tried mixing it with their current food and they only pick out their old food from the mix and leave the new stuff behind...

Anyway, we did make him a brooder right away and read every website we could find that discussed hand-raising a finch. we make sure to keep his food warm enough, and sterilize everything between feedings and all that good stuff. I have been doing my homework.. =-)

I'm not sure, but I was looking more closely at the reddish spot on his back that I thought was an injury and I think it actually might be feathers that are about to emerge from the skin. He's somewhere around two weeks right now (I'm not exactly sure what day he hatched) and his eyes have just opened up a little.. would that be about the right time frame for feathers on his back to start to appear? He already has begun growing wing and tail feathers. I don't think the cat did anything to scratch or puncture his skin. And none of his bones look broken or injured.

He seems to be doing just fine today, thanks for all the responses..

I've been examining his back a little more closely, and I'm not quite sure, but the redness might possibly be little feathers that are about to emerge from his skin. He's somewhere around 2 weeks + now, and he already has started growing wing and tail feathers and his eyes have opened up. would this be around the time feathers in his back would start to grow? If its some kind of bruise, it apparently isn't affecting him too much. He's acting just like his normal self.

And for the record, I did quite a bit of research before taking him away from his parents. He seriously seemed in bad shape. He barely moved, was not peeping (when he used to be quite the little peeper), and more alarmingly felt cold to my hand when I picked him up. It took him about 8 hours in the brooder for him to even start passing any of the food in his greatly distended crop... I honestly think his parents weren't feeding him the right food. I bought them from a pet store not too long ago, and even though I put egg food, sprouts, etc in the cage with them the ONLY thing they eat right now is the seed feed that they ate in the pet store. I had not anticipated that they would successfully become parents quite THAT quickly... but yeah, I was also concerned the baby wasn't getting the proper nutrition. So anyone have any advice on how to persuade adult finches to try new foods? I've already tried mixing it with their old food, but all they do is pick it out and leave the rest. I've been afraid to completely take away their regular food in an attempt to get them to try the other foods. Is that what I should do?

Also, the baby has a little bubble of air in his crop. it was there before the fall so I don't think its a ruptured air sac or anything. I also make sure that his crop is empty before I feed him so I don't think its from fermentation. But it does worry me... should I be worried about it? It hasn't really gotten any bigger, but doesn't appear to be going away on its own. Its been there for a few days now. I've read on cockatiel hand feeding websites that you can massage it out, but I don't know if that would work for a tiny baby finch. I know its probably because I'm feeding him with the tip of a paintbrush and he probably gulped some air when he was eating. Should I just leave it be or can it potentially hurt him?

What implement do you guys use to feed your finches? I had to make do with what was available here now. I can't find anything small enough to fit in his mouth around here and there are no bird specialty stores around. I'm guessing I'll have to buy something online but would prefer to know what specifically what other people who have hand-raised finches would suggest.

kotomi wrote:He seems to be doing just fine today, thanks for all the responses..

I've been examining his back a little more closely, and I'm not quite sure, but the redness might possibly be little feathers that are about to emerge from his skin. He's somewhere around 2 weeks + now, and he already has started growing wing and tail feathers and his eyes have opened up. would this be around the time feathers in his back would start to grow? If its some kind of bruise, it apparently isn't affecting him too much. He's acting just like his normal self.

And for the record, I did quite a bit of research before taking him away from his parents. He seriously seemed in bad shape. He barely moved, was not peeping (when he used to be quite the little peeper), and more alarmingly felt cold to my hand when I picked him up. It took him about 8 hours in the brooder for him to even start passing any of the food in his greatly distended crop... I honestly think his parents weren't feeding him the right food. I bought them from a pet store not too long ago, and even though I put egg food, sprouts, etc in the cage with them the ONLY thing they eat right now is the seed feed that they ate in the pet store. I had not anticipated that they would successfully become parents quite THAT quickly... but yeah, I was also concerned the baby wasn't getting the proper nutrition. So anyone have any advice on how to persuade adult finches to try new foods? I've already tried mixing it with their old food, but all they do is pick it out and leave the rest. I've been afraid to completely take away their regular food in an attempt to get them to try the other foods. Is that what I should do?

Also, the baby has a little bubble of air in his crop. it was there before the fall so I don't think its a ruptured air sac or anything. I also make sure that his crop is empty before I feed him so I don't think its from fermentation. But it does worry me... should I be worried about it? It hasn't really gotten any bigger, but doesn't appear to be going away on its own. Its been there for a few days now. I've read on cockatiel hand feeding websites that you can massage it out, but I don't know if that would work for a tiny baby finch. I know its probably because I'm feeding him with the tip of a paintbrush and he probably gulped some air when he was eating. Should I just leave it be or can it potentially hurt him?

What implement do you guys use to feed your finches? I had to make do with what was available here now. I can't find anything small enough to fit in his mouth around here and there are no bird specialty stores around. I'm guessing I'll have to buy something online but would prefer to know what specifically what other people who have hand-raised finches would suggest.

It sounds like you did the right thing. The crop on a baby bird should be empty within 3 hrs max. He probably has pin feathers coming through if he has opened his eyes and has them elsewhere-but I don't know how old he is. The air bubble can be massaged out gently by placing a wad of cotton wool against the crop very very soft massage, a bit like burping a baby. Best thing to feed with is a small gauge plastic syringe(from the pharmacy) without the needle-it takes a while to get the hang of it but you are essentially pumping food down in the crop. Initially use very small amounts and make sure it is about the same consistency as thick soup. Don't force it to much and give him small amounts each time. Get an egg and biscuit mix for both parents and baby-feed it dry to the parents and wet/soupy to the baby. There are heaps of hand rearing foods available online for finches.Anything else-let me know

Good luck with this baby, it sounds like you are doing the right thing. To get the parents to try other foods, you can take away their food at bedtime, then in the morning, just put in some of the new food--new seed mix, sprouts, eggfood. Leave that for an hour or two, then give them back some of their old food. When they get hungry, they should try some of the new foods.

You should be able to pick up a couple of syringes at a pharmacy, tell them what you are doing and that you need the smallest end possible to the syringe. You can get anything from a 1cc to a 6cc, 3-5 would probably be easiest for you. I add feeding tips (have to order online) to the syringe, so I can deposit the food right in their crops. Since these are your first birds, you probably don't have a banding tool--this is the tool you get when you buy split plastic bands--and it is perfect for feeding out babies. The air in the crop is normal, when they are sucking food off any tool, they get a bit of air with it.

I should add that whenever you get birds from a rescue situation (too small, dirty cages or inadequate diet), it takes some of them quite a while to adjust. I bought a little Strawberry finch one time that had been kept in a tiny cage for over a year (so small he could only hop), he never did relearn to fly well, I think his wing muscles were atrophied.

Good luck with your little one.....My handfeds always had quite a bit of air in their crops....I would leave it alone....I use a glass eyedropper for the food....I feel more comfortable with it than a syringe.....You will have to find what works best for you....It sounds like he is doing well!....take some pictures if you can, we would love to see the little guy!