Sick society juvenile - emergency 6/1/12

[Lisa]

My societies have recently had babies - in the past few days they've started venturing out of the nest to explore and perch. Just this morning, this particular baby was out and about without issue.

Tonight he suddenly fell out of the nest, but is acting as if he is either extremely off balance and/or cannot stand up straight. He keeps flipping onto his back and then it takes him a few seconds to get back over. He keeps laying on his side, putting his head downward (almost underneath him).

The parents didn't seem concerned at all that he had fallen or was struggling. I tried putting him back in the nest but he seems determined to lay head first with his butt in the air. His legs look fine, but I notice there is a build up of bird poop on his vent. I tried cleaning if off gently with warm water but it's really on there good.

He does not seem interested in eating or drinking when offered to him. He will lay silently in my hand, snuggling up as if he is about to go to sleep. I really am afraid to go to bed - I don't think this little guy is going to last the night. He keeps trying to curl up into a little ball, his head pointed downward, his feet in the air.

Is there anything I can do? Would a heat lamp be too harsh for his age? I was trying to just keep him warm with my body temperature so it would be a little milder.

[Lisa]

I managed to gently clear his vent and then just kept him cupped in my hands for warmth (and comfort). He seemed to start breathing out of his mouth and seemed to be spasming or seizing after a little bit, making chirp noises and his body contorting each time he did. I pretty much knew he was not going to make it. He just died in my hands a minute ago

[debbie276]

So very sorry for your loss. You did what you could to make his last minutes comfortable.

[cindy]

So very sorry Lisa, it is so difficult to loose them especially as young ones. It sounds like he may have had an underlying conditon that perhaps the parents could sense. Were they feeding him, did he appear thin?

[dan78]

Sorry to hear its sad when something so young doesn't make it ir have much of a life. Well with young they are so fragile and once ignored by parents its usually something wrong as not all parents will abandon their young at fledgling age (bengos I mean). With a bird being so young there's not much that could have been done except what you did keeping it warm cleaning it up and a top up of food. Being young they don't take kindly to medications and dint bounce back as anywhere near as adults will.

[lovemyfinch]

So sorry Lisa
I had the same thing happen to me quite a while back Liz and I suspect that when he fell out that he had probably hit his head.

[FancyFinch]

so sorry Lisa.

[Lisa]

Thanks everyone

I am wondering if it is possible for a pair to have a developmentally disabled clutch. This is this pair's first time parenting, and while they have been very diligent parents, I have noticed somewhat odd behavior from all of their babies once they hit the juvenile stage.

The one that died last night, along with one other, both seemed to take an extra long time to complete their feathering. Their growth seemed slow and it took a very long time for them to venture out of the nest at all (just yesterday was the first day all 3 were out). There is one baby that seems a little more advanced than the others feather & growth-wise and also fledged sooner. But even he seems to spend more time in the nest than you would expect.

I have zebras that were born in the cage next door about 1 week after these societies and in comparison, the zebras look so much healthier, are so much more active and alert, and are out of the nest every minute that they can be. That's when it really me how behind these societies seem to be.

[cindy]

Could the parents be related? Lisa did you get them from the same place or from a breeder. You may want to try splitting the pair up with different societies from a different store or breeder.

[Lisa]

Could the parents be related?

Nope, they were purchased separately from two entirely different entities. I had tried this female (not for breeding, but just to have a friend) with several other birds and she seemed to have an extra perky personality that annoyed the other birds. After a few weeks, I found a crested society male elsewhere and decided to give him a try. The two hit it off famously in the first half hour and have been "in love" ever since.

[finchmix22]

I'm guessing one of them has a genetic issue, if all their chicks are developing slowly and has odd symptoms. They may have been inbred too closely by one of the original breeders. Sometimes, people don't keep Society male/females separated. Who knows, but I'm sorry about the little one. At least you made the baby comfortable and warm.

[Lisa]

Well, unfortunately, the second baby that had also progressed slower had similar symptoms this morning and he, too, died in my hands about only 15 minutes. He did not seem to be in pain (like the other in very end) but seemed very lethargic and would not respond to any stimuli (food, water) to his beak. At first when he ended up on the floor of the cage, I put him back up into the nest after a few minutes as well. The parents just seemed to be staring at him from above while he was on the floor. What I really think (and am convinced at this point) happened is that after the 3 juveniles fledged yesterday and were out and about on the perches, the parents suddenly got it in their minds that they should be self sufficient. The only remaining baby is out on the perches with them and literally chases them around until they feed him (which they did, multiple times today, thankfully). The other 2 that passed away seemed too weak to do this and thus got ignored. There was one point where the mother bird did land in the nest next to the baby and was waiting as if she was ready to feed him, but the baby never looked up, never begged, never opened its mouth or even raised its head. Then the more boisterous one showed up and she fed him instead (although the dad had already fed him about 4 times).

So ... a sad day. There is only one baby remaining - I don't think he's very far off from being self sufficient but will definitely keep an eye on him, just in case.

[cindy]

Was this their first clutch?

[limeslide]

I just finished reading the thread, I'm so sorry.

[Lisa]

Was this their first clutch?

Yes. So it could be genetics, it could be inexperience. They'll definitely be taking a long break after this. The crazy thing is that they carefully raised these babies to the day they fledged and THEN this happens. Both babies died the same day they had successfully fledged 14+ hours later. Neither one of them had ANY trouble maneuvering around on the perches, getting back up to the nest, etc. That's why I think the parents stopped feeding them and they must have become too weak to beg or even eat eventually. I tried to feed both and neither would open their mouths; both kept turning their heads downward as if wanting to curl up into a little ball. Very sad. Especially that they made it all that way first. By the way, this is the same pair that was fostering the lone African silverbill egg I had - they fed the baby for 2 weeks without fail, it was well cared for, always with a full crop, and then one morning I got up and found it on the floor of the nest with a completely empty crop. I believe it fell and they never attended to it. This entire clutch with this pair has been a disaster.

The remaining baby seems to be doing well. He's out and about with the parents during the day and really is at an age where he should be starting to dabble with foods himself. He follows them around from perch to perch begging for food and gets fed as a result. I believe if he was not so persistent, he might end up in the same boat as the others but he seems to have it covered. I did spy him trying to eat a bit of romaine lettuce on his own the other day.