Help! Sick new mother...

[Marianne]

Sorry I also posted this in "health," but I'm desperate for a reply!

I have two pairs of zebras in a large divided flight cage (64" x 36 x 21).
One pair has a nest full of 3-5 day old chicks. All has been fine until this morning, when I found the hen puffed up with eyes closed first on the perch, then on top of the nest. (Dad is sitting with the chicks). Should I isolate her with a heat lamp? (In the meantime I have that half of the cage covered with a blanket). I don't have an infrared lamp but can go out and get one.

If I have to isolate her, will the male be able to take care of the chicks on his own? Up until now there was always on parent on the nest while the other fed, bathed, etc. Also, if she gets better (I hope!) will she go back to caring for her young if she's separated from them for a while?

I don't believe I can let the other pair help to care for them, as they were very aggressive toward each other before I got the divided flight. (I'm afraid they might harm the babies)...(The other pair has been laying eggs nonstop but have not incubated their own eggs).

Please give me some advice! I'm new at this...
THANKS.

[Crystal]

If it were me, I would pull the sick hen and place her in a heated hospital cage with easily accessible foods, water, and a calcium source. The male will probably raise the babies on his own, but there is always the chance that disturbing them will cause him to abandon the babies. If that happens, you can try hand feeding, though it is not very easy to do when they are so young. If the hen recovers, she may return to caring for the babies, especially if your male seems very dedicated to the babies. Mostly you will need to play things by ear and keep your options flexible so that if one thing does not work, you can try something else.

Good luck.

[tammieb]

Marianne,

For what it's worth, I replied to your post in HEALTH.

Good luck!

[Marianne]

Crystal, just saw your reply after answering Tammy's (see below). I did place her in a small cage w/heating pad. Do you think the heating pad will be sufficient?

She already seems to be doing better (eating, using cuttlebone, etc.) but I will keep my options open, as you recommend. I've been watching the male closely. He is coming off the nest to eat and check on his mate (whose cage is facing their cage so she can see what's going on), but has been dutifully going back and feeding/brooding the nestlings.

The woman I spoke with said I should give her at least 24 hours in the heated cage. DO you think this is long enough (as long as she seems to be better?)

Thanks again~
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you so much. In the meantime I went to talk to a local pet shop employee whom I know has a lot of experience with finches and has done internships with Kaytee Corp. She recommended that I put the female in a small cage w/heating pad underneath and give her electrolytes (as you recommended) with some "extra nutritious" food. As soon as I put her in the cage she started eating and wasn't fluffed ---much to my relief, as she was only sitting fluffed up in a ball and not eating for several hours this morning.

I'll give her until tomorrow to see if she's "perked up" enough to put her back in the other cage.

I may go out and get a heat lamp for future use, or if I find the heating pad doesn't do the trick! I really didn't want to take her out of the large cage in the first place...I will try adding the lamp to one end in the future (or if my first course of action doesn't work).

I'm pretty sure she's just worn out from her parenting duties. When I "inherited" these four several weeks ago, her tail feathers were missing due to aggression with the other female- hence their divided cage. So I'm thinking the added stress of moving then having chicks right away might have added up.


Thanks so much for your timely reply.