devistated

[ruler]

as i was feeding my 8 day old baby gouldian my hand reared shaft tail flew onto the edge of the open wooden brooder and started begging for a little bit of food. the lid of the box dropped down onto him and he then fell onto the floor about 2ft dropand then began to spasum. i rushed to pick him upwhere he continued to spasum for about 5 minutes.

its been about an hour now but he shows no interest in eating or drinking and he just sleeps in my hand. i put him into a warm darken box where he just gets up then stretches then makes a growling noise then jumps into the palm of my hand. if i leave him in the box he will sit with his mouth open breathing heavily and he looks depressed. all he wants is to be in my hand all the time, i figure he feels safe there.
im really worried about him. im not going to try and force feed him and if it makes him feel uncomfortable in a box then i will keep him in my hand if thats what he wants. he doesnt respond to his name anymore and doesnt respond to the word 'din-dins' anymore where he would normally chirp and go mad. i called a vet they said put him in a darkened box with lots of heat but he hates it. is there anything else i can try? i hope his chances of survival are good

[cindy]

He may be so and scared. Instead of a darken box do you have a little brooder or hospital cage you can attach a heat lamp to. Hopefull with a little food and warmth he will be alright. How heavy was the lid?

If it props open with a unreliable hinge I would roll a small towel and put it up aginst the hinge when the box it open to block the top from coming down again.

Try some boiled eggfood....he may like that.

[ruler]

about 7 - 10 mins after it happened i put a few seeds in front of him, he pecked one but didnt eat it. now he just ignores all food. the lid was on a hinge and the lid is about 30cm long by 15cm made from 6mm ply wood. its not really heavy but forhim it might have been but i think its the shock of the noise it makes when it closes.he may also be bruised too but i see no damage.
it makes me feel really bad, he only wanted a little bit of food but he's now into everything. moments before he was really chirpy and hypo and full of life but now he just sleeps in the palm of my hand its really sad. i love him to bits and if he dies im going to give up keeping birds, its too sad

[cindy]

Ruler, where on his body did it hit him? Like you said he might be sore and possibly bruised. He wants in your hand and not left alone because that is where he found comfort before. Let him sit with you but keep a warming light on him.

Debbie posted an electrolyte recipe...you can try offering that to him also. It may help with the shock, stress of what happened.

this is Debbie's recipe from
http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... lectrolyte
quote
"The recipe I have is:
8 oz of warm water (about 103 to 105 degrees F), add 1/2 Tablespoon sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon baking soda. Mix well, can be kept in frig for a few days."

[ruler]

cindy at this point i will try anything. i put him into his little nesting box packed with cotton wool which he likes and put a peice of millet spray in front of him and he did eat a few seeds (about 10) then he jumped out then walked across my keyboard and back into my hand to sleep again. he's so cute i want to kiss him all the time lol. i think he is showing small signs of improvement but it is hard seeing him like this.
ive been wiping his beak with a cotton bud soaked in sugar water, thought it might help.
thanks for the link im really greatful for the help

[cindy]

I know how much you love this little one, sounds like the felings are mutual on his part to!! Hope he improves. It might have bruised him, knocked the wind out of his sails for a bit. Hopefully with a little tender loving care and a few days he will be as good as new.

[G8love4finches]

I hope that your little one heals and gets better soon.....So sorry he got hurt....It is such a helpless feeling when we have to wait and see them get better.....Sending good thoughts your way!

[ruler]

thanks, he is now eating some seed but not a great deal. i think it frightened him more than it actually hurt him as he doesnt seem in any pain at all. i have to admit it did make me jump when i heard the box slam down on him, the noise was pretty loud. he is looking a bit better but he still isnt his usual self at all. i think he just feels safe and secure in my hands like cindy said its a place he knows where he feels safest and comfortable.
he did let me feed him with the dropper with some kaytee's mix as i was feeding the young gouldian but he didnt eat a lot but he got some food into him so thats a good sign
thanks for the concerns its much appreciated

[nelloyello11]

So sorry you and your little guy are going through this.
If the noise was loud enough, it may have temporarily hindered his hearing. Have you ever had someone make a loud noise near your head and your ears ring or you can't hear right for a bit? Maybe that's what happened with your little guy and he just feels out of it for not being able to hear things around him as he normally would.
It does sound like he is improving a bit so hopefully he continues to do so. Keep us posted!

[CandoAviary]

With presure to the crop it is possible that some of the crop food contents were forced into the lungs. This will always cause spasms much like your reaction would be if you were choking and could not breath. The open mouth breathing would also lead me to believe the chick has gotten some food into his lungs. Unfortunetly this is a serious health problem. Most times if they don't strangle/aspirate immediately then usually they will get a bacterial infection in the lungs from the food being lodged in there. Hard to adminster antibiotics to an eight fday old chick. I lost a handfed gouldian at about 3 weeks of age the same way...only it was I that closed the lid on his neck...just as I was closing he stuck his head out Boy did I feel awful. Another lessoned learned the hard way
Hopefully your little fellow will beat the odds.

[cindy]

Ruler, was the shaft tail eating (taking food from you) at the time of the accident or just the gouldian?

[CandoAviary]

Oops... I just realized when I read that the bird was eating seed that your injured bird is the older shaft tail... I thought the lid had fallen on the 8 day old gouldian. Sorry for giving advice on the wrong bird and not reading the post correctly.
Sure hope he continues to improve

[ruler]

ok its now been 10 hours since the accident. he has let me hand feed him with a dropper(his favourite feeding method) but only when he gets 'really' hungry and he has had a peck about for some seed but hasnt eaten many, about 20 - 25 all day.
i put him on the window seal to get some warm sun in his favourite spot, he stayed there for about 10 minutes then flew to me. all he wants is to be in my hands. he hasnt chirped all day and he is like a different bird altogether. normally he sleeps with his head tucked into the back but now he sleeps facing forward with his head up slightly.

he does stretch when ever i move him so im guessing he is bruised. all he does now is sleep unless i wake him to try and feed him. is this normal for this kind of accident? i know some people think its only a bird but he's special, he gets you right in the heart. everyone who has seen him loves him and he really loves people. i just hope tomorrow he is a lot better

[cindy]

Considering the shock and he got hit he is going to take a few days to heal. When birds go through a shock/trauma they sleep/rest to recover. Much like a cat or dog does after a trauma.

How is the little gouldian? Did the noise or feel of the top dropping effect the little one? Is he ok?

Which one were you feeding when this happened, had the shaft tail taken any food from you at the time this happened? From your description it sounded like he had just started begging for the food, so there isn't a chance he aspirated any food into his lungs?

[ruler]

the baby gouldian is doing ok and it was the gouldian i was trying to feed at the time but the shaft tail always thinks its his feeding time when he see's the dropper and was begging for a little bit of food. he hadnt eaten anything before it happened to him.

i would also like to say im very greatful for this forum and to the people on here as without it i'd be screwed. it makes a huge difference to people like myself and i really appreciate it.