Parakeet near death

[ohdearlings]

Two days ago, my mother got a parakeet that was just weaned from its parents. I obsessively watched him and made sure that he ate and drank continually throughout the first day. He seemed in decent spirits the first day and ate tons but had a difficult time finding water until I brought him to it. Anyway, he drank tons and since then I've made sure that I've seen him visit his food and water again. Whenever I felt like he needed to be reminded where it was, I placed him at the dishes and he did his thing.

In the mornings and when there was a lot of noise in the room, he'd start squawking and sqauwking and sometimes wouldn't stop so we bought him one of those triangle, fabric nests and he went inside and slept. He'd come out and climb around and he seemed strong. That was last night. Today, I changed his water and made sure he had food and I moved the nest and everything to make sure that he was still okay and he was. He slept on and off all day. Early in the day, I made sure that he got food but then I let him sleep. Hours later, when my mother went to check on him, she said that he was sleeping in the nest and about twenty minutes later she informs me that he's dead. I took him out and he was still breaking and squeaking so I sent her to make him some formula which she did. He wouldn't open his eyes or his beak at first but I got him to eat a tiny bit from my hand. He seemed a bit more lively for a split second and then went back to not really moving. We placed a little formula on his beak and he was moving his mouth a bit... That was about fifteen to twenty minutes ago. She's holding him now and waiting to see if she can get him to eat a bit more. Is there anything that we can do? It seems so hopeless but I'm super upset because I told her not to bring him home this early and I feel horrible that he's been unhappy and that we basically killed him by having him removed. We called the woman who gave him to us and she was no help. She was very flippant about it and said that she had others. I can't just let something die because there are more to be had and I feel totally heartbroken about this.

[Perfex]

In all likelyhood he wasn't properly weaned. Couldn't shell the seed properly and is starved. Best of luck.

[Ginene]

ohdearlings
Oh no...that's awful! Is he still alive or has he since passed away??? I would put a heat lamp on his cage and continue hand feeding him. I agree with Michelle that he probably wasn't properly weaned . Shame on that breeder!!! Anyway, you need to have millet spray, seed, home made egg food leafy greens and water, all in low dishes on the floor of his cage. Babies take a long time to find and use food and water feeders. Especially if they are in a new environment and have no adults to follow. I would continue hand feeding for a while and add electrolytes to the formula and water dish, as well. Please keep us posted and good luck...

[cindy]

I breed English budgies, often when they fledge they start picking at seed and dried eggfood (they go for the dried egg food mostly since it is easy to eat). Even though they are picking at food the babies remain with the parents for a week or more since they will often return to the nest and they beg from the parents.

You little one apparently is not ready for life on his own, that was the breeder's mistake.

If attempting formula with a syringe at this age the bird will be resistant, try bending a spoon (pictured below) it may make it easier to get the formula into the baby. Make sure the formula is at the temperature it states on the container, they will not take it cold. Add a heat lamp to the cage to bring the temperature to about 80.

[ohdearlings]

cindy Ginene Perfex

Thanks so much for the advice and well wishes, guys. At first, he was too weak to really respond to a syringe but we got a tiny bit into him and as the night progressed, he started responding more strongly to the syringe and got stronger and stronger. His chirping is nearly back to normal and he did survive the night which we were so relieved about. He'd seemed to be on his last breath when we started trying to hand feed him.

You guys are right, he was too young to be on his own. The poor thing was definitely trying to eat and I made sure that he went to his bowls numerous times a day. It looked like he was eating. We've moved him from a cage to a small 'pet keeper' from petco with plenty of bedding and we're still feeding him.

[Sally]

Shame on that breeder for selling a baby that young. It sounds like you have it under control now and he is improving. When babies are first being weaned, they continue to beg from their parents, as cindy said. He may have been picking at his food, but he probably could not take in enough to live. I don't know anything about parakeets, but eggfood has lots of protein, which growing youngsters need. It is one of the first foods my young finches will try to eat, along with spray millet.

[Ginene]

ohdearlings
Thank Goodness he is ok. Keep up the hand feedings but continue to expose him to his seed, egg food, greens, millet and water too. He must learn to take these things in on his own and he has no parent to emulate. Best of luck to you all

[jonvill]

I'll be honest and say I have no experience with budgies but when I was breeding canaries and goldfinches, I used to make cous cous with grated carrot and chopped kale for my "weanlings" while they learned to eat on their own. I think it might work for your bird too.
Also millet sprays were a easy seed to get started on.
Hope this helps!

[lovezebs]

Poor baby. Some people are just heartless about animals. Glad to hear that he is on the up and up. He's very lucky that he ended up with you, rather than some small child's pet, where young owner wouldn't have known what to do.
You could name him 'Lucky'. I really hope that he continues to improve. Goodluck.

[wilkifam]

SO glad he is doing ok!

[Nerien]

I wonder if having the soft triangle nest led him to think he was 'home' and waiting for his parents to feed him instead of continuing to try to eat on his own.

So glad that you were able to save him, poor little guy!

[cindy]

Keep feeding him out, keep him warm, it will aid in digestion also. You can add a tiny bit of unsweeten applesauce to the formula also. To tell he is starting to wean is he will refuse the syringe.

It is obvious the "breeder" was not knowledgeable about how budgies wean off the parents. All babies come out of the nest box and go to the food dish and try to eat seed and dried egg food. They then go back to the box and the parents either feed them there or out in the cage. Within a week they usually wean by week two and three after fledging they are completely on their own.

[ohdearlings]

Thanks for everything, everyone. I think we did too little too late because after looking like he was going to make a full recovery, he suddenly died. We'd told ourselves not to get our hopes up but we definitely did. My mom was so upset.

I'm really angry with the breeder for not knowing anything and for not being any help when we contacted her.

@Nerien I'd wondered if that had had a hand in it as well, but if it did, I don't think that it was the deciding factor because from the beginning, he really seemed too young and as if he couldn't completely get his bearings.

I feel really guilty about not realizing that he wasn't eating properly before and for the fact that he was hungry and miserable before we started hand feeding.

Anyway, again, thanks everyone!

[Ginene]

ohdearlings
I am so sorry for your loss. You did all that you could.

[debbie276]

So very sorry for your loss