Breeding Gouldians

[Icearstorm]

lovezebs
No; they're looking for a nest, but I've taken everything even remotely similar to one out.

[lovezebs]

Icearstorm

Well, let them baby him. Eventually he will wean.

[Icearstorm]

lovezebs

I had a bit of a close call today. When I checked on the gouldians, the fledgling was sitting near motionless with closed eyes, droopy wings, and a large dried dropping attached to its vent. I hadn't been hearing any begging for the last few days. Its keel was a little sharper then I'd like, though clearly not to the level of starvation.

I then moved the water to the corner of the cage where Fleance used to sit, accidentally spilling some on the newspaper. The fledgling came over and started drinking from the newspaper, and now seems fine.

[lovezebs]

Icearstorm

If he has a poopy vent, it's not a good sign. I'd watch that very carefully.

Can he get to the water with his twisted foot? Maybe he needs a very shallow dish, so that he can access it more readily, without having to perch on the edge.

Park some spray millet very close to where he likes to sit.

[Icearstorm]

lovezebs

I cleaned the poop off, and upon closer inspection, it looks like the poop is farther down the tail and in the undertail coverts rather than on the vent. It seems that it has been dragging its tail through droppings on the floor; I just changed the newspaper out, but wow do they soil it quickly. Nothing seems to be off-colored or smelly.

It can get to the water, but doesn't seem to recognize it's water. I might have to switch to an open dish for a bit. The fledgling seems kind of slow; it eats the seed off the ground or out of the open dish, but continues to peck at the seed behind the plastic in the hopper feeder. None of my other birds took this long to figure out how to use a hopper or gravity feeder.

[lovezebs]

Icearstorm

He might be a bit slow, it happens (I had a Canary girl like that for several years, and loved her dearly). Possibly the twisted foot is not the only challange our little one has to face.

He might need things adjusted around in the cage to help him cope with his limitations.

[Icearstorm]

lovezebs

I put in an open water dish, along with an open seed dish with some dry eggfood mixed in. That should help Fleance, but now the parents want to nest in it...

[lovezebs]

Icearstorm

Oh dear, lol.
I would make it a really flat container, like a cap off a wide jar, or a small flat plate, which may not be as attractive a nest for the parents.

[Icearstorm]

lovezebs

I might be able to make a hummus lid work once I finish eating it.

[lovezebs]

Icearstorm

[Icearstorm]

Fleance has finally started to eat from the hopper feeder, so I removed the open seed dish so they won't nest in it.

The fledgling still doesn't drink, so I'm having to give it several drops of water to the side or tip of its bill in the same way one would provide liquid calcium. Is this the safest way to provide water, or is the risk for asphyxiation too high?

Both of the adults bathed today; I haven't ever seen them do that before.

[Icearstorm]

Fleance died. I found it with its head pushed through the bar at the bottom of the cage, but it was easy to remove, even with rigor mortis, so this seems like an unlikely cause of death (though Fleance was kind of slow, and might not have known how to get out). The keel felt fine, so it wasn't starvation. Dehydration seems more likely, though I did handfeed some water not too long ago. Illness seems unlikely. I've got Fleance in a bag in the fridge so I can preform a necropsy later, though I only have the technology to look for tumors and other macroscopic problems.

I put the adults back in the main flight. The Java finches sized them up a bit, but weren't too aggressive.

[Babs _Owner]

Icearstorm

I'm sorry the one died. Is it a possibility that he was sight impaired?

That would explain all the time on the floor of the flight, the long time it took him to discover food and his lack of finding water.

[Icearstorm]

Babs

I don't think so. It didn't crash-land or fly in circles, and flew better than Psych used to. I think the time on the floor was due to slip toe, as it couldn't perch well until a while later.

[Babs _Owner]

Icearstorm

Ahhh , I understand. ;) With his toe he was probably more comfortable on the soft sand. (I think thats what you use).