Pinknikki

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Hey guys, i'm new to this forum.
Just on the day before I found a box of alexandrine parakeet babies (around 6 weeks old) and I noticed one of them had quite a hard crop, so I took him home. I've personally hand raised love birds and cockatiels before, I own a CAG, Senegal, Black head caique, Green cheek conure, Parrotlet and others so I do have experience to an extent.
After I returned home I put the baby alex in a brooder with a red heat lamp 75watt and waited for at least 24 hours to see how his crop was doing. Turns out it barely moved and in fact became slightly "doughier". I mixed some baking soda with water and force fed him the solution to help dilute the baby formula inside his crop. After hours of therapy I managed to pump out and empty his crop and fed him 2mls of baking soda solution to help the acidity in his crop and digestive system then waiting for 4 hours until I fed him around 10mls of dehydration formula with veryyyy little baby formula.
This morning I checked on him and his crop was back to normal and emptied itself (yay!!!). Problem is, he still seems lethargic, he would do little "ehh" noises and would look up at me when I call him, he would walk around a bit and jump from my hand to the top of his brooder. His grip is pretty decent too. But, he still refuses to feed (loss of appetite) and is sleeping all the time. I has not been 12 hours since his crop emptying therapy and has only been 2 hours since I last check and fed him. I have been keeping the new doses of formula very dilute with hydration electrolytes, his crop is now soft and normal.

My question is, are there any additional things I could help him with? Is this normal that he now has a normal crop motion but still seems lethargic? I am very worried for him and hope to save his adorable little life. I just love the noises baby alexs make. Thank you!!

p.s. I managed to empty out 2-3mls of sour formula from his crop.
 
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Pinknikki

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That's the problem...there are no avian vets around here, there are barely any exotic vets and even if there is they are mostly reptile vets :(. I was worried about it being a aspiration pneumonia, but he's been making the same noises as the rest of the baby alexs and he doesn't seem to have problem with breathing.
 

MikeyTN

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Let him go through a few feedings and he'll eventually start begging. Keep the formula diluted like you've been doing making sure he's digesting properly. Once everything is ok in about 3 days you can mix the formula a bit thicker.
 

MikeyTN

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I just realized you also asked about the breathing part. Have you checked his nostrils making sure they're clear from blockages?
 
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Pinknikki

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Yes his nose is clear, i doubt he has any breathing problems it was just something else I am getting worked up and over worrying about. My main worries is whether if it is normal for him to still be lethargic after emptying the crop. I've researched all over and nobody ever seems to mention about how their babies are doing after the emptying therapy. I'm just wondering if it's normal that their appetite is still at loss even though their crop is working fine now.
Thank you for your replies!
 
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Pinknikki

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UPDATE:
He does very quiet little whistles when I touch him and breathes heavily but this is only for a short time. It is not constant. He has pooped quite a bit now, the coloration is normal but it is runny poop. He is still weak looking, always wanting to sleep but has a very firm grip to my finger when holding him. He vomited a very tiny bit of thick doughy formula so I did not feed him very much but just some electrolyte solution. His nose has a tiny bit of dried formula and mouth is clear and closed.
Can anyone please help?? :(:confused:
Now i am very scared it could be aspiration pneumonia...
 
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MikeyTN

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IF he's in that bad of a condition, there's nothing we can say or do to help you except to tell you to bring him to a vet even if you have to travel. We're not there to see nor do we know the condition your baby is in. And we're not vets prescribing pet prescription as only vets can do that. So you can keep asking but there's nothing we can do to help you when they're sick. I can only tell you what I've done with sour crop issues. In which they do recover after a few days. So have him checked out by a vet to give you further details.
 

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I hope you can figure out what's going on with him and that he will be okay.
It sounds like you are doing everything humanly possible to help him.
I hope you can find a vet that isn't too far away that could help you more with him. Best of luck and I really hope he pulls through.
 
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Pinknikki

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Thank you for the replies everyone, I know that there's limited things you guys can help me with but sadly there are no avian vets within the island/city here, I would have to travel via plane to get to another place for chances to find an avian vet. I have worked at animal hospitals before and even when the vets say they know something about birds, its nothing beyond on how to stop a bleeding beak...or less :(
 

Mekaisto

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What is in the rehydration formula you are giving him? About 1:1 sugar/salt?

If you can't get him to a vet, try to get a bit more sugar in his diet, a tiny bit more sugar in his formula, or even apple juice.

Sugar is a short-term energiser, as long as he is eating his hand-rearing formula, he should be getting enough carbohydrates. If he is still not getting better, he may be sick - you'll have to watch him closely for further symptoms.
.
 
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Pinknikki

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Thank you, he seems to still be lethargic, his crop is working fine but he vomits out the thicker formula so I have switched back to diluted formula and he has kept it in.
The electrolyte remedies include:
8 oz. warm water
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
and additionally I have been adding a pinch of ginger spice powder as well to help mellow the crop.
Today I will be trying to get some Apple cider vinegar or other fungal infection meds and electrolytes as well as Baytril.
 

MikeyTN

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"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
When I did a search I find quite a few vet clinics in Hong Kong. They do deal with exotics so why don't you give them a call.
Exotics | Acorn Vets

Hong Kong Vet Services Ltd. - Animal Clinic ????

And this one Dr. Alex Grioni who works at kadoorie farm & botanical garden and he works with birds https://touch.www.linkedin.com/?sessionid=7619784428486656&as=false&can=http%253A%252F%252Fhk.linkedin.com%252Fpub%252Falex-grioni%252F34%252F79%252F101&rs=false#public-profile/http%3A%2F%2Fhk.linkedin.com%2Fpub%2Falex-grioni%2F34%2F79%2F101

Please give them a call, it seems to me you weren't interested in going to a vet....
 
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Pinknikki

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Mikey, I am not interested into the vets here because I used to work in multiples of them and I know to what extent they know about birds and parrots. I have given a couple of clinics calls but they either tell me that they're full or that they don't know how to deal with aspiration. I have also asked my friends around for avian vets (those who know what they're doing) and they have nothing. When my snakes got sick I called multiple exotic vets and they schedueled me for a week or later appointments!
Doesn't seem like you even believe me!
 

MikeyTN

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"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
If your bird were to aspirate, you would know cause he would choke on the formula and wouldn't be still kicking. But seriously I don't know what to tell you cause I'm not there to see in person. You should give that last vet a call cause he works with zoos and such.
 

MikeyTN

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"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
I'm talking about Dr Alex Grioni! I think because I did the search here the link isn't showing for you but it shows up here on that link.
 

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