EllenD
New member
- Aug 20, 2016
- 3,979
- 65
- Parrots
- Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
I happened to be watching an episode of "Dr. K's Exotic Animal ER" last night, and it featured a little Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure baby that the owner said was only 6 weeks old at the time, and that they had purchased from a breeder at the age of 3 weeks old, and had been hand-feeding her formula since. They had no prior experience hand-feeding or raising a baby bird, nor did they know anything about formula temperature or ambient temperature that a 3 week-old bird required. They had brought her into the Hospital to see Dr. K because she was "wheezing" as the owner described it, though it wasn't wheezing. This adorable little Green Cheek was actually sucking air into her beak/lungs in these tiny little gasps that were creating a high-pitch whistling sound...
Dr. K put the baby under quick gas sedation and then opened her beak/mouth up, and saw nothing but a thick, white/yellow plaque all over the back of the baby's throat and entrance to her Crop. After using a tiny Endoscope to look down her Trachea and Esophagus, Dr. K realized that this poor little baby had developed a Yeast Infection inside of her Crop due to the owner not being trained in hand-feeding a baby bird formula and not making sure the formula temperature was between 104-110 degrees F, but just "making sure it was warm", and at 3 weeks old with no outer feathers, not keeping her in a Brooder at 95 degrees F...But this Yeast Infection was never treated and she had had it for almost a month at this point, and it became so bad that it spread from her Crop right up to her mouth, and then down her Trachea, creating such a thick layer of Yeast that she only had about a pinhole-sized opening to breath through. Dr. K actually had to put a Cannula into her Abdominal Airsac and breath for her through this hole with a tube through it into her Abdomen. They started medications, gave her fluids, etc., and she started to get a bit better, though she couldn't breath on her own at all through her mouth/beak, and then they realized that the Yeast was so bad that it had actually clogged the Cannula already, and when they removed the Cannula because she was suffocating, she ended-up dying. It was horribly sad for everyone, including me.
This is the reason why you should never, ever, ever buy a baby bird who is not fully-weaned and only eating solid-food on their own. It's NOT EASY to hand-feed a baby bird, no matter what any "breeder", pet shop, or website tells you...
Dr. K put the baby under quick gas sedation and then opened her beak/mouth up, and saw nothing but a thick, white/yellow plaque all over the back of the baby's throat and entrance to her Crop. After using a tiny Endoscope to look down her Trachea and Esophagus, Dr. K realized that this poor little baby had developed a Yeast Infection inside of her Crop due to the owner not being trained in hand-feeding a baby bird formula and not making sure the formula temperature was between 104-110 degrees F, but just "making sure it was warm", and at 3 weeks old with no outer feathers, not keeping her in a Brooder at 95 degrees F...But this Yeast Infection was never treated and she had had it for almost a month at this point, and it became so bad that it spread from her Crop right up to her mouth, and then down her Trachea, creating such a thick layer of Yeast that she only had about a pinhole-sized opening to breath through. Dr. K actually had to put a Cannula into her Abdominal Airsac and breath for her through this hole with a tube through it into her Abdomen. They started medications, gave her fluids, etc., and she started to get a bit better, though she couldn't breath on her own at all through her mouth/beak, and then they realized that the Yeast was so bad that it had actually clogged the Cannula already, and when they removed the Cannula because she was suffocating, she ended-up dying. It was horribly sad for everyone, including me.
This is the reason why you should never, ever, ever buy a baby bird who is not fully-weaned and only eating solid-food on their own. It's NOT EASY to hand-feed a baby bird, no matter what any "breeder", pet shop, or website tells you...