HELP! New GCC Baby Hatchling Lying On Back

[shohagysaima]

Hi guys, my green cheek Conure layed and hatched some eggs the first week of August this year and one of the babies seems to be lying on it’s back all the time. Is this normal? The mother is feeding the baby whenever and the abdomen is bigger than the crop. Is this normal too? I’ve been my parent conures for a few months now, almost a year and this is the first time they’re breeding. The mother sits on the baby to keep it warm all day and night and her diet consists of a mix of pellets, seeds, veggies, eggs, and sometimes fruits. The weather is in the 80’s/90’s (F) here and I have a nesting box with nesting material safe for the birds too.

My female conure originally laid 4 eggs, the first one broke, the second one wasn’t fertilized, and the last 2 have hatched. The 4th egg’s baby hatched and passed away a little over a week old because I believe the mother didn’t feed it enough or she didn’t keep the baby under her long enough to keep it warm

 

[Noahs_Birds]

Baby Green cheeks have a habit of lying on their backs at times I've noticed before, usually while parents are feeding. All you have to do is flip them over but generally they normally sort themselves out. Is it a swollen belly or just a normal pot belly? Photos?

 

[shohagysaima]

Baby Green cheeks have a habit of lying on their backs at times I've noticed before, usually while parents are feeding. All you have to do is flip them over but generally they normally sort themselves out. Is it a swollen belly or just a normal pot belly? Photos?

Thanks for replying so I’m assuming it’s normal since the baby is still eating and stuff by the parents. Here are some pictures of what I mean. I helped flip the baby over a few days but then the baby would stand and then fall again on its back and just lie there then just move it’s arms and legs trying to get up the whole time like it’s struggling. I have a camera in the nesting box so here are 2 pictures.

 

[shohagysaima]

Baby Green cheeks have a habit of lying on their backs at times I've noticed before, usually while parents are feeding. All you have to do is flip them over but generally they normally sort themselves out. Is it a swollen belly or just a normal pot belly? Photos?

Hi guys, so I have been checking on the baby more, it is now able to turn on its stomach and is able to attempt to walk around so I am not as worried anymore.

Another question though, should I use coconut fiber or corn cob bedding? I had corn cob for over a month and have been cleaning it. The birds seem okay and do not try to chew or eat the corn cob. Should I still switch over? How much should I use for the nest because my conures like to make space for contact with the ground of the nesting box.

 

[Noahs_Birds]

Excellent news to hear, they're pretty resilient little birds! I got the same scare too when I started breeding them years ago, opened the box and my heart dropped when a baby was on its back. Touched it and it flipped over back to normal. My conures are back on 6 or 7 eggs at the moment, they double clutch every year (bred 9 last year from 1 pair)

I've never used either of those nesting materials, I either use wood shavings, or, my favourite with is dried organic sugar cane mulch. You could do a mix with half and half, but if the corn cob bedding is working well I wouldn't worry too much about switching over. I usually put about an inch of bedding across the bottom, conures generally then flick around the material until it suits them