Is there runts in the bird world.

[FreddyCheeks]

Just wondering if there is such thing as runts in the bird world. The reason I ask is Fred was the smallest of the clutch and is still smaller than his clutchmates. For example when I brought him home he was .14 and still .14. His siblings are .16 to .18.

Is this a normal thing?

 

[ann]

i don't know if there is a runt in every clutch, but i do think there is a noticeable size difference. Blackjack's siblings are bigger and older looking than he is.

 

[ShellyBorg]

If this is a baby and is not gaining I would be looking into why. All young should so some growth even if small.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I think there can be runts, the most likely cause to me would be the amount of nutrition a bird got the first few years of life.

 

[crimson]

I have a runt cockatiel, just 70 grams @ 8 weeks of age....but very beautiful.
she is the size of a female conure.
there is a long story on one of my threads I posted(if your interested) about 3 of my baby cockatiels that were rejected by the parents, 2 died, 1 lived, the ones that died were severly stunted in growth, but the oldest one was just a 'little bit stunted'

I posted it sometime in March
at 4 weeks of age they weighed 14 & 16 grams!!,they were so freakishly small, it was hard to believe they were 4 weeks old... obviously the parents knew better than I did(lesson well learned) they died at 4.5 wees of age, I had them to the vets 2 weeks prior due to infections and other ailments that had set in.

as long as they are taken care of, get the nutrition that they need, they can live a long and happy, healthy life.

 

[FreddyCheeks]

Fred was the small guy to begin with but he also came off feeding before the others. The way the LBS does it here is when you purchase the bird they separate it and start to introduce it to more food and he stopped taking feeding sooner than the others.

Could the fact he's out of the cage so much also contribute to him not putting on weight? Someones home all day so he's out most of the day and when I get home he's out for almost the entire duration (except dinner) from 4-9 or later. Should he have more cage time? What he gets now is a pellet/nut/dry fruit mix. Theres also some seeds in there but not a lot.

 

[Mudkips]

Apparently Birdy was a runt when I bought him. He was displayed in the shop a few weeks after all his siblings because he needed more time...
He had a small bald spot on the top of his head when he should've been fully feathered, I can't remember if his siblings caused it or if it was part of his slower development. But thanks to a good breeder and some TLC, he turned out fine after a few months!

 

[Nocturnal]

Technically there can be but it is mostly dictated by hatch order and competition. Usually the hen will lay an egg or two and then begin sitting on them, laying a new egg every 2-3 days. These eggs will hatch every 2-3 days. The eggs hatch in the same order try are layed so in a clutch of 5 you can easily have babies that are something like this--- 2 chicks 7 days old, one chick at 5 days, one chick at 3 days and one chick at 1 day old. The youngest chick is in danger of being trampled or buried beneath his week old siblings. If he survives he will likely be smaller than his siblings as be is unlikely to get as much food as them with all the competition and how when his oldest siblings hatched they were the only two to feed and now the parents have to feed all 5.

 

[MonicaMc]

As stated, "runts" are usually caused by lack of proper food/nutrition.

I recently saw a hyacinth about the same size of a normal green wing macaw. His size was stunted due to lack of food when he was younger. I've seen some large greenwings though!


Size can also be influenced by breeding. Breed large birds together, you are going to get larger chicks! With enough breeding, you can end up with birds like the English/Show budgies that are larger than their wild counterparts!

English Budgie vs American Parakeet | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[FreddyCheeks]

Okay so I took Fred back to the store and he is still 63.5 grams. Same weight as when I brought him home. His nest mates are all 72-74 grams. Is this due to Fred being the smallest from the get-go and also coming off feedings earlier than the rest? I'm just getting a little concerned as I feel he should have put some sort of weight on by now. Is there anything I could give him additionally to help? He gets a pellet, seed, nut mix, plus dried fruits and rehydrated beans. The store owner also gave me monkey balls and said to turn them into an oatmeal like texture and see if that helps.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. As I said I'm getting alittle concerned.

 

[MonicaMc]

As long as it's a healthy weight for himself and he's not underweight, I would suggest not worrying about it... although you could try Harrison's High Potency, feeding more seeds, or a supplement such as Avigain or another to help a bird put on some weight.

I have a bourke parakeet that went from 42 grams to 35 grams. She has some health problems but is not sick, at least. I'll be doing some diet changes with her to see if I can get some weight put back on her.