Need to make an incubator in a hurry

03-19-2007, 02:34 PM

I went to the vet today, with a baby which I thought had splayed legs, a budgie with a wound that is taking too long to heal and 2 birds for sexing.

Cheeky the budgie is a trouble maker that does not win arguments with other females. She has been bitten to bleeding at least 3 times in the centre of her chest. The wound never gets a complete chance to heal because it gets opened to frequently. She is now in a cage for the first time in her life with a male for companionship. She is most unhappy about it but it has to be for the time being till she heals. She also has doxybiotic for 2 weeks till her return visit.

The baby does not have splayed legs but knees and ankles which are turned. The vet showed me how to do physio on the baby to strech out the knee and help the ankle. The babies legs are so drawn up I did not figure out what the problem was I thought it was the hip. My next problem is how to make incubator for such a tiny baby as it is only 17 days and small at that because the eyes are not yet open. The reason for the problem he feels is that the parents were careless when jumping into the box and landing on the baby which was on bare wood. These parents also habitually remove all nest material. I have to change the nest box to prevent it happening again. The vet suggested a cockateil type box instead of the boot box they have presently.

The baby has a good feeding response off a spoon but is unable to use a hotwater bottle system for heat because it cant move enough to get away from or go closer to the heat. Usually a hot water bottle between an outer box and the babies inner box works for when I need a little extra heat. Most of the year round babies do not require any heat as I only take them at 4 weeks and our weather is hot. Currently I have the baby in the centre of his box inside another box with the hotwater bottle and covered with space blanket. The temperature has dropped dramatically as it is about 20c 68f or so from about 95f in the day. I am a bit concerned because the crop was a little slow which in this case is a cold chick. Over the past hour the crop is empting nicely. I hope someone can give me a good plan to keep this baby warm.

03-19-2007, 08:38 PM

Angie,

Do you have a small aquarium? Maybe a Tupper Ware container? How about a ceramic heat light? Shreaded paper towels make good bedding. It sound like your makeshift brooder is working but would be nice if you had a constant source of heat like the ceramic lamp. If not you will have to get up and warm the hot water bottle.

Joel, raises many small babies and may have a better idea, I will try and contact him.

Keep up the good work!

03-19-2007, 09:32 PM

Joel in blue:

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2horse

I went to the vet today, with a baby which I thought had splayed legs, a budgie with a wound that is taking too long to heal and 2 birds for sexing.

Cheeky the budgie is a trouble maker that does not win arguments with other females. She has been bitten to bleeding at least 3 times in the centre of her chest. Any chance of pics of your cage set-up and pics of the bird(s)?The wound never gets a complete chance to heal because it gets opened to frequently. She should have been removed after the first time until the chest healed completely but better late than never, I'm sure. She is now in a cage for the first time in her life with a male for companionship. She is most unhappy about it but it has to be for the time being till she heals. I don't think you should put her back after it heals, isn't 3x enough for an epiphany?

She also has doxybiotic for 2 weeks till her return visit.

The baby does not have splayed legs but knees and ankles which are turned. The vet was this an Avian Vet and if not does this vet have much experience with leg corrections? showed me how to do physio on the baby to strech out the knee and help the ankle. The babies legs are so drawn up I did not figure out what the problem was I thought it was the hip. My next problem is how to make incubator for such a tiny baby as it is only 17 days and small at that because the eyes are not yet open strange the eyes are not open at 17 days, sure ya got the age correct? The reason for the problem he feels is that the parents were careless when jumping into the box and landing on the baby which was on bare wood Baby must not be allowed to be on bare wood, must devise/come up with a way to correct that. These parents also habitually remove all nest material what is the nest material . I have to change the nest box to prevent it happening again. The vet suggested a cockateil type box instead of the boot box they have presently. Maybe ya mean that the other way around? It would be way easier to throw out/remove nest material from a tiel box than a boot box.

The baby has a good feeding response off a spoon but is unable to use a hotwater bottle system for heat because it cant move enough to get away from or go closer to the heat. Usually a hot water bottle between an outer box and the babies inner box works for when I need a little extra heat. Most of the year round babies do not require any heat as I only take them at 4 weeks and our weather is hot. Currently I have the baby in the centre of his box inside another box with the hotwater bottle and covered with space blanket please take this advice in the right way: One should NOT be breeding/allowing mating if one is not properly set up - you need to purchase asap: a 10 gal. aquarium or similar type container that will keep your baby(s) safe from predators, one that is easily cleaned and that will hold the heat and humidity and it is best to have one that will alow light penetration and one that you can easily see into from all directions. Best/necessary IMO to have an indoor/outdoor thermometer/hygrometer and a couple human type heating pads The temperature has dropped dramatically as it is about 20c 68f or so from about 95f in the day That is not good for the baby, temps. should be kept fairly constant around the clock never below about 85 for that age baby. I am a bit concerned because the crop was a little slow which in this case is a cold chick You should be very concerned and your concern should prompt you to go out and purchase the necessary equipment asap, if that is at all possible. Over the past hour the crop is empting nicely Lucky bird and lucky you for the moment. I hope someone can give me a good plan to keep this baby warm. If you cannot get the proper equipment asap, then in the meantime your choices are the hot water bottles, heat lamps, light bulbs or any other way ya can think of in your personal situation - although all those are poor substitutes IMO for doing it right and keeping things as constant and as safe as possible. This baby is depending on you now for it's very survival, I hope you choose to rise to the occassion - good luck to you both.

03-20-2007, 02:43 PM

The first pic is Cheeky and her wound. The wound looks far worse now after her visit to the vet, her feathers were removed and all scar tissue cleaned and treated. The frequently I am referring to is 3 times over a period of 4 months. The wound closed and looked good except for the grey discoloration. Now since the cleaning it is possible to see a row of beak mark bruises and redness from the cleaning. The cage is a large round teil cage small bar spacing.

03-20-2007, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~J~

Joel in blue:

Cheeky the budgie is a trouble maker that does not win arguments with other females. She has been bitten to bleeding at least 3 times in the centre of her chest. Any chance of pics of your cage set-up and pics of the bird(s)?
The first pic is Cheeky and her wound. The wound looks far worse now after her visit to the vet, her feathers were removed and all scar tissue cleaned and treated. The frequently I am referring to is 3 times over a period of 4 months. The wound closed and looked good except for the grey discoloration. Now since the cleaning it is possible to see a row of beak mark bruises and redness from the cleaning. The cage is a large round teil cage small bar spacing.
The wound never gets a complete chance to heal because it gets opened to frequently. She should have been removed after the first time until the chest healed completely but better late than never, I'm sure. I did try, it upset them to be separated and it is not like a constant fight. Arguments beak out maybe at most once a week and someone backs off. These injuries have happened on the gym when they all want the same spot to sleep on. Instead of biting feet like larger parrots they go for the breast because the beak is out of reach. She is now in a cage for the first time in her life with a male for companionship. She is most unhappy about it but it has to be for the time being till she heals. I don't think you should put her back after it heals, isn't 3x enough for an epiphany?
It is my intention to have her in the colony next year, I have not done so before now because I only have one budgie colony and I refuse to allow any possible breeding before 1 year old. I will be building more budgie aviaries to allow for colony separations.
She also has doxybiotic for 2 weeks till her return visit.

The baby does not have splayed legs but knees and ankles which are turned. The vet was this an Avian Vet and if not does this vet have much experience with leg corrections? This vet is a highly respected avian surgeon. Other avian vets refer to him for more specialized treatments. The reason behind this conservative course of treatment is my pocket and the age of the baby. In 2 weeks the decision will be made what next. showed me how to do physio on the baby to strech out the knee and help the ankle. The babies legs are so drawn up I did not figure out what the problem was I thought it was the hip. My next problem is how to make incubator for such a tiny baby as it is only 17 days and small at that because the eyes are not yet open strange the eyes are not open at 17 days, sure ya got the age correct? I got the age correct I have posted pictures of this baby DOH 2/3/07 (49g) (1st &2ndpic)and another one day younger DOH 3/3/07 (57g) (3rd pic) from a different pair still with parents. The second baby although younger is larger with open eyes. I have reason to believe that this pair did not care for the baby too well. His crop was empty when I took him The reason for the problem he feels is that the parents were careless when jumping into the box and landing on the baby which was on bare wood Baby must not be allowed to be on bare wood, must devise/come up with a way to correct that. I think I have to be more vigilant and replace daily what they throw out. I have also thought about constructing a nest box like a parrot box with tunnel. The parents also mine a ditch in the remaining shavings so that the shavings end up packed around the edges. Only problem is the more I interfere in the nest making the less likely to lay.These parents also habitually remove all nest material what is the nest material . good quality pine shavings. I have to change the nest box to prevent it happening again. The vet suggested a cockateil type box instead of the boot box they have presently. Maybe ya mean that the other way around? It would be way easier to throw out/remove nest material from a tiel box than a boot box. His thought was that the level to go in would be the same and not have the distance to jump on the baby.

The baby has a good feeding response off a spoon but is unable to use a hotwater bottle system for heat because it cant move enough to get away from or go closer to the heat. Today the baby is much better able to move quite amazing what a little stretching can do in one day. Usually a hot water bottle between an outer box and the babies inner box works for when I need a little extra heat. Most of the year round babies do not require any heat as I only take them at 4 weeks and our weather is hot. Currently I have the baby in the centre of his box inside another box with the hotwater bottle and covered with space blanket please take this advice in the right way: One should NOT be breeding/allowing mating if one is not properly set up - you need to purchase asap: a 10 gal. aquarium or similar type container that will keep your baby(s) safe from predators, one that is easily cleaned and that will hold the heat and humidity and it is best to have one that will alow light penetration and one that you can easily see into from all directions. Best/necessary IMO to have an indoor/outdoor thermometer/hygrometer and a couple human type heating pads My set up worked fine if I only remove older babies. I was not happy with glass fish tank set up (trouble with the temp of the heating pads I could not find other than 3 setting for human) and for me cardboard box worked because it holds heat and disposable. A plastic tupperware container is the graduating and play place for daytime, once the baby is interested in his world around him. (35days or so) I have a thermometer type thing in the box to tell me if the temp stays in the optimum range. Inside the box even without heating the temp only goes a fraction below optimum. At the moment just over optimum it is 30c. I don’t know if a hygrometer has benefit for me as we never have zero humidity situations. Humidity at its worst is 20-25% but mostly 50-80%.The temperature has dropped dramatically as it is about 20c 68f or so from about 95f in the day That is not good for the baby, temps. should be kept fairly constant around the clock never below about 85 for that age baby. Room temp at night is about 26c today. I am a bit concerned because the crop was a little slow which in this case is a cold chick You should be very concerned and your concern should prompt you to go out and purchase the necessary equipment asap, if that is at all possible. A slow crop for me is one that is not very empty after 3 hours instead of 2, I have no intention waiting for a real problem to occur. Over the past hour the crop is empting nicely Lucky bird and lucky you for the moment. Today there has not been any crop slowness. I hope someone can give me a good plan to keep this baby warm. If you cannot get the proper equipment asap, then in the meantime your choices are the hot water bottles, heat lamps, light bulbs or any other way ya can think of in your personal situation - although all those are poor substitutes IMO for doing it right and keeping things as constant and as safe as possible. This baby is depending on you now for it's very survival, I hope you choose to rise to the occassion - good luck to you both. Delivery time for a suitable heat lamp is 2-3 weeks. I also heard that light bulbs can cause blindness because they look at the light and have never used one.
A hot water bottle with space blanket lasts longer than the 3 hour feeding intervals. I do take the advice in the spirit I think you mean and appreciate it. I know what I am doing is different to those in it for the money and that is why I don’t have egg setters, brooders and incubators, my babies and their parents get to enjoy each other first. I also choose to feed by spoon rather than tube or syringe, it does take longer with more cleanup but my feeling is the baby is participating. This new baby is quite happy about eating off a bent spoon and took to the idea a lot easier than older babies. I apologize if I have not explained as I should have. Thank you for your help.
I hope this post looks right when it posts, I have tried to insert replies etc.

ps. the 2 last pic are a current chick we call heffalump 32days old 127g taken 3 days ago from the parents (no down - hot season) the other chick is about the same age with down he was from a cooler season and a bit smaller.