SICK BIRD CARE
IMPROPER FEEDING is the chief cause of disease in pet birds!!
- It is unnatural for birds to have food in front of them continuously. Even i n the wild, birds eat only twice daily. Therefore a pet bird should be fed what it will consume in 15-30 minutes.
- Birds can only sleep well in the dark. A room that has light until midnight, and re-illuminated at 6 a.m. allows only six hours of sleep. A cage cover should be used to allow the bird to sleep 8-12 hours daily. Stress from insufficient sleep time will cause physical and emotional problems to develop. Sick birds need 12-16 hours of sleep daily.
- A normal Parakeet will pass 40-60 droppings in 24 hours. If the number is reduced to 20-30 per day, a serious problem may exist.
- A normal Parakeet will eat 25% of its body weight each day. Even a healthy bird will die in 48 hours without food--a sick bird will die much quicker!
- An ill-appearing bird with ruffled feathers is sick, cold and hungry.
- Basic treatment includes medications, warmth, and food. A bird in this condition may be considered critically ill!
TUBE FEEDING
- Restrain with a Towel.
- Grasp beak firmly. (Do not squeeze chest!)
- Scissor the beak sideways to open.
- Use size 5-8 Feeding Tube.
- Measure distance from beak to crop and mark the tube. (Parakeet=2)
- Make sure the natural curve of the neck is held straight out.
- Pass the tube gently.
- Inject 1-2cc of nutrient mixture. (10 parts Oatmeal + 1 part Nutrical/Energel.)
- Repeat every eight hours until the birds starts eating.
- You can use a paper clip to hold the mouth open if needed.
