baby lovebirds trouble

Question
I have taken upon myself to handfeed and care for a clutch of three lovebirds two healthy 1 runt who seems to have crippled leggs and not much for growth rate.  but he is thriving and feeding well today.  they seem to be about 2 weeks old and were not in a nesting box so all their legs are out to the sides but they are all grabing at things with their beaks and so forth.  The runt was fed today at 12:00 and at 4pm before feeding his stool was much darker than the usual pea green that has been customary up till know I've made sure to mix his food with a little extra water than the other two.....any help will be great feeding again around 7pm for him and 8pm for the others also how full should the crop be are you supposed to be able to see air in there...sorry if that's a dum question  

Answer
Hi, Amanda.  Thanks for posting.

The leg problem these lovebirds have is called splay leg.  It's not caused by them not being in a nesting box...it's caused by them not having enough friction under their feet.  This is usually seen in clutches where there is only 1 baby.  When there is more than 1 baby in a clutch, the babies can "lean" against each other in order to gain the friction they require under their feet so their legs don't grow sideways.  It is correctable, but you have to take action immediately, as these babies may be too old at 2 weeks for the condition to be corrected.  More information on this and how to correct is provided on my website:  http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.com  You can also find additional information on the internet if you use the search string "splay leg."  

I wouldn't mix extra water in the formula for the little one...s/he needs all the nutrition it can get since it is under weight.  

If you see formula backing up into a baby's neck, you've fed too much.  Formula should fill the crop just short of the top where the crop meets the neck.  This area is easily seen through the skin.  Air in the crop is normal when babies are handfed.  You can "burp" each baby after each feeding by pressing/squeezing gently on the crop to force the air back out through the mouth.  Do this carefully so as not to force any food out at the same time (you wouldn't want to aspirate a baby or cause formula to go into the lungs/air sacs and cause aspiration pneumonia).  Often times, you can just gently put pressure on the area at the top of the crop where the air is to force the air out.  Similar to burping a human infant.  

I can't stress enough the importance of caring for the splay legs ASAP.  If you don't and the problem persists, these babies will be crippled all their lives and you will have to tend to them specially.  Often times, birds with this affliction die at a young age, depending on the severity of the problem and if they are able to get along well enough.

Come back if you have questions.

Chrys