hand-feeding

Question
we're hand-feeding two baby lovebirds. they're at the pinfeather stage and they've been doing great. but now we've noticed their crops are staying full much longer than we've seen them do before (we've raised other babies, too) nothing changed in their routine - same formula, same environment - and they seem healthy. they're pooping per usual (although yesterday we saw some orange-to-pink tinted poops in the bedding. poops now normal again). is this a problem and what should we do?

Answer
Hi again, Rox.  I forgot something...sorry.

Crop slowdown can also be caused by the handfeeding formula not being the correct temperature when you feed the formula to the babies.  It has to be 102-104 degrees F when fed to the babies.  In addition, if you do not have the babies on enough heat, their crops won't work properly.  At pin feather age, the ambient temperature (the temperature of the environment your babies are in) should be about 90 degrees F.  This heat should not cover the entire bottom of their container if you are using say a heating pad under something...you need to have an area where there is no heat that the babies can move to when/if they get too warm.  If you are using a brooder, you might have to lower the temp a little bit if the babies start to pant or show signs of overheating.  These would be things to check first if slow crop signs are emerging.  If these are OK, then move on to other areas as I replied previously.

Chrys
 
Hi, Rox.  Thanks for posting your questions.

Are their crops staying fuller longer because they are getting bigger and you are feeding them more?  When you gently massage/feel the crop, do you feel any hard or firm areas (when there is still food in the crop)?  Exactly how old are they?  What happened to the other eggs/babies in the clutch?  

Their crops should go from full to nearly empty 4-5 hours after you feed them, if you are feeding 4 times per day.  You should be feeding them about 20/25 cc's at each feeding (some babies more, some less) if they are about 2/3 weeks old (if I recall correctly...it's been several years since I've bred lovebirds).  

Whatever they poop is a direct result of what they've consumed.  If their handfeeding formula isn't orangy pink (do you add anything to the formula you feed your babies), perhaps they've picked up something from the bottom of their container/brooder OR perhaps this color could be a sign of blood in their poo.  They may not be back to normal now if their crops aren't metabolizing food properly.  

If there is any firmness or hardness inside their crops (their crops should feel squishy when touched with no firm spots at all), they might have the beginnings of crop stasis, where the crop shuts down and doesn't process their food.  This can be caused by bacteria, fungus/yeast, etc., that has invaded their crops from some source.  You must catch this problem early or you could lose your babies.  

Please get back to me with the answers to the above questions, and tell me how the babies are doing, and perhaps I can help more.

Thanks.

Chrys