Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 4:36 pm Post subject: sick riki
Hi, my daughter has had her kakariki for about 4 weeks. He is only just coming on 11 weeks old now. Riki is adorable and has become very tame very quickly. He is such a cutie the way he skits and hops along, very fast, but very friendly and social. He has always been a fluff ball when sleeping and tends to eat and sleep alot, put it down to being a baby.
I did notice this morning that he seemed to be off balance, fell onto his side and stumbled a little and has been sleeping most of the day. Only waking to take a few minutes of nibbles at his food every half hour or so. Mind you today is a rather cold day, we are heading into winter here.
He has been sneezing more than usual and I am not sure if sneezing is actually normal for kakariki's. He sneezed out some moisture from his notstril but that seems to have dried up now.
He does seem to sleep with his tail fanned out too, which is unlike all my other birds. (ringnecks, budgies, cockatiel, lovebird). Is this normal for a young kakariki.
Is riki just young, unstable and getting use to life or do you think he might have a cold or something. I only know alot about Indian ringnecks, not kakariki's.
We don't have an avian vet here, and the vet here didn't even know how to clip my ringnecks wings, I had to learn how to do that myself, so I dont think they will have any idea. Coastal Country Australian town, they mainly deal with cattle dogs and cattle ... .
Not sure where to turn or if I should just keep a close eye on him and play the waiting game.
From the description you have given I think you have a sick little Kakariki on your hands. The common cold is not something Kakariki get so I would suggest it is more likely to be a respitory type illness. These can be fatal and unfortunately not even an avian vet could help.
I would suggest you find a way to keep the little guy warm at around 27 - 28 degrees C. If you dont have access to a brooder you can use a light globe on the outside of a small cage. Perhaps your local vet can supply you with a broad spectrum anti biotic. If so this would certainly help.
Young birds can sometimes contract disease from their parents and show no sign of it until they become more active. If you need any more assistance we are all here to help so dont be frightened to ask. Good luck and to the site.
I tend to agree with Kaka-riki above.
We have not had a kakariki with a cold as such, we can have between 15 and 40 kakatiki here at anyone time.
We do get the occassional kakariki when it comes out of the nest, After about 2 to 4 weeks out of the nest, very close observation (my wife usually picks it up) has very slight cold/Asama symtoms. other than that everything appears well
The symtoms very much as u describe, appear about 6 to 12 weeks, also
with loss of bulk of chest muscles.
Anti botics etc dont seem to help, and the bird eventually dies.
We have only had 1 survive, and she is asmatic, now 2 yrs old.
Your kakatiki could have a cold/pbemonia infection, and not as I describe above...even so I would notify the retailer and breeder of the problem.
I would also do as Kaka-riki sugests, talk to your vet again. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
I kept him in our lounge where its toasty warm and just before I went to bed he was playing around and eating. so things looked like he was going to be just fine.
I had called the vet but they advised me they really don't have the knowledge to be able to help, maybe to call the breeders which I tried but no answer. So I was ready to call in the morning if he still appeared off colour.
Our riki died last night. I loved this little guys personality but I think I am a little affraid of getting another. I also hear that they can die from sudden shock. They surely are fragile little tihngs.
Please tell me. We had riki quarantined for around 4 weeks and had just introduced him to the other birds in the bird room (where they have freedom to play and visit each other. I have two indian ringnecks, a cockatiel, two budgies and a lovebird. Would this be a contageous thing ? I have cleaned out any communal water dishes etc.
Kyria,
I would suggest it is not something the other birds will catch. It is unfortunately fairly common in young Kakariki and it is more likely that the bird contracted the illness while still in the nest. Given freedom to fly etc can place physical strains on the bird and if it had been sick from the start the added excitement of being with the other birds is enough to bring out the disease to it's full extent. If you have washed down the room and cleaned thouroughly I think the other birds should be okay. Ringnecks are a very tough and hardy bird and it takes a lot to stop them.
If you decide you want another young Kakariki, we have a 8 month old pied hen that we hand raised. She is currently out in an aviary but still very tame. She is in good health and may be a better option if you want to introduce her to the rest of your birds
I am having a similar problem with my young kakariki. We have had him for about a month and he has been a very lively, happy and active bird. However last night I noticed that he was very sullen and not moving around much. When he did move he seemed off balance. I suspected a broken wing as he couldn't fly at all (although he's holding his wings pretty well). I took him to a vet today who couldn't find any sign of a breakage. He has spent the whole of the day at the bottom of the cage, very sleepy and only eating occasionally. His tail is fanned and he's still not able to fly. Any idea what might be wrong with him or any suggestions as I am worried that he might not make it
I would do exactly what was suggested above, immediately. I know just how quickly a sick bird can go down hill.
Quoted from above: - I would suggest you find a way to keep the little guy warm at around 27 - 28 degrees C. If you dont have access to a brooder you can use a light globe on the outside of a small cage.
the fanned tail etc. sounds exactly like what happened to riki. I think a brooder may have helped him to survive, but I did not have one. And I read the post way to late to help him.
It was very fast and he was gone withing 24 hours. Other than that I think there was not much else I could have done, except hope that he pulled through ..
Keeping any bird suspected of being ill, warm should be a priority. While it may not ultimately save them it certainly gives them a greater chance at survival. Obviously having access to a good avian vet is the best chance a sick bird has, but there are many things we as breeders / pet owners can also do.
There are several medications on the market now that do have good results providing a sick bird is diagnosed early enough. We use a broad spectrum anti-biotic for this purpose. During the morning feeding routine we always check to make sure ALL the birds are eager to see the fresh food bowls. If a bird is slightly down the first thing you notice is that they quickly lose interest in their food. While they may still "pick" at what is on offer the usual zest for food quickly disappears in a sick bird.
The bird is isolated and placed into a hospital cage (brooder) and the medication is added to the water dish in the brooder. If there is no improvement within 24 hours we then seek the advice of our vet.
My bird is doing quite well considering. He is now eating like normal and seems to have a bit more sparkle about him - he is a lot more alert and is now curious about his surroundings. I have been keeping a close eye on him and discovered that the problem is in his left wing although it seems that there is a problem in his shoulder rather than the wing itself as he is able to stretch it out but can't lift it. In addition to this, I have noticed that he also has either a broken or dislocated back toe on his left foot. This is what would explain his unsteadiness. He can't use it to grip and when he's sitting on a perch, it curls forward rather than gripping the back of the perch. Poor tweetie. The vet had suggested one weeks rest to see if his wing improved but we hadn't noticed the toe then. Can a toe be fixed or would it be kinder to have it amputated. Either way, I will have to travel hundreds of miles to find a vet surgery that can help him
There is NO NEED to have the toe amputated. We have a couple of cock birds that have the back toe facing forward. The injury normally happens in the nest and is caused by the fact Kakariki have such long legs and toes even as babies. It certainly doesn't stop the birds from leading a normal life and in time they not only learn how to perch with the toe facing forward, but they can also mate without problems. It is not a genetic problem but an injury. If it is spotted early enough in young chicks you can actually train the toe to return to it's rightful position.
My kak is sneezing too... her beak looks a bit deformed as well. I've taken her to an avian vet and she had said the beak deformity was from birth. She's almost a year old now so i don't think it's a disease, but rather resperitory. She's been on antibiotics once before but i'm not sure if they were broad spectrum.. Should i be concerned?
084 - Copy.JPG
Description:
Here's a close up of emmy's beak. The left side is fine. the right side is slightly indented from nostril til almost the tip.
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I loved this little guys personality but I think I am a little affraid of getting another. I also hear that they can die from sudden shock. They surely are fragile little tihngs.
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