Yeast and Cockatiel Babies
Yeast... Its the word every breeder of cockatiels dreads. You look into a nestbox and it smells like bread before it bakes. Yeast! I have a few tricks that are non scientific but have worked for me. This is only for baby cockatiels.
The first thing I say about yeast is that you MUST treat as soon as you notice it. You will notice that the down starts to look bad and the mouths get stringy. This is the first sign of yeast in most babies in the nest. You MUST pull these babies or you will loose them to their parents. Parents are not out to save babies they are out to reproduce. ANything that compromising the clutch as a whole is normally discarded.
A good brooder is a must. I use two types of brooders. One is by avitech and its for birds that are not quite ready for a cage. It is placed on top of a 10 gallon aquarium (no water is used as I live in a humid climate here in NC). I then have a large brooder from petiatric supply. This brooder keeps younger babies at a more constant temperature and reduces the amount of light. It has a place where you can plug a small light in if you want to (or an egg turner for incubating eggs).
Now, on to the yeast. Some of this may be controversial and I welcome comments. First, one thing we know about yeast: it loves moisture. So, I try to feed thicker formula and make sure each one empties its crop before the next feeding. If only a small amount is left in the crop, I would rather feed on top of it and massage the crop to mix it in. Do not overfeed a yeasty baby. This will only compound the issue. The mouth needs to swabbed out if there is yeast present in the mouth (it will most likely look stringy and white). I use small q-tips or swabs and swab out the mouth. I use a product called "Sparkle". It has a small amount of nolvasan in it. For those who are not comfortable with that, I would recommend maybe a very diluted apple cider vinegar and water mixture. I have used apple cider vinegar solution from time to time. I would not use bleach as it is too caustic for tender mouths.
Next is fighting the yeast. Small amounts of formula should be used. If you are normally feeding 12ccs by now, only feed 8cc's. This will help the crop. I use the following in my yeasty babies. Again, this is what I have found to work. If you believe your birds are compromised, please seek vet advice. I am NOT a vet!
China Prairie "SOAR"- spirulina based. Just a pinch will do. It has clay in it which has been proven to act as a protectant to the delicate crop lining. The spirulina may be helping boost the immune system.
"Undecyn" Found at www.wellvets.com. This helps make the environment unattractive to yeast. Dr. McCluggages site will tell you how much to give.
Remember, if the crop is not moving, you are in trouble. Yeast can sometimes be cause by secondary problems such as bacterial or overuse of medications. The parents should not be allowed to breed again and should be treated for yeast with western medications you can get from your vet. I would also check them for a bacterial infection.
Good luck! Yeast seems to infect cockatiels more than any other species I have worked with. I have never seen it in my parrotlets or lineolateds.
Related Articles:
Bacterial Diseases
Early Chick Mortality
The first thing I say about yeast is that you MUST treat as soon as you notice it. You will notice that the down starts to look bad and the mouths get stringy. This is the first sign of yeast in most babies in the nest. You MUST pull these babies or you will loose them to their parents. Parents are not out to save babies they are out to reproduce. ANything that compromising the clutch as a whole is normally discarded.
A good brooder is a must. I use two types of brooders. One is by avitech and its for birds that are not quite ready for a cage. It is placed on top of a 10 gallon aquarium (no water is used as I live in a humid climate here in NC). I then have a large brooder from petiatric supply. This brooder keeps younger babies at a more constant temperature and reduces the amount of light. It has a place where you can plug a small light in if you want to (or an egg turner for incubating eggs).
Now, on to the yeast. Some of this may be controversial and I welcome comments. First, one thing we know about yeast: it loves moisture. So, I try to feed thicker formula and make sure each one empties its crop before the next feeding. If only a small amount is left in the crop, I would rather feed on top of it and massage the crop to mix it in. Do not overfeed a yeasty baby. This will only compound the issue. The mouth needs to swabbed out if there is yeast present in the mouth (it will most likely look stringy and white). I use small q-tips or swabs and swab out the mouth. I use a product called "Sparkle". It has a small amount of nolvasan in it. For those who are not comfortable with that, I would recommend maybe a very diluted apple cider vinegar and water mixture. I have used apple cider vinegar solution from time to time. I would not use bleach as it is too caustic for tender mouths.
Next is fighting the yeast. Small amounts of formula should be used. If you are normally feeding 12ccs by now, only feed 8cc's. This will help the crop. I use the following in my yeasty babies. Again, this is what I have found to work. If you believe your birds are compromised, please seek vet advice. I am NOT a vet!
China Prairie "SOAR"- spirulina based. Just a pinch will do. It has clay in it which has been proven to act as a protectant to the delicate crop lining. The spirulina may be helping boost the immune system.
"Undecyn" Found at www.wellvets.com. This helps make the environment unattractive to yeast. Dr. McCluggages site will tell you how much to give.
Remember, if the crop is not moving, you are in trouble. Yeast can sometimes be cause by secondary problems such as bacterial or overuse of medications. The parents should not be allowed to breed again and should be treated for yeast with western medications you can get from your vet. I would also check them for a bacterial infection.
Good luck! Yeast seems to infect cockatiels more than any other species I have worked with. I have never seen it in my parrotlets or lineolateds.
Related Articles:
Bacterial Diseases
Early Chick Mortality
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