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

Insurance for you Pet

Here is an interesting article I found on Pet Insurance. I have never myself had pet insurance on any of my birds, but I always try to give education as to what is available out here. This was written by someone in insurance but I think it has some great thoughts.

Pet Insurance - A Waste Of Time? by: Michael Challiner

According to a survey published by Mintel, one in three pets needs an unexpected visit to the vet each year. This means that you are more likely to claim on your pet insurance than on a home & contents policy or even your car insurance.

The word “unexpected” is important here. If you are looking for pet insurance to provide cover for routine treatments such as vaccinations or worming, forget it – policies that do that are as rare as hens' teeth! And you won't find cover for elective treatments, such as neutering, either. This means that the most common reasons for visiting the vet are uninsurable.

But don't forget it's those unexpected visits that tend to be the expensive ones! Developments in animal care mean that more conditions can be effectively treated and costs of emergency care can be horrendous. A cat that argues with a car could cost £700, even more, to treat. After all, a series of X-rays could cost £400 and a MRI scan will put you back £1,000. If Buster the Bulldog tore a ligament that too can be treated – but the cost? Don't expect change from £1,500! This is serious money!

Having appreciated that most reasons for a visit to the vet are uninsurable, what do we get for our money?

Well, insurance plans largely fall into three types. The first restricts the value of the claim for each condition or event; the second limits the total annual payout and the third and cheapest option, limits the payout per condition and ceases cover after 12 months of treatment. Most will make a payout if you pet dies. And with all policies you will have to pay an excess on any claim, usually between £50 and £100.

And the cost? That depends on which type of policy you want, the excess you want to pay, the sort of pet you have, its breed, its age and even your post-code (vets charge more in Chelsea). But as a guide, an industry estimate suggests costs between £30 and £200 per year for a cat and between £50 to £500 for Buster.

The best advice is start the insurance when your pet is young. Most pets can be insured after they're 8 weeks old and you can then maintain the insurance over the course of its life. If your pet is in it's middle age when you want to start the insurance, say eight or nine for a dog, then it may be difficult to get worthwhile cover. This is because treatments for existing health conditions will be excluded from the cover and in any case, a new policy at that age gets expensive.

So how can you lower the premiums? Sometime insurers will give you a discount if you pet has been identity chipped and quantity discounts do prevail! Discounts are widely available for your second and subsequent insured pet.

Then there's always the Internet. The Internet is taking an increasing share of the insurance market and no wonder – its simple, quick and easy. What's more it's probably the cheapest avenue for all your insurance whether it be for your home, your car or pet.