My foster baby birds are suffering from splay legs and weird poop. (1 Viewer)

Tanya22 · Aug 12, 2020

Good evening!

I have recently been fostering 2 baby egrets (I think they are egrets. not sure) who were found on the road. I was planning on releasing them in the wild once they grew up. But now they both seemed to have developed splay legs issue. They also have weird yellowish poop which I've heard is a sign of sickness and never seen before in a bird. They generally have green or brown poop.

They eat eggs and fish and are drinking water just fine.

I have started to give them supplements for the past 5 days as suggested (Vitamin D3 with calcium and cod liver fish oil) to me. That did bring some improvement but the two aren't moving.

Their legs aren't paralysed that much I've checked. They move around and change position. But movement is difficult for them because their legs are very weak. They collapsed with their legs jutting out completely backwards.

I'm stumped as to what to do and very worried.

KC Foggin · Aug 12, 2020

Is there a wildlife rehabilitation center anywhere near you? That would be your best alternative for these juvies.

Hi there and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum :t:

We're glad you found us and please join in wherever you like and please keep us updated on their behavior

delia todd · Aug 12, 2020

Hi Tanya and a warm welcome from me too.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I hope to hear about all the birds you see when out and about.

Tanya22 · Aug 12, 2020

Thank you so much for the warm welcome!

I'm actually trying to find a place for them, but unfortunately in our area there doesn't seem to be any avian specialists. I have been advised by many to keep them with me until they recover and then release them in the wild.

Until them if someone could please please guide me about their splay leg and abnormal poop issue, I would be so grateful. I cannot bear watching these babies getting more sick.

Borjam · Aug 12, 2020

What is their diet? I guess they don’t just consume fish but also crustaceans such as shrimp and crayfish. I have seen several species of ardeids consuming crayfish.

How do they eat fish? Is it clean pieces or whole fishes?

Do they get unfiltered sunlight? If I am not wrong, birds need some UV radiation like many other animals (including us!). And glass filters out UV radiation.

Tanya22 · Aug 12, 2020

Borjam said:
What is their diet? I guess they don

Their diet consists of boiled/scrambled eggs and since yesterday I've also started to feed them fish.

Along with that I have been giving them a vitamins course for the past 5 days (Calcium and VItamin D3 + Cod liver oil).

KC Foggin · Aug 12, 2020

According to a google search:

"Their diet is mainly fish, but amphibians, small reptiles, mammals and birds are also eaten, as well as crustaceans, molluscs, insects, spiders and worms."

Borjam · Aug 12, 2020

Sorry, the bloody Tapatalk program broke most of my message. I have edited it with more information.

Borjam · Aug 12, 2020

So, snails as well, I am sure whole snails and shrimps will provide a lot of calcium (shells and exoskeletons).

Of course I would feed all of this raw. If you are worried about parasites (although I guess a parasite jumping from a seawater shrimp to a bird is really unlikely) the standard practice at public aquaria is to freeze the food and keep it frozen for a week. Raw of course, and make sure to thaw it properly before feeding.

Tanya22 · Aug 12, 2020

Borjam said:
What is their diet? I guess they don’t just consume fish but also crustaceans such as shrimp and crayfish. I have seen several species of ardeids consuming crayfish.

How do they eat fish? Is it clean pieces or whole fishes?

Do they get unfiltered sunlight? If I am not wrong, birds need some UV radiation like many other animals (including us!). And glass filters out UV radiation.

I have started to give them fish since yesterday only since before that I was told to give them only boiled eggs.

I have bought frozen fish fillets and give it to them raw after it has thawed. I clean it with water and chop it into bite sizes.

They do get unfiltered sunlight. I keep the glass windows open, so that the sun rays fall properly. Their room gets a patch of sunlight daily for about 2 hours during the afternoon and they both used to love sitting in it. These days since they are unable to walk, I put them in the light after giving them calcium and lunch.

Should I crush up some eggshells and feed it to them for extra calcium? I used to buy seashell grit for my hen and can arrange that if needed.

Borjam · Aug 12, 2020

Try some smallish land snails, maybe crushing them if they can’t swallow them whole.

As for fish, as soon as they can swallow it whole, anchovies or other small similarly sized fish would be surely good. And I guess the spines and guts will provide important nutrients as well.

I remember when my father was sick several years ago, the doctor recommended canned small sardines we use to eat in Spain, which include spines.

Tanya22 · Aug 12, 2020

Borjam said:
Try some smallish land snails, maybe crushing them if they can’t swallow them whole.

As for fish, as soon as they can swallow it whole, anchovies or other small similarly sized fish would be surely good. And I guess the spines and guts will provide important nutrients as well.

I remember when my father was sick several years ago, the doctor recommended canned small sardines we use to eat in Spain, which include spines.

I will surely try to find anchovies online.

I don't know if I can get snails in my area. Is eggshells for now okay?

Borjam · Aug 13, 2020

Tanya22 said:
I will surely try to find anchovies online.

I don't know if I can get snails in my area. Is eggshells for now okay?

Oh ny apologies. Are you in India? A assumed UK.

Snails, I mean common land snails. Anchovies there, I doubt it and you would need to buy them fresh. So, sorry, bad advice for your location!

Any small fish they can swallow whole would work anyway, just replicating their natural diet.

Maybe a substitute would be some tadpoles if you can locate them?

dantheman · Aug 13, 2020

As Borjam says is would be good to get some whole food into them - ideally small fish but probably some crustacean type things possibly too (for variety I guess even some land insects such as locusts etc). Just egg or just fish fillets probably won't provide the minerals (including calcium), oils etc that they need in this important growing phase.

Tanya22 · Aug 13, 2020

dantheman said:
As Borjam says is would be good to get some whole food into them - ideally small fish but probably some crustacean type things possibly too (for variety I guess even some land insects such as locusts etc). Just egg or just fish fillets probably won't provide the minerals (including calcium), oils etc that they need in this important growing phase.

I'm trying to find whatever I can for these babies. Right now I've found some dried anchovies online, but are they old enough to eat it? They are barely 2 months old from my guess. When I started to foster them a month ago, they had fluff on their backs still and hardly any feathers. Now their wings have also grown bigger and they have started to sprout white and brown feathers.

Tanya22 · Aug 13, 2020

Borjam said:
Oh ny apologies. Are you in India? A assumed UK.

Snails, I mean common land snails. Anchovies there, I doubt it and you would need to buy them fresh. So, sorry, bad advice for your location!

Any small fish they can swallow whole would work anyway, just replicating their natural diet.

Maybe a substitute would be some tadpoles if you can locate them?

No issues at all. Yes, I live in North India. I tried to find anchovies, and they are available on amazon, but they are dried anchovies. Will that do?

Borjam · Aug 13, 2020

Tanya22 said:
No issues at all. Yes, I live in North India. I tried to find anchovies, and they are available on amazon, but they are dried anchovies. Will that do?

No, I don’t think dried anchovies will do. I would say, any small fish they can swallow whole, and of course raw. But any processed fish, if just only cleaned, might not be enough. The internal organs and skeleton have important nutrients as far as I know and I am pretty sure the birds will need them.

What about some frozen shrimp or crayfish? Maybe you have a river nearby where you can find some crayfish?

Or maybe you can collect tadpoles from a nearby water body. Beware local regulations though.

Another option would be, as I said, land snails. Probably you can collect them. As I said, give them the whole snail, shell included, and squash them if they are too large.

Also, if you give them eggs, I would try them raw and I would include the eggshell.

More ideas: can you ask a vet about possibly suitable pet food which might be easy to obtain? Some people breed insects for reptile lovers. For example grasshoppers, cockroaches and crickets. They would be suitable I think. If there is a lack of calcium you can put some calcium supplement on them, it’s a white powder. A friend who kept a chameleon did that.

And what about, maybe, some kinda wet cat food suitable for young cats? I would ask a vet of course.

In short:

- Raw. Freezing and thawing is not only acceptable, but it makes them safer against parasites.

- Whole but the right size so that the birds can even swallow (and digest) bones.

As the very worst case maybe you could make some food paste mixing fish, fish eggs, some calcium supplement and maybe a bit of fruit to add more vitamins. But you must find someone with experience in that regard. Maybe talk to a zoo? Many have real experts on this.

Tanya22 · Aug 13, 2020

Borjam said:
No, I don’t think dried anchovies will do. I would say, any small fish they can swallow whole, and of course raw. But any processed fish, if just only cleaned, might not be enough. The internal organs and skeleton have important nutrients as far as I know and I am pretty sure the birds will need them.

What about some frozen shrimp or crayfish? Maybe you have a river nearby where you can find some crayfish?

Or maybe you can collect tadpoles from a nearby water body. Beware local regulations though.

Another option would be, as I said, land snails. Probably you can collect them. As I said, give them the whole snail, shell included, and squash them if they are too large.

Also, if you give them eggs, I would try them raw and I would include the eggshell.

More ideas: can you ask a vet about possibly suitable pet food which might be easy to obtain? Some people breed insects for reptile lovers. For example grasshoppers, cockroaches and crickets. They would be suitable I think. If there is a lack of calcium you can put some calcium supplement on them, it’s a white powder. A friend who kept a chameleon did that.

And what about, maybe, some kinda wet cat food suitable for young cats? I would ask a vet of course.

In short:

- Raw. Freezing and thawing is not only acceptable, but it makes them safer against parasites.

- Whole but the right size so that the birds can even swallow (and digest) bones.

As the very worst case maybe you could make some food paste mixing fish, fish eggs, some calcium supplement and maybe a bit of fruit to add more vitamins. But you must find someone with experience in that regard. Maybe talk to a zoo? Many have real experts on this.

I can try to find frozen shrimp! Maybe it will be available somewhere online.

As for calcium, I am actually giving them Calcium tablets which also have Vitamin D3 in them for the past 6 days. A person guided me to start this course and include fish oil capsules as well. I crush half a tablet for each baby and mix it in some water. Then I give that to them through dropper after lunch. I have noticed slight improvement in them after this.

Also, how about seashell grit? Is that good for them? I used to get it for my hen since they have a very high requirement of calcium.

I was actually wondering if they could have fruit! I have a rooster and he loves eating fruits. I have access to Bananas, Apples, Mangoes, Pomegranates and dry fruits like almonds and cashews. Are these okay to give?

I am going to the vet tomorrow for X-rays and will ask them more about food for them. Thank you so much!

Borjam · Aug 13, 2020

Tanya22 said:
I can try to find frozen shrimp! Maybe it will be available somewhere online.

I forgot: if you have access to aquarium stores that stock food suitable for marine aquaria probably you can buy frozen krill.

For frozen shrimp, remember: whole shrimp (avoid those without exoskeleton or head) and and better if it's not cooked.

As for calcium, I am actually giving them Calcium tablets which also have Vitamin D3 in them for the past 6 days. A person guided me to start this course and include fish oil capsules as well. I crush half a tablet for each baby and mix it in some water. Then I give that to them through dropper after lunch. I have noticed slight improvement in them after this.

Awesome.

Also, how about seashell grit? Is that good for them? I used to get it for my hen since they have a very high requirement of calcium.

I was actually wondering if they could have fruit! I have a rooster and he loves eating fruits. I have access to Bananas, Apples, Mangoes, Pomegranates and dry fruits like almonds and cashews. Are these okay to give?

I would make sure to break it into very small pieces to make it easier to dissolve them. Land snails are safe molluscs because the shells are pretty thin. But marine molluscs have really thick shells that may be a problem. They must be able to dissolve them in their stomach.

Several years ago I attended a course on marine aquarium husbandry at a zoo. As I mentioned before, sometimes they make food for the animals and it's not rare to "hide" in a mix ingredients they wouldn't eat naturally (like fruit and some vegetables) but which can add some needed vitamins.

Of course not everything fits. I would avoid carbohydrates and I guess that fruit should be a very small part of the diet if any.

I am going to the vet tomorrow for X-rays and will ask them more about food for them. Thank you so much!

Anyway I am not a vet nor anything of the sort, so better to cross check any of this advice with someone who is actually qualified!

dantheman · Aug 13, 2020

2 months is pretty old. The parents would have been bringing them live whole food for quite a while already presumably.

Talking of food for pets - things like mice and chicks as people feed to reptiles also another option, but imagine hard to get and not worth extra effort. But think any smallish whole fish, cheap from market if available would be good - chop up into smaller bits if too big, but include heads etc. Plus any insects (presumably more available for human consumption cheaply in India? Just avoid anything spicy or salted of course. If dried presume soak for a bit to soften first? What you're trying to do is replicate the natural diet the parents would be providing, which would include various prey items.

My foster baby birds are suffering from splay legs and weird poop. (1 Viewer)

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