The mate to my hen that is sitting on eggs is not himself at all. He is all puffed up and shaking. His poops are liquid and all white. Their eggs are supposed to hatch today. Could this be what is wrong. I am on the phone holding for the vet right now. I am so scared I don't want to lose him or her. Any ideas? I am afraid that she might be sick also. Because she has not came out this afternoon. They were fine this morning. He was flying around like normal in his cage. He is very agressive to the point that he leaves bruises. The vet doesn't want me to stress him out. I am leaving now to pick up some antibiotics.

Please pray that I don't lose them.

Good luck with it all.

Good luck. I hope they're ok.

Heres hoping they are just a little tired and stressed from brooding and sitting on the eggs. Fingers crossed for you.

Thinking of your little babies and sure hope everything is okay ruffles....

Keep us informed....

Praying everything is ok! Please try to update when you can......

He came out and drank a few minutes ago. He is puffed up so much he looks like he is huge. His eyes are not as wide as they normally are. Normally, he is really agressive, but I was able to put my hand in and almost touch him then he tried to bite me a flew to the perch.

The vet gave me Baytrel to give every 12 hours. My delimma. He is in the nest box with her. When he does come out and I try to catch him it will stress him and her. If I give him the antibiotic. I am supposed to pull him because he can't feed the babies when they hatch. I didn't intend on handfeeding from day 1. The lady I bought them from is as worried as I am. She is telling me to watch him a little longer and see if he gets to feeling better. What do you think?

This is what they had this morning.

a little white rice (normally I feed them brown rice)
15 bean mixture with peas and corn
fresh carrot slabs
Fresh celery sticks
Fresh broccili
a couple small pieces of cantaloupe
boiled egg
zucchini squash
a tiny piece of cucumber
a little blueberry
a couple pieces of sliced black olive (I so hope this didn't make him sick)

They are on Avi Science pellets also.

Advise please

Cathy

Sorry I can't help out but just wanted to say I hope that he will be okay.

Did the vet tell you to put some heat on him? Try putting him in a cage with 3 sides covered with a towel and put a lamp without the shade on it next to his cage if you don't have a heat lamp. Try to get his cage about 85 degrees on the inside if you can. You can try putting a bowl of very hot water near his cage too for humidity. Some people use heating pads under the cage but I haven't tried this. If you can confine him to a smaller cage, catching him to give him antibiotics won't be as difficult. Try to think possitive as at least he will be on baytril to help with any possible infection.
Best of luck to you and he. I know you are worried and we all love our babies and understand.
Tikileahsmom

Wow, I sure hope everyone is ok there. Wishing you the best.

I'm not sure how much help I can be. I am a breeder of Cockatiels, not Quakers.

I had to pull the male from the nestbox after he started plucking the babies. The hen did absolutely fine with feeding the chicks all on her own (and there were 4 babies to feed). She fed them herself for about 10 days until I pulled the babies for handfeeding (I pulled the babies at 3 weeks, which is okay for tiels, not sure I would do that for Quakers though).

I would *think* the hen would do fine with feeding them on her own, the problem with that is is that she might become stressed and harm or abandon the chicks. But, the other risk you take is leaving the male in the cage and he may pass his sickness onto the babies, which wouldn't be good at all.

I would PM Andie, she's an excellent breeder and may be able to offer some more advice.

Hope he is okay. I am not a professional but we did breed budgies, not quakers and it was the males job to feed the female so she could stay with the chicks. I am not sure if it is the same in the Quaker world?

Good Luck!

I am so hoping all will be well for you I am feeling so concerned after reading this just now! yes Andi or Connie as Carrie said are spot on! Best wishes with this....

I could be mistaken and it doesn't really matter at this point, but didn't you have a problem with them a couple of weeks ago or one of them? Maybe I am thinking of someone else....

Hoping everything is ok....

Yes, but that was another pair. She just had an allergy to the bedding in her nesting box. She is ok. She definately never looked or acted like this.

Thanks for your concern.

I sure hope he will be ok...one thing about Quakers is..they tend to destroy the eggs and or babies when there is too much interference. I sure hope all goes well..

I don't know anything about breeding but I do know about sick birdies as I have a little sicko on many occasions.

I really think you should try and get the male out of the cage and into a hospital tank. Keep him extra warm, you can put him in an aquarium with a heating pad underneath part of it. It is very likely that something you gave him may have been tainted with a bacteria of some sort. Try to really limit his food intake, keep it to pellets and simple foods such as squash which is easy to digest and helps the tummy. Lots of water and put either GSE or ACV into it.

Good luck, I sure hope he's OK

Reply about your possible sick bird.
Marvel Aid is a wonderful product! We give few drops every two weeks or so as maintenance to full strength depending. Birds easily drink if given a few drops in their water every couple weeks as maintenance. Full strength is really only for a for sure, sick bird, or a new quarentine. Give them only Marvel Aid until you are sure they have had some.
Be sure to have fresh food,water,vegies,fruits(apple is always good)whatever they want! (Give them everything possible and let them choose) grit ,clean cage,(although, not a good idea to try to clean a cage or nest box while on eggs.
A hen will stay on eggs, especially if eggs are close to hatching. Male will eventually, regurtitate food to the female and she in turn feeds the babies, for that reason I would NOT give (possible sick bird with hatchlings coming) anything other than Marvel-Aid.
Marvel Aid is a the magic cure-all for birds, large size is only about $8.00.
Hope this helps
Jacob

Where do I get Marvel Aid? Petco maybe. That is the only pet store around here.

Thank you!

The problem is is that the eggs are due to hatch any day now, and feeding will begin as soon as the first baby hatches. No medication, no matter how 'magic cure-all' it is, is going to get rid of his sickness in two days. There is still a high chance that the sickness will get passed onto the hen and/or the chicks.

I strongly recommend you following your vet's advice and remove the male from the cage to begin his treatment. While it may mean that you have to pull the chicks at day one (if the hen refuses to feed them) that is the chance you have to take and one of the responsibilities that comes along with breeding.

I understand and am thinking along the same lines. However, he is in the nest box and will not come out. I don't want to run them out. I peeked through the hole in the corner and he is sitting right beside her. He is awake and looked at me. I am hoping he just ate too much and has a tummy ache. I am watching closely. I put wax paper under their cage so that I can get a clear view of his poops. The breeder that I got them from said that in the past he has always right before the babies hatch ate like crazy and was always pacing ready for the next bowl of veggies. Do you think he may have ate too much?

Sure, Petco will usually stock the small bottles, getting some in their water ASAP,is what is important) Order online(if possible)have petco or local pet store/feed store order the Larger size is the best value. Keep in the fridge. Always start with a few drops/or many drops in fresh water,so your bird will drink it. Full strength they might not touch for too long a while or not at all. You have breeders that need exacting conditions,raising hatchlings can be hard on them. Any other meds I would be cautious because parents will soon be feeding hatchlings. Don't really want to be giving hatchling meds through feeding(regurgitation). More on your birds current situation exactly helps determine what else may be necessary. Even the slightest inkling that a bird may not be feeling well, they ALL get a few drops of marvel aid in their water.
Jacob

Give them everything they may need and leave them alone. Birds get really protective and private in the nest box,they know exactly when eggs will hatch.
Jacob

aww i hope your guy feels better soon, keep us updated

I hope all your babies will be fine soon.
Quakers do not need grit, according to my avian vet.

I wouldn't give anything other than what the vet recommended...
Hoping to hear good news soon,

Rebecca