Suddenly the weather started dropping from a hot 95 F to a more comfortable temperature and I promptly turned off the air conditioning in the aviary, opened the screened windows and turn on the aviary full-sized house exhaust fan to bring in the fresh cooler air. Before I realized it, a few hours later the temperature had dropped to 58 F and the aviary was cold. At that point I noticed a couple of Dumpy looking German Roller youngsters.
Both youngsters look short and wide with their feathers starting to fluff out. They were chilling and way too cold. So I turned off the exhaust fan and observed them.
Compare these two youngsters from the same nest. The one on the left looks normal but the one on the right is timid, shy, and dumpy!
Closer examination of the dumpy youngster revealed a sharp breast bone. The youngster is too thin. Thin birds chill easily, just like thin people. Birds fluff their feathers to keep warm.
So the two dumpy youngsters have been moved to an empty cage together. Immediately, one of the youngsters was happier and eating. The positive thing about this is that the chill in the room helped me find the thin chicks quicker before they were sickly.
Tip: When moving birds to a new cage, do not add them to an existing group where the new kid on the block is subject to harassment from the establishment. Rather move all you wanted to house together to a new cage setting to disrupt territorial problems.
Update: July 20, 2014 Dumpy birds are looking great. I gave them 1/2 tsp Avi-tech AviGain Supplement mixed in to their dish of cous cous, olive oil, poppy seed and Bird Supply of New Hampshire Belgian Nestling food.
Don't call us Dumpy any more!
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