Young Birds Fluffed Up All The Time

[Newbie2020]

I let my birds out last night. They flew for an hour and trapped well I fed them as much as they could eat. This afternoon on going to the loft they are still choca block with food. One was being sick on the perch. The droppings look perfect and the birds looked ok. Is this normal or should the food have gone through there systems by now? The bird being sick concerned me. Is this the start of young bird sickness or just a result of stupidly overfeeding?

[JohnQuinn]

You'll know better the morra, don't put anything down for them today. They should all have empty crops by morning, if not i'd say you have a problem. Someone else will have to advise you on YBS as i've no experience of it.

[gulkie]

i think ur worrying needlessly ur birds seem fit enough when they

fly for an hour and are eating .i take it their wattles are clean ,

and as u say their droppings are good most of the time,stop looking

for illnesses.

wullie g

[Guest stb-]

do you have trees or hedges close to your loft , because mines do that with midges as they bite there legs and feet they even bite me in the loft last thing at night when theres a big hatch on, the birds ruffle and stamp to get them off

[Guest redlad24]

a oz a day is plenty enough mate, i give mine gerry plus have 50 ,let them out at at half 5 feed them 20 oz at half 6 then 30 oz in evening after exercise, all birds are gone tro the trap in 20-30 secs, u have to control them not them controlling you

[Guest BRYANBROCK]

I think you might have ventilation problem not enough maybe too much draughts getting in where birds perch ??????

[geordie1234]

mines always sit and pick after there meal and fluff up and ly down i thought it was them just relaxing after training and eating

[Guest Owen]

I would get the birds tested with a microscope. It is not good enough to allow the Vet to do it once as they usually do. You need to have them tested after you have treated them. You would be surprised how often birds will carry diseases like cocci after you have treated them. Hair worm can be very hard to shift. I know of cases where birds have had to be treated three times to get them clear of hair worm. If I were you I would work through the the various checks so that you will know for sure that things are OK.

One thing to take into account is, that while the birds are under stress from training cocci, and to a lesser extent, canker counts will rise. I have tested birds for cocci on a Sunday morning and found the count high. The same birds have been tested on the following Wednesday, without having been treated, and the count has dropped right down.

At the moment, I have found that a lot of the birds I have tested have a very high bacterial activity. I am not able to identify the bacteria involved, only a culture at a Lab would do that, but it is a clear indication that the birds could go down with YBS if they are given too much pressure.

One last thing, birds that work hard at exercise and training often get heated up and will sit about with their feathers fluffed out to cool down. This will happen in this very hot weather and is perfectly natural. A good indication of how things are is by you listening. There should be a contant level of noise from the cocks. I always worry if things go too quiet because that can be a sign of trouble to come.