Emu chick weight

[Gallimimus]

Hi, all
I am hoping to get some answers on how much emu chicks weigh at different ages.
The chick I have seems to be losing weight. I have no idea why, and I am getting worried. He was 3 weeks old on the 21st Here are the weights I have recorded

April 23rd, before bed time. 2.71lbs

April 24th in the am. 2.89lbs

April 24th before bed 3.22lbs

April 25th about an hour ago. 1.53lbs (Weighed him again right after he ate some food) Weight was 2.09lbs

Obviously a BIG drop. Perhaps my scale was not doing its job properly, I need to weigh him again later. I have noticed every morning he feels lighter/different. Is this what they normally do as they get taller (Feel a little different, not lose weight)? I have no clue what I am doing wrong. He has food out 24/7. Nutrena 18% Chick starter (Non medicated) Mixed with 20% DuMor chick starter per breeders advice. He is also getting lots of greens daily. Kale, cabbage are out free choice, and other greens are given throughout the day. He eats the food for about 1- 2 minutes at a time every 30 minutes-3 hours or so. He does seem to sneeze/fling his food when he eats it and has been a slow eater since day one. He eats greens and grass a lot though. He just feels so different from when I got him on the 19th. He has been acting pretty normal otherwise. Doing his spazzy dance. Running around, attacking and hissing at any bird that dares land anywhere in his sight. Chasing chicks and ducklings, following the goats for hours pecking at their ears, and being a pretty normal emu. He did seem a bit slower than usual this morning though. He held his head to his body and stood there with his eyes closed even when I touched him/nudged him with my hands. What am I doing wrong? I don't want anything to happen to this little guy! Thank you for any and all help.

 

[Kalifornsky]

Things to check:
-Consistency of the poop. If the solids and whites are separated, it's a sign something is wrong. Undigested bits/chunks of fiber are also unusual.
-Energy levels. Is he sleeping more than usual? A sick bird won't have as much energy.
-Physical check. Are his nose or eyes runny? Is the vent clean?
-Behavior check. Is he coughing/sneezing or acting like something else is bothering him? Eating/drinking normally? Is his peck strength strong/normal?

Losing weight that much is a bit concerning, usually they "grow overnight," they sprout so quickly. Since he's interacting with the outside birds/world he might've picked up parasites. Something to consider.

 

[Gallimimus]

Have you made sure all the weight recordings are correct? I don’t have emu so I have no idea...
And I don’t know if anybody I know has emu..
Uh.. just make sure they are correct, maybe weigh him one more time?

I believe they are. Not sure why I got the first weight of 1lb. I weighed him 2 more times. Both time I got 2.09lbs Still very low.

 

[Gallimimus]

I took some 1lb weights, can of beans, and some quarters to make sure it wasn't the scale. Everything was the exact weight it should be. So the scale is fine, I think.

 

[FluffTheDuck]

I mean I would be concerned if my emu was losing weight but like I said I’m not an emu owner.. pics of the emu? I MIGHT be able to tell if it’s sick..?

 

[Gallimimus]

I definitely am concerned. This is my first emu. I know it is normal to lose some weight over night from just digesting. He sleeps most the night and rarely touches his food at night. But losing that much weight does not seem normal. I'm just not sure what I am doing wrong, or if it might be not as bad as I think.

Here are some pictures from just now. Please excuse the awful, dirty room. He likes to dump the food on the ground and then spill his water onto it to it makes a cakey, dirty mess. It's early and I haven't taken him outside to cleaned the room today.

Side view from today

Side view from yesterday

Top view from just now, and side view.

 

[Kalifornsky]

I'll throw out my worry because it happened to a baby of mine (probably 2-3 weeks): He got infected with giardia, a protozoa that killed him so quickly we didn't have a chance to do anything. It's incredibly persistent/durable in the environment, because the next baby got infected as well but we treated it in time (took him + droppings to a walk-in and was prescribed Albon suspension for possible infection and Panacur for the parasite) and he recovered fine.

Symptoms were stinky/bubbly poop that had the whites separated, slept way more than usual. I think blood started showing up in the droppings close to the end, and he began to throw up his food and had trouble breathing. It was a horrible way to die, so just want to get the info out in case it could help save another.

Dark poop + undigested bits I've seen in stressed birds, so maybe you're right in thinking he ate something that didn't agree with him. I hope worming will help your baby and he starts gaining normally! They eat a ton so I don't think there are bloat concerns. I've had adults get some form of sour crop, in which case you can smell their breath and you can tell. That's treated with mineral oil and massaging their lower neck/chest (technically emus don't have a crop, but they can still get really awful sour crop-like breath).

When everything's functioning normally they're poop machines! Glad to hear he's eating fine. It's a good idea to track his weight

 

[FluffTheDuck]

Have you made sure all the weight recordings are correct? I don’t have emu so I have no idea...
And I don’t know if anybody I know has emu..
Uh.. just make sure they are correct, maybe weigh him one more time?

 

[FluffTheDuck]

Doesn’t look sick to me

 

[FluffTheDuck]

Did you hatch (sorry if I don’t remember) or buy? How old is he? (Ugh I don’t remember?)