# Preventing stunted chicks this clutch



## type.rst (Oct 17, 2010)

Hello guys i have a aviary with 16 adult cockatiels. Last time i put nest boxes up the chicks suffered from stunted growth. I think this was due to the parents not eating much veg an fruits and they would mainly eat the seeds.

So i then took the nest boxes down and gave the teils fresh veg everyday at different parts of the aviary, now all the teils seem to love the veg an fruits an finish it all.

So now i have put the nest boxes back up. I really want to avoid this problem from happening again so is there anything else i can give them to feed the chicks when they hatch. Currently they have all sorts of mixed veg an fruits, cuttlefish, mineral blocks.

Are there any supplements i can add to their water when the eggs hatch? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Don't add supplements, what you really need is some pellets. Parents like to feed soft food to their babies, and pellets once sitting in the crop become soft food. The veggies are a good idea as well so keep that up. Other than that I know some people offer bread (whole wheat or multigrain) to their breeding pairs as well.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Pellets are excellent baby food - the parents drink water to soften them up. You can also provide soaked or sprouted seeds and grains, and can soak/sprout some of their regular birdseed. But be careful to avoid spoilage - there's a thread on sprouting at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=9019 You can also provide high-nutrition cooked foods and whole grain bread. 

Small amounts of cooked egg or egg food will be beneficial. For insectivore species egg food can be the primary source of chick food, but not for cockatiels. It's OK to give breeding birds a small amount every day, but don't go overboard with it. Non-breeding birds should be limited to once or twice a week. 

Ideally you teach your adult birds to eat these foods BEFORE they start nesting. It can take a while for birds to accept a new food, and they might not learn it in time for these babies to benefit.


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## type.rst (Oct 17, 2010)

Ok so shall i stop feeding the cockatiels seeds and give them pellets instead? 

Does any one here know a good brand or a supplier of cockatiel pellets in the united kingdom?

Thanks


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

No, please don't take away their seeds. They need to have food that they're familiar with, to avoid the risk of undereating and starvation, especially if they're breeding. Seeds are a normal and beneficial part of the diet anyway. The only problem with seeds is that there are some nutrients that they don't provide, so your birds need other foods in their diet that will supply the missing nutrients. There's an article on diet at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27479

It would be best to refrain from breeding them until they have learned to eat a more varied diet, including the soft foods that are best for babies. But if that just ain't gonna happen, at least start offering them the soft foods every day and hope that they learn to eat some of them before the babies hatch.


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