# First time babies for them and me!



## JGross (Feb 19, 2013)

I am looking for some general information about baby cockatiels. I have a pair of cockatiels that have recently laid and hatched 4 babies. This is my first time having babies and the first time my cockatiels have had babies. 

(Sort of a funny story.... we bought the cockatiels about 3 1/2 years ago and they are COMPLETELY white, head to toe so we weren't sure of the sex. We were told they were both boys..... well..... needless to say we have one male and one female! But I still have NO CLUE which is which.)

The oldest baby is 15 days today, the youngest is, I think 10 days. Mom and dad are doing a great job feeding and taking care of them. My husband and I work full time so I do not want to hand feed them but I just don't know what I should be doing or what to expect next. 

The parents are very tame and friendly. I have been checking on the babies and mom and dad are ok with it. They do not get to worried when I am around the cage or the nesting box. 

So my questions are...
Do I need to be cleaning out the nesting box regularly? Its getting pretty bad. I have cleaned it a bit and mom and dad didn't seem to bothered by that but I didn't know if I should be cleaning it and how often.

When should I start handling them so they are friendly and hand tame. I don't want mom and dad to reject them if I touch them.

What are my next steps, what should I expect to see or do??? I have been doing alot of reading about it but I just want to make sure I am doing the right things.

Thank you for your help.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

It wouldn't be bad to change the nest
I don't think the parents will reject the babies
Here is a thred about cleaning the nest 
Hope I helped
http://www.talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=37430


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## Country Tiels (Feb 20, 2013)

I would clean out the nest box at least once a day. I clean my nest boxes 3 times a day until they're pulled at 2 weeks old. I would start handling them around 2 weeks old. Always wash and sanitize your hands before handling the babies. The parents will not reject the babies. The parents know what to do so you shouldn't have to do much of anything except keep an eye on them and help keep them clean.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Country Tiels said:


> I would clean out the nest box at least once a day. I clean my nest boxes 3 times a day until they're pulled at 2 weeks old. I would start handling them around 2 weeks old. Always wash and sanitize your hands before handling the babies. The parents will not reject the babies. The parents know what to do so you shouldn't have to do much of anything except keep an eye on them and help keep them clean.


Don't you think once a day is too much
I think Every other day will be fine

On the second page here
http://www.talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=37430
Tielfan said that she cleans out her nest every other day


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## dshiro2012 (Feb 4, 2013)

Cleaning depends on how much YOU can stand the smell. lol, The thought of the babies laying in their own feces is pretty disturbing but the parents won't do anything about it. But then again you don't want them to get infected, or allow bacteria to grow. 

This is a good thread. I'm still waiting for my new tiels to mate (of course they've done it before) so we can have some babies in here.


As for bonding, I find co-parenting sounds pretty interesting! It's where you feed the chicks morning and evening (once in the morning, once at night) and let the parents do the rest. They won't disown the babies or abandon them if you touch them, and may be perfectly fine with you feeding them a little as well. This is great because they get the essential nutrition they need from mom and dad, but get the benefit of becoming tame and trusting from being fed and handled by you as well. =] I was planning on pulling the chicks at around 10 days - 4 weeks, but then someone on here told me about co-parenting and I think it sounds even better!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Cleaning the nest is optional. Wild cockatiel parents don't do it so it's natural for the babies to grow up surrounded by their own droppings. There's a small section on cleaning in the nestbox sticky at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27688

Don't worry, your nice tame parents won't reject the babies because you touched them. Even untame parents don't do that. There's not much point in handling the babies before their eyes open, but any time after that is good. Warning, they will hate you at first! They know that you're not their mom or dad. This is what their "get lost" cry sounds like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcMKZtr4NeM

You can take the babies out one at a time for handling or you can take all of them at once. The sight of an empty nestbox will alarm the parents though, so if you take all the babies you should take the parents out of the breeding cage first so they won't see the empty nest.


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## JGross (Feb 19, 2013)

Thank you for everyone's suggestions. Here is a pic of mom and dad and the babies today!


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## Lavasliltiels (Nov 3, 2012)

Beautiful Babies!!! I always wanted a all white cockatiel, where are you located? Good luck with your raising of your tiels I find it so much fun, all develope such unique personalities. More pictures as they grow would be great.


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