# Will this behavior stop?



## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

Hi guys! So I posted a thread earlier about handraising my 3 weeks old baby cockatiel. He's doing really well and is now with my other cockatiel Lila. They seem to be getting along really well. 

He's now down to two servings of formula a day since he's 5 weeks old now. At first when I put him with Lila he wouldn't want anything to do with his formula but now he begs for it all day, it never stops! He was down to two feedings when I first put them together. I have food on the bottom of the cage and two other bowls attached to the cage for them. I'm just wondering if I'm doing anything wrong and if his screaming will pass? I'm ignoring him and after a while it seems to calm him down a bit but it starts all over again when I speak to anyone or move. My other cockatiel is as quiet as a mouse now. 

Thanks for any help!


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Are you sure you're not mistaking 'screaming' with crying?

_Weigh the baby daily to make sure s/he's getting enough nutrition and not losing weight. Chicks that are in the weaning process still need supplemental hand feedings or parent feedings. If a baby is crying and begging for food, hand feed it. A crying baby is a hungry baby. Babies will start rejecting the formula on their own when they are almost weaned. This is called abundance weaning. Cockatiels that are allowed to wean at their own pace are usually fully weaned by 10 weeks of age. Some babies can take up to 12 weeks. To be fully weaned, a baby must be eating entirely on its own for 2 weeks. Avoid forced weaning by depriving the chicks of food. Chicks that are forced to wean by 7-8 weeks of age will regress and revert back to begging for food, neck pumping while making a static sound. New bird owners will not recognize this a a sign of hunger and a need for food. When your chick starts to reject formula from hand feedings, you will know that the weaning process is almost over. It's normal for chicks that are almost weaned to regurgitate a small amount of food after being hand feed. This means that the crop is shrinking, which is also normal. _


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

Thank you SO much! That really helps! I thought handfeeding him more often now that he was on two meals a day would reverse everything. I guess not feeding him more is what could lead to problems.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

Oh and I have another question. When he begs (I'm sure it's not screaming, it's the noise he's done throughout his babyhood.) should I feed him everytime he does that until he starts lowering his begging amount by himself? And also, should I ignore his begging until he stops and then feed him, or not worry about ignoring the begging as long as it's not screaming?


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I would not worry about the begging, he will grow out of it. I would make sure you are feeding him enough but don't over feed him. One day you will find the static cry cute, when you hear baby tiels do it


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

How old is he now and how much formula are you giving him each time you feed him?

Feed him on the same schedule you were feeding him previously, make sure his crop is empty though, if there's still some formula in there leave it and wait until his crop is completely empty. Feed him until the crop is full and plump but not over extended. The baby will want food even after the crop fills up. If you continue feeding, the crop can stretch.

Also, I don't know if you know, but as the number of feedings decrease, the thickness of the formula that is fed should increase.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

He's 5 weeks old. When you say that the formula should increase in thickness how thick should it get?


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

The amount of formula per feeding is based on an individual chick's daily, AM weight. (This is only one of the reasons why a record of each baby's daily weight should be kept.) Chicks should be fed 10% of their body weight at each feeding each day. Example: If a chick weighs 80 grams this morning, 80 grams x .01 % = 8 mls, or 8ccs of mixed formula for each feeding today. If a chick is not eating the 8ccs of formula at each feeding you can calculate the total amount of formula required for this day and feed smaller portions but more frequently throughout the day. The total amount of formula for an 80 gram chick on 4 feedings a day would be 8ccs x 4 feedings a day = 32ccs for today's total. Feeding the chick slightly more than 6ccs of formula but with an additional 5th feeding would also add up to the total of 32ccs for today. 

When the chick is pulled from the nest box, the food should be the consistency of a creamed soup. As the chick gets older, the food gets thicker while the number of feedings a day decreases - right now the formula should be like cake batter.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

That's exactly what I've been doing  I guess this begging will go away as he gets older, he's eating seeds and pellets but I guess he's just a pig for his formula  Thanks for all the help guys! I'm going to stick with he regular feedings and keep ignoring him when he's yelling but won't bother to ignore him when he's begging since that should go away although I won't give him a bunch of attention for it.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

He'll wean at his own pace.. 3 Cockatiels I was hand-feeding took a bit, I was feeding them formula still though as well as seed, pellets and all sorts of veggies. 

But you're doing the right thing, continue doing that and everything will continue to go well!


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