# I need and answer I think i know



## BuddyD (Jun 4, 2009)

Remember the new clutch I mentioned In "I Guess I am getting Cenile" Well the pair started out sitting like nothing I have ever seen. Then when the weather cleared up ( rain stopped0 i took the cages outside for some Sunshine VitaminD. 

Since that time Sweetie the Mom has spent less and less time in the box . the first egg was laid somewhere between the 1 and 2 so with 21 days being allowed today we should have seen SOMETHING. But Nothing . I got very hopefull when i candled the eggs. the no.1 seemed tohave some growth like specks onit which I have seen just before Peeping. Only nothing yet.

When I tried to candle , ireally didn't have the best setup But again th eNo, 1 was very Opaque and the light could hardly illuminate it. I could see what looked like shillouets of embryos in 2 and 4 But 3 was completly Clear.

Question does it sound as i belive that Sweetie i sgiving up on ths clutch? I plan to let them saty in the box until the end of the month or the beginning of the next. 

still another troubling sign is when ever BOTH Parent birds are out the box ( double trouble-it is too close to be colling the eggs ) and another observation is Sweetie is getting bit more affectionate to Drago.

Do you think they gave up for some reason tiels can tell and we can't and are getting ready to try again?

BUDDYD


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

If the eggs are pretty far along then you may be worrying for nothing. Once they get past about the 2nd week of gestation (after day 14) then the developing chicks inside are more resilient to longer periods of cool down and the parents may leave the nest for longer periods of time to eat, drink, preen, and whatnot. As long as they are going back to the eggs after a while I would probably just leave them be. As much as you want to intervene, I would just leave them alone until they completely stop sitting on the eggs. Give it a day or two and see how things go. 

It could be possible that the chick inside egg #1 has died late in gestation. If you don't see any movement, or the egg doesn't hatch within the next couple of days then I'd say it is DIS (dead in shell). It may appear opaque if the chick is pretty far along, but unless you are seeing some kind of movement then it may be dead. When a chick is close to hatching, the air cell will tilt to one side and the chick will be seen breaking through the membrane into the air cell. After this occurs, the chick will hatch in 24-48 hours or so if no complications arise (i.e. low humidity, malpositioned chick, etc.) 

Don't dispose of the eggs until the parents have abandoned them completely, because this will just cause the hen to lay a new clutch to replace the one she lost. If the parents do end up abandoning the eggs and the embryos are still alive, put them in an incubator if you have one or give them to another pair (if you have another one setting on eggs).

Good luck!!


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## BuddyD (Jun 4, 2009)

*And the saga goes on*

This afternoon when we had toleave the house both parents wher in the Box. Then when we returned home around 4 Pm they where bothout and My wife who hasn't looked since the eggs wher laid wanted to see . This is difficult for her since the box is near the top of the cage and we need to climb a foot stool to peer in. When i help her she said one egg was pushed aside by itself and another seemed to have a HOLE in it. 

So I naturally Looked . I didn't want to distrub the 3 with which the one egg that had a tiny hole in it lay . And worse all the NUMBERS where on the bottom . So i looked at the outcast and sure enough it was no. 3 that was shoved way to the wallunder some pine shavings and I could see PINK through the tiny 1/8 inch chips. So from what I have seen previously when Parentshelp thepeeling is much more extensive and no PINK so I left well enough alone and will look again and/ or tommorrow.

But my hope is the PEEPING has begun and it is No,1. But atleast they still have the Non clear eggs all together. Can't hatching from the intial Peep take from 24 - 48 hours?


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## BuddyD (Jun 4, 2009)

*Now I must admit I am getting nervous*

Ilooked again and the peep hole is ever so slightly larger but no Chick. Then as my son was in the laudry room and all was quiet for a change he could hear tiny chriping eminenting from the Box with both parents outside. 

So i too a look and while nothing much had changed HOLEWISE I too could hear the Chickinside the egg chripping. When i closed the lid Drago the dad came to peak inside. But I am now worried since I have never witnessed hatching from the first peep . I am concerned thatmaybe the chick isn't strong enough to make it onit;s own. But I have never heard a tiny little chick stillin side it's egg calling.

So I'll look in the morning and pray for now.


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Ok I have just typed this section word for word from my Cockatiel book, I hope it helps.

After the initial pip in most trouble free-hatches, a chick emerges within 48 hours.
If the chick takes longer to emerge, you should watch closely for signs of difficulty. Hatching difficulties are more likely to occur in hot dry weather, because the internal membrane of the egg dries out. Hens regularly walk into their water dish in order to transport moisture to the nest, in very dry conditions she may not be able to maintain the humidity at the required level. This lack of moisture will also cause the internal membrane to dry out and the chick will be unable to rotate freely to complete chipping out of the egg. If you suspect that piping eggs are drying out you can moisten them morning and night with a clean cotton ball and warm water, boiled water.

Chicks that have taken a long time to emerge or have been assisted in hatching are often dehydrated and weak and have little chance of survival if they remain with the parents. It is best to remove them for hand rearing for 24-48 hours until they are strong enough to be fed properly by their parents. When they can hold their head up to beg for food they can be safely returned to the nest. After hatching all chicks should be observed in the evening and for the next few days to ensure they are strong enough to survive. No matter how good the parents are they can do little to help a chick that is unable to hold its head up to feed.
If a chick has some of the yolk sac still attached to the body after hatching, remove the chick immediately for hand rearing. Do not pull at or remove any of the yolk sac. Instead, treat the area gently with a cotton bud and Betadine solution several times a day. In many cases, if the chick is kept on a clean soft surface such as facial tissues and infection is avoided, the yolk sac will eventually dry up and fall off.
Many people believe that weak chicks should not be assisted to survive. However, if chicks are weak only because of environmental factors in the nest then it is a waste to let these chicks die. Assisted chicks that were experiencing difficulty can grow into exceptional adults.


Good luck with the chicks

Jenny


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## BuddyD (Jun 4, 2009)

*Update*

FIRST THANK BOTH OF YOU.

Next this morning the hole has gotten ever so slightly larger and when i took a Q-tip and some water in to moisten the egg I noticed the Chick had gotten more mobile and there was a developing crack starting to emanating from the hole and going around the cell end of the egg.

So I decided not to moisten the egg for now. i have a bit more confidence in the chicks ability to do it on it's own. Maybe it was just resting from the big inital effort. I will check during the day to see if my inept assitance is neede , but for now Mom and dad seem to check and they seem satisfied. so maybe I am am just a nervous Foster parent.

Speaking about concerned relatives. I have two siblings ina cage over the one with the nest attached, one is spending a lot of time on the upper cage floor peering through the bottom to try to look in the Nest. I have long suspected that even though the Tiel in question ch rips a lot and has been seen in Photos and to all seems to be a male , I can't help but at times wonder if DEUCE 9 the Chick in question ) is one of those hard to gender FEMALES? Deuce sure is tome showing some strong Motherly curiosities . But then Drago the dad has always been a very caring parent and at times a better brooder than his mates.


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## BuddyD (Jun 4, 2009)

*We have a chick*

Right after writeing my last post I took another Look and there was this TINY squirming little thing in the middle of the cluster of remaining eggs. 

I managed to lift it up to show my wife and while Frail and very tiny it seemed to be able to move around very well.

So I added some soft food stuffs to the cage so Mom and Dad could find what the chick needed / wanted.

LOL


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Congratulations on the new baby! 


Also, some male cockatiels tend to have stronger maternal instincts than females. I have known of people hatching an egg from an incubator and fostering a chick to a single male cockatiel to let him take care of and raise! My cockatiel Sadie flew to the shelf where I had some fake plastic eggs sitting there and started arranging them ever so gently so that he could sit on them! lol


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## BuddyD (Jun 4, 2009)

*Took another look*

I actually have checked on the little guy about 2 X a day. But I just look and he is moveing arond just fine . abit wabbly but very animated. So i decide eto take a closer look at number 2. and Yep there is some tiny pit marks like the ones I first saw on No.1.

So i suspect that the time frame is a bit extended. This No.1 hatched in about 23-24 days as opposed to 21 . so i guess Mom andDad delayed things a bit and I guess No. 2 may hatch around around the 27 or 28 . Maybe ?????

I have eggs hatcch in 16 days and most in about 21 like clock work But Mom and dad know best . Of that I have been proven many times.


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

If the parents didn't incubate the eggs for a few hours at a time close to the end of gestation, this will delay the hatch. The developing chicks won't die from chilling if the parents stayed away from the nest too long, but their development will be delayed. Once the developing embryo gets past the 2nd week, they can tolerate longer periods of cool down because they can maintain their own body temperature inside the egg to a certain extent. On several occasions we have had an incubator full of eggs, all at different ages of gestation and the electricity went out. We have a large cabinet style incubator so it holds 300 eggs at a time and we can have up to 4-5 different clutches of eggs incubating all together. Anyway, on one occasion in particular the electicity stayed off for like 5 hours! Our newest clutches (a week or under) suffered somewhat, but the older clutches (2 weeks +) all hatched out as anticiptated. They were a tad late, but the hatch rate still stayed pretty high. Mind you, this is chicken and turkey eggs I am talking about but I imagine a cockatiel egg isn't any different.


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## BuddyD (Jun 4, 2009)

*And then there were 2*

Took my evening look and there were @ chicks. yep No2 hatched this evening. No.2 sure had it a lot more easier than No.1. No1 peep for a day and a half. No 2 had a slight rough spot on th eegg yesterday and today Hello world.

I truly think parnet Teils can count and know what us going on inside their eggs with out candling . I am wondering if my parents slowed own No.1 to come closer to the others. But No4 will still be as much as 3-4 days from now. But then maybe Mom and dad changed that also.

BTW they have shived No. 3 back in the cluster and now hav eme guessing if I know how to candle?LOL

When i did see the 2 chicks together No 1 sure looks much bigger than No2 but then it should it is TWICE as old isn't it. LOL


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Baby cockatiels will almost double in weight overnight when they are first born!! I know it seems unbelievable how fast they grow!! My first baby hatched today and it seems so tiny, but I know it will be a little pig in a couple of days!! Mom and dad have already been feeding it! It is such a hungry little thing!


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## BuddyD (Jun 4, 2009)

*When Parents are feeding Newborns*

Do you change / add any special foods for the parents to gather for baby feedings? Mine have always like when I put a piece of Multigrain Bread in the Cage and I also add some Organic Spring mix salad greens along with an occasional sprig of white Millet and I keep the water dish full. I felt those where soft foods that could easily-be handled by tiny newborns. 

Do you agree and/ what do you supplement Feeding Parents feed with?


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## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

That sounds wonderful! If your birds eat those foods then by all means give them all they can eat! lol

My whiteface pair have a dish of food that has a seed mix in it, then a separate dish for pellets. I also hang a piece millet spray on the side of the cage and offer broccoli, wheat crackers and bread, things like that. They also get a peanut butter cracker as a treat once a week! I wuv my birdies!!

My gray pair are a bunch of SEED JUNKIES!! They WILL NOT eat anything but their seed no matter what I give them! I have even withheld their seed for a day to see what they would do and no... they wouldn't touch anything else. The people that had them before me didn't offer a variety of foods for them. 

Sounds like you are doing everything right. Keep up the good work!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> BTW they have shived No. 3 back in the cluster and now hav eme guessing if I know how to candle?LOL


I don't know much about breeding because I'm just a beginner but isn't it true that infertile eggs are used as a good heat source to keep the others warm? At least, that's what I was told, to leave the infertile ones there to keep the others warm. Maybe that's why they moved it back to the others...


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