# do i need to clean out my cockatiels nestbox



## Haimovfids

hi
my cockatiels are hatching soon
do i need to clean out the nest box
if so after how long do i clean it


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## xoxsarahxox

Cleaning the nestbox

"Don't do any cleaning or litter-changing during the incubation phase. The parents normally don't poop in the nestbox so it's not getting dirty. After the babies hatch you don't have to do any cleaning unless you want to - after all, cockatiel parents don't clean the nest. It's natural and normal for the babies to grow up surrounded by their own droppings, and this appears to boost their immune systems. But it's OK to periodically replace the dirty litter with clean litter if you want to, and maybe scrape some of the excess poop off the sides of the box. There's no need to wash the inside of the box, which would introduce extra moisture that might encourage the growth of unwanted microorganisms. You should thoroughly clean the nestbox when breeding is finished and you remove the nestbox from the cage."
From, http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27688


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## Haimovfids

xoxsarahxox said:


> Cleaning the nestbox
> 
> "Don't do any cleaning or litter-changing during the incubation phase. The parents normally don't poop in the nestbox so it's not getting dirty. After the babies hatch you don't have to do any cleaning unless you want to - after all, cockatiel parents don't clean the nest. It's natural and normal for the babies to grow up surrounded by their own droppings, and this appears to boost their immune systems. But it's OK to periodically replace the dirty litter with clean litter if you want to, and maybe scrape some of the excess poop off the sides of the box. There's no need to wash the inside of the box, which would introduce extra moisture that might encourage the growth of unwanted microorganisms. You should thoroughly clean the nestbox when breeding is finished and you remove the nestbox from the cage."
> From, http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27688


Thank you soo much!!!!!!:thumbu:


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## Debbie05

I pull my babies at about 2 to 2 half weeks old. I do not clean the nestbox. If I am not pulling the babies for handfeeding I will clean it after a couple weeks, depending how many chics they have. With just 1 it not as messy. More chics, more poop. lol Good luck.


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## Sendo

Baruch said:


> hi
> my cockatiels are hatching soon
> do i need to clean out the nest box
> if so after how long do i clean it


"The nest boxes need to be cleaned at least every other day. Depending on the number of chicks, the nesting box can get really dirty, potentially causing bacterial or fungal infections in the chicks." - http://www.avianweb.com/cockatielchicks.html


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## Sendo

xoxsarahxox said:


> Cleaning the nestbox
> 
> "Don't do any cleaning or litter-changing during the incubation phase. The parents normally don't poop in the nestbox so it's not getting dirty. After the babies hatch you don't have to do any cleaning unless you want to - after all, cockatiel parents don't clean the nest. *It's natural and normal for the babies to grow up surrounded by their own droppings, and this appears to boost their immune systems.* But it's OK to periodically replace the dirty litter with clean litter if you want to, and maybe scrape some of the excess poop off the sides of the box. There's no need to wash the inside of the box, which would introduce extra moisture that might encourage the growth of unwanted microorganisms. You should thoroughly clean the nestbox when breeding is finished and you remove the nestbox from the cage."
> From, http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27688


^Source?

The chick gets its immune system fortified from the food regurgitated by its parents.


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## bjknight93

Either way works. In the wild parent birds don't have their nests cleaned and babies live in their own filth until they fledge and leave the nest permanently. In captivity, us humans like things clean so we clean it for _*ourselves*_, not the birds. It is unneccessary to clean a nest box, but it looks and feels nicer to the human eye. Also, the chick my get some immuno-benefits from being parent fed, but it is even better for a chick to have its immune system further strengthened by its environment too.

The rest of this post is directed toward *Sendo*:

And the source is right there at the bottom. The original post was made by tielfan, an experienced breeder. I would not question their words.

Also, I'm not sure how you meant to sound..but your very short post sounded a little condescending to me. If you do not mean to be rude, please utilize the forum's smiley faces to change the tone of your post(s).


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## Sendo

bjknight93 said:


> Either way works. In the wild parent birds don't have their nests cleaned and babies live in their own filth until they fledge and leave the nest permanently. In captivity, us humans like things clean so we clean it for _*ourselves*_, not the birds. It is unneccessary to clean a nest box, but it looks and feels nicer to the human eye. Also, the chick my get some immuno-benefits from being parent fed, but it is even better for a chick to have its immune system further strengthened by its environment too.
> 
> And the source is right there at the bottom. The original post was made by tielfan, an experienced breeder. I would not question their words.
> 
> Also, I'm not sure how you meant to sound..but your very short post sounded a little condescending to me. If you do not mean to be rude, please utilize the forum's smiley faces to change the tone of your post(s).


Sorry, it's difficult to express one's tone in writing  plus I'm not a writer :blush:

All I'm saying healthy debate is useful, right? Whenever someone comes up with an idea or theory it is debated to shreds until the idea/theory becomes finalized. As Steve Jobs once said "think different" 

I still think white is white and poop is not healthy. Bad hygiene is just bad imo (she agrees with me http://www.cockatielcottage.net/breeding2.html)


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## bjknight93

Well..really and truly, bad hygiene sounds bad. But the way babies navigate a nest box makes it so that babies don't even live in their poop. Babies huddle in the center and when they need to use the restroom, they back to the outer edge of the box, poop, and then return to the middle. So bad nestbox hygiene doesn't mean that the birds are living in and on top of their own feces. 

I think it looks nasty to us, but it is very natural for the birds. 

Now I wouldn't agree with someone letting the cage just be covered in poop, because that is clearly unnatural. In the wild, birds don't poop in one spot where they live..so letting a cage be dirty and poop-covered wouldn't be right. But a dirty nestbox for 6 weeks is natural and won't hurt anyone.


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## bjknight93

Also, I'm not saying either way is wrong. I'm just saying that both ways are right.


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## Haimovfids

Thank you everyone
You guys helped me alot


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## tielfan

> And the source is right there at the bottom. The original post was made by tielfan, an experienced breeder. I would not question their words.


The REAL source of the immune-boosting comment was srtiels who has raised thousands of babies. I did the write-up but I defer to her knowledge on things like that. You'll notice that I said it appears to boost their immune systems, not that it's an absolute fact because I'm not 100% sure.

There's room to question whether the immune system is boosted or not, but it's indisputable that the parents do NOT clean out the nest and that wild cockatiel babies grow up surrounded by their own droppings. If a clean nest was important to their survival the parents would either have started cleaning it out thousands/millions of years ago, or the species would have gone extinct way back when. As a general rule, moderate exposure to germs helps build immunity so it's plausible that a dirty nest could be beneficial. The species is thriving so it's clearly not harmful.

BTW I do like to clean the nest approximately every other day starting when the oldest baby is about a week old. The birds don't mind the poop but I think it's nasty.


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## Sendo

Lucky bird poop doesn't smell  Cats and dogs on the other hand...


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