# Eek! Wood Shavings!



## Joyful (Jun 26, 2013)

So today I went to go see the hand-fed cockatiel chicks that I am hoping to get. This is the first brood of chicks the lady has ever raised. She got the chicks from a friend and she is hand raising them until they all find homes. She said that her friend told her they were 2 weeks old, but my best estimation is that they are 10 to 12 days old. I fell in love with two of them almost immediately. My biggest concern is that she had them in a box lined with wood shavings. I mentioned to her that I did not think wood shavings were good for the chicks' lungs, but she insisted that they were. I am not sure what to do about this. I really want these two chicks and I want to make sure they have the best start possible. I would hand raise them myself if I could, but I work all day and wouldn't be able to feed them. I am thinking of going back by tomorrow and asking her if she would be willing to switch to a different lining if I paid for it. Is shredded paper safe for baby birds? What else would you recommend? 










Joy


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Wood shavings are fine, aspen wood shavings and pine wood shavings are a commonly used nesting material for captive cockatiels. Cedar wood shavings however, are not good for cockatiels because they are too aromatic for their sensitive respiratory systems.

Here is the thread on nesting material and nestboxes for more info, http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27688


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## Joyful (Jun 26, 2013)

Ok, well that's good to know about the wood shavings. Turns out that the problem solved itself. I went back today and she had switched to a processed paper based bedding, which she changes out a couple times a day. I feel better about that. It's softer too and won't accidentally poke their little eyes or anything.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Wood shavings are actually better than paper bedding, for eggs at least. I'm not sure that it makes any difference for hatched babies.

Sawdust is an inhalation/ingestion hazard and very fine wood shavings aren't great. But the wood shavings in the photo look OK to me. I always use aspen shavings in my nestboxes and haven't had any problems.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

They are so cute








I use pine wood shavings, those babies look like normal greys... I want them!


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## Joyful (Jun 26, 2013)

Thanks for reassuring me, everyone. 

Baruch, How can you tell they are normal greys? The little one in the front has yellow feathers growing on its crest and on its tail (you can't really see it in this photo but I went to see them again today and it is very obvious now). I would think that would mean he would have more white/yellow on hime. He also has pink feet. Does that happen with greys? I am new to the whole baby tiel thing so I'm only going off what I've been told. 

Joy


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

the little one i think might actually be a pied... but the photos are a bit too young to tell exactly what mutations they will be.


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## Joyful (Jun 26, 2013)

Ok. I am going to post another thread in the photos section with more pictures so that people can try to guess their mutations. I will post more pictures as they grow.

Back to the original topic though, I read somewhere that wood shavings and other bedding made of organic material, such as corn cob, harbor bacteria that can be harmful to cockatiels. This really scared me because I only found this out recently. I used to use corn cob litter (more like pellets) to line my last cockatiel's cage. He suffered from periodic bacterial infections and eventually died from it. I don't want this to happen again.

Joy


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## catalinadee (Jan 1, 2011)

Yes it is fine  I use it in my nest boxes!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> Back to the original topic though, I read somewhere that wood shavings and other bedding made of organic material, such as corn cob, harbor bacteria that can be harmful to cockatiels.


It's generally agreed that corn cob isn't good for anything, and that newspaper is a better cage liner than any kind of loose bedding. But a nestbox is a different situation than the bottom of the cage. The main bacteria risk in a cage comes from spillage of drinking water and fresh foods, which doesn't happen inside a nestbox. Wild cockatiels nest in tree holes which are likely to contain dead leaves and other organic material blown in by the wind, plus the male "improves" the nest by shredding up some wood in the doorway and interior. In effect, wild nests use wood shaving and similar materials for bedding.


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## mlew54 (Feb 27, 2013)

I use corn cob bedding in the box until the babies are about 2 weeks old and standing pretty much on their own.I then remove it and clean the bottom of the box and I do not replace with any litter. They start leaving the box by 4;weeks and I have plain paper lining the bottom of the cage. This is a newspaper without the ink. and this seems to work out fine. All the babies so far have been very healthy. I was always afraid the little ones would have a problem walking on the plain grates on the cage floor. And it also gives them something to destroy. lol


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## Joyful (Jun 26, 2013)

I guess that makes total sense. Cockatiels would have nothing but organic material to work with in the wild. Ok, so I feel better about it. The lady is using paper based bedding now. Is THAT going to be ok for the babies?


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## Rosalind g (Dec 7, 2020)

Joyful said:


> So today I went to go see the hand-fed cockatiel chicks that I am hoping to get. This is the first brood of chicks the lady has ever raised. She got the chicks from a friend and she is hand raising them until they all find homes. She said that her friend told her they were 2 weeks old, but my best estimation is that they are 10 to 12 days old. I fell in love with two of them almost immediately. My biggest concern is that she had them in a box lined with wood shavings. I mentioned to her that I did not think wood shavings were good for the chicks' lungs, but she insisted that they were. I am not sure what to do about this. I really want these two chicks and I want to make sure they have the best start possible. I would hand raise them myself if I could, but I work all day and wouldn't be able to feed them. I am thinking of going back by tomorrow and asking her if she would be willing to switch to a different lining if I paid for it. Is shredded paper safe for baby birds? What else would you recommend?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I hand raise Cockatiels I raised 90 last year and I don’t take my babies away from the parents until they’re three weeks old those babies she pulled are too little they need to have that bacteria from their parents a little longer and I also feed them four times a day and not during the night at three weeks old
I built a baby nursery last year to use for this year 10 x 16 it’s a complete kitchen with incubators and tanks that sit on heating pads controlled temperatures and I’ve been doing this for a lot of years but I just decided to start hand feeding a couple years ago
I have my nest boxes up right now and there’s eggs in them but they probably won’t be ready to start hand feeding till maybe the end of April or the first week in May because if you breed too early they’re too cold or the parents if they’re new they don’t do a good job so there’s all kinds of things that come into play on this I love my birds I have 20 pair that I’m breeding right now I don’t even breed my parents till the males are 18 months and the females two years old anyway if I was you I’d be doing some checking but I do use the the soft wood shavings in my nest boxes that’s OK


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## Rosalind g (Dec 7, 2020)

Rosalind g said:


> I hand raise Cockatiels I raised 90 last year and I don’t take my babies away from the parents until they’re three weeks old those babies she pulled are too little they need to have that bacteria from their parents a little longer and I also feed them four times a day and not during the night at three weeks old
> I built a baby nursery last year to use for this year 10 x 16 it’s a complete kitchen with incubators and tanks that sit on heating pads controlled temperatures and I’ve been doing this for a lot of years but I just decided to start hand feeding a couple years ago
> I have my nest boxes up right now and there’s eggs in them but they probably won’t be ready to start hand feeding till maybe the end of April or the first week in May because if you breed too early they’re too cold or the parents if they’re new they don’t do a good job so there’s all kinds of things that come into play on this I love my birds I have 20 pair that I’m breeding right now I don’t even breed my parents till the males are 18 months and the females two years old anyway if I was you I’d be doing some checking but I do use the the soft wood shavings in my nest boxes that’s OK


My name is Rozie Stout 209 6023680 
Any questions with your birds Maybe I can help


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