# My babies are hissing, pecking monsters !!



## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

My babies are 23,22,20,19 days old and still in the nest.
Yesterday and this morning they have attacked me when i open the lid of the box. Hissing and pecking lol 
They are fine when taken out of the box and we handle them constantly, i just dont like the initial welcome!!
Im seriously thinking of taking them out and starting to handfeed before it gets worse. Right now its just little taps from little beaks but that will change.
Advise?


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

You might just be startling them...you can try to tap a few times on the box before opening it so they know you're there.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

LOL....that is a normal reaction for that age  They are looking ferocious and the hissing and striking is to imitate a snake to scare off predators. They get over it as they get older. Any females will hiss and rock more than males.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Well i have 3 females possibly 4 so that figures!! So they will calm down then? 
Should i just leave them for now or would you recommend start handfeeding?
They are not startled, i usually tap and speak softly but as soon as i slowly open the lid there they are 4 hissing monsters. Its only takes one to start them all off!!
They are fine when i take them out , so darn sweet and gosh do they have long necks, they are so inquisitive!!


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Yes....they will calm down. Right now that is normal behavior, more so since they are females....having their little Hissy Fits. They feel it is their job to defend the nest while they are in it. I named the first baby that did that Hiss-Bite


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Oops...as to your main question....yes, they are all old enough to pull. At this age I start at 3 feedings a day.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Srtiels would you recommend i pull them? If i leave them longer is it harder to start handfeeding? What if i left them till they were 4 or 5 weeks and pulled them, you cant handfeed then? I notice that everyone seems to pull at 3 weeks, what is the reasoning behind that? I would personally like to pull and only have one handfeeding a day, is that not feasible?
Thanks


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## angelmommy24 (Nov 20, 2011)

I do hand feeding and let me tell you the 3 times a day is MUCH easier I say pull them  best of luck btw I love lutino I wish you were closer!!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

You can handfeed without pulling if you like - it's called co-parenting. You take the babies out once or twice a day for handfeeding and let the parents take care of them the rest of the time. If you do this, don't expect the babies to take as much formula as they would if you pulled them, because they won't have completely empty crops. It's helpful but not required to take the parents out of the breeding cage an hour or so before you want to handfeed so the babies have time to get a little bit hungrier.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

OK....if you want to leave them longer the main problem when pulling them is to get them to eat from a syringe at first. The remedy to this is to assist feed them just a little bit, so that they relate to the syringe and you as a source of food.

Or, if you want to pull at a later age such as when they might be of age for 1 feeding, handle them several times a day, assist feed a couple times a day....just a little bit. Wait till they fledge from the box. This usually happens around a month old. Keep millet in the cage for when they fledge. Usually daddy bird is the teacher when they fledge to show them how to peck and eat. After a week or so of this then pull them for the one feeding. Note: the crop will have shrunk by them so you would just be feeding 5-6cc max per feeding.

I have a funny story on my Slick when he was perfecting his Daddy skills. When his first baby fledged he would race over to the bowl and start pecking. If the baby wasn't watching him he would chirp to get it's attention and then back to pecking/eating at the bowl. Most babies catch on to this and try to mimic the parents. Noodles, his first son was slow on the uptake, and Slick was not known for having alot of patience. When Noodles didn't catch on to going to the feed bowl Slick would shove him over. Noodles would stand there just looking around when Slick tried to show him to put his beak in the bowl. Finally Slick just walked over to Noodles, lifted up his foot and shoved and held down Noodles head in the bowl. He had to do this a couple times before Noodles got the idea.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

That is a FUNNY story! 

I don't have any experiences to compare with that. I co-parent/assist feed my babies, and I put them in a carrier to take them to the table where I do it. The carrier has millet spray and pellets sprinkled on the floor, and the babies play with this stuff while they wait for their turn. They learn enough on their own that their father doesn't have to make a big point of showing them what to do.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Ahh now i get it, it has to do with the syringe and getting used to it!!
I think im making it too complicated for myself, im trying to preplan.
I have a new cage arriving soon, so thinking of doing everything at one time, new cage, removing nestbox (after they have sat on eggs a while, one more egg due tonight) and removing babies.
That is such a cute story srtiels, i think that would be so fun to watch, dad teaching his children how to eat !!
This whole experience has been amazing !!
Angelmommy wish you lived closer too, they are really adorable!


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*That is a FUNNY story!*

Slick was a character. He was one of the first babies in 1994. He had a buddy that he weaned out and hung out with named Chopper. Chopper was a little smarter and a ladies name and at breeding age took to it like a pro. Slick on the other hand was slow on the uptake and I had to actually put him on a soliciting hens back to encourage him to mate  Finally Hanna got him interested enough to set them up. He did great incubating and a good feeder when the babies hatched out. By the time the babies were 10 days old I noticed that he (had blood on his beak) was p0lucking and beating on the babies, and was so brutal one died. I was heartbroken about the baby and that my favorite bird was a baby abuser and baby killer. Then I started noticing that when I looked into the nest and touched the babies he would look me in the eye, glare and yank out a mouthful of pinfeathers! I realized since he was a pet, and had such a fragile male ego, that he was jealous of the attention given to the babies. If I talked to and petted him first he would then be aq model parent. Go figure...


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*i think that would be so fun to watch, dad teaching his children how to eat !!*
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What is interesting to watch is when the pairs are in a colony situation flight and a baby fledges. ALL the birds will keep an eye on it when it fledges. If the baby winds up on the ground an adult will fly down and stand near it as a 'Spotter/locator bird' until the parents come to it. Even single males will jump right in and feed a begging fledgling if the parents are busy.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Slik sounds quite the character, do you still have him?
Yes breeding has been amazing to watch, im tempted to get a large aviary, its so addictive. Must say though after seeing that photo of a prolapsed uterus and the story behind it i realise i have been very lucky and only had minimal plucking to contend with. There is so much to learn and im so thankful for this forum


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Slick earned the name because he reminded me of a used car salesman, whith that would I lie to you look to the eye, and that snarky smiling curve to his beak.

In the old days I had converted a room in the house into a walk-in aviary. The door to the room was held closed by a hook and eye. I would have Slick out and when he wanted to go back in the room, if I didn't see him, he would fly to the door, lift the hook, wedge his toe in the door frame and open the door. The only thing he didn't know how to do was close the door. I'd come back and find just Slick in the flight looking smug, and all 60 other tiels out flying thru the house.

I was that famous toe that got him in Trouble. By then I had ALOT of tiels and breeding pairs, so most of the cages was outside. Slick used that toe to jimmy the nestbox door up and flew off before I knew what happened, and I never saw him again. A few of his sons, and his brother Pork-Chop also use their toes to...

As to the prolapse I am working on a bunch of illustrations of various reproductive problems, eggs etc, to make as a Sticky thread as reference. The bad thing about prolapse is that it can happen to any hen, any age, even first time layers. So I'll write on how to prevent most problems.


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