# New cockatiel



## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

I have had birds before but never hand fed one. We got one yesterday and she still needs to be hand fed for a week or 2. She is 11 to 12 weeks old. I was confident and fed the bird once before i left with her but after looking up online i am now terrified. Also, since i brought her home she will not move in the cage or eat or drink. Is this normal?









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## mohum (Sep 5, 2014)

It is normal not to move or eat for a day or so. I am surprised she still needs hand feeding at that age. I would suggest holding some millet spray near the bird and maybe some budgie seed nearby. Gentle talking without scaring her should encourage her to explore her surroundings.


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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

mohum said:


> It is normal not to move or eat for a day or so. I am surprised she still needs hand feeding at that age. I would suggest holding some millet spray near the bird and maybe some budgie seed nearby. Gentle talking without scaring her should encourage her to explore her surroundings.


Thank you. I was suprised after reading up. She bit me when i tried to hand feed this am. She was scared and only ate 2 ml
She has picked at the millet a little and ate some pellet from my hand. I call them fruity pebbles. They look like them lol. I have not seen her drink. She will eat out of my hand. 

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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

It's very rare to see a tiiel drink, especially one that is settling in. As long as you are getting some formula into her, she is probably getting enough water.


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## EllenD (Oct 9, 2016)

I would make sure she always has a dish of water, a dish of whatever food her breeder was weaning her onto, and sprays of millet at her access. You need to try to keep track of what she is eating as far as solid food, and how much. At her age she should be right at the time when she really is only taking one feeding a day as a comfort feeding, usually at night, sometimes in the morning as well. If she only took 2ml this morning that's a good thing as long as she's eating her solid food on her own. Comfort feedings are just that, they are just very small formula feedings to make her feel good, not really her main form of getting food. If you're only giving her 2 hand feedings a day, I'd try to eliminate the morning feeding, make sure she always has food, water, and millet, and watch to see how much she eats. Sometimes you have to do that tiny hand feeding of a ml or two before they'll go and eat a bunch of their solid food. It's all about finding out where she is at in the process, which is difficult when she goes to a new home and is in that transition phase where she won't eat or move. That will pass, you should see her moving around her cage and eating her solid food in a day or two. In the meantime, offer her the hand feedings, give her what she'll take, and keep track of what she eats. Ideally she'll quickly get down to one comfort feeding at night and that's it, and quickly she will refuse that feeding as well. If she nipped at you when you tried to hand feed her in the morning, then she's probably getting ready to wean and get off the formula...Just be careful, go slowly, don't force any formula if she doesn't want it. You want to make sure you don't aspirate her, that's the scary part, but at her age it should be pretty easy, as she will take what she wants and stop when she wants. If you're using a syringe just go very slowly with pushing the formula, go with the rhythm of her head/beak/swallowing motions. Go in from her left side (your right) and aim the syringe at the back of her throat on her right side (your left) over her tongue and across to her right throat. She's probably OK with even just using a spoon, just measure the formula in the syringe (make sure your temp is correct, between 105-110 degrees, no hotter or you'll burn her crop), and then squirt the formula into a spoon. I find if I tip the spoon down slightly into their beak they just gulp it right off the end, that is definitely less scary, less chance of problems, again just go slow.

I wish breeders/stores didn't sell unweaned birds, it's scary for the poor owner if they've never done it before, and it's irresponsible on their part...Just my opinion as a prior breeder... 

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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

EllenD said:


> I would make sure she always has a dish of water, a dish of whatever food her breeder was weaning her onto, and sprays of millet at her access. You need to try to keep track of what she is eating as far as solid food, and how much. At her age she should be right at the time when she really is only taking one feeding a day as a comfort feeding, usually at night, sometimes in the morning as well. If she only took 2ml this morning that's a good thing as long as she's eating her solid food on her own. Comfort feedings are just that, they are just very small formula feedings to make her feel good, not really her main form of getting food. If you're only giving her 2 hand feedings a day, I'd try to eliminate the morning feeding, make sure she always has food, water, and millet, and watch to see how much she eats. Sometimes you have to do that tiny hand feeding of a ml or two before they'll go and eat a bunch of their solid food. It's all about finding out where she is at in the process, which is difficult when she goes to a new home and is in that transition phase where she won't eat or move. That will pass, you should see her moving around her cage and eating her solid food in a day or two. In the meantime, offer her the hand feedings, give her what she'll take, and keep track of what she eats. Ideally she'll quickly get down to one comfort feeding at night and that's it, and quickly she will refuse that feeding as well. If she nipped at you when you tried to hand feed her in the morning, then she's probably getting ready to wean and get off the formula...Just be careful, go slowly, don't force any formula if she doesn't want it. You want to make sure you don't aspirate her, that's the scary part, but at her age it should be pretty easy, as she will take what she wants and stop when she wants. If you're using a syringe just go very slowly with pushing the formula, go with the rhythm of her head/beak/swallowing motions. Go in from her left side (your right) and aim the syringe at the back of her throat on her right side (your left) over her tongue and across to her right throat. She's probably OK with even just using a spoon, just measure the formula in the syringe (make sure your temp is correct, between 105-110 degrees, no hotter or you'll burn her crop), and then squirt the formula into a spoon. I find if I tip the spoon down slightly into their beak they just gulp it right off the end, that is definitely less scary, less chance of problems, again just go slow.
> 
> I wish breeders/stores didn't sell unweaned birds, it's scary for the poor owner if they've never done it before, and it's irresponsible on their part...Just my opinion as a prior breeder...
> 
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After learning more..i agree it is irresponsible. She made it sound like no big deal..easy peasy. She told me to feed her 3 times a day. I fed her at 230 and she ate 8.5 ml then she ate some millet. 

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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

She ate 5 ml. I placed her food and water at bottom of cage. Shes having a hard time climbing

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## EllenD (Oct 9, 2016)

Ok, so she is eating quite a bit of formula then. Just make sure she always has fresh food, water, and millet, and I'd offer her formula first thing in the morning and then at night for dinner. Keep track of how much formula she's eating and when, and then how much solid food she's eating. Like I said, you can use a spoon instead of a syringe or a pipette if you're more comfortable with it. At her age she should be close to weaned, some birds do take longer than others, but she should be down to one feeding a day very soon, refusing the other one. Then she'll just be taking a little bit at night, for comfort, and then she'll just refuse it completely...

Is she flying yet? I'm hoping she is at least fully fledged. If her wings are clipped that should hopefully mean that she fledged and then the breeder clipped them. It should not be long, a week, maybe two at the most until she's weaned. The more solid food you can get her to eat now the better. I'd also be introducing fresh veggies and fruits now too, otherwise it can be harder to get them to eat them.

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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> After learning more..i agree it is irresponsible. She made it sound like no big deal..easy peasy. She told me to feed her 3 times a day. I fed her at 230 and she ate 8.5 ml then she ate some millet.


Hmm, that is a bit more than a bird her age should be getting. Did the breeder happen to mention why she wasn't weaned yet? I never had to solely hand feed any of my babies but most were weaned by 8 weeks old.


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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

roxy culver said:


> Hmm, that is a bit more than a bird her age should be getting. Did the breeder happen to mention why she wasn't weaned yet? I never had to solely hand feed any of my babies but most were weaned by 8 weeks old.


She did not say she acted as if it was normal and told me she had a week or 2 left but told me she was 12 weeks

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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

EllenD said:


> Ok, so she is eating quite a bit of formula then. Just make sure she always has fresh food, water, and millet, and I'd offer her formula first thing in the morning and then at night for dinner. Keep track of how much formula she's eating and when, and then how much solid food she's eating. Like I said, you can use a spoon instead of a syringe or a pipette if you're more comfortable with it. At her age she should be close to weaned, some birds do take longer than others, but she should be down to one feeding a day very soon, refusing the other one. Then she'll just be taking a little bit at night, for comfort, and then she'll just refuse it completely...
> 
> Is she flying yet? I'm hoping she is at least fully fledged. If her wings are clipped that should hopefully mean that she fledged and then the breeder clipped them. It should not be long, a week, maybe two at the most until she's weaned. The more solid food you can get her to eat now the better. I'd also be introducing fresh veggies and fruits now too, otherwise it can be harder to get them to eat them.
> 
> Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


She has already had her wings clipped but i suspect incorrectly..unless she is just a strong flyer. She flew about 20 ft across my house

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## EllenD (Oct 9, 2016)

Well I agree that something is not quite right, most cockatiels are weaned by 7-8 weeks. I'm glad she knows how to fly, but it's odd that she fledged but is still not weaned at 12 weeks.

What do you mean she is "having trouble climbing"? You should not have to move a healthy, 12-week old cockatiel's dishes to the bottom of her cage. That's a strong indicator that something is very wrong.

Has she been to her avian vet yet? Do you have an avian vet yet? She should go for a well-birdy checkup anyway in the first few weeks, so I'd almost insist you take her ASAP, something may very well be wrong health wise. How are her droppings? How about her energy level and mood?

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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

It's not normal to have a 12 week old still getting three feeds a day. Most are down to one at that point if they're still feeding. 

That is actually a good clip. You don't clip to stop them from flying, to clip to prevent them from gaining height. You never want to totally ground a tiel.

I second the vet visit. At this age she should be able to climb around the cage and get to the food bowls herself. Eating and staying at the bottom of a cage is a sign of illness in tiels. Foraging at the bottom is different than just staying there.


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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

EllenD said:


> Well I agree that something is not quite right, most cockatiels are weaned by 7-8 weeks. I'm glad she knows how to fly, but it's odd that she fledged but is still not weaned at 12 weeks.
> 
> What do you mean she is "having trouble climbing"? You should not have to move a healthy, 12-week old cockatiel's dishes to the bottom of her cage. That's a strong indicator that something is very wrong.
> 
> ...


Her droppings look good. Maybe im not giving her the chance to climb. Ive been kinda hovering. Plus we are only on day 2 so shes pretty much not moving in her cage. Little better today. She chirped a bit. She really isnt eating as much as the lady told me to give her so i think weaning is near. She seems very healthy. I may be underestimating her abilities because she doesn't want to do it. She took 5 ml last night and 4 this morning. Ate a bit of millets and pellets. I moved her bowls back where they belong and left pellets in dish on floor

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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

roxy culver said:


> It's not normal to have a 12 week old still getting three feeds a day. Most are down to one at that point if they're still feeding.
> 
> That is actually a good clip. You don't clip to stop them from flying, to clip to prevent them from gaining height. You never want to totally ground a tiel.
> 
> I second the vet visit. At this age she should be able to climb around the cage and get to the food bowls herself. Eating and staying at the bottom of a cage is a sign of illness in tiels. Foraging at the bottom is different than just staying there.


Also she is not staying at bottom she is on a perch she just hardly moves. 

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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

EllenD said:


> Well I agree that something is not quite right, most cockatiels are weaned by 7-8 weeks. I'm glad she knows how to fly, but it's odd that she fledged but is still not weaned at 12 weeks.
> 
> What do you mean she is "having trouble climbing"? You should not have to move a healthy, 12-week old cockatiel's dishes to the bottom of her cage. That's a strong indicator that something is very wrong.
> 
> ...


So she can climb some but i realize why its so hard all the bars on the cage are vertical. More challenging for her

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## EllenD (Oct 9, 2016)

While it's common for a new bird of any age to be nervous, not eat, and not be very active when they first arrive to a new home, something just seems very, very wrong here and I can't quite figure it out. Obviously a 12 week old cockatiel should have been weaned long ago, they are pretty much the same as budgies when it comes to the weaning/fledging timeline, and most are refusing all hand feedings and completely weaned by 7-8 weeks. Some may take a week or two longer, but 12 weeks is just way too old, and in my experience it's a strong indication that something isn't quite right. It also makes me feel like the breeder knew/knows there is a problem and most likely was glad to get rid of the 12 week old baby that won't wean...If I end up being wrong about this then I apologize, but better to question it (safe than sorry) than to have tragedy strike.

Do you know how many babies were in your bird's clutch? Were there other babies from her clutch left at the breeder's place, or just your baby? If there were any other babies left and you got to see them, were the others weaned? Did they look much larger than your baby? How did you find this breeder? Do you know her well or know other people that have gotten babies from her? Did she give you a health guarantee or a vet certificate with your baby?

I'm just trying to gather as much info as possible and think of all possible scenarios I've seen myself with either buying/adopting my own birds, or with the birds I actually have bred and hand-raised/hand-fed myself.

Did the breeder give you formula powder and pipettes, etc. or did you have to go out and buy formula, i.e. are you using the same formula the breeder used? As stated above, 3 feedings at 12 weeks is just too much. You may not understand how off this is because you're not familiar with hand-raising baby cockatiels or budgies, but since others of us are we know how wrong this seems. If most babies are completely fledged and weaned by 7-8 weeks (I'm even being generous here, my budgies and cockatiels were often weaned at week 6), then you can see how off 3 feedings per day at 12 weeks is...3 feedings a day should be going on at week 4-5. (Again there are definitely variations and slow-weaners, but not this slow). 

Could you try to get a few photos of your baby for us to see? Like some close ups of her crop, preferably right after you do her a hand-feeding? With a full crop we may better see any issues, though I'm not used To a feathered baby still hand feeding. Just try to get some close up pics of her face, beak and cere/nostrils, eyes, feet, and just general feathers and body. Sometimes something will actually stick out, you never know.

Her droppings should be firm, and should have a dark brown/very dark green firm part and then a white part which are the urates. If they are ever watery, weird colors (specifically red or black, which indicates internal bleeding), bright green and runny, or have chunks of stuff or undigested food, there is something wrong. Constant puffed-up feathers, constant sleeping, being constantly lethargic, staying on the bottom of the cage, not eating or drinking, being unsteady on perches, leaning to one side, holding their wings away from their body and panting/holding their beak open for long periods of time, these are just some of the signs something is wrong. Even a baby bird or an adult bird in a brand new home should not just be sitting in one spot and not moving at all after a day or two, and certainly not be on the cage bottom like this. Watch her carefully, the not moving, not climbing, and just sitting motionless for 2-3 days now is a worry. Try to answer these questions and get those pics as soon as you can. 

Just so you know why we're all very concerned and so you don't think we're overreacting (I don't know how much you know about the behaviors of birds so I'm covering everything I can), all birds instinctively hide illness and injury and do everything they can to not show that they are sick or in pain. In the wild birds are flock creatures and are also prey animals. If a wild bird in a flock shows signs of being sick or injured this can put the entire flock in danger of being preyed upon by predator animals, and the sick or injured bird will be left behind by their flock, and possibly attacked and even killed by them. It also makes that individual bird a target for predators, as they think a sick or injured bird will be easy to catch. These instincts stay with all birds, even captive bred birds. So by the time most birds actually show any little outward sign of being sick or in pain, the illness is typically very advanced or they've had the injury for quite a long time. Even owners that rush their birds to the avian vet the second that they first see a sign of illness, it's very often too late to save the bird and the bird dies. So being very observant and looking for any little action or behavior that is even a little off is part of catching illness early enough to help the bird and save it's life. Respiratory and sinus infections are probably the most common illnesses that birds suffer from and die from, and when one baby in a clutch is sick with a contagious infection (most are contagious unless it is a genetic illness), you can bet that every other baby and adult bird near that sick baby has also contracted the infection. So that's why I'm asking for as much info about your baby's breeder and siblings as you can give. We actually had a member that got an Indian Ringneck baby from a breeder last month and unfortunately the breeder was totally unethical and did not care one bit that his baby started showing signs of serious illness a few days after he brought the bird home (meaning the baby contracted the very contagious adenovirus it was diagnosed with long before he brought it home). It was quite obvious the baby had contracted the serious illness while at the breeder's home and most likely all the babies and adult birds in the breeders home had the same illness and needed to go to the avian vet immediately for either prophylactic antibiotics or more likely treatment for active infections. The breeder lied, saying all her birds were fine and his bird got sick after he picked the baby up, which she knew was not possible. This totally kind and committed member had his baby bird to 3 different avian vets in the first few weeks after bringing it home, with absolutely no financial help from the breeder or any concern from the breeder at all. He spent a fortune doing everything he could, but his baby died in just a couple weeks after bringing it home. The breeder didn't care and wouldn't show any concern for the other buyers that she sold other sick babies to. She only cared about money and didn't want to have people trying to bring the babies back for a refund or wanting vet reimbursement. I'm sadly certain other babies in that clutch also died, as well as her own breeders (though she probably took her own birds to the vet). So you just never know what you're getting, as we already talked about with selling an unweaned baby to a buyer with no hand-feeding experience, many breeders are very unscrupulous and only care about making money. 

You also have to understand that every day your baby spent at the breeder's home cost that breeder money. When you breed birds and are only concerned about profit, you ideally want the babies weaned and fledged as soon as possible and as young as possible, and want them sold and gone as young as possible. This is why more and more unscrupulous breeders are selling unweaned babies to buyers that have absolutely no experience at all with hand-feeding, hand-raising, fledging, clipping wings, etc., and they also don't have the correct equipment, supplements, medications, or most importantly knowledge of certain common issues that arise when you are hand-feeding baby birds that can be potentially fatal if not properly taken care of, such as slow crop, crop infections (like yeast infections), crop stasis, respiratory infections, impactions, weight gain issues, etc. It's not their problem once the baby is gone and they've been paid. I very rarely made a profit when I bred cockatiels, but I did it because I enjoyed it, it was therapeutic for me, and it was wonderful being able to provide kids with a baby cockatiel that was hand-raised and hand-fed from 2-3 weeks old and had been to the certified avian vet twice before going HOME, and the result was a healthy, tame, loving baby cockatiel that kids could immediately handle, pet, and bond with for life, rather than buying a kid a bird from Petco or PetSmart that was mass-bred in a bird mill, never saw a human until it was packed into a crate and put on a truck to go to the pet store, and was absolutely terrified of anyone and everyone that got anywhere near it. Most young kids will not take the months and months it takes to tame one of these birds, and they usually never bond with the bird and it ends up in a rescue, or sold over and over again on Craigslist...

So we all want to help you out and help your baby out, and being overly concerned is better than the alternative.

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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I wonder if the breeder told you the right age for this bird. Provide some millet spray for her to eat - it's one of the first things fledglings learn to eat so she should be able to handle it pretty well. 

Hanging up millet spray in an easy to reach location is also great for frightened birds in a new home no matter what their age is. They'll usually be nervous, but they can nibble on the millet spray and watch for danger at the same time. They don't have to let their guard down to stick their head in an unfamiliar food cup. 

Covering the cage on three sides can also be very helpful. They'll only have to watch for danger in one direction.


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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

EllenD said:


> While it's common for a new bird of any age to be nervous, not eat, and not be very active when they first arrive to a new home, something just seems very, very wrong here and I can't quite figure it out. Obviously a 12 week old cockatiel should have been weaned long ago, they are pretty much the same as budgies when it comes to the weaning/fledging timeline, and most are refusing all hand feedings and completely weaned by 7-8 weeks. Some may take a week or two longer, but 12 weeks is just way too old, and in my experience it's a strong indication that something isn't quite right. It also makes me feel like the breeder knew/knows there is a problem and most likely was glad to get rid of the 12 week old baby that won't wean...If I end up being wrong about this then I apologize, but better to question it (safe than sorry) than to have tragedy strike.
> 
> Do you know how many babies were in your bird's clutch? Were there other babies from her clutch left at the breeder's place, or just your baby? If there were any other babies left and you got to see them, were the others weaned? Did they look much larger than your baby? How did you find this breeder? Do you know her well or know other people that have gotten babies from her? Did she give you a health guarantee or a vet certificate with your baby?
> 
> ...


Ok i have to read the rest of your post later but to answer your first part. She was the only one left...she gave me powdered formula and syringe some pellet stuff that looks like fruity peebles and cockatiel sees mix. She is now perching and climbing on the cage. She has ate. Millet and some of pellet mix. I have not fed her yet this evening. She only took 4 ml this morn of formula









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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

EllenD said:


> While it's common for a new bird of any age to be nervous, not eat, and not be very active when they first arrive to a new home, something just seems very, very wrong here and I can't quite figure it out. Obviously a 12 week old cockatiel should have been weaned long ago, they are pretty much the same as budgies when it comes to the weaning/fledging timeline, and most are refusing all hand feedings and completely weaned by 7-8 weeks. Some may take a week or two longer, but 12 weeks is just way too old, and in my experience it's a strong indication that something isn't quite right. It also makes me feel like the breeder knew/knows there is a problem and most likely was glad to get rid of the 12 week old baby that won't wean...If I end up being wrong about this then I apologize, but better to question it (safe than sorry) than to have tragedy strike.
> 
> Do you know how many babies were in your bird's clutch? Were there other babies from her clutch left at the breeder's place, or just your baby? If there were any other babies left and you got to see them, were the others weaned? Did they look much larger than your baby? How did you find this breeder? Do you know her well or know other people that have gotten babies from her? Did she give you a health guarantee or a vet certificate with your baby?
> 
> ...


Ok she is moving more today and climbing a little. Its only day 2 today. Her stool is brown with little white no undigested food. She does not stay puffed up and shes been up most of the day. Do they eat a lot of seed throughout the day? Shes ate a few bites of millet and a little pellets.. She mainly only wants to eat when i hold it for her

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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

EllenD said:


> While it's common for a new bird of any age to be nervous, not eat, and not be very active when they first arrive to a new home, something just seems very, very wrong here and I can't quite figure it out. Obviously a 12 week old cockatiel should have been weaned long ago, they are pretty much the same as budgies when it comes to the weaning/fledging timeline, and most are refusing all hand feedings and completely weaned by 7-8 weeks. Some may take a week or two longer, but 12 weeks is just way too old, and in my experience it's a strong indication that something isn't quite right. It also makes me feel like the breeder knew/knows there is a problem and most likely was glad to get rid of the 12 week old baby that won't wean...If I end up being wrong about this then I apologize, but better to question it (safe than sorry) than to have tragedy strike.
> 
> Do you know how many babies were in your bird's clutch? Were there other babies from her clutch left at the breeder's place, or just your baby? If there were any other babies left and you got to see them, were the others weaned? Did they look much larger than your baby? How did you find this breeder? Do you know her well or know other people that have gotten babies from her? Did she give you a health guarantee or a vet certificate with your baby?
> 
> ...


This is after she ate. I forgot to weigh her before i fed her. After she is 50 g









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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

That looks like budgie-sized Zupreem Fruitblend pellets. It usually takes a while for cockatiel chicks to learn how to eat pellets, but this small size might be easier for her. She's a cute little whiteface chick.

Holding food in your hand for her to eat is OK. When a handfed baby goes to a new home, it seems to comfort them to eat from someone's hand. It probably makes them feel like someone is taking care of them in this strange new place.

Encourage her to eat vegetables too. My chicks will nibble on leafy greens quite easily at this age, and corn kernels (cut off the cob) are also easy for them to eat. Lightly sprouted seeds and grains will be easier to eat than hard dry seed. There's a thread on sprouting here: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=9019


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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

tielfan said:


> That looks like budgie-sized Zupreem Fruitblend pellets. It usually takes a while for cockatiel chicks to learn how to eat pellets, but this small size might be easier for her. She's a cute little whiteface chick.
> 
> Holding food in your hand for her to eat is OK. When a handfed baby goes to a new home, it seems to comfort them to eat from someone's hand. It probably makes them feel like someone is taking care of them in this strange new place.
> 
> Encourage her to eat vegetables too. My chicks will nibble on leafy greens quite easily at this age, and corn kernels (cut off the cob) are also easy for them to eat. Lightly sprouted seeds and grains will be easier to eat than hard dry seed. There's a thread on sprouting here: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=9019


Interesting about sprouting. So i can do this with the millet? I am going to continue to hold food in my hand several times a day for the next few days. She is still adjusting to her cage and us

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## shaenne (Apr 19, 2014)

All of my cockatiel chicks (except Zoe) generally wean between 8 and 12 weeks, with 9 being the average but they've always weaned by 12. She may have been a tiny bit stunted and taking longer to wean? Zoe took a LOOOONG time to wean and at 12 weeks she was still eating a lot of formula.

Feed her formula for as long as she wants it but it really shouldn't be too long before she weans herself off, especially if you're giving her lots of other options. I've found that mine tend to wean themselves pretty abruptly, like one day they'll be eating the usual amount and the next day they want almost none of it.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Yes, you can sprout regular birdseed like millet.


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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

shaenne said:


> All of my cockatiel chicks (except Zoe) generally wean between 8 and 12 weeks, with 9 being the average but they've always weaned by 12. She may have been a tiny bit stunted and taking longer to wean? Zoe took a LOOOONG time to wean and at 12 weeks she was still eating a lot of formula.
> 
> Feed her formula for as long as she wants it but it really shouldn't be too long before she weans herself off, especially if you're giving her lots of other options. I've found that mine tend to wean themselves pretty abruptly, like one day they'll be eating the usual amount and the next day they want almost none of it.


I found out she was last to hatch. Hopefully it will be soon. Thank you

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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

Just an update. She is a he. He has begun to moot and getting a white face. Anyway, he did not weaned until 17 weeks. He weighs 74 grams a bit on small side but he hasn't lost any weight but he's not gaining. He's active and healthy and whistling away! 

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## EllenD (Oct 9, 2016)

maddienaidan said:


> Just an update. She is a he. He has begun to moot and getting a white face. Anyway, he did not weaned until 17 weeks. He weighs 74 grams a bit on small side but he hasn't lost any weight but he's not gaining. He's active and healthy and whistling away!
> 
> Sent from my LG-K550 using Tapatalk


Wow, 17 weeks? That's something I'm not familiar with to be honest, I've never encountered a cockatiel that took that long to wean. Honestly I'm going to go ahead and say that he was no where near 12 weeks old when you got him, thus he wasn't anywhere near 17 weeks when he weaned. I actually just went back through this thread and saw the photos you posted of him when you first got him, and I just said to myself "That baby wasn't 12 weeks old in those photos, he looks more like 6 weeks old!" That's my guess as to why it took him so long to wean, and unfortunately it's not that uncommon for breeders to lie about their age. That makes the whole thing make a lot more sense.

I'm assuming you took him to an avian vet if you got him sexed? He is quite small for his age, it's good that he's not losing weight though. Watch him closely and weigh him every day. If he starts losing weight get him to his avian vet ASAP. Hopefully he'll have a little growth spurt soon. How is he eating? Is he tame? Does he like to be petted or let you hold him?

"Dance like nobody's watching..."


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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

EllenD said:


> Wow, 17 weeks? That's something I'm not familiar with to be honest, I've never encountered a cockatiel that took that long to wean. Honestly I'm going to go ahead and say that he was no where near 12 weeks old when you got him, thus he wasn't anywhere near 17 weeks when he weaned. I actually just went back through this thread and saw the photos you posted of him when you first got him, and I just said to myself "That baby wasn't 12 weeks old in those photos, he looks more like 6 weeks old!" That's my guess as to why it took him so long to wean, and unfortunately it's not that uncommon for breeders to lie about their age. That makes the whole thing make a lot more sense.
> 
> I'm assuming you took him to an avian vet if you got him sexed? He is quite small for his age, it's good that he's not losing weight though. Watch him closely and weigh him every day. If he starts losing weight get him to his avian vet ASAP. Hopefully he'll have a little growth spurt soon. How is he eating? Is he tame? Does he like to be petted or let you hold him?
> 
> "Dance like nobody's watching..."


He's a sweet heart! Loves to be with me and petted. He's very bonded to me I guess from hand feeding.I think you are right on age. He's has started molting and getting a white face and he mimics the songs I whistle so I'm going off behavior as for as gender. Also banging his beak on everything. Vet said he is healthy. I weigh him once a week. He eats well. His seed still having trouble getting him on pellets he will eat a little. He eats leafy greens and other veggies daily. 

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## maddienaidan (Jan 25, 2017)

EllenD said:


> Wow, 17 weeks? That's something I'm not familiar with to be honest, I've never encountered a cockatiel that took that long to wean. Honestly I'm going to go ahead and say that he was no where near 12 weeks old when you got him, thus he wasn't anywhere near 17 weeks when he weaned. I actually just went back through this thread and saw the photos you posted of him when you first got him, and I just said to myself "That baby wasn't 12 weeks old in those photos, he looks more like 6 weeks old!" That's my guess as to why it took him so long to wean, and unfortunately it's not that uncommon for breeders to lie about their age. That makes the whole thing make a lot more sense.
> 
> I'm assuming you took him to an avian vet if you got him sexed? He is quite small for his age, it's good that he's not losing weight though. Watch him closely and weigh him every day. If he starts losing weight get him to his avian vet ASAP. Hopefully he'll have a little growth spurt soon. How is he eating? Is he tame? Does he like to be petted or let you hold him?
> 
> "Dance like nobody's watching..."


I also adopted an older tiel that is terrified of me. People took him to pet store because they said he screamed too much. Poor guy. I have a deposit on another hand fed baby but he or she is staying until fully weaned. I'm not going through that again! 

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