# Baby/parent problems.



## Bigvally (Sep 4, 2016)

So I have a clutch of 3 chicks, Angle (Lutino 27 days), Mango (pearl 24 days), and Popeye (unknown mutation 22 days).

I have 2 issues.

First the mother is pulling feathers off the babies. I have watched her do this and I have read about the reasons some parents do it. Mom (Sunny) looks to be doing it to get the chicks attention in order to feed them.
I know it sounds weird but that’s how it looks to me. So the question is do I let this continue in order to keep the chicks fed or do I separate?

Second problem. This problem has a direct relation to the answer to the first question. 
The oldest two chicks are losing weight. Angle is at 96 grams and Mango is at 91 grams. This is down from their maximum of 103 and 98. This is over a 4 to 5 day period. 
From what I have been able to read this weight for their age is not unhealthy and when chicks near the time to fledge they tend to lose some weight.

So far I have had very little luck in had feeding. I have formula, syringes, eyedroppers ect. But I am worried about having them aspirate the formula. All the videos make it look so easy but the chicks just don’t want to feed from me.
Hoping for a little help
Bigvally


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

If your having trouble with a syringe try using a spoon, a small baby spoon or a bent spoon are the easiest but a regular spoon can be used as well, it's just messier. It is harder to aspirate a baby with a spoon.


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## shaenne (Apr 19, 2014)

It can seem very daunting and the first few times can be a little hit and miss until both you and the baby/babies get into the swing of things. I also recommend using a bent spoon to feed them. I use a syringe with bigger parrots like my eclectus but for cockatiel chicks I have always found it easiest to use a spoon.

You can buy spoons specifically for feeding baby birds, but making them yourself is easy. You can bend metal ones (my husband made me a set of 6 metal ones) or you can just pop to the supermarket/store/whatever and buy a pack of plastic spoons, heat them (one at a time as many as you want) in a pot of boiling water until they're pliable enough to bend and then bend them into shape. This is what I did when I first started out. Easy and cheap.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

The thing with plucking...the feathers are going to grow back. I never really worried about babies being plucked because the feathers always came back. Babies lose a little weight right before they start flying, so that's perfectly normal. The older they get, the harder it will be to get them to take to handfeeding which is why two weeks is the recommended age to start.


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## Bigvally (Sep 4, 2016)

roxy culver said:


> The thing with plucking...the feathers are going to grow back. I never really worried about babies being plucked because the feathers always came back. Babies lose a little weight right before they start flying, so that's perfectly normal. The older they get, the harder it will be to get them to take to handfeeding which is why two weeks is the recommended age to start.


At the age they are I would think that the feathers will grow back, I worry that it may cause them to pluck themselves or others as they get older.
I have had more luck in hand feeding and they are maintaining there weight.
I think that's good considering how active they are all becoming.

thanks for all your help and suggestions.


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## shaenne (Apr 19, 2014)

Fledging is just the best. It's so great when you're trying to feed someone and they decide flying is way more fun than eating, and leave mid-feed, flinging the spoon and formula all over the place and sending little pieces flying everywhere when they flap.


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