# Advice Please



## Infinity (Oct 17, 2012)

Hi Everyone-

So I have two birds and I was looking to add a third. I found one on eBay classifieds and the breeder lived about 5 minutes from my house. 

I went over to the house and it was clean and the breeder was nice, a little eccentric but c'mon were all cockatiel people haha.

So he showed me his breeding pairs. The cages were so tiny and small because they were "breeder cages" like you would see in a pet store. He probably had about 6-7 pairs. 

Then he showed me where the babies were and thats when it got nasty.

He had about 4 babies--3 whiteface and 1 lutino. The lution was the one I really wanted but he had been plucked so bad that I didn't want the liability. So I asked to see the little whiteface and he told me "They are used to being grabbed. Just reach in there." I reached in to try and have her perch but she was freaked out by my hand I got her out and she sat and was extremely cuddly. Needless to say this is the one I took. 

I asked what he had been feeding her. The answer? Mostly breakfast cereal. I asked if they had been hand raised. No, they hadn't.

So I get her home and try to get her out of her travel cage and she runs from my hand. I get her out, hold her and she sits on my finger for a little.

The thing I am most worried about is her eating and drinking. I hand fed her some vegetables and pellets soaked in water yesterday afternoon and this morning. But I am not sure how to get her water. Tonight I plan on taking a syringe and just let her lick the end of it.

Moral of the story is I got a barely weaned bird but thank God I sort of know what I am doing.

All of you experienced hand feeders I really need some advice on weaning. Pellets that are just hard she cant chew because her beak is too soft.

Please help.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Do you know how old your baby is, and how far away she is from being weaned? Is she able to eat any kind of dry seed?

If she bobs her head and makes a "static" noise she is begging to be fed. But since she was not previously handfed, the idea of begging a human for food might not cross her mind.

Put some millet spray in a place that she can easily reach. Millet spray is easier for babies to eat than other kinds of seed. Foraging-style eating is more natural for babies than eating from a cup or bowl. You can also hang up some leafy greens for her to experiment with, and sprinkle healthy foods on a flat surface. You can offer soaked or cooked seeds and grains - soft foods are easier for babies to eat than hard foods. there's info on sprouting at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=9019

She will learn to eat dry pellets when she's older. For now, give her lots of soaked pellets. She urgently needs the balanced nutrition in pellets, since human breakfast cereal is not nutritionally balanced for birds. She might not have gotten a well-balanced diet from her parents either if the breeder didn't offer the right foods. This breeder doesn't sound very well-informed so it wouldn't surprise me if this was the case.

An alternative to pellets would be to buy some handfeeding formula and offer it on a spoon. If she isn't completely weaned, warm food will be more appealing than cold food. You can test the temperature by mixing the food well so the temperature is even throughout, and touching it with your lip. It should be warm not hot.

You can offer cooked nutritious foods like sweet potatoes.

It would be helpful to read the information on diet at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27479 It's aimed at adult birds, but it will give you information on the types of food you should encourage her to eat.


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## Infinity (Oct 17, 2012)

Hey tielfan-

Thanks so much for your response! Well, last night she was playing with one of my tiels and he put his beak to hers and the static noise commenced and thats what started my trepadation.

Tonight I will try to buy a sweet potato and mix in some pellets after I steam it to get her some nutrients.

I fed her this morning and I left some food in her bowl for the day and I am hoping that will be good enough until I get home from work (I am at work now).


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

If she's begging an adult bird for food she is not completely weaned. Give her personal delivery of warm food whenever you can, it will help her start seeing you as an adult "bird" who will take care of her. 

The biggest question is how much self-feeding is she capable of, and how much handfeeding does she need. It would be a good idea to get a scale that weighs in grams and check her weight daily, to make sure she isn't losing weight.


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## Hels (Oct 31, 2012)

Hi Infinity. How's your bub doing? 




Hels

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## Infinity (Oct 17, 2012)

Hi Hels thanks for asking 

She is doing wonderfully. No more begging for food, steps up significantly better and loves sitting on my shoulder. It's only been a couple of weeks but I am glad with the progress she has made so far.

Time for #4! A Lutino I'm naming Holland. As in hollandaise haha. 










There's a pic of little Birdie.


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## Hels (Oct 31, 2012)

Infinity said:


> Hi Hels thanks for asking
> 
> She is doing wonderfully. No more begging for food, steps up significantly better and loves sitting on my shoulder. It's only been a couple of weeks but I am glad with the progress she has made so far.
> 
> ...



That's great!! After reading some stuff on here I don't think Coco has been fully weaned. She is screaming for food but eating non stop and has lost 3 grams in 3 days  What did you end up feeding your bub and how? Coco won't take it off a spoon even tho I shove it in her face. Lol. I'm not keen on syringing her at all. Gah!! Lol

Aw Holland is gorgeous!! How can you manage 4??? I can't believe how much extra work two is at the moment!!



Hels

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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Cute little bub.  Just curious, did you quarantine (this new baby) at all?


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## Hels (Oct 31, 2012)

Solace. said:


> Cute little bub.  Just curious, did you quarantine (this new baby) at all?



Coco is in quarantine 


Hels

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## Infinity (Oct 17, 2012)

Solace. said:


> Cute little bub.  Just curious, did you quarantine (this new baby) at all?


No. In my house I can only have tiels in my one room. Yes, it is a very calculated risk but I do have them get checked before I bring them into my house. 

Please don't flame me on this one... I don't believe in the quarantine. Yes, I have read the stories. I get it. But if a bird or its environment was even slightly bad upon my visit I am not buying the bird. That simple.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

very dangerous risk, because even healthy looking birds can be harbouring very deadly infectious diseases... which often wont show for awhile... often stress of a new environment triggers the nasty illnesses to come to the surface. you risk all of your birds' health when you do not quarantine. if you are unable to quarantine at all, is it wise to bring home more? can you quarantine the new bird at a friend's home, or a family member's? it would protect your other birds. regardless how healthy a bird appears, some birds can be carriers of deadly diseases and show no signs themselves. a lot of times even a vet check before will not catch illness before it shows itself. it's a very dangerous gamble.


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## Infinity (Oct 17, 2012)

Like I said Dallytsuka I am aware of the risk. Thank you for the info


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Infinity said:


> No. In my house I can only have tiels in my one room. Yes, it is a very calculated risk but I do have them get checked before I bring them into my house.
> 
> Please don't flame me on this one... I don't believe in the quarantine. Yes, I have read the stories. I get it. But if a bird or its environment was even slightly bad upon my visit I am not buying the bird. That simple.


I hope for the sake of your new bird, and your previous two, that none of them are carrying any diseases/illnesses then (unless you have had them tested before-hand).. just my honest opinion, you are taking a risk that is not even worth losing 3 birds over sorry to say. But, it is your choice in the end.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Infinity said:


> Please don't flame me on this one... I don't believe in the quarantine. Yes, I have read the stories. I get it. But if a bird or its environment was even slightly bad upon my visit I am not buying the bird. That simple.


Uhhh...but you bought Birdie, yes? You paid money for her and she is in your care, right? You told us in this thread how questionable the breeder was, how nasty the baby area was, how small the breeder cages were..etc. and she was eating CEREAL! Cereal is way too high in iron and is not nutritionally complete.

So Birdie came from a bad environment..and you brought her home and did not quarantine. So it is not that simple. Your way of thinking must be more complicated than you say. 

And I flame many people over quarantine because of my own loss. Don't be offended.


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## Infinity (Oct 17, 2012)

Hey BJ

No offense taken , I totally get it given your experience with the birds. In fact, I do believe that they SHOULD be quarantined. 

However, the cages were not dirty. Small? Sure. But they were all very clean and there was no smell or feces. By "nasty" I meant the birds were not taken care of in a nicely social environment like my other two. 

Yes, I get it. PEOPLE QUARANTINE YOUR BIRDS. But for me I choose not to. I take the risk for my pets and so far I am 3-0.

More importantly, buy your birds from someone who knows what they are doing. I got her on a significant bargain but I am paying $100 for a handfed lutino pearl on Thursday. I paid $80 for my Conner and $75 for Stanley because of the care they recorded. Birdie? She was $50. But she is loving and wonderful and I am just so beyond myself with joy each day from her and my boys.

I truly appreciate your concern, hence why I love this forum so much and thanked you all for your posts.

Yes, we must be cautious but we also have to understand we can't always do care by the textbook every time. Sometimes we have to be able to live our lives.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

I understand people having problems with having places for quarantining. But I personally have problems with people who know about quarantine, understand the risks of not quarantining, and choose not to quarantine anyway. It irks me a little. 

The only reason I didn't quarantine the first time I added a bird to my flock was because I didn't know about it. Ava passed away on the 28th day we had her, and Kirk was infected with the disease. So that was my first vet bill with the birds. It was rather expensive to do the testing to first figure out what the bird had and then to treat the surviving mate. In addition to all this, not only had I become attached to Ava, but Kirk had too. Kirk was so attached to her that he still is not the same bird he was when Ava was around. Had he never met her (if she passed before we introduced them--30 days quarantine would have had her dead) he may be more mentally healthy than he is today and than he will ever be.

Do you have a place to quarantine? If you don't, I can understand you a little more..though I still don't think it's a perfect excuse. I don't really have a place to quarantine but I make it work. My parents have said no more birds at their home, and I've still kept them there for quarantine purposes. So it's not impossible. I've even built an outdoor "hutch" to quarantine birds from the flock when I had no other place. 

In all honesty, I don't think people should add a bird to their flock if they don't have the room to quarantine. Imagine this new lutino baby coming home..and then a month later 1 bird starts acting sickly. That vet appointment resulting will be an appointment for all 4 birds because all 4 birds will need to be treated. Avian vets are not cheap..I can see a vet appointment for 4 birds costing close to $600 if not more. 

For me, the risks are far too much. For one, I don't like to risk my birds' lives..and for another reason, I don't like to spend money on issues I can prevent.


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## Infinity (Oct 17, 2012)

I'm not making excuses I am making a conscious choice. 

I understand your concern and I also am a little on edge over the risk. You don't just "waste" life. And it shouldn't be risked needlessly either. My birds are fine, all 3 and later this week 4 of them. 

Thank you for your concern and all new readers research and decide for yourself. 

I think we can respectfully and maturely agree to disagree.


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