# My cockatiel chicks~~



## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

Hi all,

i'm a first time breeder..and recently my cockatiels laid 5 eggs of which 2 chicks managed to survive and are doing very well now..they grow pretty fast..and i'm glad they're doing well  their mommy has been feeding them regularly...but i'm just wondering if she might overfeed them?lol cos i feel they've got aLoT of food in their crop already...just wondering if it might be too much whn they are only 7days old:wacko: 

i've got pics attached...hope someone could help me with this


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## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

the both are being fed very good the front one is a lutino can,t see the second one if the eyes are clear like the front one it to will be lutino they are both gorgious


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## Cheryl (Dec 27, 2008)

They are definitely being taken care of. Congrats on the chicks!


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

They look perfectly fine, and SO adorable. 

Just make sure that the crops are emptying completely, once every 24 hours so they don't get sick.


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

oh a lutino? as in it will hv red eyes? but how do you see it? hehe
their parents are one pearl and one normal tiel..thye might have some lutino blood in them though..i'm not sure lol

thanks! 



Solace. said:


> They look perfectly fine, and SO adorable.
> 
> Just make sure that the crops are emptying completely, once every 24 hours so they don't get sick.


thanks 
oic..they poop alot though..so i assume they should be disgesting and the crop should be emptying?lol
bt if the crop doesn't empty, what should i do to help them?



allen said:


> the both are being fed very good the front one is a lutino can,t see the second one if the eyes are clear like the front one it to will be lutino they are both gorgious


oh i've just checked out on lutinos...i'tll be nice if it turns out to be a lutino pearl..hehe and i'm really anxious to know what mutation my chicks will turn out to be!


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

If they're Lutino, yes, they'll have red eyes.

The pooping is fine, as long as their pooping fecal matter (not just urine), indications are good. 

With the crop, yes they should be digesting and a healthy chick's crop should empty completely at least once every 24 hours. 

A quarter teaspoon of baby Applesauce or a quarter teaspoon of papaya concentrate should help emptying the crop, but if not, then you must take the babies to the Vet *straight away*, no mucking around.

The problem can be made worse by adding new food on top of old sour food, which may cause the crop to shut down completely. When the crop shuts down, the chick is in danger of starving to death. This is known as crop stasis. Crop stasis involves more than just the crop. The intestines are affected and the liver may also be compromised. This is why decreasing the amount of protein and fat in the chick's diet when the crop slows down is so important. A significant factor is that the chick is usually suffering from dehydration. If you are able to get fluids to the chick and rehydrate the digestive tract this will help to prevent the chick's body from drawing so hard on the fluid content within the gut.

Another much more serious reason for the crop to stop emptying is disease. Fungal infections such as yeast may be far too advanced to cure. The kidneys may have stopped working because of fatty liver disease and kidney syndrome. If a bacterial or yeast infection is suspected, consulting an avian veterinarian is critical to saving the life of the chick. Without the immediate care of an avian veterinarian, the chick will die.


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

Solace. said:


> If they're Lutino, yes, they'll have red eyes.
> 
> The pooping is fine, as long as their pooping fecal matter (not just urine), indications are good.
> 
> ...


oh  i think my chicks are not emptying the food in their crop cos it keeps getting bigger :wacko::wacko: omg i think i better get it checked..but will feeding it water do? or is apple sauce required?


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

i've attached a pic of my baby....the crop is sooo biggg


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## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

that is a normal size crop for that age


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

If the crop feels soft don't worry. It is probably emptying. Their crops are very elastic at this age and there are times you would swear the crop is bigger than the baby. When crop slowdown happens to mine I feed them a little bit of warm water with ornabac in it. It is also sold under the name of benebac. It is a beneficial bacteria the babies need to digest. Parent fed birds should have enough from their parents. One thing that raises concern in me when it comes to my babies is if I see the parents spending a lot of time out of the nest box. The babies need the parents to keep them warm enough to digest.


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

allen said:


> that is a normal size crop for that age


normal size? icic...lol it got me kinda worried though cos it seems too big for the baby to carry..


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

sweetrsue said:


> If the crop feels soft don't worry. It is probably emptying. Their crops are very elastic at this age and there are times you would swear the crop is bigger than the baby. When crop slowdown happens to mine I feed them a little bit of warm water with ornabac in it. It is also sold under the name of benebac. It is a beneficial bacteria the babies need to digest. Parent fed birds should have enough from their parents. One thing that raises concern in me when it comes to my babies is if I see the parents spending a lot of time out of the nest box. The babies need the parents to keep them warm enough to digest.



oh icic..but my chicks' crop seems to b filled with those solid food like the seeds that the parents feed on...but i thought they should be in semi-liquid kinda form instead? it's so weird...that's why i'm worried:hmm:
my hen does a good job in keeping them warm though...she stays in the nestbox alot..hehe so i'm not worried bout that...just bout the crop though..:blush:


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

updated pics of my chicks...now they're about the same size i can't differentiate which is the older one hehe
one is 9days the other is 8days old...when will they open their eyes?? i can't wait..


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## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

they should start within the next 5-7 days


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> but my chicks' crop seems to b filled with those solid food like the seeds that the parents feed on...but i thought they should be in semi-liquid kinda form instead?


Are you offering the parents soft foods that they can feed to the chicks? When my chicks were tiny, the parents' favorite chick-feeding food was whole grain bread. The number two choice was pellets - the parents would eat it, drink water to soften it up, then regurge it to the chicks. When the chicks got a little bit older the preference changed to sprouted seeds. 

Soft foods are easier for the chicks to digest than hard seeds. The parents have to choose their chick food from what is available, and they normally choose soft foods over hard ones.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Mine really chow down on beans and rice when they are feeding babies. What you need to do is feel the crop. Does it feel hard? Or do the seeds seem to be moving around in a kind of solution. It souldn't be hard. If it is you need to give them a little warm water and massage the crop just a little. You don't want to make them regurgitate but you want to be sure the food is moving through the crop. Warm water about between 104 and 106 degrees. Ornabac or benebac is really helpful as a digestive aid. Only if the crop seems hard though.


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

tielfan said:


> Are you offering the parents soft foods that they can feed to the chicks? When my chicks were tiny, the parents' favorite chick-feeding food was whole grain bread. The number two choice was pellets - the parents would eat it, drink water to soften it up, then regurge it to the chicks. When the chicks got a little bit older the preference changed to sprouted seeds.
> 
> Soft foods are easier for the chicks to digest than hard seeds. The parents have to choose their chick food from what is available, and they normally choose soft foods over hard ones.


yup i give them bread and vege and oats..but does the parents feed them water as well?


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

sweetrsue said:


> Mine really chow down on beans and rice when they are feeding babies. What you need to do is feel the crop. Does it feel hard? Or do the seeds seem to be moving around in a kind of solution. It souldn't be hard. If it is you need to give them a little warm water and massage the crop just a little. You don't want to make them regurgitate but you want to be sure the food is moving through the crop. Warm water about between 104 and 106 degrees. Ornabac or benebac is really helpful as a digestive aid. Only if the crop seems hard though.


hmmm it doesn't feel that hard though..but their crop seems to be moving slowly..does it have to empty by the next time the mother feeds them?cos i checked on them yesterday..their crop did not empty by the next feeding..but it got abit smaller though..


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

No it does not have to completely empty all the time. Generally the parents will not feed as much overnight so it usually won't completely empty during the day.


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## huskymom (Jan 17, 2008)

what a lovely pair!!... and you defiantely have a girl there (lutino).. I assume mom is the pearl and dad is the normal, whihc would also be split lutino in order for you to get one.. I´m not sure about the second one...(his/her eyes don´t seem as dark but also not as clear, could well be the pic itself.. 

do you have a pic of the parents??


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

huskymom said:


> what a lovely pair!!... and you defiantely have a girl there (lutino).. I assume mom is the pearl and dad is the normal, whihc would also be split lutino in order for you to get one.. I´m not sure about the second one...(his/her eyes don´t seem as dark but also not as clear, could well be the pic itself..
> 
> do you have a pic of the parents??


thanks 
yup mom is a pearl and dad is a normal grey..
ohh that means i have 2 lutino gals then...lol cos the other baby's eyes are red as well..i read up about the mutations..but i'm kinda confused on the lutinos....how do you know it'll be a gal or boy?
yea will take clearer pics of the babies and post mom and dad's pics soon...


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## huskymom (Jan 17, 2008)

if the dad is the one with the lutino gene either split or visual and is paired with a normal hen (in your case a pearl) all lutinos produced WILL be girls...

if mom was the lutino you wouldn´t get any lutinos unless dad was at least split to it and then any lutinos could well be boys or girls, so to get boy lutinos both mom AND dad have to have the gene (dad can be split, but mom have to be visual, hens cannot be split lutino or pearl, if they are they are visual)

so yes congrats on the two girls!!! yay!!


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

thanks !
whoa that's kinda complicated haha:wacko:
but well..i guess i'll start thinking up gal names for them...lol

my chicks have started opening their eyes! have attached updated pics of them as well as mom and dad's pics ...mom is the pearl...dad is the normal..

i'm so excited...i can't wait for them to grow their feathers!

btw..will lutinos be bald?


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## huskymom (Jan 17, 2008)

how cute they are!!!... can wait to see more of them growing... awwww


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Many Lutinos will be very sparsely feathered on their heads but since yours are a product of a non-Lutino Mom and a Dad who is only Split for Lutino the chances are much less that you babies will be bald.


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

omg..the chicks grow real fast! every single day there's some changes bout them! here's an updated pic of them...they look like twins! lol their pin feathers have grown...i wonder if they're lutino pearls? hope someone can help mi there:blush:


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## huskymom (Jan 17, 2008)

it would be so cool if they are pearls too... which would mean dad is also either a pearl (which once all grown looses his pearls) or split pearl..

have you had him since a young bird?.. or adult?... do you know his parents?


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

oh..so for the chicks to be a pearl lutino, the dad has to be either a pearl or split?i'm not sure if he's a split though..but he's a normal grey..mom is a pearl..i'm not sure what their parents are..i bought them from a pet shop  are you able to see from the pic wat mutation they are?


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Yes! Dad would have to carry the Pearl gene for the babies to get it. It is also a sex linked mutation and would be passed from the Father to the Daughters. Since we already know these are girls if they turn out to be Pearls as well it would have come from Dad. If you did get any males in the furure they WOULD be split for Pearl because they would take a gene from Mom as well. There is also a 50% chance they would be split for Lutino since dad is a Lutino split.


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## huskymom (Jan 17, 2008)

they kinda look like pearl.. but give a few days to be sure... maybe it´s just the pic playing on us


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

an update on my chicks...they're growing well! mom has done a good job of raising them...:clap: i do think they're lutino pearls hehe looks like it
they both look the same...just that one is bigger than the other hehe..personally i prefer the bigger one though...she likes to make cute lil sounds:blush:


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## Raven2322 (Mar 1, 2008)

wow, they are so cute!! I hope my eggs hatch and I end up with cute babies like them.


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## kimmikefids (Aug 2, 2008)

definately lutino pearls!!!! they are feathering so much!!!! the parents sure are doing a great job!! what cuties!!!


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## huskymom (Jan 17, 2008)

you got that right... my eyes weren´t playng on me either.. they ARE lutino pearls... so now you know that dad is split for lutino AND pearl... how cool!!


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Wow you sure can see those pearls! That's great! So pretty.


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

@Raven:thanks!i'm sure you'll have beautiful chicks as well! good luck! :lol:

@Kimmi: thanks yup! my tiel mommy takes really good care of them! feeds them frequently:thumbu:

@Husymom:yep my eyes are fine too..hehe..but dad doesn't show signs of a lutino or pearl...he looks just like a normal grey..lol

@sweetrsue:thanks yea i'm enjoying every minute of their adorable stage now...can't wait till their feathers are fully grown

one thing though, i noticed that both chicks have a small patch on their head that's bald..is that normal? are there supposed to have pin feathers growing there? or it hasn't grown?lol..i'm just afraid they might be bald on top since they've lutino genes..


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Gorgeous babies  I think you are right about the bald patch, just tell them bald is beautiful


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

it'll be a pity if they're bald on top...else they'll make such beautiful chicks. i do hope they're not bald though...but otherwise, i'll still love them as much!


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## kimmikefids (Aug 2, 2008)

id say its the reknowned bald spot tho it could be just a patch that is yet to grow...or the parents may have plucked it....tho since it is on both chicks id say its the bald spot


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## huskymom (Jan 17, 2008)

dad seems normal greay as he is just split for lutino and pearl... so you can´t actually see those... but you can know that as the babies have those mutations that can only be passed by dad if he´s not visual... mom cannot pass lutino or pearl or cinnamon unless dad is either split or visual...

any more pics of the cuties?? 

the bald spot is "normal"... many if not all lutinos have them.. some bigger some smaller... but the crest should cover it up and you may only see it when crest is fully upward... anyhow I think they are sooo cute!!


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## Maeko (Jan 7, 2009)

updated pics of my chicks..now almost fully feathered

and yes! i confirm the bald spot..the older chick has it quite bare...but the younger one has a few strands though..lol. However, the crest feathers seem to be able to cover the bald spot quite abit..unless you see from top view


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## kimmikefids (Aug 2, 2008)

aww they are adorable!!!!! hard to believe our belle looked like that once!! she is a lutino pearl too!!! what cuteness they are!!! are u planning on keeping them or selling them?


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Maeko said:


> updated pics of my chicks..now almost fully feathered
> 
> and yes! i confirm the bald spot..the older chick has it quite bare...but the younger one has a few strands though..lol. However, the crest feathers seem to be able to cover the bald spot quite abit..unless you see from top view


Haha. That second one is so sweet!


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