# Do I hand feed or leave with the parents ?



## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

Hi everyone,

My cockatiels have 1 chick which they were raising really well until yesterday.
They are in a plastic basket on the floor of the aviary and both the male and female had been sitting and feeding during the day and night.

From the beginning I had a problem with ants getting into the nest so I have always had a shallow dish of water under the nest. But yesterday, the ants seemed more desperate than normal and were still able to cross the water, so I got a really large dish and filled it with water and put the nest in the middle.
This seemed to stop the ants.

However, the female didn't go back down to the baby for the night and a huge storm came through and the temperature dropped from about 37°C / 98°F to about 26°C / 78°F. I watched the baby until about 8:00pm but the rain was blowing in on it and I thought it would die from the cold so I brought it inside to our laundry which is quite warm.

The chick survived the night and I put it back in the aviary at about 5:00am, but the male didn't come down to feed it until about 8:00am. It is now almost 3:30pm and the female still hasn't been down. I think she has abandoned the chick ...

I'm wondering what to do now as today is about 27°C / 80°F and the parents haven't sat on the chick all day.

The chick is about 12 - 13 days old but I would really like the parents to raise the chick as I have no experience with hand feeding.
Do you think she has abandoned the baby ?
Or can I just bring the chick in at night to keep it warm and return it in the morning for the male to feed ? Or is this not enough food ?
Yesterday, the last time I saw him feed the chick was at 6:00pm.

Thanks for your help!


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## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

At this point I would suggest hand feeding. The parents don't seem to be sitting on the baby for whatever reason and with the temperature drop, I would be worried with the baby dying. 

As for hand feeding, there's several links in the sticky library that you can refer to. The first sticky I found should cover most of your questions. It's found here---> http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=18189 

I prefer feeding with a spoon, myself. There's a LOT to cover when it comes to hand feeding, but the three most important rules are always mix formula fresh, keep formula at least 102-106 F and by all things holy, never microwave your formula! It can cause crop burns. . 

I'm sure the others will have more to add or say. Keep us posted on your situation


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

Well, I have Vetafarm formula, a digital thermometer, a heat lamp and a spoon / syringe feeder.
I'm scared to feed the chick because I don't want it to die from eating too much, too fast or too slow !!!

I just saw the male feed it again and it is now 5:00pm. Doesn't look like the female is interested in going down to the baby tonight though, so I will have to bring it in tonight.

If the female doesn't go down, do I feed the baby at 11:00pm ?


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

Okay, good news ! The female was on the nest (well sitting on the edge because I was near), so as far as I know she is keeping the chick warm. It's 9:00pm now, so hopefully she stays there until the morning !!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

So changing the environment (adding the huge water bowl that wasn't there before) is definitely turning your hen off. Some tiels will abandon a nest if there is a change, because the environment is no longer safe.


> I'm scared to feed the chick because I don't want it to die from eating too much, too fast or too slow !!!


 That's not really an issue. The issues to worry about are the baby aspirating on the food. As the baby gets older, it will be harder to pull it for hand feeding if issues arise. I do suggest that you find a breeder in your area who can show you how to hand feed properly so that you're prepared if you do have to do it in the future.

My next suggestion is to get a regular nest box that you can hang on the cage. Tiels don't normally nest on the ground as this is considered dangerous and makes them easy prey. Also, an open nest box can leave the babies open to the elements as you have discovered and removing the baby can cause the parents to abandon it. Plus, ants obviously. It's best to have more boxes than pairs, this way they don't fight over the boxes. 

Fingers crossed the baby does OK!!


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

It's 11:30am and the baby is still alive and the parents have fed the chick. The crop is quite full and I can now see pin feathers coming through on the wings and a tiny little crest forming. I'm amazed at how fast this has come through since yesterday !

The parents still aren't sitting on it during the day, however it is 29°C / 84°F today, so maybe warm enough ?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

It does sound like it may be warm enough that the baby doesn't need the parents to sit with it now that it's getting pin feathers in.


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

The chick is very lively now and has full pin feathers on it's wings, a little crest and a little tail is forming.

How long can I handle the chick for ?
And how often can I pick it up from the nest to hold it ?

Also, if I were to bring it inside and the parents see it's not in the nest, when I return it, will they still look after it or would they abandon it ?

Thanks for your help !


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

You need to block the nest so they can't see the baby is gone. I always block the hole and hold the babies while the parents are out eating.

At first, 15 minutes at a time is a good place to start. You want to get the baby accustomed to you without chilling it. I picked mine up a couple times a day to be handled.


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

Thanks for your help Roxy Culver.

We have been going through some very, very warm days here...
Yesterday was 39°C / 102°F.
Today is 36°C / 97°F.
Tomorrow will be 40°C / 104°F.

As you can see it's quite hot here, so I don't think the chick will chill.
Actually the parents haven't sat on the chick during the day for ages.
The pin feathers are starting to open so hopefully it will leave the nest soon !

Also, the chick is panting so much because of the heat.
From about 9:00am to 4:30pm, it pants and pants.
Am I able to give it water or do I leave it to the parents to keep the chick hydrated ?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

You can offer water but the chick probably won't know what to do with it. If you can offer some sort of shade for the chick, that might help.


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

Hmmmm, well I'll see if it will take some.

The chick has permanent shade. I have quite a large aviary measuring 3m long x 2.22m wide x 2.06m high so plenty of shade in the corner that it's currently in.

I've been holding it twice a day too. It sways in my hand, hisses and lunges at me when I first pick it up, but it soon calms down after I've held it for a few seconds.
I can tell it has a lot of it's Grandmother's nature in it haha


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

Can anyone tell me when the chick will jump out of the nest ?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

They start fledging around four to five weeks of age.


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

Thanks ! Well, that means it should leave the nest next week !

I'm so excited !


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Sometimes they fledge earlier than that! Many of my chicks fledge at 3 1/2 weeks.

When the baby fledges, it's not unusual for the parents to act like they don't know what to do with a baby on the ground. Babies seem to have an instinct to fly upward to something that vaguely resembles a branch, and I suspect that in the wild the parents expect the baby to do this and don't feed it on the ground because that's a dangerous place. But in captivity there's frequently nothing to trigger the baby's instincts, so it stays on the ground and doesn't get fed. There are two things you can do: 

(1) put it back in the nest. The parents will feed it there, and the baby will come back out again whenever it wants to. I frequently put babies in the nest at night too because it's a safe comfortable place for them to sleep.

(2) put the baby on a perch. The parents usually know what to do with a baby that's sitting on a "branch". A stable rope perch will be easiest for a baby to grip, but even so you can expect the chick to lose its balance and fall off frequently. It takes a few days for them to master the skill of sitting on a perch.


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

Thanks for the advice !

The baby is still in the nest ... I see it preening and looking out over the edge.
So I think any day now.

I can be a bit impatient sometimes ! :blush:


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

The chick has half left the nest.
Yesterday afternoon it was running around on the floor, but it didn't attempt to fly.
I placed it on a perch and it's balance was okay. Fell off a couple of times, but I caught it 
Hopefully when I get home this afternoon, it will be on a branch !


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

And here is a picture of the baby cockatiel !


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

So the baby cockatiel has been running around on the floor until yesterday when it flew for the first time !! It did very well too  and stayed on the perch overnight.

So I'll remove the nest now and wait and see if it's a boy or a girl after it's first molt !


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

With the baby being pied you won't be able to tell gender visually. Either you'll have to go by behavior or get it DNA sexed. Very cute baby though!


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

Oh, I thought for pied cockatiels the females kept the spots and barring under the wings and tail and males lost it after the first molt ?
That seems to be the trend in my aviary for all the boys and girls ...
I'll have to re-inspect when I get home !


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## Cockatiela (Oct 4, 2012)

All of the boys love singing A LOT so I'm sure that if it's a boy he will sing as much as they do too seeing as it's related to all of them !


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Yea pied doesn't play by the rules. While there may be some that can go by spots/barring, pieds tend to keep those markings for a lot longer that just the first molt. I had a male pearl split pied who kept some pearling and baby tail feathers for two years.


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