# I had such high hopes :(



## Trusty (Jul 8, 2014)

So after our last disaster our tiels laid a new lot of eggs... Then said eggs hatched..didn't take nesting box down and interfere as last time we did this they buried the babies under the woodchip.... So was very excited to hear little chirps,,,,,peeped inside to make sure all was ok and we saw 3 live babies! Decided to let the mummy and daddy do their job and left them to it,,kept 
Listening and hearing their cheeps.... Gave soft cooked veg, mash and normal feed..anyway day before yesterday all was fine,,but today all had been buried under the wood chip again,,,, my husband said there were 4 , one had maggots in it the others did not...so one obviously died a while ago. We didn't know and as i said we didn't want to interfere as last time they then killed the babies.... Are we doing something wrong? I was so sad,, I really thought these ones would be ok! One was larger than the other 2 so must of hatched before the others....any advice greatly appreciated!


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Slight confusion here..........are all of them dead? I didn't understand your post. By the way I am sorry that I don't have any advice, but I am also sorry that it/they died. You can check the internet if you want an answer. Find out how to take care of them and maybe then there would be something that you did wrong or missed.


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## FrostNBandit (May 29, 2014)

So sorry to hear about the baby. It almost sounds as if the wood chips are too deep. I found this last night _cardboard nest bowl_ and thought about trying it if my birds ever breed, but it might be helpful to your birds so they can keep up with their little ones if you ever breed them again.


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## Trusty (Jul 8, 2014)

Yes Nimra were All dead today..last lot of babies were handled and when we put them back the next day they were dead and had been buried. So this time we didn't interfere, touch, handle etc and still when they were about a week old they were buried again but one must of died a while before the others!


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

I don't think it is anything you did. I don't have experience, but I have read that some birds just don't make good parents. I hope someone with experience will give you a better answer.


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## Donica (Apr 3, 2014)

Next time I would definitely put less wood chips in, and have something under the wood chips to give the babies grip whenever you have babies again, and if. Less wood chips means less chance of losing eggs, and less chance of babies being buried.


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

Next time try using just paper towels. The first time my birds bred I used 7-10 layers of paper towels on the bottom and all eggs hatched. They created a bowl in the back corner (they prefer incubating back there) but they didn't get down to the bottom of the nestbox. Just make sure to keep the humidity at around 50%


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Umm I think your cockatiel will give more eggs. I am sorry they died. Cockatiels give a lot of eggs and if one of them cracks or anything they lay more. Well hope they do lay more eggs.


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## Trusty (Jul 8, 2014)

When you say paper towels you mean like kitchen tissue paper? I has read that before...but it didn't look very comfortable. I had a few inches of wood chip which is what I had read was recommended.. The nest boxes were high too so without actually getting them down you could not look in and see what was going on...I figured in the wild they don't have people interfering which is why I thought they would be ok. We are going to lower the boxes so we can look in more regularly. But might not put them back in this year now..give them a rest. They are in a large outdoor aviary so are not tame birds.


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Paper towels are like paper bags but only they are long. Besides it is very comfortable. Everyone uses them.


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

It should be fine, they wear down the paper towels. My house uses the bounty brand, so it's fairly soft. It works well at retaining humidity and there's no risk of any respiratory or mold problems with paper towels. Only thing is that once the babies are born they have to be changed fairly regularly so that might not work with you. Have you tried conditioning them to regular checks? It's recommended that you are able to check on eggs/babies on a regular basis when breeding so that you can quickly address any problems that may arise. 

I'm not sure how to go about that with aviary birds since my own are semi-tame house birds so were already used to human activities. 

Some pairs just aren't good parents, but I hope they do better next time!


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## blueybluesky (Jul 9, 2013)

I'm really sorry about the babies. I know how hard it is I lost a few clutches when I started and so far have only had one surviving chick which is Bear. I usually check mine in the aviary early in the day and again before dark and sometimes the middle of the day. I'd definately give the paper towel a go though.

Do you have any more tiels in the aviary that could be interfering in the box or harming the chicks while you are not around?


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## Trusty (Jul 8, 2014)

No other tiels. I have one parakeet but he doesn't interfere... I watch the parents regularly go in and out and change at certain shifts..... Might give them a break this year and let them start again next year... I presumed I wouldn't have to check on them as in the wild they do it all on their own..but next time I will as if one dies it will need removing! Thanks everyone,,,,


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Hope you succeed next time.


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## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

sorry to hear the bad news, breeding is risky.


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## Trusty (Jul 8, 2014)

Thanks for all your replies x


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