# Help ASAP- first baby



## theredhead (Feb 5, 2012)

My cockatiels have laid eggs about 4 times but none have been fertile. the female is about 1 1/2 and the male is younger. this time the eggs are fertilized. I just walked by the cage and heard baby cheeping. there is one baby. the male and female were sitting in the box but the female was on the eggs and the baby was just there, not being sat on or fed. is that normal? it was on it's back cheeping, and they just stare at it. since this is their first baby do you think it will live? should I do anything? I've hand fed lots of cockatiels but never from day 1(they were big babies). I've fed other baby birds, but would prefer not to unless i have to( it's been years). so any advice would be great. I don't want it to die. sorry for sounding freaked out lol, I just hope they start taking care of it.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Welcome to the forum... It can take up to 24 hours for the parents to feed him/her
my lucky and cookie done a wonderful job raising their first lot of babies (peachy, moose and stumpy and 2 others) in june last year


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

First you need to make sure its no longer on its back. And you'll want to check to see if it gets fed, normally they wont feed within the first 24hrs because it still has the yolk its digesting. So they should feed it within the next day or so, but keep an eye on it. You can give it a couple drops of pedialyte to give it some energy if needed.


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## theredhead (Feb 5, 2012)

Thanks, i'll try and stop freaking out lol. it looks like it's right side up now, and closer to mom & dad, but still not sat on.they are both sitting at the back of the nest box and the baby is right infront of them cheeping. it's so cute! the parents eat zupreme avian maintenance natural diet and nutri berries, they also have a variety of calcium and mineral blocks. do i need to supplement them with anything while they feed the baby? there isn't any bedding in the box, mom kept throwing everything out, i tried a few different types.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

As other mentioned the chick is fine for the first 12-24 hours. This article may be helpful if needed: http://justcockatiels.weebly.com/assist-feeding-chicks-in-the-nest.html

If your pair will let you touch/handle the baby check the abdomen to see if the intestines are light toned. If dark the chick may be dehydrated and need a drop of fluids if the crop is empty.

Below are a couple helpful Illus. (click for a larger view)


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

* there isn't any bedding in the box, mom kept throwing everything out, i tried a few different types.*
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_Please, please_ try to add more bedding. It is benefical for several reasons. First off bedding retains heat and moisture (for humidity in the nest) If you place 2-3 of bedding in the box, form it into a bowl shape so that the edges are higher than the center. this will help to keep the chicks and eggs together. the chick can lean on the eggs if they are also warm to help it stay warm while the parents are off for short periods of time. The other and more *important reason* is that the bedding gives the chick something to grip onto. Many times the nestbox floor can be slippery under those little feet and in trying to stand it's legs will start to slide out sideways under it. The bones and joints are very soft and flexible. When this happens it oftentimes leads to slap/spraddle leg.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

This article has alot of helpful info on nestboxes and bedding: http://www.talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27688


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

I'm going to chime in as extra urging for the bedding in the nest box. It's tough enough for first time parents.. you need to make them as comfortable as possible as well as making the environment the best possible for the chicks.


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## theredhead (Feb 5, 2012)

Thanks! I read the article, since i've tried the nesting material before and they threw it out(over and over), i used their suggestion for corrigated cardboard so the babies have traction.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*used their suggestion for corrigated cardboard so the babies have traction.*
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That's great....I'm glad the info helped. Let us know how they do with it.

Also. much of the info can be overwhelming. At the top of the page is a blue menu bar, click on *Thread Tools* and select _Show Printable Version_ and you can print out the info for _personsal use._...highlight the key points. Thgis makes it easier than going back to the computer to read additional info.


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## theredhead (Feb 5, 2012)

right after I took this the parents started sitting on the babies, and I think the 3rd baby is hatching.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Your newest hatchling is kinda red looking, so you might want to check in an hour or so to make sure they fed a little fluids. If not he/she will need a drop for hydration because it looks dehydrated.

The top egg looks like it is the next one to hatch.

What color are your parents? The youngest chick has plum colored eyes (that will turn darker in a day or so) so it will be a cinnamon. if the Mother is not cinnamon it is a little girl.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Oops...I forgot to add....add a little bedding around the babies...they'll need it for warmth. Each time the parents move the bedding away sprinkle a little under and around them. The cardboard will most definitely reduce the risks of splay/spraddle leg.


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## theredhead (Feb 5, 2012)

"Berd" is the mom








"Tom" is the dad, he has a little more white now.










Berd being adorable, had to throw this pic in  I havn't taken any recent pics, the first two are from 6 months ago and the last one is when berd was little. btw I named her Berd from the dragonriders of pern, not because I can't spell bird lol. i'll take better pics if they leave the box. not really sure what color you would call Berd.


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## theredhead (Feb 5, 2012)

I don't have any bedding on hand right now, is tomorrow too late to add it?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Tomorrow will be fine. But sooner is better, so don't put it off for a week.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Berd is a normal pearl (normal means grey base color with yellow on the scalloped feathers.) with beautiful conformation (birdy posture) Tom is a Whiteface pied. 

Since Berd does not display a cinnamon colr (brown/chocolate base to her yellow scalloping) then it means that Tom is split (carrying the hidden gene) to cinnamon and the littlest baby if having a brown tone when it feathers out would be a female. Also....is the fuzz on the littlest chick white or yellow. If white she will be of the whiteface mutation. That means that Berd is also split to Whiteface ...thus carrying some hidden genes also.

You might want to shred some tissues up into little pieces to get you thru the night. if you have a PetsMart closeby they have shreded aspen which is a good bedding.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I wonder if the lack of bedding is part of the reason this pair's first four clutches were unsuccessful? It's harder to incubate the eggs properly without good bedding.


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## theredhead (Feb 5, 2012)

Tom is young and it took him a while to do it properly lol(fell off alot). the big chick is yellow, the other is white with yellow around the wings. the 3rd egg is still hatching. there are no big pet stores here, just a few small pet stores. i'll go in the morning and get aspen shavings. thanks for all the help.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Get Kaytee brand if you can, it's nice and clean. Some of the other brands are full of dust.


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## theredhead (Feb 5, 2012)

Baby #2 didn't make it  but baby #1 & #3 seem to be eating and doing well. Still 2 unhatched eggs. both babies are yellow looking, we lost the white one.


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## mishkaroni (Jan 6, 2012)

Sorry to read baby #2 didnt make it. That was the little red looking one from your picture that srtiels commented about, right?


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## WendyBeoBuddy (Dec 12, 2011)

Sorry about the little guy! If the parents are out of the nest, try giving them all a drop or two pedialyte. Since they are first timers, this will boost the chicks. If you can, do this once a day until their eyes open and. They can stand up


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## theredhead (Feb 5, 2012)

mishkaroni said:


> Sorry to read baby #2 didnt make it. That was the little red looking one from your picture that srtiels commented about, right?


yeah, it never started looking better.


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## theredhead (Feb 5, 2012)

is it normal for males and females to fight a lot? I put two bowls up high so mom doesn't have to go far from the box to eat, and every time she trys to eat dad attacks her and they yell at each other. they've never been really fond of each other but I think they paired up due to lack of other mates. i'm going to go out and get more small bowls to put up high. my two old cockatiels I had years ago were so loving to each other(both males), it's sad to see these act this way. I hope it doesn't affect their raising the babies.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> they've never been really fond of each other but I think they paired up due to lack of other mates.


This is what srtiels calls a bondage pair instead of a bonded pair. Does it seem like he's yelling at her to go sit on the eggs or does it seem like he resents having her around "his" nestbox? The first one can happen with bonded pairs - Buster used to attack Shodu when he came out of the nestbox to eat, but she learned to go in the nestbox when he came out and there were no more problems. It's a bigger problem if your male has decided that these are his babies and he doesn't want the mother around. If he's not letting her eat at all, you could take him out of the cage periodically to give her a break.


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

I know with mine.. if both were out of the nest while the baby was young.. less than 10 days old, my male would have a fit if mom was out too. In fact, just today Gibbs was not pleased with her. He sits during the day and her at night.. but when he's hungry, she'll go in. Little one is 8 days old now and can really be left alone for longer periods of time but dad is still quite protective. He has settled with the bickering and actually was fine with baby even spending some time with us human folk for a bit today.


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## theredhead (Feb 5, 2012)

They are doing Great! I'm out of town so my hubby sent me a photo of them. I tried the shavings and mom threw them out, but they seem fine. Can anyone tell what color they will be? http://talkcockatiels.com/photoplog/index.php?n=1946


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

They are nice looking babies. The red eyed one is a lutino and the other one is a pied.


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