# First Time Hand Feeding ! HELP



## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

Today I been to the pet market, I saw a baby cockatiel being plucked by his parents, I felt so sorry for the baby, the owner sold it to me for a very cheap price because he couldn't raise it up himself and he didn't want to separate him from his parents ! So I just took it back home.. I knew already it would have the same destiny of "Tiki" my little tiel, if he stayed with his parents he woulda be proper plucked by then ..

I think it's a quite healthy tiel, at least healthier than my previous baby Tiki .. 

I guess he is around 2 weeks n more , he got the feathers of the wings fully grown n some of his back but head n face not yet !

The thing is this is gonna be my first time to hand feed a tiel , and Oh My God I'm just TOO NERVOUS ! I don't wanna do it with the syringe I'm too afraid of causing him an aspiration, even though I literary know the way to do it like from the left side to the right but still I don't have enough confidence and courage to do it..


I chose the spoon way ! and it worked .. he had some "cerelac", he had some with the spoon, that was when his stomach was a bit full with his parent's food, now It's being empty, and he refuses to eat from my hands ! I only can see a little bit of yellow thing in his stomach that's all !

I thought he would be crying for food ! But he is just not ! and I don't know when he has enough of the formula ! quite confusing ! ...

I put the baby in a nest box, and there is the bedding as well, I'm just a bit afraid that he eats the material ;/ !

Now he doesn't wanna eat ! I took him to bed he needs to sleep ! but his stomach is empty .. only a bit of food in it !

How long does a baby tiel survive without food ? I'm too nervous to wake up in the morning n see him dead ! HE JUST REFUSES TO EAT ! that's weird ! other tiels cry for food n he just gives me his back when I have a try ! even though this noon he had some food with the spoon ! but for dinner no ! n now he is sleeping quite hungry I think ! coz as i said no enough i think

What would u advice me to do ?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i would keep the box warm, he might be cold. do you have a heating pad? sometimes if theyre cold they dont beg for food.


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## Debbie05 (Feb 9, 2010)

Well you will have to feed him. Do you have a syringe? If you do put some formula in it. Put it very gentle into the right side of his mouth and just give him a little tiny bit at a time. He will learn that it is food and get better about eating it. Right now he is scared and doesn't realize you have food. It'll take a day or 2 for him to know you have food. Use a spoon if you have to but he must eat. wake it if you have to, but a baby cannot go long without eating. You could try getting in touch with a local breeder and asking if they would show you how to handfeed.


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

Oh Wow !! Right Side !!!

I thought u put the syringe on the left side and pull the food into the right side !!! That's what I learned from articles ;/ !!

I'll go wake him up now and try to feed him again !!


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

no, i think thats what they mean, kiki, what you are already doing. you put into the left side of the beak but point to the right

from srtiel's photobucket

http://s525.photobucket.com/albums/.../?action=view&current=Hand-position-illus.jpg

http://s525.photobucket.com/albums/...tion=view&current=Formula-pan-water-illus.jpg


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

2 weeks old chicks should eat every 4 hrs aprox during daytime hours with last feeding
ending around 11pm -12am then repeat again for next day so an example of a feeding
scheduale could be 8am,12pm,4pm,8pm,and last feed of the night 12am
no overnight feedings at this age

once chick reaches 3-4 weeks old it can be reduced to 3 hand feedings a day with seeds/pellets millitte also being offered in a dish on the floor at all times where chick is being kept(cage/box/tote)
3-4 wks hand feeding times example 830 am 2:30pm, 830pm feed 6hrs apart with a 12hr overnight so a complete crop empty occurs. but leave seeds/pellets/millitte available in dish still,if chick gets hungry it will eat this.

you will have to buy a gram scale to monitor chicks weight gains/losses with weight being written down also..to keep track of weight at a glance of your notebook records for this chick
also weighing chick each morning before you give 1st feeding of the day 
tells you how much to feed chick each day....its 10% of their weight you feed them at each feeding...use a syringe or bent baby spoon to feed it but a syringe you can measure whats being fed to chick properly and correct amounts for it ages
example my 3 1/2 week old chick weighs 85.0 grams so i feed him 10% of his weight ...
which would be 8.5 cc/ml in a syringe each feeding time schedualed through out the day


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

I woke him up and fed him a bit .. He was REFUSING ! SO BAD ! I did it with the spoon ! I know it's VERY SLOW ! but I would do that instead of risking in causing some aspiration ! the thing is when he eats with the spoon I feel like he only TASTES it ! n then he never asks for more ! but the worse he actually rejects and just go away ! It's cerelac Wheat&Honey ! We don't have the special formulas for baby birds ! ... So It has to be cerelac !

Poor baby he was too sleepy if ever had the power he would have slapped me lol .. coz I woke him up ! I'm just too worried of him !

Now he has a little bit of food in his stomach .. Like a tiny bit of yellow thing is seen ..

I'll follow that chart !
and yes he is in his warm nest box ! and the temperature in iraq is just wow  specially summer times ! I don't even need to mention that ! but we have air conditioners indoors so no worries .

I donno if he is gonna survive for the next coming hours ! he is not acting weird , but he is just being more reddish and not eating ! "Ok that's enough weirdness for a baby" .


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

do you get Pedialite out there in iraq
if not... try and give baby 104f-106f water to get him rehydrated fast...you say he is red so he is more then likely dehydrated and needs fluids soon or his system will close down
you must act soon or you will lose him


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## Debbie05 (Feb 9, 2010)

Could you take him back to the petstore and ask them to show you how to handfeed. I am sorry I ment when the bird is in front of you, looking at you. Hold the syringe in your right hand and put it in his mouth. I would try just giving him little tiny bits at a time. He needs fluids.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

how to syringe feed a baby Hold the syringe in your right hand and put it in his mouth from the right side of the beak(your right not its)
point tip towards inside left side of mouth(your left not the babies left)and squeeze slowly until syringe is emptied...clean baby up
note formula must be served at 104f-106f to not have crop problems in baby
the crop should be nearly empty to fully empty before each feed is given to not have crop problems in baby you will feed every 4hrs for 2 weeks old chicks with no overnight feeds til morning feeding time

and 3-4weeks old every 6hrs they need to be fed
no feeds overnight til morning feeding time for this ages 

oh by the way also just to let you know a chick can aspirate from a syringe or spoon
spoons are not any safer its the same risk either way

and with syringes you can make sure chicks are receiving correct amounts of formula for their weights and ages....i prefer to use the syringe over the spoon for this reason

i cant believe a pet shop would sell a chick that young  :huh:
or they should have at least show you how to properly feed it
either way i guess you saved it from a place like that
i wish you the best of luck and pray for you and that lil one:thumbu:


good luck keep us posted


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Cerelac is a product made for human babies. At http://headlinesindia.mapsofindia.com/babycare/baby-brands/cerelac.html there is a list of the ingredients of seven different varieties.

Baby birds have different nutritional needs than baby humans so this is not a suitable diet for a tiel chick. There are some recipes for homemade handfeeding formula on the internet but they are supposed to be used in emergencies only, when baby bird formula isn't available. But perhaps the best suggestion I've seen is to soak good-quality pellets for adult birds until they're mushy and use this as baby food. This might keep your baby alive and healthy, but it would really be preferable to locate a source of handfeeding formula that will ship to Iraq.


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## luffy3001 (Sep 1, 2010)

do what mitch said and keep it in a brooder and please dont post the same thread twice


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

I'm sorry but I didn't post it twice in purpose, It happened accidentally ...

He is now eating with the spoon ! and I had another tiel before which was raised up by cerelac, or I wouldn't have risked it.

and the shop owner didn't want him yeah I actually saved the chick, coz he wouldn't have cared if the he dies or lives !

ok I'll do it with the syringe ! but if he gets aspired ! what should I do ?  is there any way that can be done to save him ?


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

should he begin to aspirate grab chick and clear throat/mouth with qtip 
if it collapses and looks like it may not be breathing give the chick a quick little puff or 2 if needed in its mouth this can sometimes clear the airway and chick starts breathing again or brings back a what looks like a dead chick to life.as a life saving instinct a chick closing off its own air supply stops it from chocking so the puff of air stimulates them to breathe again if caught and done fast..

remember while feeding chick to give a little second or two for it to get its breathe
sometimes they are more focused on eating when feeding then breathing in..
i pause every mouthful aprox at every 2cc/ml to let chick get extra breathes and swallow food
then resume feeding..but some chicks will stop themselves to get a quick breathe
then go right back to begging/eating they will let you know if you watch their body language close enough...

nobody is forcing you to change your methods but with 2weeks old syringes are faster/easier/give accurate amounts of formula being given by cc/ml 's for ages/weights

at around 3-4 weeks and your used to amounts needed of formula you could switch over to a spoon if you wanted as amounts of formula will vary as baby is also being introduced to seeds/pellets/millitte /veggies around 3-4 weeks old as extras between feeds but are 
available at all times in his cage/tote floor in a saucer.


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

I will take him to a pet store to hand feed him within 2:30 hours ! thats when they are going to be opened ... I just gave him a little bit food some with spoon and a tiny bit with the syringe I'm too nervous to hold the syringe ... bcoz he keeps on moving and he is not letting me control it !


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

I'm sorry but what's a qtip ?


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

I tried to give him a push with the syringe slowly but It didn't work n for NO REASON ! the back of it's neck is like a tiny balloon it's visibly clear when he turns around ! he is not sneezing he only opened his mouth twice like yawning !

This is what I was afraid of ! I donno if the baby can survive for 2 hours !


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

it swallowed air in there 
he will burp it out so to speak ...you can gently massage (throat area) it up the throat its like burping a baby....but dont push on crop area exspecially if its full
try this 
updated after done


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

can you post a pic asap please


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

Kiki said:


> I tried to give him a push with the syringe slowly but It didn't work n for NO REASON ! the back of it's neck is like a tiny balloon it's visibly clear when he turns around ! he is not sneezing he only opened his mouth twice like yawning !
> 
> This is what I was afraid of ! I donno if the baby can survive for 2 hours !


what do you mean by it didnt work..was formula too thick for syringe and when you pushed on plunger did it globbed out or what?if too thick you might have to add a little extra water to the formula so its pudding texture
and whats the for no reason part am i missing something here..
what exactly happened?step by step please


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums...hotobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/&offer=y

take a look at the chick's photos they are from last night after feeding, I'll post the other photos now


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

First I grabbed his head tried to open his mouth I did some kind of grip with my hand but he wouldn't let me do a thing ! when I tried to push the syringe i did it very slowly so only one drop came out n he could escape from my hand ! one drop I'm not sure if he had it even or not ! but yeah I think he swallowed air as u said !


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

The formula is not too thick , it's like pudding even thinner


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

was baby gulping as you tried to feed it..if yes its air it will come out..
but you could have been going too slowly pushing on the plugger out of fear..he swallow air
you would push it at a rate a little slower then a doctor gives you a vaccine needle
but as you have seen dr do its pretty a slow push while being pushed in.at a smooth rate.
only a drop or 2 at a time is too slow the idea is to let baby know there is food in its mouth so i give by the mouth fulls and pause to ensure it gets a breath every mouthful or two..


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

Take a look at his photos Of last night

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0380.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0381.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0382.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0383.jpg

Today .. after swallowing air
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0385.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0386.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0387.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0388.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0389.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0390.jpg

is he too dehydrated to be taken to the pet store within 1-1:30 hour ?


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

this was the thing ! I was actually TOO SLOW ! coz I was afraid to push it too much and then over fill his mouth with the formula and cause him aspiration ..


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

when you do push it a little fast the chick will let the formula run out of mouth the excess and only swallow what it can.push as fast as a doctor gives you a needle but if you have fast drs then a little slower but rythmically gliding until emptied

if your really freaked out go back to spoon feeding it butbe sure a nice it has a nice rounded crop when done like this picture


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## Kristian (Jul 5, 2011)

Poor baby! He really needed someone to take care of him better then in that pet shop.
Best wishes.


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

Oh Wow !

I got surprised I entered the room Mum was holding the chick and she fed him with the syringe !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and when I asked her how did u do it she said I put it on the left side and just pushed it  but she said she made him swallow the food slowly himself that she didn't force him to !

and now he had some ! take a look at his pix plz and tell me what u think ;/ !!!!

photos of the chick , the formula and the syringe ! I don't have the long tube to stick on the syringe and feed him properly that's why I'm freaked out ! and he is not aspired yeah ?

Chick
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0391.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0392.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0393.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0394.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0400.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0401.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0402.jpg

Formula and syringe
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0399.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0396.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0399.jpg


Many Thanks


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

i dont use any tubes just a syringes tubes are used o feed directly into crop or removing bad food from crop only..you only need the syringe for normal handfeedings
how much are you feeding it ......is the syringes cc or ml?
he looks a little red which means hes dehydrated 
do you have a gram scale to weigh him?or a kitchen meat/baking scale that weighs in grams
most 2 week -3 week old chick eat aprox 8-10cc/ml or til crop is full.every 4 hrs 
10 cc is max amount at 2-3 weeks old..
this is why we weigh chicks so you feed max 10% of his weigh at each feed


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

I saw that tube thing in videos ...

Do u think he is ok ? he is now trying to sleep I put him back to the nest box ...


I posted the syringe pic there r MLs on it .. no CCs ..

I don't know how much I am feeding him !! coz it was by a spoon but TOO LITTLE u know that's why he looks dehydrated ..


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

by the way mum has the right idea just go slow and guide chick to syringe


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

do you have a thermometer?
you could measure/mix out up to 10 ml of formula and place in a juice glass and place in a bowl of hot water (the glass )to keep it hot but get the temperature of the formula to 104f-106f before serving it to baby too cold it gets crop problems too hot it will burn the crop...then feed with the spoon or keep trying with the syringe you/he will get used to each other pace of pushing plunger/swallowing formula in sink.
i think he will be ok 
but needs more fluid in his crop then in pic look at how full mine is in #27 
try the method above and see if it works for you both


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

Very much thanks  .. I'll do that keep u updated !


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

You're getting great advice on the handfeeding, so I'm just going to comment on the baby's age. I think he's at least three weeks old, and probably more like four weeks old. Most of the pictures don't show the flight feathers and tail feathers, but this one shows part of the tail:










Compare this tail to the pictures on srtiels "watch me grow" page at http://justcockatiels.weebly.com/watch-me-grow.html Notice how the quill is still visible in the tail feathers when the chick is 20 days old. Kiki's baby doesn't have any quill showing and might have a longer tail than srtiels' 22 day old picture, which suggests that Kiki's baby is older than 22 days.

Kiki's baby also seems to be standing upright very well in all the photos, which suggests that he's close to fledging age. Younger chicks spend a lot of time resting on their bellies.

There are individual differences in growth rates of course. The other "tiel development" sites that I found didn't show the tail clearly, but it looks like srtiels' baby is developing at a very typical rate and maybe faster than some. The other sites:
http://www.avianweb.com/cockatielchickdevelopment.html
http://www.acstiels.com/articles/breeding/Cockatieldevelopment.htm

Bea's pictures of Snickers from http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=5855 His development was slowed a bit because of a bacterial infection in the parents:


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

if the chick is 3 weeks old...

first you will have to rehydrate this chick....when his skin color returns to normal color
the skin should look this color of these chicks heads ..you will know hes properly rehydrated

then you can reduce the feedings to 3 times a day ,6hours apart from each other 
with a 12hr complete crop emptying overnight...no feeds overnight til 1st am feeding time

so an example of a 3-4 week old feedings is 830am,230pm,830pm
with seeds/pellets/millitte being offered all day inside cage on a saucer..
and veggies and fruit being offered mid-day for a half hour period only then remove it after half hour is up.


srtiels also has a thread called "hand feeding chart" its a sticky thread 
which gives details on how to wean a 3-4 week old to smaller feedings amounts gradually 
to prepare for switch over seeds/pellets when old enough to do so
check it out also 
great info ive used it many times with great success 

also check out "aspiration scare" by nwoodrow also a sticky thread
also great info to know and advice













hope this helps you out


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

I mixed grinded pellets with the cerelac formula and fed the baby 

I'm so happy that he had some ! he had like 9 ml ! I grabbed him and my mum was opening his mouth to push the food from the left side of the beak to the right side, step by step, like a push and we were stopping until he swallows it properly and breathes normally then we kept on going ! that was quite difficult and takes time but I hope he gets used to it soon  ! DO u think its gonna take longer than 2 days to get used to it ? coz he is proper refusing it !! he keeps running away !

Here I posted some of his photos again after being a happy baby 
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0404.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0405.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0406.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0407.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0408.jpg


I'll feed him again in 4 hours until he gets his normal color back as u said !

I'm not sure about the age, the owner didn't know either !! I don't know what kind of a guy he was ... the mother was plucking the baby right in front of his eyes n he was like smoking saying " ok I can't do anything about it " !! ;/ pathetic mind .

I showed his tail in two pix ! would u figure out the age and gender  ? coz I donno if it's a he or a she I'm just guessing it's a he  .. and yes is quite strong to stand up properly and move around !

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0409.jpg
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0410.jpg

one more thing ! Do I have to keep him in the nest box ? I actually put his nest box in his cage ! but I remove the cover of the nest box so he doesn't feel too hot ..
at this age should I just put him in the cage on the ground ?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

thing with older chicks... they dont see that as food after being fed by the parents for so many weeks.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

he sure looks fuller and happier

i found this pictures of me feeding mine





























the babies after a bath










and final picture with babies with bibs


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

update us in morning


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

Awww ur tiels are so cute  ! and I like what u did to keep them clean  ..

I fed him again :clap: .. Now he is full  ! But Wow it takes too long to feed a baby <_< , it took like 50 minutes for me ! so I'm lost now about my timings ! 


I fed him at
9:00 am __ 9 ml
1:00 pm __ 9 ml

and the next coming will be like this
5:00 pm __ 6-7 ml
8:00pm __ 8-10 ml
12:00 pm __ 8-10 ml

I'm going to feed him like that today cause I want to arrange the chart to be like 8:00am , 12:00am , 4:00pm , 8:00pm , 12:00pm
I will feed him like that until he finds his way .. then when I see he gets his color back and be quite healthy again I'll feed him every 6 hours with fruits availability in cage as u said  .

I only need him to learn that I'm feeding him and that syringe is his mum's beak ! he HATES it ! that's why it takes too long for me to feed him .. 



By the way I noticed something weird in his crop , right at the bottom side of the crop there is a little red spot, I can assume it's because of the parents plucking to him ! but I just wanna show it to u, and if there is something has to be done about it or not, if it's dangerous or not, P.s. the bird is acting normal ! probably it's not a big deal

Photo of the crop if it's clear
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h367/Bina_kiki/IMG_0416.jpg


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

The drops of the baby were green yesterday , today are brown , is that ok ?


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

I read an article telling that brown or choco colored poops are caused by liver disease or lead poisoning , internal bleeding !

I don't know now I'm TOO MUCH WORRIED AND CONFUSED !

Do u think it's because of the formula color ? or new environment ?


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Your pix does not show up.

From looking at the size of the baby he should be fed *three* times a day. 

Do you have a vet you can go to to have the vet check out the bird (it looks a little thin/skinny) And also a local breeder that can show you how to handfeed so that it is not taking you so long.


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

> Do you have a vet you can go to to have the vet check out the bird (it looks a little thin/skinny)


We don't have vets here , and the couple of available ones know only about chickens and roosters.



> Do you have a vet you can go to to have the vet check out the bird (it looks a little thin/skinny) And also a local breeder that can show you how to hand feed so that it is not taking you so long.


I know how to hand feed him now ! I fed him two times today and for the third time he came to the syringe himself  and he started liking it ! though I'm still TOO CAREFUL !! 

and yes he is too skinny ! and still looks dehydrated even though I'm proper feeding him like 8-10 ml every 4 hours ! so I donno when is he gona get his color back ! I'm feeding him cerelac mixed up with grind pellets ... I'll change it tonight .. what do u advice me ? No we don't have special baby formula !

Local breeder says give him cerelac it's the best food for him ! that's how he hand fed Kiki my first tiel ...



What about the poop ? I'm worried about that part !


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Change of foods will cause the color to change


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Looking at the length of the tail and how well the baby stands on your finger, it seems likely that he(?) has already fledged. Newly fledged chicks will be clumsy at first, but if he moves around reasonably well you can keep him in a cage instead of a box. Provide some millet spray, leafy greens, and other weaning foods - hanging up or on the floor is easier for babies than putting it in a bowl. He won't be able to feed himself effectively but he might manage to eat a little bit, and his eating skills will gradually improve.


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

He is now doing great !! eating from spoon and syringe as well! ! only showing it is enough to make him come and beg for it ! I feel so relieved now !

Another thing !!

I cleaned him after feeding with a fabric soaked with warm water ! n i started wiping it on the parts where the food was stuck on , as well as his neck ! when I was taking him back to the cage I noticed* a little spot of blood on the right side of the neck !* probably the food was stuck on there n when I cleaned it it pulled the feather out ! this is what I think !! or there would be no other reason !

what should I do about it ? I wiped it gently and now it's not bleeding , it's just a tiny spot of blood ! like when the parents pluck babies !


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

you might have tugged at a pinfeather/blood feather causing a little blood to surface on feathers...no worries if its a drop or 2.

qtips dipped in warm water are great for face and throat clean ups too for handfed babies
then pat dry with a kleenex/paper towel/makeup pad etc...rubbing can cause bleeding to occur


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

> no worries if its a drop or 2.



So Happy  Thanks a lot Mitch  ! and poop color is almost back to normal !


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Some of the redness and sensitivity of the skin might be irritation from being plucked by the mother. Now that he's eating well he can start recovering from this and start growing new feathers.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

yes poop changes with every changes in their diets


glad to hear his/you doing a little better a handfeeding today


with him being 3 weeks to a little older his aspiraton risks lower a bit compared to a younger chick...

once he is used to handfeeding it should only take 4-5 min to feed him


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

I believe he is doing well or I can say WAY MUCH BETTER than this morning for accepting the hand feeding ! he is kinda being used to it n understands it's food !

he is still a bit red ! but I think he is quite active ! He is not lazy ! only after feeding him he feels a bit sleepy !
But He is active as I said "I donno if this is normal or not" but he keeps on pulling his feathers "not plucking them, I think he is trying to pluck ! I'm not sure" but I think he is just trying to clean them ...

P.s. he stands on foot properly and moves around normally

*It's 8:50pm Now ! Crop is half full he is rejecting to eat now, and I don't wanna force him*
Today he was fed on 9:00am , 1:00pm , 5:00pm ! But lol when each feeding progress took 40-50 minutes I ruined the chart ! I want 12:00pm to be the last feeding .. 
Food is not fully digested till now in his crop and I don't wanna force him to eat !

I don't know if I should feed him twice till 12:00pm or one time only ! but I want to know that if I make 11:00pm his last meal , is he gonna survive till 8:00 morning ? how long do chicks survive without food ?


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

As srtiels said your bird should be fed 3 times a day, first thing in the morning 6 or 7 am, about noon or 1 and right before bed, about 10 pm or so. Feeding him more will cause him to regress not progress. That's probably why his crop is not emptying, your feeding him too much or too close together. Try the 3 times a day and see if his crop doesn't empty.


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

> As srtiels said your bird should be fed 3 times a day, first thing in the morning 6 or 7 am, about noon or 1 and right before bed, about 10 pm or so. Feeding him more will cause him to regress not progress. That's probably why his crop is not emptying, your feeding him too much or too close together. Try the 3 times a day and see if his crop doesn't empty.


Today was the first day ! he was dehydrated that's why I fed him that much ! plus I fed him 4 times today .. starting from 8:00am-10:00pm , and his crop was going empty so I couldn't leave him like that ! I fed him at 10:00pm and I'll do it again in the morning 6:00am ! I'll make sure the crop is empty before feeding him ...

when I fed him at 8:00am - 1:00pm - 5:00pm his crop was going empty .. but I had to wait from 5:00pm-10:00pm till it went empty again, then I fed him and took him to sleep ..


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

At this age you want to introduce soft foods like millet and veggies. Being a little hungry could help wean him to solid foods. Offer him pellets and cut up veggies, apples, and a good seed mix. See if he doesn't pick at them. Do you have him in a cage yet? You should probably transfer him to the cage during the day so he can nibble on stuff without making a mess in his bedding. Put the feed dishes on the floor of the cage and his perches low in the cage so he doesn't fall.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I hope that he's just trying to preen the feathers. His skin might be irritated from being plucked and it might also be itchy from new feathers starting to grow in so you might see him beaking his own skin. Let's hope that he isn't skillful enough yet to pluck himself.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

> I don't know if I should feed him twice till 12:00pm or one time only ! but I want to know that if I make 11:00pm his last meal , is he gonna survive till 8:00 morning ? how long do chicks survive without food ?



as i suggested earlier in this thread...

a 3-4 week old chick can go with a 12 hour period overnight with no food 
but leave seeds/pellets/millitte down at all times for baby to pick at saucer....
and handfeed every 6 hours apart during day time hours... so 3 x a day 

how many times did you feed him today so far?


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

and i time schedual you would probably like would be ...

feed baby at 11am 5pm final feed at 11 pm

but offer fruits/veggies/sprouts,w wheat toast no margarine/butter for a half hour each day at mid day aprox(1-330pm)
millit/seeds /pellets always available in saucer on cage floor all day throughout day


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

> Do you have him in a cage yet? You should probably transfer him to the cage during the day so he can nibble on stuff without making a mess in his bedding.


Yeah I do have him in a cage during the day .. but when It's his sleeping time over night I put him in the nest box..




> I hope that he's just trying to preen the feathers. His skin might be irritated from being plucked and it might also be itchy from new feathers starting to grow in so you might see him beaking his own skin. Let's hope that he isn't skillful enough yet to pluck himself.


Why Would he pluck himself if it's right ? what makes a tiel plucking himself ??




> a 3-4 week old chick can go with a 12 hour period overnight with no food
> but leave seeds/pellets/millitte down at all times for baby to pick at saucer....
> and handfeed every 6 hours apart during day time hours... so 3 x a day


I'm afraid he is too dehydrated for that coz he is still a bit red, or at least not as when we brought him from his parents nest ... his crop was somehow full but skin was white and bright ... now it's more red than being white ...




> how many times did you feed him today so far?


I fed him 4 times yesterday ! 9:00am , 1:00pm , 5:00pm , 10:00pm

and I was waiting till his crop was going empty ! between the the first three meals his crop was going empty quickly, but as I told u before on the third meal he started to eat himself and come for the syringe "or I can say at least not refusing it" .. so he had quite enough for his crop to wait until 10:00pm ...

It's 7:00am now in my country ... I fed him at 6:30am , that was when I woke up and his crop was PROPER EMPTY ! ..

First u told me to feed him until he gets his color back .. and as I'm seeing that he is still a bit red ! how about feeding him today 4 times as well like
6:30am
12:00am
6:00pm
11:00pm

Making sure his crop goes empty or TOO little food in it, n for tomorrow I would start 11:00am .. 5:00pm .. 11:00pm ..

Do u think it's a good idea ?

and I will offer him veggies, seeds/pellets/millitte in his cage he might start having them


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

yes those times are good for his age ,for now... because hes still dehydrated looking you say.

you can give 1 extra hand feeding if hes still red ..at above 4 x times you listed
but once he goes light pinkish/white color as in picture i posted 

then go to 3x a day ....when skin color is normal color...
3x/day is for 3-4 week old chick or older. ex: 11am,5pm,11pm
was what i was try to say you understood me correctly the 1st time i told you.

but because he is older then 3-4 weeks he should be also offered veggies,fruit for only 1/2 hr periods each mid day 
and seeds/pellets/millitte in his cage all the time 
he might start nibbling on these between handfeedings


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

as said by tielfan, his skin might be red because of being plucked, not dehydration


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

I'll Do That Mitch  ..


DallyTsuka, In fact when I brought him, his skin was white, and he wasn't plucked so badly by parents as my previous tiel ... when I got him the parents I think just started plucking him .. 
The reason why I think his skin is red is that I didn't feed him properly for the first day coz I was too scared of holding a syringe .. that's why he got dehydrated !  .. But Now he feels much better


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

your welcome Kiki


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

Again  He rejects it ! He refuses to eat .. But I feed him 5 ml every 3 hours his crop goes empty and he gets interested in food ! I donno why He stops and rejects so badly ..

My cockatiel does not scream !! I heard it make a low "weet" 4-5 times so far .. but he doesn't usually do it ! and he is still red .. I'm just making sure to feed him every time his crop goes empty or seeing a very tiny amount of food in it ! ..

He went too hungry today for minutes when his crop was empty so I was watching if he woulda go to the fruits n millets I put ! he was biting the plate --" !! then he went to his poop !! then I just gave him 5 ml but he stopped and refused having the rest so bad .. after 2-3 hours I gave him the other 5 ml !

This is so tough n stressful when u donno someone's language !!! I wish I was a mind reader --" !


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

the fruits/veggies/sprouts for a 1/2 hour period/daily
he might no eat these right away but keep offering it each day,the more he sees it he will eat it.
right now he might not realize this is also food so keep it up he'll catch on its food soon
and so you dont waste too much only give a little bit.

millit/seeds/pellets all day on saucer on cage floor.

also the older a chick gets it will refuse food from hand feeding utensil.
you just have to ensure he is eating at least 3x a day


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

I let his crop go empty ! he tried to pick some millets  ! I was so happy then he cried for food ! when I showed him the syringe he came straight away to it and started having it slowly bit by bit .. I don't put the syringe in his beak and push it ! I just show him the syringe with the food he starts clicking on the food and eat it slowly .. as when u feed a tiel with a spoon .. He had enough this time .. But I think he swallowed some air and he is not letting me to do massage for him , it's like a really tiny balloon *as I think because he had a lot this time compared with the previous feeding* ... he is not acting weird .. Nor moving his neck up or down even not trying to breath weirdly ! ... he is just feeling sleepy as always when gets fed up ... so I think that's alright yeah ?


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

he should be fine


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> he was biting the plate


It takes chicks a little while to figure out where the food is coming from! When we handfeed with a syringe, the chick learns that it gets food when it bites the hard plastic. But when we offer food in other ways the chick is supposed to ignore the hard part and go directly to the food.

When my chicks are about 5-6 weeks old they don't want to eat from a syringe and prefer to eat from a spoon instead. But at first they try to get the formula by grabbing the edge of the spoon and chugging. They don't get much food that way and it takes a few days for them to figure out they should stick their beak in the soft stuff instead.


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## Kiki (Jun 30, 2011)

> he should be fine


I think I'm just way too worried 



> It takes chicks a little while to figure out where the food is coming from! When we handfeed with a syringe, the chick learns that it gets food when it bites the hard plastic. But when we offer food in other ways the chick is supposed to ignore the hard part and go directly to the food.
> 
> When my chicks are about 5-6 weeks old they don't want to eat from a syringe and prefer to eat from a spoon instead. But at first they try to get the formula by grabbing the edge of the spoon and chugging. They don't get much food that way and it takes a few days for them to figure out they should stick their beak in the soft stuff instead.


Thanks a lot good to know that


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