# 6 week old cockatiel plucking?



## extragirl (Oct 21, 2011)

hi all, 
2 days ago we bought a 6 week old cockatiel, he was handreared (owner thinks its a he, but not 100% sure)

The lady we bought him from gave us his baby food, to set us up with. But hea has been plucking his feathers around his neck, you can see his skin, I am worried

we have never had a tiel before (well not a baby one), we have a older tiel but she has only been with us for 3 weeks(untamed) , so I dont know if this is normal or not,

I tried to do some research and came with molting, but wouldnt that be too soon for him, is it because lack of diet or something, or just another tiel process???

Please help
Thanks


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i think 6 weeks is too young for him to be away from the breeder. hes not weaned, and if you have not handfed before, this is not a good idea here. 

are you getting formula on his chest and is he plucking it? or he could be having irritation from a crop problem, such as sour crop, yeast, or burn. a vet would be the best bet if it is not because of formula drying on his feathers.


do you know what formula temperature the food needs to be? do you know how much to feed? do you know when to prepare fresh formula? do you know what sour crop or yeast looks like? do you know how often to feed?

not trying to sound like im attacking you as im not, i just need some background information to rule things out and make sure you are sure of what you are doing and help you out if you dont know something.

welcome to the forum


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## igottafeelin (Aug 29, 2011)

Agreed. are you sure he's 6 weeks old? this is to young for a bird to be weaned and away from someone that knows how to hand feed.


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## extragirl (Oct 21, 2011)

thanks for the answer, I think you are right, there was formula on him, we just bathed him twice now and he is dry, but still I feel as if he is picking the feathers around his neck and chest, anything else i can do, he didnt like having a bath very much, as we had to wash him

I doubt that it is a yeast or crop, as there is no buldge

I give him warm formula, but once I gave him room temp formula, i feed him twice daily, and i feed him until he doesnt want it anymore.

Also to let you know, the formula is a home made recipe from the owner 
contains:
baby cereal 250grams
egg buiscuit from pet store 1kg
raw sugar( not much ) 200grams
full cream milk powder 200grams

Do you know if his feathers will come back again, especially because he hasnt molted yet?

Thank you sooooo much for your help


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

WHY is the breeder feeding him this??? he needs proper handfeeding formula. you can buy it at some pet stores such as petsmart. and formula cannot be reused or reheated when handfeeding. you have to make a new batch every time you handfeed. it grows bacteria really fast and can make the baby sick if you use old formula 

the cream milk powder, birds are lactose intolerant so i dont think this is good. and this formula i dont think has the nutrient balance that tiels need. 

as for temperature, room temps is too cold and warm may not be proper either. it needs to be a proper temperature, 105 degrees ferenheit is a proper temperature that wont cause sour crop or crop burn. if its too cold he cannot digest it properly and it can cause slow crop. in time if he continues to be fed this way he can develop slow crop.


do you know how to wean him?


his feathers should come back in.

did the breeder show you how to properly handfeed without asperating him?


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## morla (Aug 15, 2011)

Poor cockatiel!


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## igottafeelin (Aug 29, 2011)

The people on this site are very helpful. Take the advice of DallyTsuka. I hope you are able to do some research on handfeeding and have a long happy life with your new baby.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Wow. I don't have much experience hand feeding, but as Dally pointed out, there are several things in that recipe that aren't good for birds. I would suspect either a crop infection or yeast, both of which I believe could be caused by both the milk powder and the sugar in the formula. If his crop is bothering him, he would pluck the area on his neck like you are seeing. Can you get him to a vet for a checkup?


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## extragirl (Oct 21, 2011)

Thank you all for your awesome help!!! I'd be soo lost without it!

I went and bought some formula for hand rearing, and a thermometer
The breader used to spoon feed him, so thats what i am doing to, but he gets so dirty, anything I can do to stop it?

I have read some about weaning, it is when you slowly take away his formula whilst giving him fruit and veges, seeds and pallet


My dad told me that maybe he hasnt been plucking, maybe he just is developing them slower on his chest, could that be possible??? like I mentioned before, I never had a baby cockatiel before nor really seen one.
Once my dad told me that, I checked the bottom of the cage (although it was cleaned out the day before) and there was only 5 small tiny bits of fluffy feather - very small, seemed very normal for 2 cockatiels. 


Also how much ml's of food do I give him, it doesnt say on the packet of formula

Thank you


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## stevechurch2222 (Sep 25, 2011)

Weigh him and feed him 10% of his weight,so if he weighs 60 grams feed him 6 ml of formula.


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

I'm just reading up on this post. Quite honestly, I bet the feather problem is just due to lack of hygiene/cleaning up on the breeder's half. They can be quite messy little buggers. I would suggest just making sure he stays clean after feedings by keeping a dish of warm water and a soft cloth (or makeup remover pad) to wipe his mouth chest down with periodic during and after feeding. 

I also agree that formula recipe sounds like hogwash. I really don't know much about the breeder, but it basically sounds like a save money kind of thing on the breeder's part. These little guys really need their nutrients. And a lot of stuff in that recipe sounds like it would cause more harm than good.


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## chloe92us (Jul 12, 2011)

I think weaning is supposed to be up to the bird, not the feeder. But you should start introducing new foods, including millet and seeds. You can also introduce moistened pellets (but be sure to remove them after a couple hours or they may spoil). 

Tiels aren't really into fruits---but definitely try peas, carrots, corn, broccoli, salad greens etc, chopped up really fine and warmed up for the baby. These are low calorie foods and they need calories, so also do brown rice, couscous, etc (without any seasoning), egg food or cooked eggs.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

if offering pellets, do not give egg, it has too much protein. eggs with pellets is not good.


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## extragirl (Oct 21, 2011)

I did take him to the vet a couple days ago and, the vetenerian told me that its just because of the formula dripping over his chest, but that he was only plucking a little bit! But we have given him a bath to get the formula out, and we hope he doesnt pluck anymore, fingers crossed

Thanks all for your kind help


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