# where do i put my baby cockatiels while handfeeding



## luffy3001 (Sep 1, 2010)

is it ok to put my cockatiels in a shoe box filled with wood shavings im going to pull my cockatiels when the smallest one is 2 weeks old so i wont need a brooder could i leave them at room temperature in a nike shoe box filled with wood shavings i will put holes in it or should i use a ten gallon fish tank but i think that will make the babies cold wat should i do


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It would be really helpful if you would only make one thread asking the same question. That way all the answers and discussion will be in one place.

You indicated in another thread that you have already set your tiels up with a nestbox. But honestly, I don't think you're ready for breeding and handfeeding yet. Breeding is serious business and there are a LOT of things that can go wrong. Before you do it you need to spend a lot of time reading about the subject and learning all you can about it, and then ask questions here about things that aren't clear to you or that weren't discussed in the reading material. I get the impression that you're getting all your information from this forum, which is certainly better than just going ahead without asking for info at all, but you need more than this to be prepared. 

I recommend that you go to http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww1.htm and scroll pretty far down the page until you get to the list of cockatiel links. There is a 10-part article on The Responsible Breeding of Cockatiels, which would be an excellent thing for you to read. There are also some good articles on breeding at http://www.cockatielcottage.net/

The article at http://cockatiels4u.tripod.com/rearing.htm has some information on brooder temperatures. 2 week old chicks are not fully feathered and will need a temperature of 80-85 degrees until they feather out. 

My birds stop brooding the chicks when the oldest one is about a week old. If there are multiple chicks they will keep each other warm in the nestbox, assuming that the room temperature (or outdoor temperature) is reasonable. I've never used a brooder, but I assume that they don't retain the babies' body heat as well since you need supplemental heating for a brooder. A shoebox probably isn't going to be adequate.


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

tielfan said:


> It would be really helpful if you would only make one thread asking the same question. That way all the answers and discussion will be in one place.
> 
> You indicated in another thread that you have already set your tiels up with a nestbox. But honestly, I don't think you're ready for breeding and handfeeding yet. Breeding is serious business and there are a LOT of things that can go wrong. Before you do it you need to spend a lot of time reading about the subject and learning all you can about it, and then ask questions here about things that aren't clear to you or that weren't discussed in the reading material.


Very nicely said. I got the same impression but didn't chime in until now. I didn't want to discourage or sound rude. Learning by doing is important, but not at the expense of a life. What I would do is take down the nest box if there are no eggs yet then find some books about cockatiels. Go to the library, check out all you can about breeding parrots and cockatiels especially. Get a good book on general care too. Get books on breeding budgies if you have to, they come from the same areas and sometimes breed in the same manner. If there are still questions after reading at least 10 books and the above websites from start to finish, then ask them. I can guarantee that you will have a lot less questions. When you have answers to all your questions _*THEN*_ put up the box again.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Books are great, but be careful: our understanding of proper bird care has evolved rapidly in the last 10-20 years, and a book that is just a few years old might have outdated information. So read things on the internet too, and read threads on this forum that look like a useful learning experience. A huge amount of my knowledge has come from reading forum posts on several different boards by people who knew more about a subject than I did. I didn't just take their word for it either - when something new came up I would often research it on the internet to see how accurate the information was.


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

Another word of advise, find a bird club and go to their meetings, learn from them. Ask as many questions as you can and many will take you under their wing and be there to help you too.

Parrot Society of Los Angeles. 520 Washington Blvd. #451, Marina Del Rey 90292; (310) 358-2907, [email protected]


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## luffy3001 (Sep 1, 2010)

i always thought cockatiels were about the same as budgies becasue i have had and trained budgies for so far 6 years so when i hear u guys talking abut stuff that i never heard beforei always wonder if cockatiels are different than budgies so i went to the library researched everything about cockatiels and i learned about breeding i went to a breeder and he gave me lots of tips and even showed me how to handfeed cockatiels but i asked him where i could put a baby cockatiel after handfeeding and also i ask u guys all these questions only cause i know u guys are experienced and u guys know everything about cockatiels because books just say things about cockatiels in general they dont tell u secrets that u would only know by raising cockatiels im sorry i promise i wont ask questions anymore thanks for ur help and everything
Thank You


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> i promise i wont ask questions anymore


No! Please!! We WANT you to ask questions!!! Something about your posts created the impression that you hadn't done much research, and if that was wrong then we're sorry. Sometimes people do come on the board as beginners and want to go directly to breeding and handfeeding which is WAY beyond their ability. So for the safety of the birds we try to gently discourage breeding until the would-be breeder is better prepared for the task. 

All of us here are still learning things too. I've raised six clutches of chicks and "borrowed" all of them for handfeeding once or twice a day but then put them back in the nest. I never pulled the chicks for handfeeding because I've seen so many people have problems that I'm scared to do it. I've never had any handfeeding-related problems but the story would probably be different if I had pulled the chicks and done all the feeding myself. The parents do a better job than we can.


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## luffy3001 (Sep 1, 2010)

i know about cockatiels its just i want to see if ur stories are the same as the research and i want to know cause i dont want to make anyistakes that will hurt my cockatiels in anyway its just i dont want to make any mistakes even though everyone makes mistakes


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## Kristian (Jul 5, 2011)

If your going to do it. Keep us posted becouse we are happily here to help.
But it true that you have to be very, very carefull and double check you facts. Even prefessionals make mistakes that can have deadly consequences. 

And asking is better than making a mistake, so ask please.

Best wishes!


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## Kristian (Jul 5, 2011)

tielfan said:


> No! Please!! We WANT you to ask questions!!! Something about your posts created the impression that you hadn't done much research, and if that was wrong then we're sorry. Sometimes people do come on the board as beginners and want to go directly to breeding and handfeeding which is WAY beyond their ability. So for the safety of the birds we try to gently discourage breeding until the would-be breeder is better prepared for the task.
> 
> All of us here are still learning things too. I've raised six clutches of chicks and "borrowed" all of them for handfeeding once or twice a day but then put them back in the nest. I never pulled the chicks for handfeeding because I've seen so many people have problems that I'm scared to do it. I've never had any handfeeding-related problems but the story would probably be different if I had pulled the chicks and done all the feeding myself. The parents do a better job than we can.


So true. Its HARD work!


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

for myself i keep my 2-3 week olds inside a large/tall totebox with 3"of aspen shavings on bottom of it....3" of shavings will unsure the baby has warmth under in and around it with a towel put over the top.

this time im using my baby cage with 3" of aspen shavings with a baby blanket wrapped over small cage...seems to work for my 3-4 weeks olds in past so im doing it with my 2
week old this time...

either way you use these methods of the tote box/small baby cage ,it is kept indoors...
as the house/building is heated so i don't use heat sources other then shavings for the babies tote or cage ....except in winter weather below 15c outside making the indoors cold..you must judge your indoor heat for yourself.

sorry you feel frustrated about asking questions here.
we do mean well with our responses,
we have all had our losses of babies throughout breeding process as well as some healthy babies too but not all goes well everytime so all we can do is try to educate new breeders the best we all can...if it can prevent a loss of a life or even save one ,from a question asked and done the way you were told to..it is worth every word or reading it.
all we are trying to tell you Luffy is try to keep one thread per topic so you and we can find it easily if you start a new thread with same topic multiple times you/we get lost
and it seems to you like were not answering your question but really we are.
also you can always go back to a thread to reread any advice you were given/read
here if its all kept in one thread..
as you do breed for years sometimes you will have to reread a past post to refresh your mind nobody is perfect at remembering everything on something you learned

anyways i hope this anwered your orignal question of where to keep a 2wk old baby while handfeeding it.


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## luffy3001 (Sep 1, 2010)

thanks alot


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## Debbie05 (Feb 9, 2010)

Don't worry about asking questions. It's better to ask and know what to do. We all started somewhere and asked others many questions. If your not sure ask. Good luck.


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

Yes, please keep your questions to one post. I feel like I've answered the same question a hundred times. lol I'm sorry that We underestimated you. I do hope you succeed at breeding your birds.


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## luffy3001 (Sep 1, 2010)

thank you every one ill try to keep the questions to a minimum unless i cant find the answer doing research


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