# Handraised Teil not eating!!!!



## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

I bought a cockateil today that i was told is 5 weeks old and weaned. I got him a 10am, he hasnt eatena thing all day and its now 8pm. I will contact the breeder first thing tomorrow, but am i being over cautious? Can it take more then the first day to eat?? The breeder did tell me he was eating seed but i have to place it all over the bottom of the cage, whitch ive done. Should i be as concerned as i am?? HELP!


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

Ill also add he is feathered but didnt know what a perch was. Hes quite clumsy but will perch on the finger well. Im actully unsure if he is only 5 weeks, but im thinking i was silly to think he was weaned that young anyway. Wont be sleeping tonight, too worried..will be having quite some words early tomorrow. Will he be ok untill then guys?? its 9:30pm now.


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## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Aw poor baby  You're right to be concerned. 5 weeks is too young for a baby tiel to be put in a new home. Just because they start eating on their own doesn't mean they're ready to stop being handfed, and even a baby that's eating all on their own can regress when sold because of the stress. My little Phoenix turned 9 weeks old on Sunday and he's been eating on his own completely for over 2 weeks, but every few days he decides he needs to a hand feeding even though he's perfectly capable of eating and drinking.

You can either bring him back to the breeder for a couple weeks (or longer, seriously, 5 weeks is young!) or learn to hand feed him yourself.

Hopefully Srtiels will be along soon to help give you advice on how to get some food into him tonight. If it's 9:30 there, I'd imagine all stores with handfeeding formula and syringes are closed so you're kind of out of luck, but Srtiels will have a better idea of what you can do with him and if he'll be okay. I'm mostly concerned about dehydration but that may not be a problem since cockatiels don't drink a lot.

Kudos to you for being observant and realizing there's something wrong with your birdy!


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

Thanks, im not leaving this site anytime soon. No shops open =( I reckon i should wake him and go right round there!! I think i saw him drink but def no food. Any substitute i can use just for tonight. When i approached the cage earlier i heard a noise ive never heard before (assume thats begging) Ive never had a teil this young. Will he make it to the morning, hes sleeping now. On a perch too! there is seed all over the cage floor..


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## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Oh I don't think you need to worry about him dying in the night! But he'll definitely be hungry in the morning. Poor little one.


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

Thanks for your help =)


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

Ive also noticed his stools are getting quite runny. Still the right colour but more water then needed and very little shape in the white bit. I dont know if this is because he has not ate. Im managing to get a few seeds in him right now, and he is peeling them himself but its a tedious job!


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## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

I'd imagine that's happening because like you said, he's not been eating. Nothing to poop out if he didn't eat anything! Do you have any millet? Phoenix loves millet and it's easy for babies to eat.


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

We are cracking sunflower seeds for him and hes eating them nicely. On about 6 seeds now, go me! He has the right idea just not quite getting it.


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

I dont have a millet bunch just the seeds by themselves. It 10pm now but at least he has something in there even if it is only a few seeds.


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

HES EATING BY HIMSELF!!! The sunflower seeds we cracked have him interested in food, then he started 'looking' for food on the tiles. We spread seed everywhere and hes eating all by himself!!!!!!!! Think he will be ok now, will still get formula tomorrow. His droppings are MUCH better but not 100%. Thanks guys!! Will post vids and pics when i can if all goes well =)


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## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

That is awesome...look forward to seeing pictures of him...
Shame on the breeder who sold him so young
I am glad to hear he is eating finally, I would definitely feed him formula too.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

If he is eating some of the cracked sunflower seed from your hand that is great. You can use a rolling pin (or bottle in a pinch) to roll it lightly/gently over the other seeds to loosen and crack the shells on them and see if he will try those seeds too. BUT...I would contact the person that sold you the bird and express your concerns as to the agge, and it being unable to fully crack all the seeds on it's own.

5 weeks old is TOO EARLY to be weaned or even sold. Even parent raised birds don't wean that early. Idealy a tiel should not be sold until it is 12 weeks old, and has been eating on it's own for a couple weeks.


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

I just called the breeder and asked him again, how old he id and he swears its 5 weeks old and has been off formula for at least a week. He said not to bother with formula because if i do that he will be asking for it all the time. Im really angry i let myself buy this bird now, im pretty sure hes older then 5 weeks as ive been searching for pics and vids. Im also certain he will need formula as im not happy with how little hes eating!! It frustrates me that people will sell animals as dollars and not living animals! Anyway im going up town to get some formula, ive never done this but i guess there is a first. Ive heard using a spoon or your hand is better then a syringe but ill pick one up just in case. Could use some support guys, ill get this little fella right =)


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## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

Luckily there are several people on this forum who are either breeders themselves or have raised babies...so you will be walked through this tough time by some very helpful people.
I have not raised a baby tiel...so I am just on here to give you some encouragement.
You can do this...it may be a little difficult, but you CAN do this.


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## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

What an irresponsible breeder! I can't imagine not caring about my babies and sending them away like that. Poor little birdy. 

I suggest you get more than 1 syringe. Get several, 10 CC size is good. You're going to need in addition to formula a digital gram scale to weigh your bird (both so you know how much to feed him and to monitor his weight), Q tips to clean out his mouth and possibly gauze pads, grapeseed extract to disinfect everything you use when feeding him, 2 thermometers to check the temp of the formula (you need 2 in case one goes on the fritz, otherwise you could burn him with the formula), and a small glass container like a shot glass to mix up the formula in.

Here's a thread about how to hand raise a chick:

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=6140

There are a couple of really important things to remember.

1: Make sure the temperature for him is safe!! The formula needs to be at 105 degrees. 108 can burn his crop (as in burn a hole right through) and below 104 can cause his digestion to slow down.

2: Squirt the formula in his mouth from the left side of his beak (which will look like the right side if he's facing you) towards the right side of his throat because his esophagus is on the right side and you'll squirt the formula into his lungs if you do it the other way

3: Don't feed too fast or he could breathe in the formula. Every few seconds take the syringe out of his mouth and let him get a good breath in.

4: Don't start to feed him until you're getting a feeding response, which is when they bob their heads and flap their wings. He could breathe in the formula if he's not ready.

5: Do not let him fly around after he eats- be careful because baby birds like to fly and if he flies with a full crop, he could bump his crop and breathe in the formula. With Phoenix, I either had my hand completely around him at all times or had him in a covered container after he was fed because they can take off really fast. 

I'm sure there's a guide to handfeeding somewhere. I kind of cobbled my knowledge together by reading as much as possible. Good thing is your baby is 5 weeks old, not a tiny little thing. He'll only need to be fed about twice a day.


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

ok, thanks so much! So twice a day morning and night i assume. And for how long? Untill hes ready?? How will i know hes ready to come off it. He has bobed his head at me a few times but no noise and the wings didnt move. Im sure ill be ok =) And the little fella too, has anyone looked at the vid i posted? Heres another link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvVtRdVWnjg
He could be older then 5 weeks since everything this breeder has said is bull.


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## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Aww he's so cute! Look at that little crest! 5 weeks doesn't seem unreasonable to me. If anything, I'd think the breeder would say your baby was OLDER than he is. They tend to look like grown ups pretty young, even when they still need to be handfed.

He will give you a feeding response (the rapid head bobbing and wing flapping and rapid chirping) when you put the syringe in his mouth. Head bobbing while fussing is just begging for food. When they bob while giving a feeding response, it's much faster.

You know he's ready to drop feedings when he doesn't want to be fed anymore. Usually you drop the morning one first, then stick with the night one for a while longer.


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

Yeah, his little crest thingy is so cute, kinda not all there yet lol. 15mins untill i go into town (sucks only having one car) Ill update you guys later on. Hes eaten a little seed this morning but nothing compared to how much im aware they are suppose too. He seems bright eyed and bubbly and his dropping are pretty good, VERY GREEN but. Ill start to take pics if it worrys me more. Thanks again guys.


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## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Hmm bright green droppings? That could be a sign of something wrong. Send a PM to Srtiels so she'll look at this thread.

I just looked at the video again and saw that you were letting your baby eat off the floor- I would avoid doing that. He's young and his immune system isn't perfect yet.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I'm no good at estimating ages, but I do know what a plucked crest looks like! Babies are supposed to have a full crest when they fledge but sometimes the parents give them a haircut.


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## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Tielfan, can't believe I didn't think of that- I've wondered more than once why a lot of babies have very meager crests, and I thought it was just because they were babies. I guess those long feathers are just too much for some parents to resist!


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## luther349 (Apr 5, 2010)

he looks old enough to eat on his own. it may be a bit of regression your seeing. baby birds can be a real pain sometimes. i got my birds fully feathered and flying so i didn't have to deal with there baby state.


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

i would say he is around 6 weeks old, he looks to be of similar age to mine, mine will be 7 weeks old wednesday, (i am hand rearing him and have been since 3 weeks old) mine can now eat for himself although i currently am still feeding formula 4 times a day.

my thread is OMG i have an egg, and i have some footage there of me spoon feeding him if you are interseted and feel you may need to offer formula, it will be back a few pages now.


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## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

He is very cute...be really careful with him right next to your back door slider...don't want him to get outdoors. I only say this, because it can happen so quickly, it nearly happened to one of my tiels that were in my kitchen. His cage was right next to the back sliders, but I have a few kids running in and out sometimes...just thought I would mention it.
By the way...nice set up, his cage and toys look great, he will be spoiled rotten in no time. lol


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## jusdeb (Sep 3, 2010)

Wow , its illegal to sell unweaned birds here , the breeder should be put into the SPCA .Anyhow if you have some frozen vegies , boil them up(cool them down) then mush them between your fingers and offer them to him also get a flat container that he can get in and out of and put some budgie seed in there as they like to sit in their food when they are learning to eat.
A little drink of water also and when you get to the shops a bottle of poly aid or spark , this given with a syringe will perk him right up .


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## carusoe13 (Feb 16, 2010)

ok first of all wow what a buety and als i didn't relize this but i got my mocha when she was about i think five weeks and yes i would reccomend getting millet and not a ton of toys either ust a high perch or a nest to sleep in so e can feel safe! and it's so much fun to see them grow up each day by aboutthe second day that i had mocha she was figuring out how to fully preen herself then i got her interested in seed right away but first i let her have some millet not evenrelzing tho that she had probably never sees seed before!! well i just thought that i would say she's doing amazing and her birthday is on october 31st! so i figured i would let you know that i had the same behaviour from my baby to and they are also verry nippr and hissy at first well at least mocha was!


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## Velvet (Jul 30, 2010)

I wonder sometimes, when they don't eat well, if they pick up on our stress over it and don't eat because they sense us stressing over it. Seems like he is getting used to beginning to eat, that is great! I bet he'll be eating veggies, and rice and all other great foods soon and will be a little piggy like the rest of our fuzzies real soon


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## jusdeb (Sep 3, 2010)

It is normal for them to stop eating and drop weight in readiness to fly so keep offering goodies and he will get through this just fine .
I have a 5 week old hand reared who is absoltely trying it on at the moment , wont eat if Im holding him , wont take formula unless I insist he takes just a little , wants to climb all over me instead of eating , he has maintained the same weight for a week and is healthy as a hog . Most of your tiels behaviour is normal just probly made a little worse by being rehomed at this time .


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

Hey guys, the dark feathers are just ink form where the breeder marked his birds to tell them apart, His brothers and sisters where all lutinos too. I got some millet, he is eating MUCH better now. He is hand feed formula twice a day and eats seed as he pleases. His cage is so big hes still yet to explore it all!! He is def more settled in and he droppings are 100% now. Will post more vids soon. Thanks guys!


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## jusdeb (Sep 3, 2010)

excellent news .


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## Cockatiel love (Aug 15, 2010)

poor little thing. I got a handreared baby and it was 9 weeks old, 5 weeks that's a joke!


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## Cockatiel love (Aug 15, 2010)

I am glad to hear your news, just read all of it and i posted about something before. Charie's owner was great at hand rearing and he was eating the time we got him home, he is quite a pig now and eats anything, veggies, fruit, seed, pellets even cables (but i don't let him) 
Glad to hear yours is alright


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## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Oh, I meant to ask- is only one of his wings clipped?! That's really weird and unsafe. Can't believe the breeder did it. You should clip the other wing too, then when he molts make sure he gets lots of practice flying before you clip the wings again. Poor guy, they need to learn how to fly well before they get their wings clipped and I doubt he had the chance since he's so young. Clipping just 1 wing was not the solution though!


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

I actully noticed that too. I did clip his other wing shortly after i noticed it was putting him off balance really bad. Could also explain why he was and is so unco some times. He is eating really well now and that ink stuff is starting to fade. Hes also starting to explore his cage more but still not interested in the toys. Hey does anyone know if cuttlfish is ok for young ins? I put a piece in there and hes loving it but i dont know if hes eating too much now. And whats the best way to get them to eat veges and friut?? Like how to prepare? I tryed steamed brocolli but nothing. More vids soon i promise!!


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

As to the cuttlebone, you can check the floor of the cage below the cuttlebone to seed if there is dust there. If so the tiel may just be shredding it. Here is an illustration to try ways to offer new stuff. Tiels are more prone to eat greens and veggies than fruit.


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp60O2_SYZk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doz2Cnr9CRI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aohs3fktbP4

UPDATES Yay!!

Anyone know what that noise is he makes, i usually just feed him thinking its his 'im hungry mum' noise lol.


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## SteveandRonnie (Jul 17, 2010)

the breeder was certainly telling lies when he/she said the bird was weened at 4 weeks. sounds like they are just churning them out left right and center for cash. its sad because not all the people that buy babies from them will be as quick on the uptake as you were and some will die. well done for getting him eating on his own. you saved his life. congrats.


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

SteveandRonnie said:


> the breeder was certainly telling lies when he/she said the bird was weened at 4 weeks. sounds like they are just churning them out left right and center for cash. its sad because not all the people that buy babies from them will be as quick on the uptake as you were and some will die. well done for getting him eating on his own. you saved his life. congrats.


Thank you so much =)


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

Has anyone actully looked at my last links?? He makes this noise quite often. As I said i assume its a im hungry mum noise... i hope to have him of the formula in a few weeks but we will see hehe..


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxNm-FS4ViY&NR=1&feature=fvwp

The above link is what a hungry teil sounds like. Your bird sounds like it is trying to chirp and vocalize to you.


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## Daharkaz Angel (Aug 31, 2010)

Thanks Srtiels youve been very helpful =)


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