# Weaning Chicks??????



## Rossco! (Jul 17, 2011)

My 2 oldest chicks are a little over 3 weeks old and im down from 4 feedings to 3 feedings per day. 6am - 10ml, 12pm - 8ml and 6pm - 10ml. Ive read some contradicting examples on how much to feed and when to feed and even how many feeds per day/feeding. To say im confused is an understatement!! Should a baby Tiel still cry and beg for food after a feeding? Are they just being greedy or should I be feeding more? They are generally quiet birds.........untill they see me or Kaye! 



Feeding time is going great and the chicks have really started to take to me and Kaye feeding them. We spend plenty of play time and cozy time with them too so I think they are going to be super tame. Im just unsure if im feeding enough. Some sites say to reduce the amout per feeding the older the chick gets and some sites say the opposite! 



One of the chicks has just taken a leap of faith out of his box and done a lap in my livingroom before crash landing into some nice soft blankets!!! (phew)! He done the same while I was feeding his sister.........I had only just fed him!!!! He only does this when he see's me and he heads straight for me. His sister is trying but I dont think her confidence is as strong. 



Does this sound waaaay too soon for the birds to be taken flight like this??? According to most sites Ive been on, I shouldnt see this for another week at least. 



Ive now put them in a cage with low perches and Ive put some seed and millet in for them to explore with.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

No, this is about the right time for him to start trying to fly. But I would let him fly before you feed him because with a full crop if he lands wrong he could aspirate on the food. And yes babies will cry even after being bed because the food hasn't hit their digestive system yet so they don't know there's food there yet. Also, don't feed more than 10mls a feeding, otherwise you may end up with slow crop. And as they get older you will start to reduce the feedings but not yet. Three feedings a day is perfect. Really you should be feeding 10% of their body weight at each feeding. Then as they get older you'll reduce the middle feed by 1ml per day. Then the morning feed will be reduced 1ml per day, then the night feed is reduced last. Hope this helped!


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## Rossco! (Jul 17, 2011)

roxy culver said:


> No, this is about the right time for him to start trying to fly. But I would let him fly before you feed him because with a full crop if he lands wrong he could aspirate on the food. And yes babies will cry even after being bed because the food hasn't hit their digestive system yet so they don't know there's food there yet. Also, don't feed more than 10mls a feeding, otherwise you may end up with slow crop. And as they get older you will start to reduce the feedings but not yet. Three feedings a day is perfect. Really you should be feeding 10% of their body weight at each feeding. Then as they get older you'll reduce the middle feed by 1ml per day. Then the morning feed will be reduced 1ml per day, then the night feed is reduced last. Hope this helped!


This is kind of the road I was heading down but after reading some other websites, it was telling me the opposite.

http://www.cockatielcottage.net/breeding.html


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## Shirley (Aug 29, 2011)

Hi, I also have two baby cockatiels and starting to wean them. 

First of all, you feed 10% of their body weight (weight them when the crop is empty, just before feeding time). over-feeding a baby cockatiel is not good because the food in the crop starts to sour if it's there for too long. if you feed a baby that still has food in its crop - the sour "old food" will sour the "new food" and problems start..

Baby cockatiels (and all parrots) will cry for food even after they've been fed enough. don't feed too much! let them cry they will relax after a few minutes.


"Some sites say to reduce the amout per feeding the older the chick gets and some sites say the opposite!"
The baby gains weight so you gradually increase the amount per feeding, but you reduce when starting to wean - the first and last feeding should be the usual (10%-11% of the cockatiel's weight), the second\middle day feeding should be gradually less than usual to encourage the baby to eat pellets\seeds, and after a few days of reducing the amount you start to feed only morning and night. Then you gradually reduce the morning feeding - but only if the baby eats his food (pellets\seeds) properly. Finally you reduce the night feeding.


Mine took their first flight at 4 weeks old.. don't know if 3 weeks is too soon but try to prevent them from flying so they won't break any blood feathers or hurt themselves by crashing..


Good luck!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> after reading some other websites, it was telling me the opposite.


There are different opinions on the best way to do it, so go with the one that makes the most sense to you. 

Fledging age varies. Most of my chicks fledge at 3 1/2 weeks but I've heard of babies fledging as young as 3 weeks. I don't know whether this makes any difference in their ability to manage other skills like standing on a perch, but mine are very clumsy at first and I put them back in the nest periodically so they can rest. They're free to come out again whenever they want to.

Minimize the dangers in the room they're flying in by covering up windows and anything else that could cause injury if they crash into it. If the room is relatively small they won't be able to build up too much speed before they have to change directions.


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