# Going through a Birdy Divorce?



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

So Hershey's baby didn't make it. And I'm not sure why. Abdomen wasn't enlarged, it wasn't dark, I have no clue what happened to the little guy. But I never heard any feeding sounds this morning. And Snowball wasn't in the box this afternoon. Did Hershey not feed him? Does she not want Snowball's babies anymore. She let Fuzzy in the box the one time I let him out. Does she want Fuzzy? Who she could never have babies with, but does she want him and not Snowball anymore? There was nothing wrong with that baby. What should I do? There are at least two more babies to hatch, should I let Fuzzy back out and let him sit with her? Will that make these babies live? Any help is appreciated.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

is anybody sitting on eggs now ?will being with Fuzzy make her sit on eggs?if yes then try it maybe...
or will snowball sit on eggs with out her in there?try him if hes the father 
the object now would be to get someone on those eggs
or do you have an incubator?if noone is sitting on them or /and won't sit on eggs
hope someone has extra advice soon
sorry about baby


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

O no they both sit just fine, in fact Hershey's been doing MOST of the sitting, Snowball barely gets a chance to be in the box. This is nothing like it was last year. But I don't think she fed the baby. Maybe if I let Fuzzy sit with her she'll take care of them? I know he will and I know she'll let him in the box with her.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

hows Snowball deal with Hershey being in his nest box?if they all don't mind then maybe place all together if thats whats gets them feeding babies
how long til rest of eggs hatch now?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Egg4 is hatching...problem with letting Fuzzy in is that he won't let Snowball in...that's why he's in his own cage. But I gotta try something!


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

maybe switch at least for tonight til someone else has extra ideas
is this the last egg or second last to hatch still?
its piping the 4th or hatched out soon


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

if Fuzzy can't have babies is he just using Snowball as his stud maybe then claiming eggs as his own?
maybe he will feed this soon to be hatchling try it if you have no other ideas


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

when they are paired do they ever let Snowball in nest as 3rd party feeder
if yes leave Snowball in but if hes seen as intruder then switch cages and see if this helps
next baby survive plus possible other egg too.worth a try at this point


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Yea 2nd to last egg, two are DIS. O Fuzzy can make babies, they just never live long enough to even feather out. Last year, Snowball and Hershey set up shop in Fuzzy's box, kicked Cinnamon out completely. Left her all alone because they didn't kick Fuzzy out with her. They raised the clutch together, perfectly fine, no problems. No fighting, in fact, Snowball and Fuzzy would sit in the box together! But then this year when I put a box up, Fuzzy wouldn't let Snowball in it. Got very mad at him if he tried. So Snowball would sit and just watch. So I set Fuzzy up in his own cage with his own girl only to have his whole clutch die. When I let them out to go back with the others, he went right to Hershey's box. And she let him in. That's why I'm thinking birdy divorce. But Snowball is so loyal to her, he won't mate with anyone else, while Hershey will. Maybe she wants Fuzzy but knows his babies don't live? That's what I'm starting to think. And if Snowball still wants to mate with her, I can work that out. Take Fuzzy away for a few days, let Snowball and Hershey set up, then let Fuzzy back in so he can be with her. That is if she'll take him now...


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

If she has rejected Snowball then let Fuzzy back in and if Fuzzy and Hershey are fine sitting and raising the babies that might be your best option. Is Hershey aggressive toward Snowball now? Do Fuzzy and Hershey drive Snowball away? Perhaps if Snowball's presence is a problem and Fuzzy is up to the challenge of being the daddy then let Hershey and Fuzzy do their thing so at least the babies will survive. That's strange that Hershey's decided she doesn't want Snowball being the daddy. How's Snowball coping?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

He looks sad and lonely sitting there staring at the box...she's just acting so weird. Like she was fine with Fuzzy a few days ago, but now she's not letting him in either. So I don't know what's going on with her. I might have to lock Snowball up for the night and see if that helps...


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

worth trying...
weird things happen for strange reasons sometimes but with good results.
if it works for them all the better
keep us posted on progress


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Aww, poor Snowball. He's a good dad too right, he would've fed the baby? Can he raise them on his own? I know you can't kick Hershey out, but I would be tempted to if she's being a bad mama, a bit like child services.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

if your really at the end of the tries
if she wants to do this alone you could try assist feeding with her alone and remove both males as last option
or could you assist feed with one of the dads only feeding with you assisting him


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Yes Snowball is an excellent daddy...both him and Fuzzy are. If I thought they would raise the babies together without her, I'd kick her out in a heartbeat. Me and Hershey aren't on good terms right now, not after the baby this afternoon. Because I never heard her feed him, not once. I gave him pedialyte yesterday after he hatched but if that's all he ever got, then he starved and she is in BIG trouble with me. Love her to pieces but she's a brat and she knows it too. I don't know what's gonna happen but I'll keep y'all posted!


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

She doesn't know how good she has it! some cockatiels don't get babies Hershey!  Yeah, kicking her out might just cause more problems. I think they need to sort out their relationship issues... talk about Days of our Lives!


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

I hope it all works out! I want to see some babies


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

You and me both Sarah!!! O the drama they have, I don't need any drama, my birds are enough!!!


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

so whos sitting on eggs?Hershey


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Yep Hershey....Fuzzy is standing at the door singing to her, I guess that's how he gets her to let him in the box. You can tell when he sticks his head in the box to sing, it sounds muffled.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

aw cute
hope it works out


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## Lulu The Tiel (Apr 11, 2011)

I wanna see some babies too! I second the thought that you've got a cockatiel soap opera. I feel bad for Snowball and Fuzzy! I hope it works!


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

OK....my thoughts are that a single bird can hatch out and raise babies so I might put let the other male do that. If the babies do better with the other male feeding them then it is an indication that something is wrong (susch as a low grade yeast or bacterial infection) with one of the parents. if the baby is still lost it could be a genetic problem.

It might be a good idea to get a necropsy done on the baby to see if it is a genetic problem or something else. Can you go back in the background of the parents to see if they are related somewhere down the line?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Parents aren't related...I got the hen from a breeder two hours away from where I lived and the male from a local bird store. They raised up their own clutch just fine last year but this was the pair that let another male help them out. This year, the males didn't want to work together and now the hen isn't feeding. I'm hoping that she'll let Fuzzy help her out since he has this compulsive need to feed babies. And if that doesn't work then I'll pull her out and let Fuzzy take over, he's good at being a daddy. But he's not the biological father of this clutch, Snowball is. Fuzzy can't breed anymore, I think he does have a genetic issue.


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

roxy culver said:


> Yep Hershey....Fuzzy is standing at the door singing to her, I guess that's how he gets her to let him in the box. You can tell when he sticks his head in the box to sing, it sounds muffled.


Aww, just had to say that is cute. Did she let him in?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Nope, she made him stand at the door. He got bored and left her there. I wasn't sure if he would switch with her like Snowball had been doing so I just put Snowball back. But I'll keep trying Fuzzy to see if he gets anywhere with her.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Lost baby 4....5 looks like he's trying to hatch but I don't know. Now I have to make a decision. Let them try one more time or not? What do you guys think? How should I go about this? Let Hershey and Snowball mate, then let Fuzzy help her? Not sure what else to do...


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

aw so sorry to hear that Roxy
you could let Snowball stud for Fuzzy and see if Hershey will raise them with Fuzzy..
yes ...could work if snowball's not in cage with them after he has studded for them though
maybe even have him in a different room all together after the deeds done so Hershey won't get confused who she wants next time...
who knows might work next time


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

That's what I'm thinking too Mitch, let Snowball play the stud and then Fuzzy do the nesting. Fuzzy's already in his own cage because I was trying to keep him from Hershey, guess that wasn't my best idea lol. So I guess I'll try that if this egg doesn't make it. Thanks!


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

so if you do decide to stud Snowball/Hershey...would you wait or go on now?
have Fuzzy in same room temporarly in different cage...
then when you switch mates 
have Snowball moved to a new room in his own cage 
is what i was saying earlier
so Snowball/Hershey are together now?how are they towards each other now?
were all three in a cage at once at any time during this clutch?did they work together as a family unit?
just trying to understand where they are coming from..lol
sorry so many questions but learning as i go too


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

O no its OK I don't mind the questions...last year when I bred them they were all in one big cage. In fact, I hadn't meant to breed Hershey yet, but she decided that since Cinnamon had a box she was gonna take it over and make it hers. Kicked Cinnamon right out. But when her and Snowball set up, they never kicked Fuzzy out. He helped them raise their clutch of five. But after that clutch, Hershey started letting Fuzzy mate with her too, not just Snowball. And letting Fuzzy preen her. Then we moved. In the new place, I set up a box on a shelf for Hershey and Snowball since they were already bonded or so I thought. But I noticed that every time I heard sex noises, it was Fuzzy and Hershey, with Snowball just watching. Fuzzy's babies didn't live. And now when I think about it, every time I thought she was following Snowball around, Fuzzy was there too. But I have a cage so if this egg doesn't work out, I'll move them to a cage and let Snowball stud for Fuzzy. They're all really good parents but I think Hershey wants things the way they were last year and that isn't gonna happen. I have two other girls I can cage Snowball with once I move him, see if he takes a fancy to one of them. Bubbles needs a friend, all she does is sit on top of Fuzzy's cage all day.


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## mitch2006 (Jan 15, 2011)

well i hope it works out for all involved
what an interesting story they have


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Belinda says its a soap opera and I have to agree....so much drama for such little guys!


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