# Feeding parents right food for babies?



## Donica (Apr 3, 2014)

I have a pair of cockatiels that I am letting breed because the hen is laying way too many eggs, and I fear for her health. I am only allowing 2 eggs to develop, and the other 4 eggs are dummy eggs. The parents are about 2 1/2 years old, untame, and they would only eat seed and some of the tiny pellets that come in the seed. I introduced Zupreme natural pellets for cockatiels, and they both eat some of it, especially the male. But they both would rather eat seed. I know they will need to be eating some soft food for when the babies hatch, which will be in about 2 weeks. I tried introducing some baby formula in a dish (Kaytee Exact), but mostly the first day they were too scared of the new dish. Then I started feeding them some of their seed in the new dish, and they are no longer afraid of it. Today I tried the baby formula again, but they are not eating it.
My questions are: Will instinct for the need for soft/moist food for the babies kick in so that they will start eating the formula?
I read one of the threads, and it said pellets are okay because the parents eat the pellets and then drink water to moisten them. Perhaps should I remove the seed for the majority of the day so they will learn to eat mostly pellets, and give them back the seed for a small part of the day to make sure they are eating enough? (Mind you, they are not feeding babies YET.)
Or perhaps should I remove all food except for the baby formula, say like, for a while in the morning, so they will get hungry enough to try it?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I do plan on co-parenting the babies by feeding them at least one feeding a day with the Kaytee Exact. (I have fed baby birds before, so I do know how and have had a fair amount of experience.) I just have never had untame birds who basically only like seed, and are afraid of changes. So this is new for me. And I'm not in this for having the babies, although it would be great if everything turned out well with two babies. I just want my hen to get the egg laying out of her system by letting her go through the whole laying, sitting, feeding, etc.
I think I have a couple of weeks to try getting the cockatiels' diet changed to a better one for any future babies. But I need suggestions about what path(s) I should take. Thanks in advance!


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

As for myself, I never feed soft foods. Over the years soft foods have been the main cause of yeast and other digestive issues in the nest. I have found that my birds, and the babies do just fine on seed.

My first thought when reading your post is: If it is not broke, don't try to fix it. Let your parents eat what they are used to...don't force the issue. 

When the babies hatch, maybe give some leafy greens, and a 1/4 slice of honey wheat breed on a separate dish from the seed.

The main thing is to check the babies each day. I have learned that dehydration is the enemy to babies in the nest. You may have excellent feeders but they pair also has to include some fluids with each feeding. This is with any diet.


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## Donica (Apr 3, 2014)

Thank you. A friend of mine suggested just letting them eat seed, too. Both of your comments made me feel better about it.

Unfortunately, the two real eggs I was letting them hatch are now both dead. One died in the egg from unknown causes, and the second egg died because of a big crack in the shell. The father is really rough with the eggs. I think that is what it is from. When he is sitting on the eggs, I can hear him thumping and bumping around the eggs in the nestbox. Unfortunately, I had gone a few days without checking on the eggs, and now the viable egg is no longer viable. So I am leaving the eggs in there...just in case...and if they still look dead after a few days, I will replace them with dummy eggs. Then I'll let them sit until they give up, and I will remove the nestbox after that.

Actually, this whole thing was to get the hen to stop laying all those eggs. It worked. But now I'm a little disappointed that they won't be having any babies. I was kind of getting used to the idea of having a baby or two for a while.

Anyway, thanks for your advice!


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