# Questions about my new parent cockatiels



## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

I have had Sampson for about 4 years. He has always shown a strong desire for breeding. He tried unsuccessfully with his last mate many times. Well his old mate died and I got another bird, named puppy, to be his companion. To my surprise Sampson and puppy really hit it off, if you know what I mean, and produced a clutch of 5 eggs. Puppy is still pretty young, about a year old I think, and from what I can tell she isn't all that smart. She laid her first egg on the floor of the cage, presumably from a high perch because it was cracked, and it took a lot of me stuffing her into the nesting box and Sampson sitting in it and calling her before she finally figured it out. Well then she started having more eggs (in the box) and she didn't seem to care about them. Sampson would sit on the eggs.roll them around, hiss at me to protect them, and eventually she caught on and stared sitting on the eggs too. However she still doesn't seem to care about them to much. If her cage door gets opened she's out of that box so fast trying to escape her cage... Well this morning I awoke to the sounds of little baby chirps. Yay! But when I peeked in the box, puppy was sitting on the remaining eggs and when the baby would crawl towards her she would peck at it and push it away.  Sampson was out of the box when I first looked, but as I was getting ready for work he went back into the nesting box and seemed to be preening the baby's feathers. He certainly didn't seem offended by like the mom does. Do you think he will teach her to be a good mom if he's never done this before? Or is she too big of a danger to her chicks? Never done this before and I'm just not sure what is the right thing to do.


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Firstly Welcome

Puppy is young AND a first time mother so that could be her problem,she might be confused about what to do with the baby, males are more maternal than females and do more of the feeding and caring of the babies just keep an eye on the baby and make sure they are feeding it and keeping it warm. Hopefully more experienced breeders have better insight and advice for you, I just wanted to say welcome.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

Thank you very much for the welcome! 

Hopefully she catches on, I'm prepared to separate her if she continues to be a snot. I just hope he'll be able to handle it. Its got to be a tough job to take care of your babies and teach your mate how to be a mom.


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Another issue could be if the parents arent bonded. Do they preen/cuddle, did they sleep together before you added the nestbox, follow eachother around, call for eachother, etc? It is not reccommended to breed unbonded birds because they can make bad parents, often one will not care about the eggs/chicks and can abandon parental duties. Having only one parent care for the chicks 24/7 can take a lot out of them so keep an eye on the males health as well. I dont know if this is the case with yours or not but its just one possibility, I thought Id mention.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

They definitely call for each other if they get separated. He will bow to her and make a low chirping sound to try and get her to preen him, but she won't. They do sleep in the nest box together though. 

I definitely didn't try to mate them, I just wanted him to have a birdy companion. Puppy happened to be a girl and the next thing I knew there was an egg, so I got them a nest box. If they aren't successful with this clutch, I will try to prevent them mating in the future.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

So when I originally posted, I posted from my phone. Now that I am on a computer, I see that I accidentally posted my thread twice, sorry about that. Thought I would include a couple pictures and an update. 









These are my beautiful birds. The pearl is Puppy (my hen) and Sampson is my lutino. 









This is Sampson feeding a blurry baby. I didnt want to get too close, I will try to take a better picture when they both finally come out.

Sampson has been such a good daddy and Puppy is being better too. She doesnt seem too care too much about the baby still, but at least she isnt hurting it. Sampson has been sitting on and feeding the newborn while she sits on the eggs.


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

They are adorable!!! You might get some lutino babies and they will be female, looking forward to following your birds and their babies


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## 4birdsNC (Dec 4, 2010)

Puppy was to young to breed. I understand you didn't mean for it to happen. I accidentally backed into breeding my self two years ago, and had to learn a lot fast. Samson sounds like a good parent and will teach Puppy what she needs to know, if they are bonded. It sounds like Samson is trying. Watch Samson for signs of distress, he could actually starve himself trying to care for babies with out Puppy's help. Any questions feel free to PM me. Just make sure that Samson gets some good treats and that his food dish is always full.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

So far Sampson seems to be doing well, as he currently just has one mouth to feed besides his own. I have two bowls of food in their cage as well as some millet and whole grain pasta, so for now he should be ok. 
But I will keep you guys posted. I am so excited about the babies!


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

Had another baby hatch this morning! Just as adorable as the first. Momma finally came out of the box so I could see and snap a few pictures.

This is Sampson being a good daddy and trying to scare me away from his babies:









This is the baby that was born yesterday!









Him multitasking. Feeding the babies and sitting on the eggs.









Two remaining eggs: 









They have been keeping their nest box sooo clean, but it has gotten really messy the last 2 days, I need to clean it out but the parents never leave the box unattended and I am scared to try and make them leave. Any suggestions?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

paper towels are not good for bedding. 2-3 inches of aspen bedding is best. 


its also best to not clean the box too often, as it does build up their immune system. but you should add bedding.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Yes, you do need a nice thick layer of bedding - if the bedding is too thin the babies might become splay legged. Pine or aspen shavings are best, do NOT use cedar because it's too aromatic for birds. You can buy these things at pet stores, usually in the small animal (rodent) department. Kaytee is a nice clean brand but some other brands have a lot of dust in them which is not good for birds.

It's important to get proper bedding in there ASAP - it will help keep the eggs and babies warm in addition to helping the hatched chicks grow up with well-formed legs. If the parents never leave the nest unattended you might have to reach in through the top when there's only one parent inside and scoop him/her out. Move quickly, because the eggs/babies might get damaged if the parent has time to jump around in the nest trying to attack your hand. 

Once you have good bedding inside, you don't ever have to change the litter again if you don't want to. Wild cockatiel parents don't clean the nest so it's normal for babies to grow up surrounded by their own poop. But if you don't like the mess, you can change the litter using any schedule that you like. I usually change the litter every other day starting when the oldest baby is about a week old. That's the time when it starts getting really nasty inside the nest, and also when the parents start spending a lot more time outside the nest. It helps to put the parents in another cage or block them out of the nestbox some other way when you're changing the litter, so they won't get freaked out by the sight of the empty nestbox.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

Thank you guys very much. I will get new bedding in there as soon as I can. I just have to get both parents out of the nest at the same time, which so far I havent seen happen :/

I have another question. I had one baby hatch on the 5th, the second on the 6th, and the third one last night or very early this morning and they still have one egg left. I have noticed that the two bigger babies are being fed but not the little one that just hatched today. The other two are already so good at holding their heads up that the little one who is still a little floppy is getting over powered.  What should I do, if anything? I dont want to see the poor thing starve to death. And with another one probably being born either today or tomorrow, I dont know how it can possibly stand a chance.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

OK first since Puppy is a year old she's old enough to breed. She obviously is first time mother and Samson of course has the maternal instinct not her. He can handle the babies on his own if it comes to that (i.e. she gets violent with the babies and has to be removed.) The babies look good. Next time you breed them though, use wood chips (either aspen or pine are good, don't use cedar) as this helps with moisture and has a better hatch rate. Can't wait to see the babies as they grow!

As for the third baby, the parents don't feed the babies normally for the first 24 hours because they're still digesting the yolk. If you think its weak, you can give it a drop or two of pedialyte or honey water for energy with a syringe but be careful that you don't aspirate it.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

Puppy is being really good with them. Shes definitely not violent with the babies at all. She more or less just copies whatever Sampson is doing. 

I just hope the youngest two are going to get enough to eat.

When I can get both parents out of the way Ill take some more pictures. They are so cute!  I am quite surprised by how fast they grow! I didnt think there would be much of a size difference between the babies, but it is definitely noticeable already.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Yea they grow fast! And she's learning fast too! All of the babies should get fed, the younger ones are just going to look smaller for a while until they eventually catch up!


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

Got new bedding in the nest  Took a picture of one of my babies, born 12/5. Does he look ok? I mean, is he normal? 










Here is momma with her babies (from yesterday before I changed the bedding).


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

Awww.. they are sooo adorable! I'm having withdrawals from fluffballs. Going to be soooo hard to wait till Spring! They look like they are doing really well!  It is truly amazing how fast they grow. The transformation into what looks like a normal small bird is remarkable when it happens. I don't recall if you said you had a gram scale or not. But if you don't, I would suggest you get one. I would weigh my babies daily to make sure they were gaining weight. Do this first thing in the morning on an empty crop if you can get at them. There are charts to give you an idea of how much your little ones should weigh based on their ages. If you don't already, you might want to buy some hand feeding formula and a few syringes to keep on hand just in case you do need to step in for one that is not gaining as he/she should. I know with my first clutch, I got really anxious. Just try to remember, it is best if mom and dad care for them as long as they are doing well. There will be a remarkable size difference between them for a long time as well. Just make sure you keep checking to make sure their crops are full and that they are emptying good. And pooping up a storm!  Congrats on your beautiful babies!


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

Thanks! I love them so much already. It doesnt look like my first picture posted  So I will try it again:








Just wondering if his crop is supposed to look like that. Im probably just being an anxious first timer, but I wasnt sure if it was supposed to be that big, It looks huge compared to the rest of him! 

And I dont have a gram scale, but I dont think mom and dad would be too happy about me being in their box that often. Shes really tame, but he pretty much doesnt like me ever. So unsurprisingly when he is in the nest box he is grumpy with me, but even she is furious when I even look in.  Should I try and do it anyways and just make them deal with it? Or am I going to scare them off?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Your baby looks great, and yes it is normal for the crop to be bigger than the baby's head. The crop will keep on looking huge until the baby is well feathered and getting ready to fledge. They start eating less at fledging time since it would be hard to fly with a huge ball of food dangling on their chest.

When the oldest baby is about a week old the parent birds will start spending a lot less time in the nest. The babies will be able to keep themselves warm at this point, and in the wild the parents would be spending a lot of time foraging for baby food. You can start weighing the babies then without having to face an angry parent. Until then you can look without touching to make sure everyone seems to be growing well.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

That sounds like a great plan  Ill try it for sure. Thanks tielfan.

Also noticed that they have bits of food gunk stuck in their feathers. Should that be removed or is that not really going to be bothering them?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

If this is food that the parents spilled it's OK to leave it there - it'll get preened off or fall off by itself. But if you start handfeeding the babies, you'll need to wipe up spills before it gets dry. Formula gunks up the feathers a lot more than parental spills.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

Thanks I dont plan on hand feeding since I am inexperienced and would be mortified if I accidently killed one of the babies 

I still have 3 babies and one egg. When mom and dad both came out of the box today, I checked on the egg because I had expected it to hatch already. The egg definitely has an area where it is all dented out and I can feel the baby moving inside!


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

Final baby hatched this morning! They are all looking so good. 

Mom and dad are spending more time out of the box. One will come out and eat for a while and then go back in and the other will come out and scarf down some food. They've been doing really well at making sure all the babies get fed.

But my dad cockatiel is being a weirdo. I leave their cage open during the day when I am home and my lovebird's cage open too. Every one gets along very well.  When Sampson comes out of the nest box though, he doesnt want the food in his own cage. He has just as many options as skittle (my love bird), but he goes into skittle's cage to eat! Whats up with that??


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## morla (Aug 15, 2011)

Aw! Cute babies!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> He has just as many options as skittle (my love bird), but he goes into skittle's cage to eat! Whats up with that??


I've seen similar behavior with my tiels. This is just a guess, but I suspect that they're instinctively "saving" the food that's closest to the nest in case of an emergency. Pet birds don't have any food-supply issues, but wild birds might run into situations where they have to stay close to home, for instance a windy rainy day that makes it hard to travel. If they've already eaten up the nearby food, they won't be able to feed the babies.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

Thats a really good idea about the food issue! Well as long as Skittle doesn't mind Sampson in his cage I guess its alright if they share since its all the same food and Sampson has always been such a picky eater I'm happy if I can get him to eat anything. 

Took new pictures of the babies when mom and dad came out last night  I'm going to try to upload a picture but I'm on my phone so we'll see if it works 








They are 6, 5, 3 and 1 day old


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## Kenqui (Oct 25, 2011)

As the others have said the hen is to young, but it seems they are doing well and makeing some fast adjustments 

You can help them out with fresh chopped veggies, and soaked seeds or bird mashes, ( you can google soaked seeds, bird mash ect ) the soft food makes it easier for them to feed the chicks.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

I can get my hen to eat a variety of things. Pasta, veggies, pellets, but my male is the pickiest eater ever. He wont even use a cuttle bone. So mom is passing on good nutrients but hes passing on seed :/

Would it be ok to take the two monsters out for a little while? Their crops are SO full, and the smallest one's is empty. Just for maybe an hour so I can be sure the little ones are getting at least one good feeding?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

If you can see some food in the crop then the youngest two are probably OK. The parents don't stuff them super full right away, that starts when the babies are slightly older. A small crop is normal for babies this young.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

The youngest was born very early on the 10th and the next oldest on the 8th. They both have full crops now.  

In other exciting news...the oldest baby (6 days old), has open eyes!! Yayy! I didnt think that would happen so soon. I am so excited that his fluffy little self can see me!


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

More pictures!  Babies are doing SO well. The oldest (8 days old) is probably 3 times as large as the youngest (3 days old). The difference in their size is astounding. Milestone pictures:

The oldest. Took this picture yesterday. He was 7 days old:








The second baby. Took this picture today. He is 7 days old:










Question about mommy. She has been drinking tons of water the last couple days. And because of that her poop is really watery. I'm pretty sure she is drinking so much just to pass it onto the babies, but her watery poop has me concerned. Shes eating well, and despite being so watery it does still have some substance to it. What do you guys think?


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## cockatielgurl (Dec 14, 2011)

I have the same issue too...i noticed a large dropping in the nestbox (thank goodness, away from the eggs) but I don't want to interfere too much and leave my scent around in case they abandon the chick and two eggs in there...


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## Fortunate (Oct 31, 2011)

Your babies are too cute! well done - looks like you doing a great job!
I am a 1st time breeder too - was thrown unexpectantly into the deep end - its scary and you feel like you muddling around in the dark but ppl here are very helpful!

My female was a terrible mom too, if that makes you feel better 
My females poop also looked like that, not sure if it was normal either - but as soon as i pulled the babies out it went back to normal (slightly greener then usual) but after blood work she was given a clean bill of health so maybe it is normal......

Maybe someone else can tell us.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Im sure the poop is caused by stress as it be a stressful time for her

my cookie is prone to stress at times and also he has watery droppings


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> I don't want to interfere too much and leave my scent around in case they abandon the chick and two eggs in there...


Human scent doesn't bother birds at all (contrary to popular belief). Most birds seem to have a poor sense of smell so it's not clear whether they can detect an ordinary human scent at all.

It's OK to look in the nestbox and even put your hand inside if you need to do something. The parents won't like it and if they start jumping at you it's necessary to either get out of there or scoop up the parent bird so the eggs/babies don't get damaged. Tap on the box before you lift the lid so they won't be startled.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

Thats good to hear lperry  I wasnt too worried, just thought the experts input wouldn't hurt. 

That's great advise tielfan. I was worried about that at first, especially since my male doesn't even like me  but I just wait until he comes out and I scoop puppy out of my way. She hisses and gets really mad, but forgets about it as soon as she is out of the box lol. the first few times she waited until dad went in to check it out, but now shes used to it. 

Just a question. The oldest baby had his eyes opened by like day 5 or 6 and the next baby is now 8 days old and his aren't open. Is he behind? Or is the oldest just advanced?

Also I have noticed that the older baby tends to kind of beak the other babies. Not sure if he's trying to preen them, or maybe get food from them? He definitely doesn't look like he is trying to hurt his siblings though. What do you guys think?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

The oldest baby is advanced, and a week to 10 days is typical for the eyes to open. My babies usually open their eyes at about 7 days but they also tend to fledge a little early at around 3 1/2 weeks. 

If you have a gram scale it's very helpful to weigh your babies every day and write down the results so you can tell whether anyone is falling behind. A baby that's stunted will develop more slowly than a proper-weight baby, and if your 8-day baby was small compared to its siblings then this information combined with the comparatively slow opening of the eyes could be a warning sign that something is not quite right.

The older baby could be beaking the others looking for food or maybe it's just exploring the local environment. There's not much to explore inside the nest apart from the other babies!


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

Thanks tielfan.  I'm going to get a scale today as well as some craft supplies.
I'm going to try my hand at toy making


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

The two oldest seem to be pretty close in size but I will weigh everyone in they morning to get some actual numbers. 
I heard its good to handle the babies so they get used to people and are more tame. When is a good time to start doing that? The older one already hisses at me. haha.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

lol i started from day 1 since the parents didnt mind me


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

They aren't very aware of you until their before their eyes open (in fact they're at least half asleep most of the time). But they're certainly aware of you after their eyes open, as demonstrated by the way they start screaming at you. So handling is most productive after their eyes open. It will take some time though before they're used to you enough to stop shrieking at you.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

Well today both of the oldest babies have their eyes open!! They are so cute. I take them out and love on them and they dont seem to mind. 

I cant believe the way they projectile poop 

Today baby number 3 is a week old so here is his picture: 









And here they all are out and about. The 2nd oldest baby doesnt like to hold still so eveyone is clustered together and he kept wandering off. lol.

















AND because I just cant get over how cute they are preening themselves, I made a video. Would love to see what you guys think about them and the size difference between the babies. I think my youngest (5 days) is my only girl as she has no dark feathers yet. You should probably turn your sound way down because my lovebird skittle is chirping SUPER loud in the background.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSYwTLNfJV4


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Awwwwww They are just so precious!!! lutinos have red eyes so you will be able to see they are lutinos when they hatch, so looks like you have all boys there.


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## Kenziekenz (Dec 5, 2011)

All boys?! Man. How is that possible?  I was hoping for a good mix.


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