# Please help quick !!



## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Well we just went to rescue some cockateils and brought the breeding box home that they were in and put it in our cage. We shone a light into it and there are 2 that are alive, 3or 4 eggs and a dead cockateil in there 
What should we do ???? How shall i get the dead one out? they look so sad. I dont know if they are old eggs. Please help !!


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Im so sorry hopefully someone will come on very soon which they are normally are 

I think you should remove the dead one


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

We just peeped and one of them is rocking slowing from side to side. Im waiting for a friend to come over and remove the dead one. The eggs are scattered around the box so they might be old, my daughter seems to think they were together until we moved the box. im not even sure if this is a pair or two males. This is just so sad.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

if you can get a photo of the birds, i may be able to tell you male or female, or even someone else on the forum. eggs... i have no experience with them. your best bet is to look up srtiels and make a post for her. she knows all this stuff 

thats scary. you may really want to get them vet checked, especially with a dead tiel in with them. why did they all drop dead or escape by the way? i read your other post.


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## Eileen (Mar 11, 2011)

The parents will rock back and forth, hiss and fluff their feathers to protect their eggs. I noticed my male did this mostly. He would also lunge at you, if you got too close. I think this is pretty normal behavior. If both birds are doing this, then they are probably the parents.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Once the dead tiel is removed, you can candle the eggs to see if they are good. srtiels has a lot of good examples on her site of good eggs. One thing though, even if they eggs are not good you have to wait until they (the parents) abandon the eggs otherwise if there is a hen in there she will lay more to replace those eggs and this could compromise her health. Keep us posted!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Do the birds (whether dead or alive) look like adults or babies?If any of the live birds are unweaned babies they will need special feeding, preferably by a parent if one is present, or by a human if an adult bird isn't available to do the job.

The eggs might have been scattered by frightened adults during the move. If the eggs were viable before the move and weren't damaged, they might still hatch if incubation started again before they got chilled.

It must have been a very big shock to see all that inside the box.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Thanks everyone for your help. My friend just came over and we removed 2 dead birds  There are 7 eggs in the box. They were scattered but one of the birds have grouped 3 together again. They have come out of the box and are eating like crazy !! We gave them a bowl of cantaloupe which they are loving, some romaine and they are still at their seed bowl !!! They are chirping and being quite loud !! Thats a good sign right?
One is grey with ayellow face and bright orange spots and the other is white with brownish flecks and a few brown feathers (is that a cinnamon?)
I would really like to get a new clean box and transfer the eggs from that old, death smelling box, opinions on that?
The people were not taking care of them, they are not bird lovers so i guess they died from inadequate food, heat from Texas summer and the cold from our winter. I will try to get some photos if i can figure out how i do it.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

sounds like a grey male and a whitefaced cinnamon pied... pied could be any gender... we'd have to see photos if you can.

i would change the box. just yuck, change it  could have diseases in it. but get one that looks very very similar to it ok?


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Uploading pics http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=17811


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## Eileen (Mar 11, 2011)

Do they look like my pictures of Ricky and Mila below? She is a whiteface cinnamon pearl pied and he is a normal grey male. DallyTsuka is right. The pied could be any gender. The grey is probably a male if the face colors are bright. If they are muted, it is probably a female.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Im trying to put up photos but might have to wait till my daughter comes home. They have been out of the nest for about 45 minutes eating!! Shouldnt someone be sitting on the eggs? Im going to change the box tomorrow. How should i transfer the eggs, should i wear rubber gloves?


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

I think i got it !!


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

whiteface cinnamon pearl-- female!
grey split pied male! nice pair... glad you took in the poor little things 

despite the conditions their from, they look pretty healthy for where they came from. the female looks a bit thin but not severely. but she could be small


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

The eggs can be left unattended for a few minutes. If they cool off completely the embryo will die, but they'll retain their heat for a while.

It's enough to just wash your hands before handling the eggs. The eggshells are porous and bacteria can get through, so clean hands are definitely helpful.

I don't know if there was any bedding in the old nestbox. There should be two to three inches of wood shavings in the bottom of the box to provide cushioning and help the eggs/babies retain heat. The wood shavings are available at pet shops, usually in the small animal (rodent) department. Aspen and pine are OK but don't get cedar - it's much too aromatic for birds.


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## Eileen (Mar 11, 2011)

Yes, they do look pretty good. I expected much worse.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Pellets are very nutritious, and it sounds like your new birds have been deprived. There's a thread at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=15126 that lists several companies that give free samples (if you're in the US or Canada). Sometimes it's difficult to persuade a bird to eat pellets so it's helpful to try several different kinds in case one looks more appealing than the others.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

This is exciting! Well they have been out of the box for about an hour now, they were really hungry. I worry about the eggs. There is no bedding in there at all except for a few feathers from the dead birds. They dont seem to want to go back in the box. The female is sitting on top of the box and keeps pecking at it and the male is staying close to the food bowl.


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## Eileen (Mar 11, 2011)

Thanks for sharing. It is pretty exciting!


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Well the female finally went back in the box and we heard all this rolling around, then she came out again. When we peeped in with a flashlight she had gathered 4 eggs together and then one in each corner. Now shes moving them around again. When we shine the light in a couple of the eggs have a pink hue? and a couple look dull looking. Thanks for all your help. This is my lifeline right now...


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

with all the movement and stress going on in their day it wouldnt surprise me if they abandoned the eggs, you have to prepare yourself for that possibility. and if there is no bedding in the box the eggs will become easily chilled and end up dead in shell, if the eggs feel warm to the touch you might try using an alternate source of heat and incubating them yourself unless the parents go back in, my parents came out of the nest box for 30 minutes one time they have 7 chicks but because the last 2 eggs were not near the chicks they began to chill, i lost one and am incubating the last and if the eggs feel cold to the touch they wont be viable anymore.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

pink ones sound like they might be fertile. dull ones mught be dead  but theres some that might live


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

She is very busy in there moving them around, now we have 2 in each corner and one in the middle!! Shes still moving them, i dont know whats going on? So tomorrow when i change the box , should i take the cold ones out if i find one? They will still sit on the eggs after i touch them? This is all new to me so sorry for the questions , just dont want to do something wrong.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

May I ask a question, how long was the trip from their old home to yours were they were bumping around and fluttering about in the box cause i can guarentee the parents would have been to stressed to sit on eggs and then they came right out of the box and stayed out to eat for 1 hour right, if the eggs were fertile but got chilled they will not make it, and if you did not check on the temperature of the eggs while mom and dad were out of the box, the birds are basically sitting on duds. if the fertility(pink eggs) does not change over the next day or two then unfortunately the chicks are dis. if there is a change in the fertility then you need provide mom with a water dish for bathing in, as the nest box needs a 50% humidity for the eggs to continue development and easy hatches otherwise youll have chicks trapped in the egg (possible assisted hatches) and babies that die late in development, lightly misting the nest box will help but there must be bedding to keep the eggs warm and safe.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

NO, do not take the cold ones out, she must abandon them or you run the risk of her double clutching and she may look healthy but her calcium is going to be a little low from laying 7 eggs, you can add a calcuim supplement to their water dish, also vitamins are good to.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Were the dead birds babies or adults? I'm assuming they were babies, but if they were adults it's possible that those were the actual parents and the live birds are just playing with the eggs. If the live birds are definitely the parents, the hen may be looking for a good place to sit on the eggs, and a bare floor doesn't provide any great options. If bedding is added, the parents will make a cup-shaped hollow in it to hold the eggs.

A pinkish hue is a sign of either a newly laid egg or an infertile egg. Fertile eggs will change to an opaque white look after a few days of incubation. An egg that looks dark is dead. If these are brand new eggs, it's possible that the parents haven't started incubating yet - it's common for them to wait until several eggs have been laid, and the eggs will stay viable without incubation for about a week. But once incubation begins the eggs must stay warm or the embryo will die.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

ah, thanks tielfan, i got my information mixed up! thanks for correcting me


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

The ride to our house was about 7 minutes and they were very quiet in the box. They stayed in the box for about half an hour then came out for an hour. The female has not sat on the eggs again just rolled them around. In fact now she seems a bit anxious and is pacing the bottom of the cage, then pops in the box and changes the positions of the eggs by rolling them into the corners and comes out again. Im not holding out much hope for the eggs cos she hasnt sat on them for a few hours now. How will i know that she has abandoned them?


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

if there are 7 eggs in that nest box its been over 2 weeks since laying began. just keep a close watch on the eggs over the next several days, and yes adding bedding will help mom and dad brood any eggs that havent passed that 10 day mark before incubating is crucial.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

once the eggs are ice cold you will know she has abandoned them, if you have a spare cage once you remove the eggs from them, move mom into a cage (no nest box) this should induce her to just rest, if she lays an egg cover her cage reducing her hours to 10 hours aday, as an outside bird she should be very sensitive to when the best breeding time is and should think its winter. But usually after 28 days any dud eggs are abandoned as mom and dad can feel the heart beat of the growing chicks.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

If she abandons the eggs she won't pay any attention to them all. 



> if there are 7 eggs in that nest box its been over 2 weeks since laying began.


Good point. But 7 eggs is more than average for a single clutch (and yes nwoodrow I know your birds are the exception to this rule!). So there might actually be two clutches in here - one that failed to hatch, and a new clutch that the parents just started to replace the duds. In that case they might not be done laying eggs yet.

You can shred up some newspaper or paper towels and put it in the box to serve as temporary bedding until you can get something better. That might put the hen more at ease, and if any of the eggs are good it will help keep them safe. If the parents are starting a new clutch it's possible they haven't incubated the new eggs yet, so these eggs could be viable.

If there are two clutches in there, the new eggs will get better incubation if the old eggs are removed. srtiels is our egg expert. If you can post a picture of the eggs she can help you identify which ones might be good and which ones are dead.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

This is getting a bit confusing now !! So she can lay an egg and not sit on it for a week and it can still live? The two dead birds were in fact adults so it could of been their eggs (the birds had been dead a long time) Will try and get some photos of the eggs.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

that is true that it could be 2 clutches but pulling any old ones at this point will be very difficult to tell as you could easily pull the newer eggs, until you have candled the eggs and verified that 5 days after the 7th egg (so five days from now) or if she does lay another, 5 days from that one if thats the last egg she should start incubating once you have verified that all eggs that are going to be fertile are fertile i would leave all eggs alone.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

a bird can lay an egg and it can still be viable up to 10 days from laying, if mom hasnt sat on the eggs by then then usually you count 10 days from the second and consider the first lost.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Ok so heres the best i could do. The birds are getting very anxious. As you can see the box is very messy, so tomorrow i will buy a new box and bedding and transfer them (maybe get a good photo then) This is all a bit complicated but i can only do my best. Anyone in Texas and wants to pop over for a coffee ? So should i candle the eggs tomorrow when i transfer them? (gonna have to read up on that, dont know what im looking for) Thanks a million for all your help.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

I want to offer you a piece of advice, it is true this could be the start of a second clutch or it could be one clutch the first egg could of been layed 2 weeks ago, or a month ago, with those dead birds in the cage, for safety sake of the 2 live birds i would seperate mom and dad, lower thier daylight hours and think of thier health before the welfare of undeveloped eggs, they can always have another clutch in a couple of months once they get back their health. and then dispose of the eggs, as was said before eggs are very porus and can get bacteria inside the egg that cause death in embryos. Its no worse than what we have done once our pairs have laid 2 clutches and then let them sit on boiled eggs until they abandon them.
The only reason why im saying this is because you dont know when the first egg was laid how long she has sat on them for or if the dead birds caused her to be trapped in that box.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

Ok for candeling the eggs your looking for red veins in early development, he easyiest method i have found is get a small box, cut a small hole in it (just big enough to sit egg in) go to a dark room in house put flashlight in box, place egg (air cell down- wider end of egg) turn on flashlight if the eggs are fertile and its been the 5 days you should see red veins, brown veins means death, a blood ring around the egg is also a death sign, if the eggs do not have a pinkish glow but a yellow glow they are infertile.


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## Eileen (Mar 11, 2011)

The hen typically lays one egg every other day. A lot of times she doesn't start incubation (sitting on the egg) until all of the eggs are laid. That way they will all hatch about the same time. If she hasn't started incubation and she laid the eggs within the last 10 days, they could still be viable.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Of course im willing to take all the advise i can at this point. So do you mean i take the eggs out, boil them and put them back?
I cant even imagine how long they were in the box with two dead bodies, very traumatic. And yes you are right about bacteria and the eggs are laying in the feathers of the dead birds. I will see how things look tomorrow but i do want to think first about the health of the birds, im just happy that they seem fine and are eating. Thank you.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

The only problem with this situation is that there are 7 eggs and no way (except the waiting game) to know when these eggs were laid, but i would seriously question the sanitation of that nest box with it housing 2 dead birds.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

That is an option definetly by boiling the eggs you kill any bacteria that the eggs may have aquired and mom gets to sit on the eggs until she grows tired of them, but understand when you move the eggs to a new nest box she may or may not go back to them.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> pulling any old ones at this point will be very difficult to tell as you could easily pull the newer eggs


Any eggs that are definitely dead can be pulled. I'm not an expert on this so I won't give an opinion on which eggs should be pulled and which should be left. There is one egg that looks grey to me but I could be wrong. When srtiels comes in she can give much better advice about it than I can.

It's a huge complication that the dead birds in the nest were adults. Although it's possible that they were babies from a previous clutch who were almost ready to fledge - they look fairly similar to adults. I thought the dead birds were young babies that perished from being kept outdoors in winter in a nestbox with no bedding. Now I don't know what's going on. srtiels (Susanne) is probably the best person to advise on this too, although even she might never have come across something like this before. It's an unusual situation.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

I just thought of something. When we went to see the birds yesterday morning they were sitting on the eggs and when we picked them up today they were sitting on the eggs so they must of started incubation already? But since they came out of the box tonight they have not sat on them. My guess is they are not viable now?


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

there was definately a grey egg but it could be just a shadow, and unfertile eggs can be a big help in keeping young chicks warm when mom and dad are out of the nest box, as long as there arent to many, we can help with what we are able to advise you with but egg wise none of us are experts. for safety sake i would just boil the eggs, like i said they can have another clutch later in the year when you are prepared for it and they have full health, this way you can monitor when the first egg is layed and be like the rest of us and impatient for the little ones to show themselves to the world.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Yes, it's very possible that these eggs are already doomed. And considering the health issues due to the dead birds in the box it might be desirable to separate the parents from these possibly contaminated eggs. But I don't know enough to say what's best. If the live hen is the mother of the eggs she might lay more if you take them away, and she doesn't need the additional physical stress. Your birds are apparently healthy in spite of all the horrors and you've already made some improvements, so it's probably safe to just leave things alone for tonight. The birds have already been thoroughly exposed to whatever germs are in the nest. srtiels is by far the biggest expert on the board and will have the best advice. If she doesn't check in tonight then she'll probably do so tomorrow.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

hun as much as anyone can say they may have been sitting on them and just started brooding but until 5 days go by you cant be totally sure, up until they show fertility, birds getting on and off isnt such a drastic thing, i had a bird who just before the 10th day kept sitting on the eggs and then leaving for periods at a time and then i would think she was brooding and then shed be off of them, i now have a healthy 5 week old but unless you can be totally 100% sure that these eggs (at least 5) were laid and brooded on in the last 10 days you may only get 1 or 2 and they may get none, birds can sit on infertile eggs for 28 days before they abandon them.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Well i covered them for the night an hour ago and just peeped and they are not in the box. I will leave it for tonight and tomorrow will get the box out. What happens if i just take the box and eggs out and dont replace it? Do i have to buy a new box and put the boiled eggs back for a while? Will they have to live seperately now, wont they miss eachother ?, they have been through a lot together. Thanks again, will check back in the morning.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

in this situation, i think its best to get a new box completely asap, chuck that gross thing, boil the eggs and put them back in. i dont have much experience at all in this but to me that seems to be the best bet. someone will correct me if im wrong though.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

if you remove the nest box 2 things are important if you dont put fake or boiled eggs back, reducing the daylight hours to make them think its winter and giving calcium in water in case mom does lay another egg she should stop this once she thinks its winter, only offer the fresh stuff every 2nd day you do not want her thinking that their fresh food widely available to raise a clutch. the calcium is important wheter you allow her to sit on the eggs or not.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I just read your other thread and found out that you have another cockatiel. Nothing has been said about quarantine, but in this case it's really urgent that you keep your old bird and the new birds as far apart as possible, and be really serious about not exposing your original bird to germs from the new birds. 

If you're going to boil the eggs you don't have to buy another nestbox - a really nice nest will help stimulate more egg laying. You can improvise a nest out of a cardboard box and put the boiled eggs in that. A not-so-great nest will help make them less interested in breeding, and you don't need something really sturdy since you know these eggs aren't going to hatch.

You probably won't have to separate the parent birds if you start right away on the "long nights" treatment - that's 12 to 14 hours of uninterrupted darkness every night. It doesn't have to be pitch black but it does have to be dark enough to seem like night. In this case I'd go with 14 hours to shut down the breeding hormones as fast as possible. It takes a few days for this to have an effect on their behavior, but once it kicks in it's really effective with most cockatiels. It might or might not make the birds abandon their current eggs before the expected hatch date, but it should drastically reduce their desire to start another clutch.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

very good point i forgot about putting the crappy nest box in the bottom of the cage,i know people use them for emergency situations when the bird lays an egg on the bottom of the cage and they dont have nest boxes.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

Quarentine: The minimum time line for quarentine is 30 days unless given a clean bill of health from a vet.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It occurs to me that the cause of death for the two birds might have been the spell of bitter cold weather that we had in early February. I know it affected at least part of Texas, because our natural gas supply here in southern AZ comes from El Paso. I didn't have heat for two days, partly because of pipeline equipment that froze in Texas. Obviously some of the birds in the aviary managed to stay warm enough to survive but maybe others weren't so lucky.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Some additional thoughts that occurred to me this morning. It's a little gruesome but it's the reality of the situation. It's possible that the live pair picked this particular nestbox because the dead birds served as bedding, and the hen was going crazy last night because the bedding had disappeared and she couldn't figure out where to put the eggs. 

Conditions might be different at the actual location, but in the arid West small animals that die tend to mummify instead of rotting. So the germ situation might not be as horrific as it seemed at first. However, here in AZ we've been running unusually warm temperatures for about two weeks with highs in the 80s. If it's doing the same thing in Texas, then if there is bacterial activity in the bodies the germs had plenty of opportunity to proliferate.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Good morning. First , my other tiel is on the other side of the house so no worries there. I took the box out this morning, there were 7 eggs, one was really yucky and i immediatelt threw it out. The other 6 i boiled  When i put them in the pan, 3 sank to the bottom and 3 floated (dont know what that means?) After boiling one more looked cracked so i threw that away too.
I put the remaining 5 eggs in a kids shoebox with one side cut off and no lids and tore up some paper towels to put in. I have put the box at the bottom of the cage. Have i done this right? (oh and i put a small black spot on each egg with a marker)
Both birds are very chirpy this morning and are attacking some fresh romaine lettuce. I will go to the store and get calcium drops for the water. Anything else i need? Thaanks again.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

I dont think the birds had much choice on the box. There were 2 other boxes in the aviary and they also had dead birds in them. I took the box that had the live birds in and it wasnt till i got home that i discovered it also had bodies in 
I cant speculate on what happened to all the birds. Its my understanding that they were left since last summer with inadequate care, yes they did have water at the bottom of the cage and there was a bag of wild bird seed that they were being fed. They probably didnt like to go to eat or drink because there were some dead bodies on the floor as well. Its a very sad and upsetting situation, i wish i had found out sooner but am grateful that i at least saved these two. Thank you.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

no you did good, yes tha grey egg, most likely had a crack in it and air and bacteria got inside and rotted it out, im glad all birds are doing fine, now just remember to lower the daytime hours so that the birds have 14 hours of sleep and she should abandon those eggs quickly and you should have no fear of her laying more


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

You did very well with the eggs and the improvised nest. They may or may not recognize that these are their eggs because of the dramatic change, but there wasn't anything else you could do because of the awful conditions in the old nest. 

As nwoodrow mentioned, it's very important now to start the hormone reduction techniques, especially if they abandon their eggs right away. They're already in breeding mode, and the improved food supply is an additional incentive to start another clutch. They need to get out of breeding mode ASAP for their own health and safety.

Thank you for saving these two. They were in a horrible situation but they will have good lives now.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

i think its great that they take the fresh food, it shows that at onetime they were on a varied diet, but giving it to them daily will keep the female in the breeding mode and intice her to lay more eggs, so if your going to give it give in small portions maybe every 2nd day and only leave in cage for 2 hours. The daylight is easilly reduced by putting a blanket or towel over thier cage, you put it on at 5-6pm and dont remove it until 7am earliest.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It's unfortunate that we don't know more about what killed the other birds because that's useful information about what the surviving birds were exposed to.

The best explanation is if it was bad weather that did it. No germs involved, and once the weather improved it was over and done with. 

A problem with the food or water is another possibility. Wild bird seed isn't as clean as pet bird seed, with more mold and other contaminants. A batch of contaminated water would also mean germ exposure. Simple starvation is a possibility too - the cheap wild bird mixes contain a lot of milo, which cockatiels can't eat. So it might have looked like they had food when they really didn't. This pair made it through but might have experienced some serious hunger.

A massive epidemic would be the worst explanation. This pair didn't succumb but could still be carrying something nasty.

I can understand that the previous owners might not have known there were dead birds in the nest boxes if they didn't look inside. But it's shocking that they didn't remove the bodies that were lying all over the ground. That's extreme negligence, and the surviving birds are lucky that they made it out alive.


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## crazy4tiels88 (Aug 10, 2008)

Wow thats bad they were being fed wild bird seed cause like Tielfan said it contains alot of germs and prone to mold, also wildbird seed contains bugs and lots of dust!! Its Really Bad For Them And Wouldn't Be Surprised They Died Of Mold Or Starvation From Not Wanting To Eat It!


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Well, she doesnt seem to be bothered with the eggs although i did notice that she had covered them with the paper towel pieces that i put in, so she knows that they are there.
They seem to have calmed a bit now but for the last hour have done some kinda agravated pacing. He would pace on the bottom of the cage running back and forth , she would stand on the ledge running back and forth, then he would jump up to the ledge and pace with her. A couple of times i would notice that she would lift her tail feathers and then run off. Is this some kinda courting? Do they have to mate every time they lay an egg? They seem to go quiet and then it starts up again, what does this mean or is it just stress? Thanks


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

usually when a female courts the male she will raise her behind and give off a little warble sound but they dont run around right away, it could be stress related behaviour but just keep an eye on them and remember less day light hours is whats best for them right now. if the female does not try to sit on the eggs at all today you can remove the eggs.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

They are still pacing, seem anxious. I just noticed that they have rolled out 2 eggs to the middle of cage floor. Should i put them back in the box, take them out or leave them? I think they are missing their big nesting box.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Yes i would place them back


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

The pacing might be anxiety due to the unfamiliar environment, looking for a way to get out of the cage and go back to an outdoor environment. It may have been awful but it was home to them, and it will take a while for them to settle down and get used to their new home.

They don't have to mate every time an egg is laid because hens can store sperm for up to a month. If she was actively laying eggs when you got her, it's possible that she may lay some more in the near future without additional copulation. But if she had already paused before you got her, it's likely that there would be some mating before any new eggs were laid.


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Well i gave them 14 hours of sleep. It was a relief to cover them up just to stop the pacing. I took the box out this morning with the eggs in, the female showed no interest whatsoever and the male kept scattering the eggs. They are at the food bowl again, my these birds dont stop eating!! I bought some zupreem pellets and they love them ! I couldnt find the calcium drops to put in the water, the store only had some kind of calcium grit that you put in a food bowl, should i get that? As far as fruit and vegetables, should i just give them every 2 days and not everyday? What about sleeping, do i have to cover them for 14 hours all through the summer? The female seems to be very calm today the male is pacing but not as much. That pattering of feet up and down is nervewracking!! Thanks again all !!


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

ok the calcium does come in drop form however i use calcite it comes in powdered form and i either add it to their water or sprinkle on the food. yes feeding every 2nd day will be good, but make sure that any thing you give them is in seperate dishes and not mixed together so it is their choice on what to eat, pellets are good but studies have shown them to cause kidney damage over a period of time, so only offer in small amounts.
Since they just went through a breeding season it is recommended that they have the winter treatment for 6-8 months but you can do it longer if you want them not to breed and the 14 hours can be shortened to 13 once they get used to the breeding season being over, do not give them more than 11 hours of daylight unless you want them to breed


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## jellybean (Mar 20, 2011)

Thank you so much. I thought pellets were better for them so went running to buy some yesterday. Shall i just mix some with the seed then?
Im hoping that they will settle down soon, the only thing i worry about now is the pacing. Its not as bad as yesterday so hope each day gets better. They are just so darn cute!!
As far as breeding, would have to research and read a lot before i tackled that im afraid !!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

A varied diet of both pellets and seeds is recommended. You can offer both at the same time, I have seed and pellets in my cage and the birds eat both. This is amazing what all these birds have been through but now they are in a place where they will be loved and they are gorgeous! Good luck with them.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

no dontmix the seed and pellet just provide individual dishes this way they choose how much they want to eat of both, my birds if i mix avoid the dish, i have a better chance of abserving that they are getting a balanced diet if i can see how much seed was eaten, how much pellet, if you mix you dont know if they are just digging for thier favorites of not.
That is good that you want to research before you breed, the birds health is to important and if you go into it not knowing everything you can you can run into problems.
My birds have many dishes in their cage depending on the time of day, i find introducing new foods easier in the morning when they are getting food changes after a 12 hour night. but seperate dishes is a must. it will give you a heads up on the health of the birds sooner if you notice in a 24 hour period that the birds havent eaten as much as they did before it could be a early warning sign that somethings wrong.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> pellets are good but studies have shown them to cause kidney damage over a period of time, so only offer in small amounts.


This happens with a diet consisting ONLY of pellets. If at least 20% of the diet is something other than pellets, there shouldn't be a problem.

If your birds will eat greens every day it's OK to offer them every day, although every other day is fine too. If you want to, you can sprout some seeds and grains for them - we have a sticky thread on how to do it at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=9019

As for how long to keep up the long nights: it depends on how the birds are behaving. Certainly keep it up for at least a week right now, but once they're out of breeding mode you can switch to a different pattern and see what happens. If there's no breeding behavior everything is fine. But if they start mating you need to go back to the long nights right away. It takes some time for the hormones to reach the level where egg laying begins - she won't get eggnant the first time they mate, and if you react promptly you'll be able to shut them down again.


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