# Parents stop feeding 5 weeks old baby cockatiel



## chriswenz (Sep 8, 2016)

Hello everyone,

We have one cockatiel chick and since yesterday the parents stopped feeding it.
I bought the hand feeding formula yesterday afternoon. Before that, in the morning, I mixed a smoothie in a blender myself: made of sprouted mung beans, soaked Kamut seeds, water, apple, carrot, and a little piece of banana.
Yesterday, feeding the bird was a lot easier. Today it started to resist and is trying to free itself from the towel I wrap around him during feeding.
The birdie is not used to be fed by humans. :-(

However, today the female started feeding again but only very little. I heard her feeding in the morning, once a little longer, the other 2 times shortly.

I was told at the age of 5 weeks and onwards, usually the male only keeps feeding the chicks. 
However, all the male cared about yesterday was looking for a new nesting place.
The female had a new egg 2 days ago that I removed (including the nesting box). Since then, the male kept searching for new places for the next eggs. 
And throughout the entire nesting time, the male has fed the little one only for a short while, maybe a few seconds, and then stopped while the mother was feeding much longer (per one feeding session).
Is that normal?

The male is now locked in the cage because this morning he was a little aggressive to the chick (while trying to enter a furniture draw probably in search for the nesting place). 
The birds have their own room with branches and furniture to move around and explore.

Shall I release the father again and see if he feeds the little one or shall I keep him locked for a few days? Maybe the mother will take over again?

I will probably try to feed the chick again this evening unless the mother feeds him a little longer within the next few hours.

Any further advise from you is highly appreciated.

Thank and kind regards
Chr.


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## Bigvally (Sep 4, 2016)

*parent problems*

I have a similar problem to the one you are facing. I have 3 chicks the oldest is 4 weeks. Parents are still feeding them but they are/have been pulling the baby's feathers out.

I have removed the chicks and am hand feeding + the babies are eating some adult food. My oldest chick is the most difficult to get to eat from my had but is also the one that eats the most real food.

I started out hand feeding with an eyedropper and very small amounts of food. It took 4 or 5 times before I could get the chicks to accept the hand feeding formula. I can now use a syringe but they still don't eat anything like the amount of food I have seen in youtube vidieos.

Just make sure that the temperature is correct, if not it can cause real harmful results.

I wish I could offer more help/advice but this is my first time.

PS
My gut feeling is that iff the parents are looking for a new nesting place they and the female is laying more eggs already they wont be interested in taking care of the existing chick.
Try giving your chick millet seeds. even the youngest of my chicks is eating it.
Bigvally.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Removing the nest box is probably what threw dad off his feeding game. Are they on the long nights treatment to lower their hormones? If not, they're not gonna stop trying to lay eggs. As for the chick, try offering more solid food. You can put seeds on the floor of the cage and let him pick at it. Millet was our go to with our babies and they took to it immediately. Once they realize the food is yummy, you won't have to worry so much about feeding them. Weighing him every day will give you an idea of whether he's getting enough food or not.


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## chriswenz (Sep 8, 2016)

Hello to both, and thanks a lot for your responses.

Actually, I removed the nesting box including the egg AFTER the parents had stopped feeding the chick, not before.

However, dad started feeding again yesterday and he also did today. The female no longer feeds him.
I am just not sure what the dad feeds the chick is enough. I will have to buy a weigh.

I checked for the spray millet in the only good pet store we have here (in Kuwait) and unfortunately, they are out of stock right now.

I just asked a friend whose sister is in the US right now to bring me a few packages.
All my 4 cockatiels love the spray millet, so this might work for the chick too.

The problem is, the birds are out of their cages and free in the room. Locking the chick in the cage would mean isolating it from the parents.

The female still tries to find a nesting place and seems to be upset because I closed off all entrances to potential nesting places. 

I cannot darken the room, the room has no curtains or blinds and apart from that, this would mean all of them get less daylight. However, I might consider hanging up something like a shutter or curtain should the problem persist. 
I have read that laying eggs constantly can weaken the female too much so that it gets sick. 
What I could do is lock the dad in the cage after the chick has learnt eating on its own. I am sure that will calm their "breeding business" down quite a bit.

Oh, and by the way, until now none of the birds has harmed the chick physically. The dad was just slighly aggressive on that day he stopped feeding because he considered a draw in a furniture his potential next nesting place and "his own". So, he was probably defending the place, even from the chick. 

I hope he keeps feeding him, then everything will be fine, and I will try to find a solution for mom too.

@BigValley: Good luck with your baby cockatiels too. It must be even more complicated having to take care of a bunch of them.

Thanks again and have a fantastic weekend.
Christine


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