# Handfeeding suddenly not going well. Why?



## Amatiq (Jan 7, 2016)

I've been feeding the one chick once a day, and returning it to the nestbox. Parents have shown no sign of aggression towards baby, and were feeding it also. Yesterday am I pulled to handfeed and baby began a feeding response eagerly, then stopped after just a very tiny bit. I returned to parents, who fed baby. Later in the day, I heard feeding going on in the nestbox. By evening, around 9pm, baby had a mostly empty crop, and Mom had laid a new egg. She seemed pretty settled into egg sitting.
I pulled baby to feed, and got the same half hearted response...an initial pumping and gaping mouth, then quickly closed up and refusing food. I returned chick to nestbox, and checked again this am. Totally empty crop this time. Same feeding response...eagerly started, stopped quickly and barely took enough to just start rounding crop. Mom and Dad are ignoring baby..I don't think they'll feed it at all anymore. 
Why is the baby refusing to eat after starting a good response? The formula is slightly thicker than cream soup, andn I tried even thinning it a bit since baby probably hasn't fed in about 8-9 hours well at this point. I tried waiting a bit and trying again, lightly dribbling formula over side of beak, and even swapped a spoon for a syringe and giving little "beak shakes". Nada. Suggestions?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I'm not sure but if the baby isn't responding well that would explain why the parents have stopped feeding it. Any chance there is yeast in the crop? How do the intestines look?


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Is the formula too cold? My baby birds would usually refuse formula if it got too cold.


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## SilverSage (Oct 19, 2014)

My first thought is the formula not being hot enough, my second thought is actually yeast in the MOUTH causing pain with feeding. I've had that happen.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

How old is the chick? Their weight peaks around the age of three weeks, but then they start eating less as their growth rate slows down. When they reach fledging age, a huge heavy crop is undesirable because it would weigh them down and interfere with flying.


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## Amatiq (Jan 7, 2016)

Chick is 20 days old. These are the parents that have bred for 4 years and had their clutches pulled at 14-16 days for handfeeding. Based on the fact that they are laying again, I think they are just pre-programmed to double clutch and don't understand why this baby is still hanging around. 
The formula is at 104 degrees, and I'm only feeding the one chick, so I don't see that it's likely to be cooling off too much. I put it in a glass jar in a bowl of hot water while feeding to keep it warm. 
I don't see any white patches in the mouth or other signs of yeast. Since 8 am this morning baby has passed 3 droppings of maybe slightly thicker than normal consistency. It's not a huge difference from before. Intestines don't look dark or red or like anything is pooling.
I think I'm noticing a little more redness to the skin of baby. Other than that it seems reasonably alert and is standing and trying to crawl towards syringe for food, but never really gets the pumping response going. It does slowly open mouth to take a little, but stops after only a little. Hmm. 
Maybe it just got weak from several hours yesterday and last night of parental neglect? 
I'll try feeding closer to every 2 hours and see where we get.


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## Amatiq (Jan 7, 2016)

Would gentian violet be good to treat yeast, if that's the case? I can order nystatin online, but don't have any available to be given today.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

If the feeding response does not improve, I'd recommend seeing a vet asap about tube feeding to at least get food into the baby.


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## Amatiq (Jan 7, 2016)

Would gentian violet be good to treat yeast, if that's the case? I can order nystatin online, but don't have any available to be given today.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I don't know about gentian violet, but we have a sticky thread on crop issues and some home remedies that can help: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27514


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## Amatiq (Jan 7, 2016)

Glad to report that after a day of frequent feedings I am finally seeing a proper bob and shriek response...I think of it as "playing pterodactyl". It's not taking enough to stretch crop out like it was when parents were feeding, but it looks much more normal to me, and baby's energy levels are definitely up. 
Hopefully baby was just weak and dehydrated. I have an appt with avian vet tomorrow am if not entirely improved, although their initial thoughts was that if a 3 week old cockatiel chick wasn't eating properly, there probably was probably something serious wrong that wouldn't be treatable.


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## Amatiq (Jan 7, 2016)

Thank you everyone who's replied last few days. I have handfed chicks of a few different species before, but always with somebody with more experience to monitor. It's more nerve wracking when you're solo.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

It definitely is! Glad to see the baby is improved!


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## ninfatiel (Jul 22, 2016)

Th partially handfeed chicks almost never get "the pumping response"'-thats for 100% hadfeed ones. Try reducing the tickness even more.I do feed mine a rather thin formula and check the temperature-on my inner wrist skin-by applying few drops if it burns-rinse the dropper under tap water and try again.Th temperature is just right when it doesnt burn anymore. I slowly give them about 5-10 ml of formula-inserting dropper from the left side of the beak. No pumping response ever but they do take in some food. (my chicks are partially fed once a day).Dont give up and keep trying. if parents are ignoring the baby,he must be fed several times a day


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## ninfatiel (Jul 22, 2016)

another thing I wanted to say- why there is only one chick?? I do hope the bedding is appropriate, when I was new to the breeding I had low hatch rate due to me using shredded paper towels as bedding. Or the pair may be brother and sister


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## Amatiq (Jan 7, 2016)

There were 4 eggs in the clutch, 2 clear and 2 fertile. One hatched but took a long, long time to get out of the shell and died by the time it made it. This one made it. The pair is older. It may be that they aren't very fertile anymore, or it may be that she started laying before they actually mated. I wasn't using any artificial lights for them and it was still long nights and short days, I was very surprised that they started nesting at all. But it was the first two eggs laid that were clear. According to the breeder I bought them from, the pair is not related.


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## Amatiq (Jan 7, 2016)

*bedding is wood chips although they threw most of it out


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