# Cockatiels as foster parents



## Amatiq (Jan 7, 2016)

I am considering trying to have cockatiels foster splendid parakeet eggs. The pair fixed up the nest, mated, and laid eggs, but she's not sitting on them yet and I am starting to wonder if she will.
I have a cockatiel pair is clearly thinking about starting a clutch....and another older female who still lays infertile eggs and sits them trying to get them to hatch. 
Does anyone have any experience with tiels fostering other species?


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## SilverSage (Oct 19, 2014)

I've looked into it and from my research cockatiels seem not to be great foster parents of other species. However, a friend of mine recently fostered a Ringneck baby to a pair of cockatiels and it worked, though she had to remove the baby when his beak got bigger than the cockatiel beaks.

But if you move forward with it, I would say you need to be prepared with the right equipment, knowledge, and determination to raise a day 1 baby. I'm not familiar with splendid parakeets but in cockatiels and similar sized birds a day 1 baby has to be fed every hour for multiple days, then every two hours, and so on and so forth.

How long has it been since the egg was laid? Some birds don't start sitting until the last egg is laid.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Do splendid parakeets have any baby-feeding habits that are different than cockatiels? If they do, it could lead to some problems. 

For example I know that budgies often feed babies that are lying on their backs, while cockatiels never do this. A tiel chick that is lying on its back is in trouble, but it's perfectly normal for budgie chicks. So if you tried to foster budgie babies with cockatiels, the babies might not get fed because they were in the wrong position, and they might even be harmed when the cockatiel foster parents tried to make them get into the right position. 

If there aren't any incompatibilities of this sort it might work, for a while at least. Size could be another possible issue with new hatchlings though. A budgie hatchling will be considerably smaller than a cockatiel hatchling - will the cockatiel parents be willing to feed a chick that looks undersized, and will the flow of food be too much for such a tiny chick? I really don't know. I'm not familiar with splendid parakeets, but the internet is indicating that their adult weight is about the same as a budgie, so there could be problems with tiel parents being too big to feed a hatchling successfully.


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## Amatiq (Jan 7, 2016)

The last egg was laid 4 days ago. I'm not going to try it this round, because I think I need more info.
Splendids are about the same size as an American parakeet. Suggested foster parents are Bourke's, budgies, and lovebirds. But that doesn't really tell me much about how they eat, etc.
Thanks for chiming in, gives me lots to think about. If I ever try it, or try it the other way around, I'll keep good notes.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

If the parents will let you watch while they feed, you can learn a lot more about how they do it. That may help you make a good decision an appropriate foster parents in the future.


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