Hi all. I don't normally post about my tiels much, but only because I haven't had them very long; they were adopted from the local animal shelter. Anyway, they are a mated pair, and 2 weeks ago, the first egg of 4 hatched. Second egg hatched 2 days later. Remaining 2 eggs have been disposed of, because they obviously weren't going to hatch, and I didn't want them to contaminate the nest box. Here's my issue: I checked on the 2 babies today as soon as I got home from work, and 1 was dead. I realize that it could have been any number of things that killed it, and it was heart-breaking, but my main concern now is to keep the other one alive. He looks like any normal 2 wk old chick to me, but I'm not sure what I should be looking for exactly. And they both looked fine to me this morning, so if there's something visible going on with them, it's not something I know to watch for. Can anyone out there give me some advice ? I know you probably need more info, just let me know. BTW, they are being fed by the parents, and I am providing the parents with a multitude of healthy food.
Was this an accidental clutch? No, although I'm not a breeder by any means. But I saw the mating happening, decided to give them a nest box. I didn't really mean to encourage it, but I know that's exactly what I did.
Do you have a picture of your remaining chick. 2 weeks old, the feathers are definately pointing out, you probably can start to see the orange spot on the side of the head.
It is unusual that a 2 weeks old baby die like that. Usualy, they do during the first 2 or 3 days. The parents were feeding them all right ? I mean, their crop should be FULL like a golf ball at night.
There is a few things you can watch : If the baby poops regularly, if his crop his almost empty in the morning, and filled at night. Does it scream ? It should make a funny "jurassic park" sound when you come over to pick it up. It should stand almost straight on his legs, and be able to walk (usualy backwards) by himself.
hmm...what else ? You can handle the baby without worrying about the parents refusing to take it back. I handle mine when they hatch ! Be sure that the nestbox is clean.. and oh...no bedding.... the wood shavings are not good for little lungs, the dust isn't good. Just put an old towel you change everyother day.
This is what I can think of.... Just let me know and I'll try to help you.
Please, keep us posted !
Here is a picture of Ino, 16 days old.
Let me know if yours look similar.Look like it can't take the picture !?
Jo and her friends
Vertov the Quaker
Soledad and Leopold the cockatiels
Kirikou the parakeet
and all the chicks...
This post was last modified: 05-10-2007 10:46 PM by Joeypuce.
Joey: Thanks so,so much for posting, this is exactly what I needed to know. I am going to try & post a picture of the remaining chick when I get home this evening (assuming he's still alive - sorry, I'm just so paranoid now) :(
Here's what I can tell you off the top of my head: He holds his head up very well, makes the little crying/hissing sounds, & mouth opens up when you touch him on top of the head. I admit I have been reluctant to handle him much for fear that mama would reject/abuse him for it, but since you said it's ok, I won't be afraid to examine him more closely tonight. I have also been really concerned about him getting chilled....I figure he's more cozy in the nest box than anywhere else, so he's been out of the box only when I change the bedding, which by the way is only clean white papertowels.
Mother (and sometimes Father) both get in the next box with him. For some reason, I've become fixated on his crop, worried about "slow crop". Everytime I've looked at him, the crop is full or partially full. Based on your info, I need to pay attention to the time of day in regards to how full the crop is, and I will do that starting now.
I don't know how mobile he is at this point, because when I look in on him, he's usually sleeping or his parents are with him, and I can't see him very well when they're with him. I haven't heard any noise at all from his breathing, nor seen any discharge at the nostrils.
He doesn't look anything like your 16 day old baby; not nearly that well developed yet, nor as well feathered. I'm not sure if this is the older or the younger of the 2 babies that hatched, but one hatched on 4/29 and the other on 5/1. So he's either 13 days old today, or 11 days old today, counting from the day of hatch.
He seems to poop regularly, and I would say it's about the consistency you would expect, neither too watery nor too firm.
I was surprised by the death of the other chick, because as you said, I would have expected it more within the first few days of hatch. What I did find interesting was the way he was laying in the box, very spread out, wings extended, legs extended. Not curled up in a fetal position as I've seen dead baby birds before.
Until I get a picture posted of my baby, here's one from another website that closely resembles how he looks:
Its probably the 11 days old one, and development is probably ok.
Since you don't hand feed him, I strongly suggest that you hold this bird at least twice a day, for 10 to 15 mins, if not, he'll turn to be really wild and hard to tame. Kiss him, pet him. If the parents are really friendly with you, you can sit with the family in front of the tv, holding hin, and dad and mom will come and have a peak to him. This is what mine do.
Perhaps that the dead chick was killed by the parents ? Could it be ? Or simply stuggled under a parent ? Weird, but its an option.
The consistency of the poop is suppose to be like cement. Think and usualy one color. no water. When it dries, it become hard like stone, and is easy to remove. It start to be like ordinary poop after 15 to 17 days usualy.
Let me know how it goes !!!
Oh, and by the way, you won't recognize your baby in a week. Will be full of feathers ! It goes REALLY fast at this age.
:D
Jo and her friends
Vertov the Quaker
Soledad and Leopold the cockatiels
Kirikou the parakeet
Thanks Joey. I'm going to try and relax a bit now, and hope when I get home this afternoon, he's fine, and will stay that way.
I was thinking there was a chance that the other baby was smothered. I truly hope that's all it was. Really sad with only one chick left !
Yes, I will hold the baby as often as I can; the parents, especially the female, are not super tame, so I really want this baby to be.
I did want to mention one other thing: I live in S. Florida, where it's very warm now (approx 90 degrees F days, 65-70 at night) and my tiels live on a screened-in porch. They are in the shade, their cage gets no direct sunlight. But do you suppose the babies have gotten either too warm or too cold ? I figure cold is more dangerous, and inside my house is much cooler with the air conditioning on, so I presume it's better for them outside. What do you think ?
I don't know. How is the weather at night. Cockatiel should NEVER be under 72F. The chick had no down to take him warm, and the two weren't enough to keep the other warm. If the parents left them, they might have gotten cold.
How is the remaining chick ?
Jo and her friends
Vertov the Quaker
Soledad and Leopold the cockatiels
Kirikou the parakeet
The baby is fine tonight, and I spent quite a while holding him and gently touching his face and head. He seemed to like that very much.
As you might have seen on the national news, we are having lots of brush fires in Florida right now, and the winds have pushed lots of smoke into our area, so the cages have been moved indoors for now. But I asked my husband about our nighttime temperatures just now, and he said they are in the 68-70 degree range.
Anyway, here are the pictures I promised, taken tonight. His crop seems pretty full, and I'm wondering about the rest of his body shape too, particularly how his crop & stomach are both rounded into separate parts; he looks so strange to me. I hope this is normal.
He looks normal to me. The shape looks ok. Keep an eye on him and I guess its gonna be ok
I believe that you did the right thing by taking the cages indoor for now. Is there a room where you can lower the condition air ?
Something you can do if you think he's not digesting properly is to massage gently his crop where you see "air bubbles" near his neck. Sometime, they get some air in their crop, and its taking them from digesting. Litteraly, you can help them burp. lol.
He seems to have lot of red veins on his crop. Mine doesn't have one that are so dark. But it may be normal. Their skin is so thin...
Keep on the good work and let us know how it goes !
Jo and her friends
Vertov the Quaker
Soledad and Leopold the cockatiels
Kirikou the parakeet
I'm such a nervous "foster" mom ! I'm glad you both think he looks o.k.
I have positioned the cage away from any vents, and I'm keeping the indoor temperature as warm as his humans can stand it.
I like Bouncingcockatoo's idea for picking names that could be unisex. I can't help thinking of names right now, but I'm kinda scared to let myself pick one for this baby; don't want to jinx his survival yet. I know that sounds dumb. It's fun to think of names though isn't it ?
Thank you HollyT. Yes, it's still going well, although I was very worried on Saturday evening/Sunday morning, because baby's crop was empty, it was crying for food and Mom seemed indifferent. In fact, both parents didn't seem to care. I kept watching for one of them to respond, but neither one did. So late morning on Sunday,(with still no evidence of baby being fed), I made up a small batch of Kaytee handfeeding formula. Birdman, if you're reading this, I was desparate ! I got the teeniest, tiniest eye dropper and gently fed the baby one drop at a time, and he lapped it up. I went very slowly, because I believe that you can cause more harm than good this way. Anyway, when baby had quieted some and his crop had a little something in it, I slipped him back in the box, and waited. Finally, mom & dad both started feeding him, and by late afternoon, he was stuffed ! Don't know what all that was about. And believe me, I don't like to interfere with Mother Nature, but I was afraid the parents had rejected him for some reason.
He's doing fine now, and hopefully I can post another picture of him again in a few days.
One more thing: I've decided to call him "Boo", cause he scared me to death ! One more thing: I've decided to call him "Boo", cause he scared me to death !
This is a good lesson for those who want to just jump into breeding too...seeing it drives your nerves nuts! There's so much to know and learn and there are just too many birds out there that already need homes. Here is hoping this will be your pair's only baby.
Congrats on your new addition though!
my fids:
Kara & Zoey - Cockatiels
Tucker & Milo - Budgies
I think you did the right thing. You can also give formula to the parents. Go to the drugstore and buy a serynge for kids. Use it to feed the parents. They'll probably like it and return it to the baby.
When we breed, we must have some formula at all time, cause we never know what can happen.
Just let the baby lap the food from the serynge or spoon or dropper, don't put it in the throath as breeder usualy do. Its the safer way for beginners like us.
Keep us posted. I die to see pictures !!!
Jo and her friends
Vertov the Quaker
Soledad and Leopold the cockatiels
Kirikou the parakeet
HollyT: I agree with you. It makes me sad to think of all the birds that people bring home, then lose interest in eventually. I actually think breeding of all pets should be regulated somehow. Right now I can't see letting any of my pets reproduce unless I'm personally going to keep the offspring for their lifetime. I am happy about this baby though :) I intend to ask Birdman for some advice on making him as handleable (is that a word ?) as possible.
Joey: I'm glad you think I did the right thing. I just happened to have some of the Kaytee formula powder from when I had lovebird babies, when I gave it to the parents who really liked it. I did start to offer it to this new baby from a spoon, but he's so tiny, I was afraid he'd get it in his nostrils.
He's 16 days old today (are you supposed to count the day they hatch as day 1 ?) and he's looking a little better all the time, but he still doesn't look like your 16 day old. Your baby at 16 days looks like he's covered in the feather sheaths, but mine only has that many on his wings, with just a very few on his body. Do you suppose he's fallen behind a little ? Perhaps I should offer him some more formula just to supplement what he's getting from his mom & dad ?
I think I will post another picture of him tonight for you, so you can see & tell me what you think.
That's easy, and Joey has already given you the best advice, handle him some now and get him used to people! Then as he weans handle him more...
This way, he should grow up without fear of humans.
As with any young bird, he should get used to hands in and around the beak. If he associates them with head scratches and food treats and pleasant experiences, then he will not fear them, and will probably enjoy being touched. If he associates them with being grabbed, and forced to do stuff that he is not ready for, then he will tend to become hand shy...
I never really got involved in socializing and care of babies, or hand feeding issues. I've read about it, but I've never actually done it. Every bird I have ever brought home has been fully abundance weaned first... I've seen first hand the damage caused by other people's mistakes, and it turned me off to ever even considering doing that myself.
In the Aviary: One CAG, Three Conures, Two Macaws, Two Amazons.
