Post by deebee on Sept 8, 2016 0:37:46 GMT -8
I wanted to come with good news and announce that I had another two cockatiel chicks in the nest BUT of course not everything goes smoothly when breeding! I cannot express enough that breeding is time consuming, heartbreaking and hard. It's not all fun, cute baby birds unfortunately. If anybody reading this is considering breeding then I suggest being 100% prepared for what could possibly go wrong!
My cockatiels double clutched this year after having Lucifer. He was the only egg that hatched out, the other 3 were sadly DIS. This is because when Lucifer hatched, the parents decided to focus on him and not finish sitting the last few eggs. I removed the box and gave them a break but I thought I'd give them another shot before the year is over. They had 4 eggs but once 2 had hatched again they chose not to sit the rest when they were just a few days off. This is their first ever season, both birds are inexperienced and unprepared themselves so I can't really blame them
I tend to start handling babies at around 14 days old when their eyes are well and truly open, they're fluffy and more interactive. They've had their first few essential weeks pretty much hassle free. I had stuck my head in and saw that they were going to be red or plum eyed babies. Exciting! A few weeks go on and I look again. They still look like they're under 10 days old easily. They hadn't grown much at all, their eyes weren't open and the most they had was the older chick having a few crest pinnies sticking through. I was mortified. I noticed that although the parents had been taking food into the nest, they hadn't been feeding them much. They were/are stunted and I was/am heartbroken. I've never had anything like this happen before and almost every nest full of eggs has been a success except for my Alexandrines
I decided that the best course of action would be to assist feed the chicks. The parents seem to fill them up with seeds, veggies and egg food on an evening but don't give them much at all during the day. I thought it would best to leave them with the parents to prevent double clutching and they aren't harming them or anything. They're keeping them lovely and warm and it's more beneficial for the chicks to stay with them than become dependent on me. I had only recently chucked away my Kaytee hand feeding formula. I really dislike using Kaytee but at the time it was the only brand readily available in the UK with about 2 other being sold out most of the time. I didn't want to use Kaytee after all of the recalls! I had hand reared a few birds on it but it just didn't sit right with me after the salmonella suspicions. I contacted a local bird friend and told her that I needed to get some formula ASAP and I couldn't wait for it to be ordered online. She told me to go to a pet shop about 30 minutes away and try there as they have sold a couple of brands in the past. Keep in mind, most UK stores don't sell good bird products so I was very lucky to have this not far away!
I went and got the Versele-Laga NutriBird 21. They sold the 19 too but that's for high energy birds like macaws. They had one other brand, I think it was Orlux. I used to use their Lori Nectar which was great but I felt that the as Loro Parque use Versele-Laga then it must be decent! This is it...
Does that image come up sideways? It shouldn't do but it's showing up that way for me haha, sorry!
As it was dark when I got home and the chicks had been fed by the parents I left them to it. Yesterday morning I got them out of the nest to see if they needed a feed and they definitely did. They had a tiny bit of food left in them but they weren't chubby and they're still very very undeveloped for nearly 3 weeks old
Gutted! This is what they looked like... one had opened their eyes but it's the youngest chick
They look awful at this point and I'm almost in tears, I just want them to look healthy and be healthy! I managed to get a feeding response from both of them and they were absolutely ravenous. They ate a lot each but I didn't want to fill them up to the brim just yet as they aren't used to having that much food in them. After their feed they were SO content. They were yawning and falling asleep so sweetly and I popped them back in their nest shortly after. The least interaction I have with hand feeding the better but needs must. Here they are looking a lot happier and sleepier!
If they don't start to improve in the next few days then they will be completely pulled for hand rearing. Fingers crossed that they'll be okay and soon speed up their development though
Wish me luck!
My cockatiels double clutched this year after having Lucifer. He was the only egg that hatched out, the other 3 were sadly DIS. This is because when Lucifer hatched, the parents decided to focus on him and not finish sitting the last few eggs. I removed the box and gave them a break but I thought I'd give them another shot before the year is over. They had 4 eggs but once 2 had hatched again they chose not to sit the rest when they were just a few days off. This is their first ever season, both birds are inexperienced and unprepared themselves so I can't really blame them
I tend to start handling babies at around 14 days old when their eyes are well and truly open, they're fluffy and more interactive. They've had their first few essential weeks pretty much hassle free. I had stuck my head in and saw that they were going to be red or plum eyed babies. Exciting! A few weeks go on and I look again. They still look like they're under 10 days old easily. They hadn't grown much at all, their eyes weren't open and the most they had was the older chick having a few crest pinnies sticking through. I was mortified. I noticed that although the parents had been taking food into the nest, they hadn't been feeding them much. They were/are stunted and I was/am heartbroken. I've never had anything like this happen before and almost every nest full of eggs has been a success except for my Alexandrines
I decided that the best course of action would be to assist feed the chicks. The parents seem to fill them up with seeds, veggies and egg food on an evening but don't give them much at all during the day. I thought it would best to leave them with the parents to prevent double clutching and they aren't harming them or anything. They're keeping them lovely and warm and it's more beneficial for the chicks to stay with them than become dependent on me. I had only recently chucked away my Kaytee hand feeding formula. I really dislike using Kaytee but at the time it was the only brand readily available in the UK with about 2 other being sold out most of the time. I didn't want to use Kaytee after all of the recalls! I had hand reared a few birds on it but it just didn't sit right with me after the salmonella suspicions. I contacted a local bird friend and told her that I needed to get some formula ASAP and I couldn't wait for it to be ordered online. She told me to go to a pet shop about 30 minutes away and try there as they have sold a couple of brands in the past. Keep in mind, most UK stores don't sell good bird products so I was very lucky to have this not far away!
I went and got the Versele-Laga NutriBird 21. They sold the 19 too but that's for high energy birds like macaws. They had one other brand, I think it was Orlux. I used to use their Lori Nectar which was great but I felt that the as Loro Parque use Versele-Laga then it must be decent! This is it...
Does that image come up sideways? It shouldn't do but it's showing up that way for me haha, sorry!
As it was dark when I got home and the chicks had been fed by the parents I left them to it. Yesterday morning I got them out of the nest to see if they needed a feed and they definitely did. They had a tiny bit of food left in them but they weren't chubby and they're still very very undeveloped for nearly 3 weeks old
Gutted! This is what they looked like... one had opened their eyes but it's the youngest chickThey look awful at this point and I'm almost in tears, I just want them to look healthy and be healthy! I managed to get a feeding response from both of them and they were absolutely ravenous. They ate a lot each but I didn't want to fill them up to the brim just yet as they aren't used to having that much food in them. After their feed they were SO content. They were yawning and falling asleep so sweetly and I popped them back in their nest shortly after. The least interaction I have with hand feeding the better but needs must. Here they are looking a lot happier and sleepier!
If they don't start to improve in the next few days then they will be completely pulled for hand rearing. Fingers crossed that they'll be okay and soon speed up their development though
Wish me luck!
