| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 797.1 | 'TIEL TOTS! | ABACUS::BOURGAULT | | Tue Apr 20 1993 17:45 | 30 |
| Jeanne,
Congratulations! You are about to become a ??Mother. IT is exciting
to raise a clutch.
1. Yes, cockatiels like to (as a rule) nest in a bare box. No frills.
2. Yes as well to the loose bowels. Generally, cockatiels do not like
to mess in their nest box so she saves it until she emerges. Also,
egg laying does cause very loose bowels.
3. I would not advise moving them at this time. Wait until the babies
are weaned before moving. My cockatiels layed their first clutch
in the bottom of the cage (same size as yours), and 3 of the 4 eggs
hatched and all lived. I did take them out once they were 3 weeks
old and handled them frequently, however it didn't really make them
friendly as a handfed baby. (I just gave up 2 babies to a club
member last night. They were just 3 wks. She is going to handfeed
them for me. Cute little pearls.)
Keep a close eye on them once the babies hatch. Try not to disturb
them - however just keep an eye on their crops. If their crops are not
reasonably full then they might not be feeding them properly.
Cockatiels are notorious for not feeding their young. Esp. when it is
their first clutch... and if you peek in there and disturb them too
much!
Best of luck!!
Regards,
Denise
|
| 797.2 | More questions. | SWAM1::DEFRANCO_JE | | Tue Apr 20 1993 19:35 | 23 |
| Thanks for the info Denise . I do have a few more questions. If I want
really friendly babies, it sounds like I should hand feed. If (?) I
decide to should I start at 3 weeks? Should I leave at least one baby
for the parents to raise. After all, I want them to get the full
satisfaction of having little ones! Ha! Ha!
Also, Sunny, the female seems to be picking at Luis. As she preens
him, she just reaches over to the back on his neck and yanks out a
feather. He just stands there and takes it. Is this mate abuse?
Also, Luis, the male, squawks and yells at Rosie (my other male tiel)
whenever he (Rosie) is in sight. They share the same room but not the
same cage. Can I expect this protective, combative attitude to last
until the chick are grown? Heaven forbid! My husband calls luis "Luis
the lip" and that name has been quite fitting lately. As it is now, I
have to remove Rosie from the room during the day or it is unbearable.
Thanks!!
Jeanne
|
| 797.3 | Tiel Tots II | ABACUS::BOURGAULT | | Wed Apr 21 1993 19:10 | 39 |
| Jeanne,
I would suggest that if you want real lovable interactive chicks then
opt for the handfeeding. 3 weeks is the perfect age. I wouldn't leave
any of the babies with the parents. They will be fine...infact they
seem relieved since they no longer have to feed all those hungry mouths
and believe me, once you start handfeeding those little guys, you will
know what I mean! You best wear ear plugs for those begging noises
will drive you crazy! But they are soooo cute! They come to you
when they see you (of course you think it is for affection, but in
reality they are looking for a shringe of food!). If you decide
to handfeed, a great formula on the market today is manufactured
by "Lakes". It is easy to prepare (seconds!) and doesn't have any
odor (some formulas smell terrible). And the best part, it has a
nice even consistency - no lumps. The kids will love it! BUt expect
them to be very DIFFICULT for the first 2 or 3 feedings. Once they
get the hang of it then it is pretty clear sailing. I can get you
some specifics on it as to , how much each feeding should be at
what age and also how many feedings a day and when to decrease the
number of feedings, when to wean etc. Also, you should get some
"lacto-bacillus" (not sure of spelling or name, however what it
does is supply the bird with a small amount of bacteria I believe
to build its immune system). Ordinarily the parents produce this
bacteria, and even though it is not critical at 3 weeks, since the
parents probably already did this in the first 3 weeks, I suggest
that you still add a pinch at 1 feeding a day for another week or
so.
As for your female picking at your male, It could be frustration
over feeding the chicks. Or she could be just a dominating female!
As for your male screeching at Rosie, many cockatiels will do this
when they see another tiel come into the room. Or he's fond of
Rosie.
Once I get that info I'll send it over to you. Best of luck and
keep us posted on your progress, regardless of whether you handfeed
or not.
Denise
|
| 797.4 | 2 cents | CSOA1::DIRRMAN | | Thu Apr 22 1993 18:59 | 20 |
|
Hi Jeanne,
Welcome to breadership! I am on my 6th clutch (second set of
parents) and have found the babies to be Much stronger if left with the
parents. I do two hand feedings a day - usually in the AM and then
again at night. The parents are tame and are used to me sticking my
hand in the box. If you have a busy schedule .. you will find it
difficult to do all the hand feedings necessary. I have one baby
left from the last clutch (6 weeks old) and will move her to
her own cage this weekend.
I have 3 sets of parents and have found them realy great at
raising their young (Lucky I guess).
Good luck.. and have FUN!
Dora
ps - Millet is great for helping the parents feed the young!
|
| 797.5 | First hatchling! | SWAM1::DEFRANCO_JE | | Fri Apr 30 1993 00:02 | 7 |
| Well, it's April 29th and we have our first chick in the box. Sunny
tossed one egg out and it was just yolk. I think that maybe one more
will hatch since it's getting dark in color while the fourth one is
still snow white.
Jeanne
|
| 797.6 | Help, Please | SWAM1::DEFRANCO_JE | | Mon May 10 1993 17:24 | 25 |
| Well, it looks like only one baby chick this time. I may opt for hand
feeding, so any info will be appreciated.
It appears that the father is doing all the work. I've yet to see
Sunny, the mother, feed this chick. It's always Dad that does the
feeding. Is this normal?
On Saturday, I took Sunny out of the cage and put her in another
smaller cage and brought her outside for a bath and a break. She
seemed happy to be away from the nest.
Since she doesn't seem to be feeding the chick, and since she seems
happier away from the nest, at what point can I remove her from this
situation? Will the father continue feeding the chick?
I'm thinking along these lines because Sunny is "really" picking on
her mate, Louie. He is bald from the top of his head down to the
bottom of his neck. She is brutal with him!
Any help would be appreciated!
thanks,
Jeanne
|
| 797.7 | Weaning question | SWAM1::DEFRANCO_JE | | Wed Jun 16 1993 16:29 | 25 |
| Well, my chick will be 7 weeks on 6/17 and she is not yet weaned. She
was doing O.K. with seed but she decided that's all she wanted. So....
I decided to forget about the seed and leave her to eat only kibble,
eggs, rice and vegies (like the other big birds).
My question is, should I wean her on the seed and then work on
improving/changing her diet to the pellets or should I just hang in
there and continue hand feeding her until she learns to eat the
pellets, eggs, veggies, etc...?
In the end, I don't want her eating any seed other than an occasional
millet spray as a treat.
Thanks,
Jeanne
P.S. I've decided to keep this little bird and we've named her Ruby
because her eyes shine red in the light.
Also, another question, Ruby's tail is bent to the right (I mean really
bent!) Has anyone ever seen this before? Will it straighten our in
time?
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