Cockatiel Pair with Eggs

PikaLina

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Jan 22, 2013
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Parrots
Blue-Naped: Jackie
Cockatiels: Birdie, Kat, Pika & Lina
Budgies: Skye, Snowy, Nico & Kiko
Lovebirds: Mimi, Rina, Mickey, Danny, Paco, Kira

Myna: Cara, Collared Dove: Daffy
Hi guys,

I have a pair of cockatiels nesting with 5 eggs. Although I've had cockatiels in the past and have had experience hand rearing baby parrots, this is my first experience with eggs and breeding. I intend on hand rearing the chicks starting at 2 weeks of age. I have a brooder prepared using an infrared 14-watt heating pad. The brooder has remained stable at my target temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit with minimal outside insulation. I need a new hygrometer since ours seems to be stuck at 70 and is likely broken.

The parents, Pika and Lina, are not hand tame. I'm still working on getting them hand tame but taking it slow, especially since they've decided to start nesting. They're familiar with hands in that they don't panic when I bring them food or water, but they tend to avoid hands in general. I try to catch them when they're out of the nest box to check on the eggs quickly, but it's difficult to do so since sometimes both just hop in the nest box and switch turns that way. Given that this is Pika & Lina's first time making a family, I'm worried that with them as first-time parents, all may not go as planned.

Also, since neither Pika and Lina are fond of baths, I've hung a wet but not soaking sponge inside their nest box to help with the humidity for the eggs which I check periodically and soak again as needed.

A few questions:

1. How can I check on the eggs without panicking the parents too much?

2. Will they still sit on eggs if they are infertile or is candling my only reliable way of knowing?

3. Any suggestions on how I can take the chicks from their parents without traumatizing the parents too much?

4. Is it best to leave some of the chicks with their parents and only hand rear a few and attempt to hand tame the ones left with their parents simply by handling them often?

5. I know that parents usually develop their own egg turning pattern. If at any given time my birds stop sitting on their eggs for some reason, will it be detrimental to the unhatched chicks if I turn the eggs in the incubator with a new turning pattern since I have no idea what the current turning pattern is now?

Any advice and answers will be greatly appreciated!
 

weco

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Nov 24, 2010
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Nanday, suns, parrotlet, Patagonian
I can't help you with much, but if you want a good, inexpensive hygrometer, look for a Taylor indoor/outdoor thermometer-hygrometer with remote sensor #1525 or #1526. I have used the for a couple of years.

 

BirdyShanna

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Jan 18, 2013
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African grey: Wokkel and Coco. Cockatiels: Pearl+Whiteface streight-crest+Whiteface bend-crest (they're a trio!) Pika+Guust, Silver+Bella and babies Pluisje and cinnamon. Budgies Blue+Yellow
I can pretty much say that at least the first nest will not be fertilized. Probably the second and third nest as well, though I won't count on that.

Don't try to catch the parents if you want to check on the nest. You can best distract them with some treat, so that they go eat and you can check on the nest without alarming them too much. Also try to check when they're both off the eggs.

I wouldn't take them from the nest so young, it's not necessary and the care the parents can give the young is often much better than we can give them. The only time I took the young away from the parents is when they plucked them. There is a kind of similar post titled "Unexpected cockatiel surprise...an egg!", I've put some advise there and the links are certainly worth reading.


To get them tame you can just pick the young up a couple of times a day when, or just before the feathers start to bud (hope that's the right term).

The birds keep on brooding even if the eggs are not fertilized, wait until they abandon the nest before taking the eggs out, that saves them a lot of stress and grief (yes they -can- grieve for unhatched eggs. With one of my pairs the male is infertile, and they kept on trying and grieved so much every time it didn't work out that I arranged with another breeder to pick up a pair of fertilized eggs. They were so incredibly happy with them!)

If they stop sitting on the eggs, they are not fertilized, or there are no live chicks in them. Just hatched chicks get special "milk"-feed from the parents, there are antibodies and other special stuff in it which make the chicks immune system strong. Without that it's very likely the chicks won't survive, since the food (chick formula) that humans make for them can't/ doesn't have those special things in it. Once they open their eyes they have a chance to survive if they need to be hand-fed.
That's why I would say, leave the eggs in all cases with the parents!


These are my experiences and suggestions, and my opinion that is based on what I've picked up along the road and via internet. I don't say it's hard fact, birds are living beings after all and that can make them unpredictable.

But these birds are SMART living beings -often even smarter than I would think them!-, and so they can learn from you. So show them you don't mean them or their young harm, and show them YOU want to protect their young as well.
Even my not tame pair has accepted me as their babysitter! And they have gotten a lot more tame because of it :D.
 

crimson

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It is always best not to disturb the eggs, or the parents for that matter.
they need privacy and to feel safe when rearing their young.
it won't be long before you know if you have babies. Incubation takes approx.21-23 days, and hatch every other day.
they will sit on the eggs up until a certain point, if they abandon them they are probably not fertile. if they remain on them, then they are probably fertile.
some take the older chicks to hand rear, and others remove all of the chicks.
let nature take it's course, they typically know what they are doing :)
I would not attempt to turn the eggs yourself, given we really don't have the knowledge behind it.

I usually remove all my chicks around 2.5-3weeks of age.
my pairs' first clutch laid 4 eggs, 2 hatched one died. I kept the other one, fell in love with him, and still have him.

if your worried how to remove the nesting box without stressing the parents out, that's a bit of a 'trick'
all my nesting boxes are outside of the cage, I put millet in their cage so they are busy eating while I remove the nesting box. sometimes I hang a blanket over where the box was so they are looking at the blanket not the missing nesting box.
I've done this 4 times so far, and they are fine.
I always stressed doing this to them, but it is I that gets upset.... not them, as long as you do it right ;)

hope this helps
 
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PikaLina

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Jan 22, 2013
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Netherlands (Just moved here!)
Parrots
Blue-Naped: Jackie
Cockatiels: Birdie, Kat, Pika & Lina
Budgies: Skye, Snowy, Nico & Kiko
Lovebirds: Mimi, Rina, Mickey, Danny, Paco, Kira

Myna: Cara, Collared Dove: Daffy
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Thanks for all the responses!

I will definitely check out the hygrometer recommendation!

My nest box set up is outside the cage as well so I'll start placing a blanket since it offers more security for the birds anyway. Great suggestion!

Oh and by catching the birds outside of the nest box, I hope I didn't distress anyone, but I hadn't meant a literal chasing around or anything, just that they "change guard" inside the nest box nowadays so there's been no opportunity to peek in without one or both in the nest box. Will definitely try bribing and distracting them with millet. It worked pretty well when I did that to introduce them to the nest box!

Hopefully, half or more of the eggs hatch. I'll find out on Thursday if they decide to have a 6th egg and the first egg should hatch, if it's fertile, at approximately the 1st or 4th of February. As far as taking the chicks out at around two weeks, I originally decided that since the majority of the literature I've read mainly suggested that as the best start time for hand rearing to get hand tame birds and since my rescued dove was hand-reared at about two weeks and she turned out nice and healthy. (She hatched at the tree literally in front of my bedroom window which got destroyed by an autumn storm. Found her under a bush in my front yard just before our neighbor's cat did!) I'll just monitor them closely once and if the chicks hatch and see how it goes before I decide. I may not have to decide anyway if the clutch is completely infertile as BirdyShanna expects they'll be or if the chicks end up not being cared for well enough by the parents or abandoned altogether for one odd reason or another.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply! I'll keep you guys posted!
 

MikeyTN

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"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
It is always best not to disturb the eggs, or the parents for that matter.
they need privacy and to feel safe when rearing their young.
it won't be long before you know if you have babies. Incubation takes approx.21-23 days, and hatch every other day.
they will sit on the eggs up until a certain point, if they abandon them they are probably not fertile. if they remain on them, then they are probably fertile.
some take the older chicks to hand rear, and others remove all of the chicks.
let nature take it's course, they typically know what they are doing :)
I would not attempt to turn the eggs yourself, given we really don't have the knowledge behind it.

I usually remove all my chicks around 2.5-3weeks of age.
my pairs' first clutch laid 4 eggs, 2 hatched one died. I kept the other one, fell in love with him, and still have him.

if your worried how to remove the nesting box without stressing the parents out, that's a bit of a 'trick'
all my nesting boxes are outside of the cage, I put millet in their cage so they are busy eating while I remove the nesting box. sometimes I hang a blanket over where the box was so they are looking at the blanket not the missing nesting box.
I've done this 4 times so far, and they are fine.
I always stressed doing this to them, but it is I that gets upset.... not them, as long as you do it right ;)

hope this helps

The incubation period is usually around 19-21 days. BUT it all depends on when they decide to incubate the eggs. Also depending on humidity. I've had babies hatching as early as 14 days which that surprised me. I personally remove them at two weeks of age to handfeed.
 
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PikaLina

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Jan 22, 2013
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Netherlands (Just moved here!)
Parrots
Blue-Naped: Jackie
Cockatiels: Birdie, Kat, Pika & Lina
Budgies: Skye, Snowy, Nico & Kiko
Lovebirds: Mimi, Rina, Mickey, Danny, Paco, Kira

Myna: Cara, Collared Dove: Daffy
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They've been incubating since the first egg appeared - they're a bit excited to be parents I think!

UPDATE:

5 eggs - candled and found that 3 are for sure fertile and growing. The other 2 I didn't get to check, but from how the shells look at a glance, it's possible they're infertile. (They're more transparent than the other 3 eggs that I had checked.) Next week thereabouts we'll see how it all goes! It's dry and cold here and I've been doing my best to monitor the humidity and keep it at 50% without disturbing the parents but in case there are hatching issues, I found a great site for assisted hatching:

http://www.justcockatiels.net/assist-hatches.html

Also, found this very useful site showing what parrot chick development inside the shell should look like when candling eggs:

http://www.avianweb.com/eggtoparrot.html

Ahhh! I'm super excited and I really hope we get some healthy little babies soon!
 
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MikeyTN

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"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
Here's something I do to help with the humidity, I lightly mist the eggs with a water bottle spray. I do that on a daily basis and it helps a lot!!!! The two eggs might be the last two laid so you can check in about 3-4 days again to be sure.
 

crimson

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lol, I stand corrected, incubation time is 19-21 days like mikeytn said.

lovebirds are 21-23 days
 

MikeyTN

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Feb 1, 2011
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Antioch, TN
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"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
lol, I stand corrected, incubation time is 19-21 days like mikeytn said.

lovebirds are 21-23 days

I've had Lovebirds hatch as late as 28 days. Even it's at 19-21 for Cockatiels, I've had some hatching at 23-25 days. It really depends on the humidity and all. But most do hatch at 19-21 days.
 

BirdyShanna

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Jan 18, 2013
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Parrots
African grey: Wokkel and Coco. Cockatiels: Pearl+Whiteface streight-crest+Whiteface bend-crest (they're a trio!) Pika+Guust, Silver+Bella and babies Pluisje and cinnamon. Budgies Blue+Yellow
Very cool that they're fertilized! Good luck! Hope that everything goes well! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you :)
 
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PikaLina

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Jan 22, 2013
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Netherlands (Just moved here!)
Parrots
Blue-Naped: Jackie
Cockatiels: Birdie, Kat, Pika & Lina
Budgies: Skye, Snowy, Nico & Kiko
Lovebirds: Mimi, Rina, Mickey, Danny, Paco, Kira

Myna: Cara, Collared Dove: Daffy
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Thank you for all the support and well-wishes! Here's an update on our little family and some questions too:

579555_210839569054133_288095055_n_zps6cbce38a.jpg


The first two chicks hatched right around the 21-day mark! \o/ As of today, they're around 6 days and 4 days old, respectively.


NEST BOX
So far, I've been able to clean the nest box every other day whenever the parents happen to be out. Other breeders suggest cleaning it every day, but I'm trying to clean it as often as I can without disrupting the parents so it's been every other day. Lina is more jumpy and I'm afraid that she'll panic and trample her kiddies. How often do you guys clean the nest box?

481114_210389332432490_456453967_n_zpsb89585a9.jpg


Mommy & Daddy with their first chick. I had heard sounds from the nest box and panicked that maybe the baby was stuck in the egg, but yeah, false alarm and a very kodak moment.
Pika is the grey, Lina is the whiteface. I can't really tell if there are any special genes other than that, but probably you guys can! Any thoughts?

UNHATCHED EGGS
The third egg has not hatched. I checked and there isn't even a crack on it so maybe it's dead in shell? Hopefully, the last 2 eggs develop and hatch into more little fuzzies since there seems to be some development in at least one of them. I didn't candle them but right off the bat, I observed that one has become a more solid white as compared to the initial opaque with the orange-ish glow. Just curious, what are you guys' experiences with clutches? Do the last eggs generally tend to hatch? The parents are in and out more since they're feeding the chicks now so maybe that has something to do with the eggs not hatching in combination with our cold weather. Also, I thought the parents never poop in the nest box? Pika and Lina seem to have had "accidents" in there. Should I clean off the dried poop from the remaining eggs? I'm afraid to mishandle them somehow.

FOOD & BEHAVIOR
I've been serving them their normal seed/pellet mix (they're still ignoring the pellets *sigh*), millet, diced cress leaves, arugula, and broccoli. They'll eat some of the veggies, but mostly will eat seed. Today I put a little piece of bread for our dove to munch on at their playpen and now they seem to be after bread more than seed or veggies. Nowadays, I occasionally open the cage for them in the morning since we noticed that though Pika sits faithfully in the nestbox, he eagerly goes out of the cage for a quick fly around the living room to stretch his wings. I left the cage door open this morning so they could bathe and sit on the playpen shortly thinking that they'd instinctively go back to their nest box like they always do, but they really went after that bread instead and ignored everything else and stayed out much longer than I expected - around 20 minutes. When they weren't eating bread, they were totally just chillin' out, preening each other. Is that normal behavior for parents raising chicks?

While they were out, I peeked in on the chicks and changed the bedding and warmed them with my hand temporarily until Pika and Lina finally went back in their cage. It's a constant 21 degrees Celsius inside the house (around 70 degrees F), but it is currently snowing here and from what I read, the chicks need higher temperature than 21 degrees Celsius to stay warm and digest food properly anyway, so I was worried about the chicks being left so long. Now, Pika's screaming to be let out of his cage again and though I've removed all the bread from the playpen, I'm worried that he and Lina will stay out super long again. (Lina tends to follow whatever Pika does or orders her to do. So if he goes out, she wants out too, unless he squeaks at her to go back in, that is.) Should I just lock them in their cage for now? Is this an indicator maybe that the parents are getting bored with caring for their chicks? +.+ I have a brooder set up and running in case I need it, but I'd rather not pull the chicks any earlier than 16-18 days. Sorry if the post is so long - thought it best to put all the info in one place. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank youuuu!
 
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MikeyTN

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"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
Nest box should be cleaned as often as possible especially when there's chicks involved. Depending on the age of the chicks right now, once the oldest past a week old the parents stays out of the box a lot more then inside. The chicks are able to keep themselves warm as there's multiple chicks that huddle together. The other eggs might not be good but just wait and see a bit longer.
 

sodakat

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Jul 15, 2009
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Congratulations! I have a couple chicks in the nest at my house also, although different species.

I think you should replace those tissues or whatever they are with proper bedding such as wood chips. I put several inches in the box before the eggs are laid. The bedding serves as insulation plus it gives the babies something to grab when they are learning to stand so their legs don't become splayed.

I'm going to completely disagree regarding cleaning the nest box. With proper litter there is no need to clean it except between clutches.

My experience is with nesting Eclectus, not cockatiels so I found a link for you: Nestboxes and nestbox litter - Talk Cockatiels Forums Please read it. It's very informative.

Kathy
 

MikeyTN

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Feb 1, 2011
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Antioch, TN
Parrots
"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
Congratulations! I have a couple chicks in the nest at my house also, although different species.

I think you should replace those tissues or whatever they are with proper bedding such as wood chips. I put several inches in the box before the eggs are laid. The bedding serves as insulation plus it gives the babies something to grab when they are learning to stand so their legs don't become splayed.

I'm going to completely disagree regarding cleaning the nest box. With proper litter there is no need to clean it except between clutches.

My experience is with nesting Eclectus, not cockatiels so I found a link for you: Nestboxes and nestbox litter - Talk Cockatiels Forums Please read it. It's very informative.

Kathy

I use wood shavings too and as the babies grow, they eat and poop making it very disgusting inside the box with possible mold, bacterial, and high in ammonia. If you disagree you need to have your nose checked.
 

MikeyTN

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"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
When its unsanitized it is very likely for them to get a respiratory infection. A breeder I know had that happen and it was caused by not being kept clean.
 

sodakat

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I use wood shavings too and as the babies grow, they eat and poop making it very disgusting inside the box with possible mold, bacterial, and high in ammonia. If you disagree you need to have your nose checked.

Wow.

Who do you think cleans nests for wild cockatiels?
 

MikeyTN

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"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
No one really but they're in a big open space. In your home it is a contained area. IF you like to keep your nest box smelly, that's your issue really. I have encountered a breeder not too long ago dealing with respiratory infection due to unsanitary conditions because he did not clean it out as often as he should. In the past 16 years I have not encountered it ever! Cause I do keep it clean by empty out the contents and replenish with fresh bedding. Let's see by keeping you in your own feces content and smell it every single day, all day every day, let's see how you feel.
 
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PikaLina

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Jan 22, 2013
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Netherlands (Just moved here!)
Parrots
Blue-Naped: Jackie
Cockatiels: Birdie, Kat, Pika & Lina
Budgies: Skye, Snowy, Nico & Kiko
Lovebirds: Mimi, Rina, Mickey, Danny, Paco, Kira

Myna: Cara, Collared Dove: Daffy
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Thanks for the advice and for the felicitations! I have pieces of paper towel rolled up into balls big enough so the chicks can't eat them (for insulation) and the chicks sit on the tissues are above them just because it seems tidier to have that extra layer since one or both the parent birds have been having accidents in the nest box.

I think I'll go with cleaning daily since in this case, the parents produce extra poop too and there's no way I'm leaving the babies in that mess especially with weak immune systems. They seem to have taken up the habit of leaving the nest box regularly in the mornings to eat so I have both the opportunity and ample time to replace the bedding without distressing them. I do value and understand the points that you've both made and I appreciate all the helpful advice.

Now I have one HUGE question:

Today I realized that the egg that I thought was dead in shell had a pip mark. I didn't pay attention yesterday because I thought maybe the parents had clumsily banged it up or it was dirt from poop or something. I was truly under the assumption that the chick is likely dead in shell since it's already so behind the preempted hatching date and somehow, I expected a pip mark to be more obvious, for lack of a better word. However, today when I cleaned the bedding, there were soft chirps coming from the egg! I candled it and the air cell had dropped significantly.

The pip mark hadn't expanded any, externally or internally, since it first appeared yesterday and it's been over 24 hours so I proceeded to remove the shell from the air cell-side as per instructed on a really detailed Assist Hatch webpage I found: Assist Hatches - Just Cockatiels! Upon examining the membrane initially, it seemed indeed extremely dehydrated.

On the site, it says that if the membrane has thick veins it means the chick hasn't drawn the blood in yet and I should refrain from removing it lest I bleed the chick to death. I've moistened the membrane and checked, but I honestly can't tell if the chick has drawn the blood in or not. I've placed the egg in the brooder and am obsessively monitoring the humidity and temperature and giving the chick cooling periods to simulate a normal hatching process as instructed on the site.

Please take a look at the photo below. I hope experienced breeders out there can help tell the difference and help me save this baby's life.

69617_212778368860253_1584435098_n_zps0c7e7a2b.jpg
[/IMG]
 
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