HELP! mom not sitting on newly born baby cockatiel

crimson · Mar 9, 2013

Sundance, my female cockatiel eggs starting hatching today. she is sitting on her eggs but not the newly hatched baby.

She is an attentive mother, and so is dad.

is this normal?? normally I have them set up in a proper nesting box, and don't see much that is going on, but this time she set herself up in just a carboard box.

I can see everything that is going on(which I'm very excited about) but I thought mom or dad would have been sitting on the baby.

I sure don't want him to die, or intrude either. the other thing I thought of is maybe there is something wrong with him, that's why she is not sitting on him.

I can set up my brooder, and feed this little one if I have to, but would rather take the wait and see approach.

Any thoughts???

crimson · Mar 9, 2013

I found the baby in the corner of the cage.
Obviously they have discarded him for some reason.

we tried three different times putting him back into her nesting box, and everytime they have removed him

so now we have set up our temporary brooder.
I know the babies consume the egg yolk before hatching, I have to find out when to start feeding this little one.

Echo · Mar 9, 2013

Oh boy, hopefully someone will intervene to help. I have never had to feed from day one and that is something I hope I never have to do. They are so darn small! I will see if I can find any info for you in the meantime about feeding...

Echo · Mar 9, 2013

Ok, so a newly born chick should be hydrated by feeding an electrolyte solution along with an energy source BEFORE the first feeding of formula. The body uses fluid to process food and a chick is born a bit dehydrated, so it needs the fluid to digest properly.

Usually you leave the chick in brooder 6 to 8 hours after hatch before the first feed.Unless the chick is really dehydrated (red, wrinkled) and you need to rehydrate him right away.

That is from a book that someone here uses and recommended to raise babies from the get go, so I bought it. Hopefully this person will see your post and help.

Do you have experience in hand feeding? as far as consistency, temperature etc..?

crimson · Mar 9, 2013

thanks so much Echo!, yes I do, I am a breeder, and have fed chicks as young as 6 days, but not this young!!holy crow!!!

I gave him electrolytes, which I always have on hand, with a tiny pinch of formula(his crop was totally empty) it was very watery. I heated it up, and the little monkey opened his little mouth!....so amazing

he was born this afternoon sometime, so that fits into the timeline when to put them in the brooder.

I'll do the best I can, but the odds are definately stacked against him.
guess I'll be getting up every few hours to feed him tonight....zzzzzzzzz

Echo · Mar 9, 2013

Yes I guess every 2 hours for the first 24hrs. Then every 2 hours for an 18hrs period. The 5 hours left over, it's up to you and how the chicks is doing with no food for 5 hours or else add 1 more during that time. They recommend 13ml of formula. Or 1/4 to 1/3 of his body weigh as the amount of formula should slowly increase to gradually stretch the crop.

That's for the first week of hatch. Let us know how the little guy is doing!

Riio · Mar 10, 2013

Aww poor lil guy. And poor you! Best of luck!!!

crimson · Mar 10, 2013

little tiny cockatiel is doing fine so far. I got up at 1:30 & 5:30 to feed him. he's a squirmy one, but managed o.k.
the 5:30 feeding was amazing, he actually stood up on his two little feet, I had no idea they could do that!!
when I woke up at 8 am I checked on him. he was not in his little cup. my heart sank

somehow he climbed under two fuzzy face clothes, and tucked him self in for the night.

I took some pictures, he is just adorable, and I named him Chance.

In the first picture you can see where the parents picked him up by the head, where the red mark is, ouch, poor thing

Another egg hatched this morning, I looked for it in the cage but couldn't find it, so I am assuming Sundance is sitting on this one

IMG_1032_zps7c1dd5cc.jpg Photo by bmckellar735 | Photobucket

IMG_1033_zpsaa7ed2cf.jpg Photo by bmckellar735 | Photobucket

Echo · Mar 10, 2013

How cute! It is suggested that you kind of tuck him in with tissue to keep him warm and stable. They also advise to prop him upright with tissues so that he is not laying on his crop like on the pictures but rather his head stays above the crop. It help prevent aspiration.

sodakat · Mar 10, 2013

Echo said:
How cute! It is suggested that you kind of tuck him in with tissue to keep him warm and stable. They also advise to prop him upright with tissues so that he is not laying on his crop like on the pictures but rather his head stays above the crop. It help prevent aspiration.

I only have parent raised birds to watch, but I can attest that they do lay flat out, right on their crop. I think the mother bird knows not to fill the crop too full.

Echo · Mar 10, 2013

sodakat said:
Echo said:

How cute! It is suggested that you kind of tuck him in with tissue to keep him warm and stable. They also advise to prop him upright with tissues so that he is not laying on his crop like on the pictures but rather his head stays above the crop. It help prevent aspiration.

Click to expand...

I only have parent raised birds to watch, but I can attest that they do lay flat out, right on their crop. I think the mother bird knows not to fill the crop too full.

A lot of times their butts sick in the nesting material so that their head is not much lower than their crop and they tend to huddle with their siblings which also kinda prop them up. The parents are also always moving them around. I have parent raised babies as well and cameras inside the box to observe which is so cool to watch!

And yes, I do believe that the parents know exactly how much food to feed them just right!

crimson · Mar 10, 2013

yes, no worries, I just pulled back the face cloth to take the picture

he's as snug as a bug in a rug,lol, I also propped him up as you suggested.

BillsBirds · Mar 10, 2013

How great is this? Thanks for not giving up on this little angel!

crimson · Mar 10, 2013

Yes it is a blessing to feed and care for something incredibly small, oh my gosh, I've had just a terrible week with two of my gouldian finches passing away, and still upset over one of them, and now this has come along.
I guess it is true, a door closes and another window opens

crimson · Mar 10, 2013

Echo said:
Yes I guess every 2 hours for the first 24hrs. Then every 2 hours for an 18hrs period. The 5 hours left over, it's up to you and how the chicks is doing with no food for 5 hours or else add 1 more during that time. They recommend 13ml of formula. Or 1/4 to 1/3 of his body weigh as the amount of formula should slowly increase to gradually stretch the crop.

That's for the first week of hatch. Let us know how the little guy is doing!

echo- do you know how long I should use electrolytes for?, I have plenty here, but wondering when I should switch over to boiled water?

Echo · Mar 10, 2013

Still referring to that book, you can now use the boiled water mixed with the formula, but they still recommend to add a little rehydration fluids for up to 1 week.

crimson · Mar 10, 2013

good to know, thanks so much

crimson · Mar 10, 2013

I just noticed you have a crimson belied conure...among others.
I had one a while back, gosh he was just gorgeous, but his attitude was too much for me to handle, so I found him a better home.
that's how I came up with my name on here

Echo · Mar 10, 2013

I was wondering about that!

Too much to handle you say? Mine are so easy going!

crimson · Mar 10, 2013

then you are very lucky, I would still love to have another one, and I'm sure Safari my senegal would love to have a friend.

HELP! mom not sitting on newly born baby cockatiel

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