3 week old cockatiel weight

I have a 3 week old cockatiel whose weight is at 39 grams
and read at that age they should be from 45-72 grams


his/her crop empties normally ever 6-8 hours and never goes to bed with an empty crop

I use tropican hand feeding formula (HARI approved)

ill weigh him/her again tomorrow morning to make sure he/she didn't drop below 39 grams but if anyone has any info or think I should worrie about the weight and try to fix it anything will help.

I breed gouldians, owl finches and crested zebra finches and have hand raised tons of them, over 15 years experience but im completely new at hand feeding hookbills, so far its a lot easier then tiny finches but theres still all the same chances of problems and id like to catch anything early.

any insight would be great thanks

awe 46 visits but no replies no worries, guess ill have to go to another forum maybe I can find some insight there

caseyjane said:

awe 46 visits but no replies no worries, guess ill have to go to another forum maybe I can find some insight there

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Hi, sometimes none of the members that view your post know the answer, therefore won't reply. Remember, most of the 'views' a thread gets are from the public (non-members).

Keep in mind I don't know the answer either (so I can be wrong) but 39 grams "seems" small to me. I am not sure how close to full weight a 3 week old cockatiel is, but for size reference, 39 grams is a slightly overweight budgie.

There are a few regular posters on this forum who breed cockatiels, but chances are they have not seen this thread. Don't take it personally

Can we please see pictures? Particularly of the crop area, but overall body pictures as well. What do the parents weigh, and what mutations are they? Can you tell me how much you are feeding, and how often? I am not familiar with the formula you are using, is it specifically for cockatiels? Does the baby live alone or with others? How much did it weigh when you pulled it, and when was that? Did you pull the baby because you wanted to hand feed, or because the pre was a problem in the nest? Do you have any family history such as weights of siblings?

A lot of us live all over the world, it is still morning here in Hawaii and I am just now getting to the Internet for the first time today. Yes, a lot of the views are by non members, but also keep in mind that for the most part our members seem to be primerily pet owners with no interest in breeding. One of the great things about this forum and how it is run is that most members refrain from posting about things they don't know about, which in the long run helps us all out.

Pictures will definitely help

My cockatiel chick Zoe was a stunted baby, meaning she didn't get fed enough during her first week of life with her parents and I had to intervene (I pulled her for hand raising on day 7), and as a result of her malnutrition she was a lot smaller than a normal chick of her age.

At 3 weeks of age she was only 28 grams and looked like this:


Excuse the colour, it was from her heat lamp.

A website that helped me tremendously during Zoe's upbringing was Just Cockatiels! - HOME
Susanne (owner of the site) is extremely knowledgeable and there is TONS of information on that website that can help you. Susanne is even contactable through her Contact Me page if you have questions that you would like thorough answers to.

I have a couple of questions that will help give me a better understanding of your routine and habits with the baby so please don't think i'm being rude if they seem like obvious questions!
- How often do you feed him/her?
- What is the consistency of the formula you make?
- What temperature do you heat the formula to?
- Do you weigh the baby before each feed?
- How long does it take the crop to empty completely?

If it's not an underlying issue (like a crop issue), it may just be a matter of changing up your feeding routine to help the baby put on some weight. A big helper for me with Zoe was feeding less and more often. To help Zoe put on weight I was advised (by susanne) to try this: Weigh the baby using a gram scale (preferably that has decimals) and feed the baby 10% of its body weight each time the crop empties completely. This will raise the amount of times you need to feed, but it definitely helps put weight on. It should take the crop 3-4 hours to empty completely.

Pictures will definitely help us get an idea of where the baby's at physically and we will be able to offer more advice

this is a test to see if pictures went through......

well either way I didn't catch it early enough this morning he still had food in his crop from last night (though its also hasn't been 12 hours since his last feeding when I wrote this).
I don't know anything for his history, he/she was bought for my mom as a companion pet not a breeder at 2.5 weeks old
I always use apple cider vinegar in all my baby birds water that mixes with the formula, there was an error somewhere that happened.

wasn't sure if it was slow crop making him lose weight since his crop was emptying normally up until this morning.

and now that im in reply I cant see your questions

*yesterday his crop was emptying in 6 hours which was perfect for the 6-6-12 hour feeding schedule

*formula temp was 104-105

*brooder is at 100 on the warm side and 80 on the cool side

*I kept the formula thickness as apple sauce until I noticed him losing weight then I thickened it up alil, until I fed him this morning I made it apple sauce thickness again.

*im wondering if I should try some hearty bird thrive mixed in with his formula for a immune boost but the formula says not to add anything to it.
*
I also have S76 and polvo 4 en 1 medications if anyone is familiar with them?

he had stinky diarrhea the day I got him but figured it was from the food switch over since it went away after the first day.

The red veins at the bottom of his crop in the 2nd photo could indicate a crop issue such as a yeast infection, but I haven't had enough experience with slow/sour crop or yeast infections to offer a definitive answer on that. Are you able to take him to an avian vet for an examination? I understand if not, avian vets are awfully hard to come by in my experience (our avian vet is 2 hours way).

If you think you could manage it, I recommend doing a crop flush to see what's in there. Here's an info sheet on all of that; Sour and Slow Crop Remedies - Just Cockatiels!

I did a crop flush with Zoe when she was 2.5 weeks old because she was taking an awfully long time to digest (6-7 hours as opposed to a normal 3-4), and while there wasn't anything sour or yeasty in there, she started digesting normally after the crop flush. I used a small piece of plastic hose (sterilized of course) and a syringe to suck the fluid out (I wasn't comfortable using a crop needle or the upside down method). You'll need two people to do it, but it's actually really easy. That was my first ever time doing it and it went swimmingly. Most babies will offer the feeding reflex when the hose is inserted and they don't feel any discomfort. You just need someone with steady hands to hold the baby firm, and go slow so as not to scrape/scratch the throat/crop with the hose.

Another, simpler thing you could try first is to replace his last feed of the night with warm water, as this can help flush the digestive system as well. I haven't tried it, but I have heard from other people that it can help.

On the water subject, I highly recommend using coconut water to mix the formula with. It is excellent for hydration (much better than regular water) and you can thicken the formula a bit without losing valuable hydration. When I pulled Zoe for hand feeding she was very red and dry (dehydrated) and I was advised to start using coconut water and I saw results within a day or two.

Overall it seems that you're doing all the right things, i'm just a little worried about the crop. I feel your pain though, I had the hardest time getting Zoe to put on weight

would you happen to have a picture of what you used(mainly the type of tube you used)?
I spoon feed (which I forgot to inform you of)
id have to go out and buy all the things needed for a crop flush, and im absolutely terrified to flush the crop.

I agree it looks to my (fairly inexperienced) eyes like yeast in the crop, and also dehydration, and I'm surprised by the bald spots given the rest of the feather development. This bird really does need to see a vet if AT ALL possible. I am quite new to this but sadly your baby is not healthy right now

If you cannot get to the vet, and even if you can, please LOOK AT THE JUST COCKATIELS SITE! Susanne is among the leading experts if not THE LEADING EXPERT in cockatiels in the USA. She requires a donation to answer personal questions but it is well worth it and she has personally helped out several friends of mine and has decades of experience with raising babies and all the things that can go wrong. Interestingly enough, cockatiels are more prone to nest issues than a lot of other species. They may be an "easy" species to own and breed, but keeping the babies alive is another story.

Is there a reason the baby was purchased this young? Contrary to popular myth, raising your own baby does not deepen the bonding, but can actually damage the relationship. Ethical breeders and pet stores as a rule do not sell unweaned babies.