Cockatiel is reverting

I brought Snoopy home last Sunday. He was 14 weeks and had self-weaned. Once he stopped accepting hand feedings, he cage trained at the store for over a week meaning they put him in his cage and weighed him twice a day so they could make sure he was learning how to navigate the perches and cage bars and eating enough to continue gaining weight. He had held 90 grams for 3 days when they decided he was ok to come home. During all this time he would still do that baby begging sound (the one that sounds like a baby terradactyl) but I assumed that was normal and would pass in a week or two. Got home with him last Sunday and over the next few days the begging noise became more and more persistent to where it never stopped if he was within sight of a person. I saw him eat both mullet and seed and veggies from the food dishes in his cage but when I went to kiss him Tuesday night I could tell his breast bone was more prominent. I took him back to the store Wednesday to weigh him and he had dropped 7 grams since Sunday. The store told me to leave him there and they would see if he wanted to be hand fed again which he did, eating anywhere from 2-6ml each time. He’s gaining weight (up to 93g) eating a ton of seed in the cage but still begging to be fed. The store says they have seen this a couple of times with cockatiels but we all think it’s strange that a 15 week old tiel is acting like this.

Would love to know anyone’s thoughts or experiences with this sort of thing. At this point I’m just keeping him there until he starts refusing the hand feedings again, but feeling kind of deflated that I don’t understand what’s going on.

My guess is that moving to your house made him feel uneasy in a new place -- not you, but the move -- and that's why he regressed. You could feed him for a while at home until he's more comfortable.

So well stated above! Fairly common with young Parrots!

SailBoat said:

So well stated above! Fairly common with young Parrots!

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Siobhan said:

My guess is that moving to your house made him feel uneasy in a new place -- not you, but the move -- and that's why he regressed. You could feed him for a while at home until he's more comfortable.

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Would you still suggest that if I have no experience in hand feeding? I am sure the pet store would be happy to teach me but is it not a thing a novice should take on?

I work exclusively with older Amazons, so not anyone that is going to provide great depth regarding hand feeding specifics. I know that it can be spoon feed to older babies, but that temperature is very important.

Based on my limited knowledge and that walking on thin ice thing. Possible, soft foods! Like a waterlogged pellet, or the like.

But Yes -- visit the store that sold you the Parrot.

Please see the Forum listing looking for Breeders Forum for more detail.

With hope this Refresh may gather the attention of one of our baby bird experts...

FYI: Breeding/Raising Parrots

This is just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt. Your guy/gail is young and now he is in a new home with strange environment,probably a little scared too. I know nothing about hand feeding. The only experience I had was that I hand fed a baby English sparrow when I was about thirteen years old...that was fifty years ago! Chii-Chii was VERY young that my neighbor found on the ground and bought him to me. I used a spoon with some "mash" my mom made from oatmeal and corn meal and Chii-Chii gobbled it down. You might want to try that,but making VERY CERTAIN that whatever you are going to try to feed him is not hot. Remember,something that doesn't feel hot to you could be scorching to a bird. Steven had an excellent idea about soaking pellets to make them mushy. I wish you luck and please let us know how you make out.


Jim

Don't try to hand-feed as you would a tiny baby. He can eat on his own, he's just choosing not to. So I would suggest making the baby bird food, and using a spoon, just hold it for him and let him eat it out of the spoon, or scoop a bit onto your finger and have him eat it that way. My cockatiel was 8 weeks old when I got him and I had to do that a couple of times, not for long. I gave him millet and budgie food, which are small pieces, too. He was eating on his own when he came home, but it comforted him for me to feed him, too. I just wet pellets with warm water (not HOT) and offered those to him.

Siobhan said:

Don't try to hand-feed as you would a tiny baby. He can eat on his own, he's just choosing not to. So I would suggest making the baby bird food, and using a spoon, just hold it for him and let him eat it out of the spoon, or scoop a bit onto your finger and have him eat it that way. My cockatiel was 8 weeks old when I got him and I had to do that a couple of times, not for long. I gave him millet and budgie food, which are small pieces, too. He was eating on his own when he came home, but it comforted him for me to feed him, too. I just wet pellets with warm water (not HOT) and offered those to him.

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Thank you. I have pellets so I can do that. Was yours still doing the baby cry after he stopped eating the mush? I don’t know if I do it until he decides one day to stop crying or if it’s normal for cockatiels to keep the cry for a little after weaning. He seems to only be wanting 2-3ml of baby food the store is offering him, if he wants any at all. But he’s still pretty persistent with the baby cry. Although it seems to be getting a bit less frequent the past 2 days.

My 9-year-old cockatoo still cries like a baby at times. I'm not sure it's anything but begging for attention. They might have pulled yours (and mine) from the parents too soon. My cockatiel was surrounded by adult birds when I brought him home and he got really independent really fast because, I assume, he wanted to be one of the "big kids." As you would with a human baby, offer food if it's a hungry cry and see if that's really it or comfort is what he really wants. Mostly with Rocky (the cockatoo), it's not hunger but comfort he wants. He's very needy, while Freddie (the cockatiel) never seems to want comfort at all now. Freddie just turned 10.

Super excited to UPDATE that Snoopy came home today! He held his weight at a stable 92-94g for a week and his crying had become much less often. Once home tonight he was immediately comfortable (even though he had only lived here for 3 days). He ate a ton tonight, happily greeted family as they came home tonight, and enjoyed some head scritches and cuddle time before bed. I’m SO happy to have him home (I’ve developed quite an attachment to him since I committed to being his mom a month ago (visiting him nearly every day since). I bought a scale to weigh him twice a day but I see such a change in him now that I think he’s going to be JUST FINE. #dna sexing results still pending......stay tuned for gender reveal!!!!

Regarding Scale Use:

- Weight obtained each morning after first movement and before fresh water and food. This type of monitoring assures a solid base weight without fluctuations.
- Keep a written record of the weight taken (in grams).
- As s/he becomes older and weight /growth stables, you can adjust to a Weekly Schedule. Any sign of illness or being out of sorts, return to daily readings.

If you choose to weight at various times, there will be fluctuations that can drive you nuts. The difference between an Parrot emptyParrot and one with a full crop, gut and waste can be several grams with a cockatiel. What you will develop is a chart this is all over the board and will not provide you a guide.

Enjoy!