time to feed my 3 babies

[crimson]

oh I have been waiting so patiently for this day!
today I pulled my 3 baby cockatiels from the nesting box, and begin hand feeding and hand taming them(that will come later)

this is truly my favourite part of breeding, raising, and nurturing these little ones to love human companionship.

they were born on Jan 2,3rd & 6th. the smallest one is so much smaller than the other two, quite a significant size difference.

I decided to pull them a little earlier than I normally do, due to mom(Sundance) being a plucker, and has already been to work on her poor babies. No major damage done, but none the less it must be painful!
they are also a tad bit dehydrated, so it was time to take care of them.

Sundance is Num Nums mom, and when I pulled Num Num at 3 weeks of age he was completely bald!!!at that age he should be at least 1/2 feathered, that's when I discovered she was a plucker.

the two older ones didn't need to be fed just yet, but I had the pleasure of feeding the littlest one first. he was so darn cute, standing on his little feet, neck stretched up to me with his mouth WIDE open, his eyes are barely open, they are just slits really, and my heart just totally melted.....totally in love

I'll get some photos tomorrow on feeding all three of them together.

I have 2 Lutino's, and 1 pied/possible pearl(it's a bit early to tell)

in the nesting box



this is one of my lutinos, 2nd born


sitting in a warm fuzzy towel-middle chick is the oldest, the youngest is on the far left....you can see some blood on the top of his crown from being plucked


Sundance and Dexter-parents

 

[JerseyWendy]

WOW, Beth, they've grown quite bit from the first time I saw them. They are Soooo adorable!!!!!

I swear, if you lived in driving distance, I'd be a regular at your house, and I'd probably have more than 4 birds by now, too. :54:

BEAUTIFUL pictures, each and every one of them!! Sundance & Dexter are GORGEOUS!!!! I can't wait to watch those babies thrive and grow under your care.

 

[crimson]

awww thanks Wendy....Sarah and I just fed the other two.
they are so funny to watch,and the expressions on their faces are priceless.

a few hours ago they were with their mom and dad, now these HUGE people are staring at me!!!....and feeding me.... talk about confusing for them.

I've been peeking in on them every day when mom and dad are out of the box, just talking to them so they can get use to seeing me and recognizing my voice.

the other thing I always do with them(this may sound weird, but it's a bonding thing I find that works)...what I do is when I first pick them up, I kiss their beak really quickly over and over, sort of the same pattern of the parents have when feeding them....it's like a bonding thing, idk. I know it sounds weird but it's something they relate to.

In about 3 days I'll be MOM!!! where's my food, haha

 

[JerseyWendy]

Did either of them try and put up a fight when it was time to feed them, or did they all just take to it right away?

How DO they react when you approach them? Do they open their beaks in defense? Do they hiss, cry??? Just curious. :32:

 

[Bundiibird]

They are sooooo adorable. Such little cutie pies

I love baby birds. So cutie with their dinosaur feet, no feathers and just all round goofiness.

Their parents are beautiful as well.

 

[Terry57]

Their faces are so adorable! Doesn't sound weird at all that you kiss their beaks...how could you not?
So awesome that you can have this experience with them. I swear, there is nothing cuter than a bald baby

 

[crimson]

Did either of them try and put up a fight when it was time to feed them, or did they all just take to it right away?

How DO they react when you approach them? Do they open their beaks in defense? Do they hiss, cry??? Just curious. :32:

good questions!!!!

it's funny, one of them sways back and forth like it's going to strike any minute, but right now it couldn't hurt a flea, lol.
but they try sooooo hard to look mean and evil.

when you feed them the first time and you put the syringe up to their mouths some will open their mouths, others....well....you have to gently get the tip inside their little tiny beaks and squirt a little into their mouths so they can get a taste......it's a little easier after that. some are really s-l-o-w eaters.
my middle lutino is a very slow eater, but that's ok, she'll pick up soon enough.

yes, the older ones hiss, the younger ones don't they just sit there looking all innocent and sleepy

 

[crimson]

Their faces are so adorable! Doesn't sound weird at all that you kiss their beaks...how could you not?
So awesome that you can have this experience with them. I swear, there is nothing cuter than a bald baby

Terry, that is so true!, they are so adorable you just can't help but kiss and love them to death.

I don't know what it is, I'm thrilled and honored to be 'mom' again, and kissing them is just a perk. it's one of those things that takes a while to train a bird to do, so I start as soon as I pull them from the nesting box.
I just melt every time I see them, it's my inner child in me

 

[crimson]

They are sooooo adorable. Such little cutie pies

I love baby birds. So cutie with their dinosaur feet, no feathers and just all round goofiness.

Their parents are beautiful as well.

Dinosaur feet HAHAHA, that is so true!! they are so wabbly, they can barely stand up, and they try so hard, it's amazing.
my lutino already came to me tonight just after I fed it, he wabbled over to me and of course I scooped him right up and kissed him like crazy.

 

[Terry57]

I am so excited that we get to share this with you (at a distance). I am so looking forward to watching their progress!!! now don't you make me fall in love though...Ontario will be a long drive to get one

 

[faeryphoebe1]

They're so cute and must be irresistible! I could see that one of them has red/pink eyes. Sweet babies.

 

[MikeyTN]

I'll be pulling the oldest to start hand feeding in two days. Only a week worth of rest from hand feeding since weaning the last batch of 8 and doing 8 again this time. So I feel you! They're too darn cute when young!

 

[crimson]

They're so cute and must be irresistible! I could see that one of them has red/pink eyes. Sweet babies.

actually both do, the youngest one is a lutino as well, you can barely tell cause his eyes are just opening and are still slits.

 

[crimson]

I'll be pulling the oldest to start hand feeding in two days. Only a week worth of rest from hand feeding since weaning the last batch of 8 and doing 8 again this time. So I feel you! They're too darn cute when young!

last year I had 12 babies at once, at christmas time, it literally drove me nuts!!
I had 2 conures, 5 lovebirds, 1 baby budgie, and the rest were cockatiels.

I've only fed 2 clutches this year, so this is a real treat for me.

8?? oh wow, your doing well!! it can get tiresome can't it?

 

[MikeyTN]

I don't mind when they're young, only despise it when I have to chase them down to feed them....lol.....then they fly and puke everywhere when you just got done hand feeding. I usually put them up ASAP right after feeding but you know how it goes when they escape and do what they want....lol

 

[MomtoPercy]

Oh my gawd, they are so cute!!! I have questions...again! LOL!

Where do they live after you've taken them from mommy?
Does mommy only pluck the babies? I see she looks all feathered and pretty. Is this a common thing with birds that they pluck the babies?
How do they learn to fly if they're not raised by mommy?
And lastly...how do you find the guts to let them go to new homes after you've raised them? Doesn't it break your heart? Sniff!!

 

[Jumpingtadpoles]

Thanks for asking so many questions momtopercy! Many of them I wanted to know!
And if they are puking it out, do they beg for more? Or did they even need that feeding?
I've never raised (nor do I want to) raise baby birds, so I'm oblivious to what it entails. But I have raised a baby bunny, if that is any comparison feedings every 1 1/2 was hard.... How often do you have to feed in the beginning?