Got an egg, been looking forward to raising the newborn chicks! But I have some questions.

MidoriNoTori

New member
Mar 15, 2022
2
2
Parrots
Yellow Sided CCG (3), CCG (2)
Hello!

I was super excited today when I checked on a cage that has three conures in it to find out one of the females laid an egg (hopefully the first of several)!
The cage has 2 females and 1 male (the male is the brother of one of the two females in the cage). The female that is not his sister is the one that's brooding the egg, so I'm quite certain she laid it.

Before I get into the questions about setting up for the chicks, I wanted to talk about the current nestbox situation. The three of them share a nestbox, should I remove the female that did not lay the egg into a separate cage for the time being? The brother and sister have been together their entire live (they are just under two years old). Is there a significant risk where the mother will bite the other female, or is there a chance they would both raise the chicks together (I doubt this, but maybe someone here might have a solid answer).

Regarding raising the babies, I've made a list of things I need:

A large plastic container/box for playtime/feeding
Lots of towels (without the strands), to act as a carpet for their feet
Heating pad
Heating lamp
An aquarium, this is where they'll spend most of their time with the heating pad+lamp, on a soft towel with some toys and a very slightly 'uneven' floor, with bumps and such (i don't want them to have their feet in the same position the entire time!).
Thermometer, 1 for the formula, 1 for the aquarium
2 feeding syringes
I'll get them some (bird appropriate) plushies too to be able to snuggle against as well as other small toys

First, if theres anything you find in my list that doesn't work, or that **should** be included and isn't, please let me know!

I am only planning on separating the babies from their parents after the forth week, which is when I'll begin handfeeding them.

My questions:

* What sort of lamp should I get, ceramic? Infrared? Or would the heating pad be enough?

* I can't find a guide that describes the appropriate amount of feedings (and how much per feeding) I should be giving GCC as they mature, how much for the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th weeks? (I see 'once every 4 hours' during the day for the first few weeks, and 'once every 6-7 hours' once they get their feathers - but how many millimeters!?) I do understand that the food needs to be mixed and served at specific temperatures, so at least I've got that part covered.

* What food/formula has worked for you (or others that you know)? I am currently looking at buying nutribird 21A, is that appropriate, and is it good for the whole 4-8 week time period until they slowly get accustomed to kibble?

* What are common mistakes that I should be aware of and avoid?

I thank you very much for your time, I want to make sure that this experience goes smoothly and properly for the health and happiness of the soon to be birbs.
 

BirdyBee

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Jan 7, 2022
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Hello!

I was super excited today when I checked on a cage that has three conures in it to find out one of the females laid an egg (hopefully the first of several)!
The cage has 2 females and 1 male (the male is the brother of one of the two females in the cage). The female that is not his sister is the one that's brooding the egg, so I'm quite certain she laid it.

Before I get into the questions about setting up for the chicks, I wanted to talk about the current nestbox situation. The three of them share a nestbox, should I remove the female that did not lay the egg into a separate cage for the time being? The brother and sister have been together their entire live (they are just under two years old). Is there a significant risk where the mother will bite the other female, or is there a chance they would both raise the chicks together (I doubt this, but maybe someone here might have a solid answer).

Regarding raising the babies, I've made a list of things I need:

A large plastic container/box for playtime/feeding
Lots of towels (without the strands), to act as a carpet for their feet
Heating pad
Heating lamp
An aquarium, this is where they'll spend most of their time with the heating pad+lamp, on a soft towel with some toys and a very slightly 'uneven' floor, with bumps and such (i don't want them to have their feet in the same position the entire time!).
Thermometer, 1 for the formula, 1 for the aquarium
2 feeding syringes
I'll get them some (bird appropriate) plushies too to be able to snuggle against as well as other small toys

First, if theres anything you find in my list that doesn't work, or that **should** be included and isn't, please let me know!

I am only planning on separating the babies from their parents after the forth week, which is when I'll begin handfeeding them.

My questions:

* What sort of lamp should I get, ceramic? Infrared? Or would the heating pad be enough?

* I can't find a guide that describes the appropriate amount of feedings (and how much per feeding) I should be giving GCC as they mature, how much for the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th weeks? (I see 'once every 4 hours' during the day for the first few weeks, and 'once every 6-7 hours' once they get their feathers - but how many millimeters!?) I do understand that the food needs to be mixed and served at specific temperatures, so at least I've got that part covered.

* What food/formula has worked for you (or others that you know)? I am currently looking at buying nutribird 21A, is that appropriate, and is it good for the whole 4-8 week time period until they slowly get accustomed to kibble?

* What are common mistakes that I should be aware of and avoid?

I thank you very much for your time, I want to make sure that this experience goes smoothly and properly for the health and happiness of the soon to be birbs.
Hello! :) To answer your first question, it's probably a good idea to separate the female that is not laying eggs. If you see her sibling getting lonely, maybe you could let them interact a bit with each other? (I'm no expert at this)

I can't give you advice on the heating pads, hopefully a breeder sees this soon! As for feedings, I can't answer that one. I used Avi-Plus for my cockatiel when I hand-reared her but it's only available in South Africa).

One common mistake is using the wrong methods for hand-rearing. You shouldn't wean them by giving them less and less formula, and more solid foods. It can be very damaging to a baby bird. The best way to do it is called abundance weaning. That is giving them formula until they don't want it anymore.

Do you have an avian/exotic vet near you incase of an emergency?

If you haven't already, you need to have a first-aid kit available on hand for your baby birds(but also for adult birds!). First-aid kits aren't a substitute for veterinary treatment, but can help keep your birds stable until you can see a vet.

A first-aid kit needs:

vet wrap(cohesive bandage).
(If your bird broke a wing, hurt themselves, etc, you can use vet-wrap to keep the broken wing/limb in place until you see a vet(please contact a vet on how to do it before attempting!), or you can use it to keep a cotton pad over a wound.)

scissors(to cut the bandage)

cotton pads(to put over a wound)

Saline eyewash(to disinfect a wound or if they got something(example, seed husk) in their eye)

cayenne pepper
(a natural painkiller/anti-inflammatory)

cornflour(to stop bleeding)

tweezers
(you can use this if they got a blood feather to pull it out)

I hope this helps!
 
OP
M

MidoriNoTori

New member
Mar 15, 2022
2
2
Parrots
Yellow Sided CCG (3), CCG (2)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #3
Hello! :) To answer your first question, it's probably a good idea to separate the female that is not laying eggs. If you see her sibling getting lonely, maybe you could let them interact a bit with each other? (I'm no expert at this)

I can't give you advice on the heating pads, hopefully a breeder sees this soon! As for feedings, I can't answer that one. I used Avi-Plus for my cockatiel when I hand-reared her but it's only available in South Africa).

One common mistake is using the wrong methods for hand-rearing. You shouldn't wean them by giving them less and less formula, and more solid foods. It can be very damaging to a baby bird. The best way to do it is called abundance weaning. That is giving them formula until they don't want it anymore.

Do you have an avian/exotic vet near you incase of an emergency?

If you haven't already, you need to have a first-aid kit available on hand for your baby birds(but also for adult birds!). First-aid kits aren't a substitute for veterinary treatment, but can help keep your birds stable until you can see a vet.

A first-aid kit needs:

vet wrap(cohesive bandage).
(If your bird broke a wing, hurt themselves, etc, you can use vet-wrap to keep the broken wing/limb in place until you see a vet(please contact a vet on how to do it before attempting!), or you can use it to keep a cotton pad over a wound.)

scissors(to cut the bandage)

cotton pads(to put over a wound)

Saline eyewash(to disinfect a wound or if they got something(example, seed husk) in their eye)

cayenne pepper(a natural painkiller/anti-inflammatory)

cornflour(to stop bleeding)

tweezers(you can use this if they got a blood feather to pull it out)

I hope this helps!
Thank you for your reponse!

I've owned Berry (my eldest) for 8 years now and have never thought of getting a first-aid kit for the birbs specifically, that's a great idea.

I'll take a look at abundance weaning, this is new to me, so I truly appreciate your input!!! Thanks!
 

BirdyBee

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2022
3,749
Media
34
Albums
6
8,080
South Africa
Parrots
Current birds:
John
Snowy
Pippen

Past birds:
Grumpy
Sunny
Griffen
Jeff
Gertjie
Thank you for your reponse!

I've owned Berry (my eldest) for 8 years now and have never thought of getting a first-aid kit for the birbs specifically, that's a great idea.

I'll take a look at abundance weaning, this is new to me, so I truly appreciate your input!!! Thanks!
You're welcome! I'm glad it helped 😁
 

wrench13

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First off, you should be in close contact with an EXPERIENCED breeder. Hatching, feeding and rearing chicks is not something you take up without a lot of help and guidance. there are a myriad of things that can go wrong, far too many to list in a thread on a web board, any of which results in a dead chick, and are you prepared for that? We just had a member try exactly what your doing and the chick literally died in his hand. Can you handle that? Sounds harsh, but that is the reality. Get some experience with a good breeder and then try on your own.

Read this,,,
https://www.parrotforums.com/threads/sad-update.93401/unread
 

texsize

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You need precisely controlled temperatures for a brooder.
A hot pad temp can’t be controlled good enough.

I raised two clutches of cockatiels and for the most part I Let rhe parents do the feeding
it’s the safest way to go.
only resort to hand feeding if the parents reject the chicks.
 

zERo

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Oh I have reptiles and a few of them have heat mats that you put on the outside of the enclosure but you have to get a thermostat too, then you plug the mat into the thermostat, set it at what temp you want. Heat mats will overheat without thermostats but they will not accomplish what a brooder will.
 
D

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Hi M,

I had to go through the process unexpectedly. It is best for the parents to raise the chick and for you to coparent starting at 2 weeks.

The extra hen must be put in another cage, even if it’s adjacent to this cage. She is at risk for harming eggs/ chicks.

Unfortunately, it is common for first clutches, especially for parents that are pets, to fail. That is, even if the eggs hatch, the parents may not know how to incubate or feed the babies.

You will need to be prepared to care for them even as a day one hatchling. If the parents don’t incubate the hatchlings immediately or do not feed them by 12 hours post hatch, you will need to care for the babies. You can create a homemade brooder using food container or aquarium with a heating pad. Practicing ahead of time is important : place the substrate inside and practice with different temp settings. Humidity will need to be above 50%. This can be accomplished by placing a wet paper towel or small cup of water in the brooder. The substrate should be soft but not slick to reduce the risk of splaying of legs.

Feeding day one hatchlings can be very difficult. It is important to have the right type of tip on a syringe and a feeding spoon on hand in case the syringe method does not work. There are many YouTube videos that show how to feed day one hatchlings. I do not recommend crop feeding for beginners.

There are also YouTube videos that show how to candle eggs to check for viability. This can be done 4 to 7 days after incubation of the egg has started. If veins are present then the egg is viable.

Good luck! This can be a very difficult process and things may not always work out even if you do everything right. Best wishes!
 

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