Hi, my cockatiel pair have been laying eggs on and off for about the last year. Never have they hade a successful clutch until last night when very unexpectedly one hatched. The baby is stlll alive this morning, but the parents don't seem to know what to do. I don't really want to leave it in the cage if it is going to starve but I have never hand reared a bird before and haven't got a clue what to do.

You need egg food and an incubator to keep the chick warm,

feed it with a spoon with the edges bent up make sure it is not too hot though and feed very small amounts at a time you will need to feed him/her every 2-3 hours even through the night and you can decrease this as the chick gets older....if possible though get a nest box and see if mum will enter the box and feed her chick


they are very good at rearing their own young and hand rearing should be a last ditch attempt

Thank you for your reply. We monitored the parents and baby all Sunday and decided to contact a vet because we were concerned the baby might get cold as the parents weren't nestling it or feeding it. The vet was brilliant and offered us some fantastic advise and we left it as long as we dared before removing the baby from the cage. We made a brooder type box to keep it warm and have been feeding it every two hours since then. Little peanut (we have named him/her) is doing well so far as is the correct weight. We are making sure to sterilize everything as well as I understand from the vet that they are most vunerable to infection at the moment.

Yeah they are indeed...especially at such a young age. Once they get to about 3 weeks they are a LOT easier to feed and you will start to see a personality shining through.

Its very hard hand rearing small parrots like budgies and cockatiels although very rewarding. I have hand reared many small and larger parrots and believe me it's knackering but worth it in the end.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like any advice. I have kept and bred parrots (although don't breed at the moment due to lack of space and only have a cockatiel and 4 budgies lol and ironically enough am looking for a hr cockatiel for a mate for mine) for over 15 years.

Kelly

Hi... I just thought I would give you a quick update. 5 days in and so far little Peanut is doing well. S/he is putting on weight and getting stonger by the day. I have bought a heating pad now because we have been using a warm hot water bottle to warm the underneath of the box and I was concerned that the temperature wasn't remaining constant enough. Hopefully that will arrive today
I still can't get over how fluffy s/he is

Hi Sally, whereabouts are you? I have a brooder you could borrow. You need to make sure you supply some form of humidity for the baby - a small tub or cup with water in it (with a lid on as baby gets a bit bigger!). You've done really well to get Peanut to this stage as cockatiels really aren't the easiest to rear. It's easier to rear an african grey or macaw than a tiny little cockatiel! The right temperature and humidity is vital for the crop to function properly. As is the food being the correct temperature.

There's nothing quite like rearing your first baby. If you need any help or advice please feel free to contact me, and if you are close enough you are more than welcome to borrow my brooder. Good luck xx

Hi, I'm in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Peanut has been taking food really well. We have been feeding about every two hours from day 1.
I fed at 10pm last night but when I went back to do the midnight feed, I saw that the crop was empty but inflated (like a balloon). He did beg a bit for food so I gave him a small amount and his crop filled fine. This morning the crop appeared normal for his first feed and it went down well. However, I have just phoned my husband for an update and he said when he went to give Peanut his 8am feed, his crop was empty but inflated again. Is it that Peanut is ingesting air (I try to look for air bubbles during each feed) or is this a sign of a more serious problem?

It is air yes....its not necessarily a problem but if he isnt getting enough at each feed because he is taking in air you'd need to feed more often.

it can be difficult to feed without getting too much air in their crops...what are you using to feed him with?

you could try using a syringe but you must be very careful as if he is not ready for his food oorrr you press the plunger too quickly the food can go down his wind pipe.

The vet did give us some syringes but I was finding them awkward to use so I got a small pipette dropper which has proved a lot easier. I’m quite worried now as I have just phoned my husband for another update and he said the crop is still inflated so he is reluctant to give the chick any food incase he hurts it.

The heated hood has arrived now so s/he is loads happier in the box as it is a nice constant temperature now.