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| | From:  MzMarz (Original Message) | Sent: 3/24/2008 9:39 PM |
OK, now that they're almost 2 weeks old, any suggestions? Parents are feeding them fine & everything's going well. They're still in their nestbox, and I'm wondering when/should I move them into a tupperware container inside parent's cage or something other than nestbox?
I plan to let parents feed them as long as possible as I work 9-5 and can't really feed them frequently... |
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Thats so cute I love to see how mama's look after thier young its heart warming Pat |
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Yes, if they are being plucked by the parents, I'd pull them and handfeed too. |
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| | | From: MzMarz | Sent: 4/9/2008 7:59 PM |
they're a month old now. starting to pick up seeds & examine them w/ their tongues. the oldest one already knows "step up" and is eager to get out of the tray i've been using when they're out.
I looked at them again when I got home & they were even balder...definitely time to get them away from mean mom&dad... i waited til the parents fed them last nite, then pulled them & put in rubbermaid tub w/ holes drilled in the top. fed them for the first time this morning & they did OK. checked on them at lunchtime, & mom/dad were out & it was a 50/50 feeding - partly me feeding formula w/ syringe & partly mom/dad feeding them.
when is it too early to put them into a cage? i have a smaller cage that they could all three fit into...since they're fully feathered, think they're ok to be in a cage - do i still need to worry about them getting too cold (the t-stat is usually set around 70F). will they be ok with a few small perches, toys, etc. and a piece of cardboard in the bottom so their feet don't get caught?
this is tough & no one has detailed info anywhere....there are so many special circumstances so i'm needing advice from everyone! Thanks! |
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| | | From: momnoah | Sent: 4/10/2008 2:51 AM |
It sounds like you are doing everything right. In answer to your cage question: Yes, they should be able to stay in a cage now. My older 3 are. Their hatch dates are 3-6, 3-8, 3-15 and 3-20. Only the youngest is still in the plastic tub & heat because his feathers are not all open yet. when they are, they can maintain their own body heat if it doesn't get too cold. At 70º they should be fine. Keep seed and/or millet and crushed pellets (if you feed them) in front of them all the time. Start introducing them to soft & fresh foods. Maybe give mom & dad some too with the babies so the babies see them eating them. You can let the parents help feed them, but only under supervision so they don't keep plucking them. |
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| | | From: MzMarz | Sent: 4/14/2008 10:31 PM |
well, great. I should've skipped the plastic tub all together. They only used it 2 nights, then i put them on the top of the parents' cage, and they were climbing to the top perch already....they were just itchin' for some freedom. Friday & part of Saturday they were in a smaller cage together plus social/feeding time w/ parents & then on Sunday, they graduated to the 20"x20"x24" cage - all of them perching & flexing their wings...the first started to fly Thurs morning & now all three are going nuts around the house trying to get their flight maneuvers down. I worry they will crash too hard, but they're always fine. Dad has wings clipped (he's a little pill) but mom has her full wings and is teaching them what to do...she takes flight every time one of them jumps and lands next to them to make sure they're OK...its sweet...
So, there are two normal grays (i think they're ditto's of the momma - checked under wings & there are spots - possibly both females?) and the other is a sweet little PEARL...I'm so excited to see a color mutation...both parents are 'normals'
The parents are always feeding them, but i always make sure that when they're at their hungriest (mornings & when I get home from work to replenish the food supply) that they eat right in front of the babies. The kids are catching on, however I don't know how much of what they put into their beaks actually goes down the gullet. I'm making a conscious effort to make a wide variety of foods available for them. My adults really only eat carrots, Kale & broccoli as far as fresh veg's go, so am getting more stuff in front of the babies so they learn to eat lotsa different stuff.
Thanks all! |
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| | | From: MzMarz | Sent: 4/14/2008 10:38 PM |
| posted a pic of 1-month olds in the photo album |
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Mz Marz, I just went and looked at the picture of the babies at 4 weeks ... they are so cute!! lol If anyone wants to jump straight to the picture, click here. Abby |
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I'm so glad your little tiels are doing so well with their flying lessons. Watching them learn to use their wings is so interesting. They are really cute. It is way too early to know if they are boys or girls, since they don't start to loose their spots until the first molt at six months. Last spring my parent birds (lutino male and pearl female) had two clutches of three babies (2 grays and a pearl) each time. All of them are male, but even after almost a year they still have barred tails like a female. I can tell they are male because they do the male whistles and rapping. For several months I thought one of the pearls was a female, but when he started whistling, he gave himself away! Kathy |
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Kathy, my tiel Cracker whistled, and she was definitely a female. She layed eggs regularly for many years. Abby |
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Abby, did Cracker do the male mating songs? The three female cockatiels that I've had have never done male mating songs with the wolf whistles, etc. And I mistyped my last message. I had 2 grays and 4 pearls hatched last spring, instead of the other way around. Guess I was typing before my brain was completely awake. Kathy |
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| | | From: momnoah | Sent: 4/17/2008 9:38 AM |
Kathy, if yours are all males, I'd bet your male is a Lutino split to Pearl. It's a bit odd that they have no produced any females yet though. But not impossible. A Lutino male is split to Pearl, bred to a Pearl hen you will get: All males will be either Normal Grey split to Pearl and Lutino, or Pearl split to Lutino. All females will be Lutino or Lutino-Pearl. A Lutino male (no splits) bred to a Pearl female (no splits) will produce males that are all Normal Grey split to Lutino and Pearl; all females will be Lutino. |
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Mx Marz
I put in " Cockatiels, Advice from a Breeder"on the internet and they was a great article you might enjoy.
Dot |
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Erika, thank you for the breeding information. It makes my head spin this early in the morning, even though I've had my cup of tea! I've looked at web sites with mutation possibilities and they make my head spin also. My original pair was the lutino male and a cinnamon female who had 3 normal gray males, 3 cinnamon pied males and 1 lutino female. I was so excited to see the lutino get her feathers since I had read she was a female. She was the one that I had hand fed from about a week old because she was so much smaller. She has had a normal gray and lutino (sex unknown since the gray died and lutino flew out the door before I knew), as well as a gray pearl and cinnamon pearl. The normal gray and cinnamon pearl had a normal gray father. While he was finishing feeding them, the lutino female switched mates to a cinnamon pied and had the gray pearl and lutino babies. The six babies last spring were from the grandfather lutino and cinnamon pearl. Things are like a soap opera out in the bird house! Kathy |
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Kathy, it does sound like a soap opera in your bird house! Lol No, Cracker didn't do the same songs that Pepper does, but she did indeed chirp, she wolf whistled, and she whistled shave and a haircut, two bits, and a few other things like that. I still miss her. Abby |
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