This page contains
some of the information on what I am learning about hand-feeding baby cockatiels.The beautiful photograph above was sent
to me by NaDeana. These are her babies, Soccer and Lily.Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Because cockatiels are such wonderful
companions I would like to someday breed a clutch for pets. I did breed zebra finches several years ago, but they did all of the
work and I didn't handfeed them.
Hand feeding a baby cockatiel isn't easy. Handling chicks that are so
tiny and fragile requires skill. I will be responsible for the
life or death of a baby bird. Can I live with myself if I hurt or kill a chick
by accident? I have received so many beautiful photographs
of baby cockatiels from breeders. The babies look like they are made of
cellophane and about as strong as wet tissue paper. You can even see the food going down their
transparent crop. How can I hold something so tiny and fragile without hurting
it? Will my hands start shaking or will I drop one? What if the parents abandon
the babies as soon as they hatch? What will I do if a chick is unable to hatch
and needs assistance or has bordatella, which is just like human lockjaw?
Breeding cockatiels is a very emotional process. I have doubts about being strong
enough emotionally. I'll probably start crying when I see the babies
because all babies are miracles. I'm reading books, talking to breeders, and
I will be learning first-hand the delicate technique of hand-feeding.
Only someone who breeds birds can teach
me this. It requires much more than one 10 minute lesson. My avian vet
told me that he would teach me how to handfeed baby cockatiels. I may change
my mind when I actually see a real living chick and it's time to hold one in my
hand.There are so many things that can go wrong when handfeeding cockatiels.
Crop Burn:
Crop burn is the scalding of a chick's delicate crop and esophagus with
formula that is too hot. This is excruciatingly painful for a
chick and often causes death. The baby's skin turns red and it goes into shock.
If it's severe, blisters that turn into scabs form on the skin. When the scabs
loosen, there is an actual hole exposing the crop. I saw a picture
of crop burn in a book. This poor baby looked like
it had been shot with a bullet. I won't ever be so
stupid
to think that testing formula on my wrist is the way to test formula for a
chick. The formula has to be between
104 and 106 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature is just a few degrees higher I will burn the baby's crop.
I won't be cheap and use a cheap microwave or oven thermometer either. I
will purchase the very best candy or digital food thermometer that I can find. My babies will
have the best. I will not take the easy way and use the microwave
to heat the formula.This can cause hot spots and burn the baby's crop,
even if I stir it first.I'm going to heat it in a jar, placed in a pan
of boiling water. This is how I heated baby food for my own children
before the invention of the microwave. Crop burn is 100%
preventable.
Aspiration Pneumonia: If a baby inhales formula, it is said
to have aspirated. The food backs up into the baby's mouth while it is trying to
breath and it goes into the trachea or lungs. This happens if the wrong amount of formula
is given, if formula is fed before the baby gives the feeding response, or if
the baby's crop is too full and it's put back to rest in its bedding.The chick
then starts to sneeze, cough, shake its head and gasp for breath. Fluid can come
out of the baby's nostrils but after it coughs up the fluid it usually recovers.The chick
is then prone to getting bacterial or fungus infections of the crop.
When the formula goes into the lungs, the baby is almost unable to breath.If it
doesn't die immediately it will get pneumonia.Even with medical care the chances of survival are not very good.
If a chick has aspirated take it to an avian veterinarian immediately.
Punctured Crop or Esophagus: The tissues of baby birds are
very delicate. If the wrong feeding utensils are used or if they are forced into
the baby's mouth,puncture wounds can be inflicted. A very hungry baby can
also lunge into the syringe with such speed and vigor that it puncture its own
crop or esophagus. This is something that a new breeder wouldn't expect to
happen or wouldn't recognize the signs of. The breeder would be taken by
surprise. and she/he wouldn't have time to pull the syringe away. Signs of
this are inflammation and swelling around the puncture wound. The absence
of food in the crop after a baby has just been fed would indicate a
severe injury. If this happens a chick needs medical help or even surgery and
may not survive.
Sour Crop:This is the accumulation of stagnant food in a
chick's crop. It slows food from going down the crop, and the food remaining in
the crop becomes more sour. It can happen from improperly preparing the
formula, but usually happens when a breeder overfeeds the babies and doesn't allow
the crop to empty at least once during a 24 hour day. If the problem isn't
recognized and taken care of right away, the chick gets slow gut status and will
die. Breeders have told me that temperatures lower than 104 causes food to
travel down the crop too slowly, causing sour crop and other digestive
problems. Some breeders add a FEW drops of apple cider vinegar OR half
baby food applesauce to half already mixed formula to the morning feedings.
This helps the crop to drain.
Slow Gut
This is when the chick's crop empties too slowly and the entire digestive tract slows down.
It could be caused by sour crop,
feeding the baby formula that is too cold, too thick without enough moisture, food too high in fat or protein,
or from a crop that has been stretched from overfeeding. The food left in the crop starts to sour.
If this isn't taken
care of the baby becomes dehydrated and could starve to death.
The chick's crop has to be emptied by being filled with warm water, massaged to
break up the
pieces of food, then emptied by suction with a gavage tube. This has to be done several times until the
water being suctioned out is clear. Medical attention is often needed for the chick to survive.
Find an Avian Veterinarian
Here
Breeding Information and
Photos Below
Your avian veterinarian
will be an important source of information.The problems
listed on this page are only
the tip of the iceberg.There are so many illnesses that a chick can get
if the environment temperature isn't right, if the bedding for the chicks isn't
kept clean enough, if their diet doesn't contain the proper nutrition. Chicks
are sensitive to bacteria, fungus and molds. I hope this page has convinced those
of you who want to purchase unweaned birds and hand-feed them, not to do it. If
you are not experienced, you can inflict cruel and agonizing pain on a
baby bird and you can torture a chick to death. Please, don't ever do this to a
baby cockatiel. Please
buy your bird
fully weaned, and if you plan on breeding,
read books, talk to breeders, your avian veterinarian and seek training in hand-feeding before
you start.
Hand feeding a baby cockatiel isn't easy. Handling chicks that are so
tiny and fragile requires skill. I will be responsible for the
life or death of a baby bird. Can I live with myself if I hurt or kill a chick
by accident? I have received so many beautiful photographs
of baby cockatiels from breeders. The babies look like they are made of
cellophane and about as strong as wet tissue paper. You can even see the food going down their
transparent crop. How can I hold something so tiny and fragile without hurting
it? Will my hands start shaking or will I drop one? What if the parents abandon
the babies as soon as they hatch? What will I do if a chick is unable to hatch
and needs assistance or has bordatella, which is just like human lockjaw?
