hand feeding my 4 weeks old cockatiel

[Ziggy]

:21:hi,

I need some help/advice we got our first cockatiel Ziggy SAturday after a couple attempt or feeding on Sunday night I finally discover a very happy and energetic baby bird looking for his food. This morning same thing but he only ate 7ml which it's only half of what he should get. 3 h later maybe another 7ml and thats it.
Why is he not eating more?
Overall seems good health, good body temperature friendly but very quite and appart from streching his wing time to time and cleaning hos feather he is not doing much more or even make any noise
Is it normal?

please help

 

[crimson]

congratulations on your new baby.
I love cockatiels, I have 4 as pets and breed them as well.

make sure the formula is the correct temp between 104-106, if it's less than 100, they tend not to eat as much as it cools down extremely fast, within seconds!
Make sure you pre-boil the water for at least 10 minutes before mixing it with the formula...this kills any bacteria that can harm your bird.
Now is the time to start introducing millet into his diet, then pellets at around 5 weeks, etc... remember to give water as well.
I would research this extensively, here is a very good link with all kinds of useful info:

Cockatiel Cottage, Cockatiels, basic care and general information on the cockatiel, cockatiel information, cockatiels basic care, diet, nutrition, pellet diets, health, illness, behavior, taming, behavior problems, biting, sickness, symptoms of a sic

 

[Kspenn]

:21:hi,

I need some help/advice we got our first cockatiel Ziggy SAturday after a couple attempt or feeding on Sunday night I finally discover a very happy and energetic baby bird looking for his food. This morning same thing but he only ate 7ml which it's only half of what he should get. 3 h later maybe another 7ml and thats it.
Why is he not eating more?
Overall seems good health, good body temperature friendly but very quite and appart from streching his wing time to time and cleaning hos feather he is not doing much more or even make any noise
Is it normal?

please help

I was just recently having the same problem with my. 4 week old Green Cheek babies. I solved the problem by making them beg a little before feeding. Place your index finger and thumb on each side of the beak very gently and let him bob for a second or two. Do this a few times in a row and they seem to eat a lot better after. My GCCs only eat about 8mls at a time, therefore I have to feed every 3-4 hours. It also makes a ton of difference with temperature. The closer you can get to 106 degrees the better. If if my formula falls down to 104 forget it, they don't want it.

 

[MikeyTN]

First of all at his age you shouldn't hand feed every 3 hrs! Twice a day is all he needs to be hand fed at his age. Once in the morning like 9am and once at night at 9pm is all he really needs. Your not giving him enough time to let the food go through his system if you kept hand feeding him. He'll get sour crop or impact food if you over hand feed. You should always let the crop to fully empty before you hand feed. For future reference please do your research first before getting a unweaned baby. By changing hand feeder isn't good for the baby as he is not used to you. It may take him awhile to accept food from you better and as he go towards weaning stage, he may change and be frightened of you then you need to start the training process after he's weaned. Let him take flight and once he is flying well, IF he is frightened of you, it would be wise to clip his wings to start the training cause all he's going to do is keep flying away from you. It's a delicate process as the weaning time is a very stressful period for the breeder/owner.

 

[Ziggy]

Hello Guys,

I live in Hong Kong and my question: Is it necessary to get the bird tested for avian Psittocasis decease?

To resume:
Ziggy is well and everything seems to go fine I have reduced is feeding to 3 times a day he is eating fuller portion etc...
Apart for small air bubble on the back of his neck which I would like to speak later about all seems good.

Looking forward for you answers

 

[MikeyTN]

Psittacosis is a contagious and deadly disease and you can catch it too! Its up to you to do the test or not.

 

[Ziggy]

Help again....
Ok tomorrow morning I have an appointment with a specialize exotic bird vet.
In meantime something that really worried me happen with Ziggy today.

As I mentioned in my earlier post Ziggy has 2 small air bubble on the back of his neck.
Today on his second feeding of the day, Ziggy ate more then usual. After his meal as I always do I give him some an gentle massage around his neck and crop.
When suddenly for a few time some liquid ( which seems to be water with some trace of baby food formula) came out while I was massaging on the mentioned neck bubble.
After that Ziggy seems a bit strange and tired. After about 45min 1h later he was back to his old self and when the feeding time was up asked for his food as usual. To be honest I was very worry and kind of scare of feeding him again my husband suggested to try to feed him with a spoon instead of syringe. Ziggy did not seems to mind at all.



What did happen? Is my Ziggy ok?

 

[MikeyTN]

Help again....
Ok tomorrow morning I have an appointment with a specialize exotic bird vet.
In meantime something that really worried me happen with Ziggy today.

As I mentioned in my earlier post Ziggy has 2 small air bubble on the back of his neck.
Today on his second feeding of the day, Ziggy ate more then usual. After his meal as I always do I give him some an gentle massage around his neck and crop.
When suddenly for a few time some liquid ( which seems to be water with some trace of baby food formula) came out while I was massaging on the mentioned neck bubble.
After that Ziggy seems a bit strange and tired. After about 45min 1h later he was back to his old self and when the feeding time was up asked for his food as usual. To be honest I was very worry and kind of scare of feeding him again my husband suggested to try to feed him with a spoon instead of syringe. Ziggy did not seems to mind at all.



What did happen? Is my Ziggy ok?

There can be many things, only your vet can tell you. IF you had mixed the formula too hot, he may have crop burn. Or he may have poked himself on something to puncher the crop sac. Let us know how the vet visit go!

 

[MonicaMc]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure those "air bubbles" are part of the crop. I have heard of people having to "burp" chicks if they get too much air into the crop.

Not necessarily the best pics, but these kind of show how the crop goes to the side of the neck. (Mousebirds & More - Susanne Russo)

Best photo?
http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad180/van-cha/Baby Parrots/IMG_0599.jpg




Please let us know what the vet says!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure those "air bubbles" are part of the crop. I have heard of people having to "burp" chicks if they get too much air into the crop.

Not necessarily the best pics, but these kind of show how the crop goes to the side of the neck. (Mousebirds & More - Susanne Russo)





Best photo?
http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad180/van-cha/Baby Parrots/IMG_0599.jpg




Please let us know what the vet says!

The OP stated the air bubbles were in the BACK of the bird's neck. Unless there is a communication problem, to my knowledge the crop is NOT on the back of the neck.

And yes, SOME chicks CAN be burped.

 

[MonicaMc]

The OP did mention two.. and when looking at the bird from above, it does kind of look like they are on the back, when in reality, it's the side of the neck. Waiting to hear from the vet still!

 

[MikeyTN]

I have had to burp chicks before!!!! Mainly when they're younger such as the pictures your showing Monica, as they mature a bit past 2 and a half to 3 weeks old that don't happen as much.

IF the formula is coming out, it is part of the crop sac!!!!

 

[Ziggy]

Well I am back from the VET. WIth very sad notice.
The vet told me that crop wise and air bubble on back was all normal with Ziggy.
I had taped on feeding and he told me everything was good that basically Ziggy was feeding himself so not much risk of feeding him the wrong way.

Ziggy seems Okay overall but a bit weak and dirty ( Apparantly I did not clean his chest feather well enough) I was scare that he would catch a cold he I would wash him with water but apparently I should have done that. Note for next time....

Anyway, as per the doctor The brid market in hong kong where I got Ziggy is actually pretty bad and bird are unhealthy and most of them carrier of sicknesses.
He did not give me any hope and honestly scared me more than anything else.
So I had to make a decision:
Having two toddler at home I have decided to return Ziggy the the shop where I got him from.
In one week, the all family were so Fan of him.... He wasn't an easy decision but the family health was at risk so it had to be done...
We are really disappointed but we don't want to give up on the idea to own a Cockatiel this 1 week to discover this sweet and loving creature was amazing and looking forward to his next trick was fantastic.
So I am looking for a breeder of Young and healthy cockatiel with all his paper in order. We will probably need to go to Australia and see the process to export one.
If anyone can help me to get my bird once and for all it will be really appreciated

 

[MonicaMc]

Birds can't "catch a cold", but they can still get sick.


So sorry you decided to return Ziggy! I would hope you could find a breeder who keeps his animals in good health!

As far as buying from Australia, that may very well be difficult to do. Australia is very strict on their imports and exports regarding birds, and you also need to know the imports of your own country. It's often more hassle than it's worth. Perhaps someone from Australia could direct you sites about that?