Haven't been on for a while

[odge]

Hi all,

I haven't been on for quite a while, so thought I had better re-introduce myself. My husband and I hand-raise cockatiels - mainly and since we are from New Zealand, we are in the middle of breeding season.

We have been breeding since 2006, so have learnt quite a lot over the years.

Apart from the tiels, of which we have about 30 adult birds, we have 3 alexandrines and two congo african greys, so our house is rarely quiet.

I made my first edited video the other day of my husband feeding the chicks which includes subtitles. I hope 1. that I can manage to upload it for you and 2. that you enjoy it.

I'm sure I'll be talking to you all soon.... until then Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays etc

[ame="http://youtu.be/X7Vg935jNj4"]Bird Feed - YouTube[/ame]

(I can't figure out how to upload a video, so I've pasted a link to youtube)

Jo

 

[strudel]

Welcome back.

Hahaha, what a little character. I have 2 cockatiels (we call them weiros), they are lovely little birds.

 

[odge]

Thanks Strudel. I guess weiro is the aborigine name for them?

 

[strudel]

I really don't know the derivation of the name. They tend to call them cockatiels "over east", I think, it's only locally we call them weiros (although they also get called cockatiels). I'm just used to calling mine weiros.

 

[Terry57]

Welcome back!
Your video had me laughing so hard I was falling out of my chair, GREAT captioning!!!

 

[JerseyWendy]

ROFLMAO @ the captions in the video. OMG, Jo, WHAT a riot!!!! HAHAHAHAHAH!!!

It's GREAT to have you back, and I can tell you sure have your hands full, hey?

 

[Allee]

I'm glad you're back! Adorable video and captions, thank you for sharing!

 

[RavensGryf]

OMG that was hilariously precious!!!:18: thank you so much for sharing!

 

[odge]

I'm so glad you are all enjoying it.

 

[Anansi]

Hahahaha! High comedy!!!

 

[4dugnlee]

That was GREAT!! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[strudel]

I keep thinking of that little greedy guts running about with his mouth open going "Dad! Dad! More food!"

Serious question (I've never had anything to do with baby birds), how do you know how much to feed them? Is it measured out?

 

[odge]

Thanks for your kind words

Strudel, the ideal range to feed chicks of this size - around 4 wks plus is 12-15 mls - never more than 15 mls, which for us is 4 syringes.

But the way to tell how much to feed a chick is to keep an eye on its crop. It should be nicely rounded but the food shouldn't be in the neck. Then as they get older you gradually increase the amount of food you are feeding them.

I have a baby I'm feeding atm that we found cold and wet on the floor of the aviary yesterday. It was chucked out of the nest cus it was the youngest of 4 and not doing very well at competing for food (I am assuming). It is probably about 9 days old, but looks a lot younger - maybe about 4 days old. When we first brought it inside (and warmed it up) we gave it 0.5ml of food and tomorrow it will probably take a full 1ml. We have slowly increased the amount we are feeding it, making sure its crop is emptying properly etc.

It's amazing really. Sometimes it seems you can see them grow right before your eyes.

Sorry for the long-winded reply...

Jo

 

[strudel]

never more than 15 mls

Are they all greedy like that little one? I don't think he'd stop if he was demand fed. You should call him Oliver Twist.

 

[odge]

No, some are extremely well mannered, others might be a bit scaredy-cat. What is funny though is that we moved him into the "big-kids" cage the day after the video and he has calmed down considerably. He only begs for a wee bit before and after feeding.

 

[strudel]

He only begs for a wee bit before and after feeding.

I bet he's still awfully cute though. Weiros stay cute even when they are grown up. My Tony is such a character. He talks to you as if he's making sense. It's so adorable.