4-5 week baby, how much interaction?

[Tito]

Hey all, I'm new here I have some experience with grown up tiels, but with babies not so much. The chicks are being handfed by a breeder, but I might bring my baby home today. I've been shown how to feed him, how often, etc.

But i'm wondering, how much should I handle the baby between feedings? I'd want him to get to know me, but I also don't want to stress him. New surroundings and everything. He'll still be in a little box/cage, and not move into the bigger cage yet. I imagine it's gonna be a big change for him. Can i just have him on my lap and talk to him? How long and how much? Or should I give him mostly rest and peace during the day?

I would appreciate any help I can get!

 

[Zara]

A 4 week old chick needs a lot of sleep.
But hold him after feeding and talk to him while he nods off, then return him to the box. As he grows you will notice he is awake more and so you can have him out more with you. Just remember they still nap a lot.
On the first day, best to leave him be between feeds while he adjusts to his new surroundings.


Welcome to the forum
Please introduce him when he is home

 

[Tito]

A 4 week old chick needs a lot of sleep.
But hold him after feeding and talk to him while he nods off, then return him to the box. As he grows you will notice he is awake more and so you can have him out more with you. Just remember they still nap a lot.
On the first day, best to leave him be between feeds while he adjusts to his new surroundings.


Welcome to the forum
Please introduce him when he is home

Thank you so much <3 I'll introduce him for sure!
Do you think he'll be okay staying in me and my hubby's "office" room when he arrives? It's where we're gonna put the cage (for when he moves in there). We are both studying, so he'll have us around us pretty much all the time. But it's a bit noisy with us talking though, and some sounds from the computers. So he'll have to get used to staying in this room, but is it a bit early?
We're thinking about him in the bathroom at night, it's a bit warmer in there (floor heating), and it's right next to the bedroom in case something happens.

I also might be totally overthinking this! Typical first parents?

 

[Zara]

Me and my man use our living room as an office. We are here all day, and have the odd person over to work here too. Our birds all live here, most were raised from chicks here, some where born here.
He´ll be fine just putting him straight in there. Just be mindful, and try to tone down the talking ie don´t yell.
I would not put him in a bathroom as there can be humidity.
You could also put a little playstand in the living room for when you are not working, you can leave his cage where it is and just take him to your living room with you.
If you are a little worried and want to be able to hear him at night, if you are in an apartment, leave the doors open or if you are in a 2 storey house, it may sound silly but you could buy a baby moniter.
If you are worried about warmth, put a nice fleecy blanket of the top and 3 walls of the cage, and the usual cage cover over the top.
Make sure he has a nice soft toy to snuggle up with in his nest/bed ( something with no small parts, loose threads - my Adelie has a Whale from a Mcdonalds happy meal).
If he sleeps in a wooden box it will also provide a bit of warmth. I line the bottom with a fabric (crocheted squares or old fleecy pjs cut up) then put wood shavings/chips (?) on top.

Edit;
This is the sort of nest setup I like for one chick, (different species but chicks are chicks). I put the ball in so he won't be afraid of it later. As the chick got older I would take the ball out and roll it around the floor so he could see what it does.

Also, notice the label was frayed, so I chopped it off

 

[Tito]

Great advice, i really appreciate it! Our bedroom is kind of cold, so is the living room (a cold winter, ugh). The office and bathroom is nice and warm, but humidity is probably not a good idea. Didnt think about that Should I buy a heating pad or similar, or is it enough with a nice fleecy blanket and a soft toy? He has some feathers now but is it enough? I really like your nest setup! I'm not sure what kind of box yet, it will probably be a plastic one from the breeder. I was thinking about maybe a soft towel or similar on the bottom (with no threads), would you recommend using something else instead? In case it's not a wooden box And how do you do it regarding air cirulation in the nest, especialle during the night?

 

[Zara]

The office and bathroom is nice and warm

Then the office is the best place to let him sleep.

Should I buy a heating pad or similar

I have a feeling your from a cold place. I know others use heating pads, but I do not know how they work or which is a good one as I live on the Med.
Hopefully another member can give you some advice on that, but it is a good idea if the room where the bird sleeps gets cold.
I think some people use them for their adult birds too.

I was thinking about maybe a soft towel

Some towels have loops - not good.
Try looking for fleecy felt like material. It will be warmer and it dries super quick if you want to wash it.

And how do you do it regarding air cirulation in the nest, especialle during the night?

As long as he´s not closed inside something, air will circulate in the room naturally. I´ve never had any of my birds live in those plastic box things, but they usually have vents on the top. If he is in one of those, don´t put anything on top. Just close the curtains to your office and close the door. He will sleep peacefully all night there. I cover my birds because they are all in my living room (they are all in cages so air still circulates).

Edit ;
I've just hunted down some pictures. This is how I had my chicks

Right on my table next to me. In a small cage with the floor taken out and in a wooden box.. At night I would cover it, just to keep the chill (if any) off. They had no soft toy as they had each other.


This is Adélie right now, he's not eaten any food yet... He has flown very few times and for short flights. So he's not quite ready for a big cage but he's climbing out of the nest all the time. So he will stay like this til he stops falling off perches etc then he can go to his cage.


Again, I don't deal with cold so I don't know how well this would work, if it was super cold then you would need a heated pad under the cage.

 

[Davi]

You can never overthink it with birds! ;-) They need all the planning and strategizing you can get! Congrats on your new baby tiel and best of luck. Would love to see photos!

 

[Tito]

Office it is, then. That's where he will sleep when moved to the cage, so I guess that's good! I'll buy a heating pad or similar, just in case! What is a comfortable temperature for 4-5 week tiels? I don't want him to feel too cold, or too warm..
Do the temperatures here Rearing Cockatiel Chicks - A Simple Guide seem okay?

You can never overthink it with birds! ;-) They need all the planning and strategizing you can get! Congrats on your new baby tiel and best of luck. Would love to see photos!

You're probably right! And thank you so much! I will post pictures when he arrives! I'm off to the breeder in an hour, if everything is well and I feel comfortable about it, maybe I can bring him home today

 

[Davi]

Bringing a bird home is such an exciting occasion! But if it doesn't work out today, it'll still be exciting when it happens! Best of luck and do share pics when you get a chance!

 

[Zara]

Ask the breeder about heating pads and temps. They must know.

Hope everything goes well. If he can come home, nice but if he can´t or you don´t feel comfortable, that is ok too
Just do what you both think is best for the chick

 

[Tito]

I brought him home! More feathers since last time I saw him But I don't know what to do now! The breeder fed him a litte, and I fed him too and he gave me more advice on this. After he was fed, he sat in my hands for a long time while the breeder was getting food, food bowls etc. And he was so tired and relaxed! Then i put him in his little temporary home, sort of a transport cage, and went home (5 min in car).
And he is absolutely terrified now, i think When i approach, he does a kind of a hissing sound? or heavy breathing, kind of? With open mouth So i just placed him in the living room (quiet) and put a blanket over the cage.

What the heck do i do now? I just want to cuddle with him and make him feel better. He's used to having his siblings around, but now he's all alone in there! I'm kind of worrying if he's gonna be scared for ever now
Should i just leave him alone until feeding time, and then cuddle with him a bit after that, before going to bed? Should i keep having a blanket over the cage?

Ahhhhh, i'm kind of panicking at the moment!

He is absolutely gorgeous though! His siblings was of standard color, like yellow head, red cheeks and grey elsewhere. My baby has white head and grey body. I'm so in love!

 

[Zara]

Should i just leave him alone until feeding time, and then cuddle with him a bit after that, before going to bed?

Bingo.

Leave him be, you hit the nail on the head. This is a big change for him. No siblings, new home, new human. When it´s food time, feed him and hold him a little.
Don´t panic. He will be fine.
Later when he is hungry, he will not hiss at you.

Did the breeder give you any info on the heating pad?

 

[Tito]

Bingo.

Leave him be, you hit the nail on the head. This is a big change for him. No siblings, new home, new human. When it´s food time, feed him and hold him a little.
Don´t panic. He will be fine.
Later when he is hungry, he will not hiss at you.

Thank you, I feel kind of stupid.. <3 But next feeding will be in 4-5 hours, should I keep him covered up until then, or have it open so he gets used to the sounds and stuff? My man think it's weird to have him covered up right now, since it's not bedtime yet..
Ugh I feel the urge to check on him all the time (its only been an hour since we came home, geeez..), but i've managed to keep myself from doing it so that he can rest. I just hope he's resting and not freaking out

I hope he's doing a little better tomorrow

 

[Zara]

I feel kind of stupid

Don´t feel stupid. You are not stupid, you care

Uncover him. You will be able to all see each other then. He will probably sleep though

 

[Tito]

Don´t feel stupid. You are not stupid, you care

Uncover him. You will be able to all see each other then. He will probably sleep though

I did it now, also placed a little stuffed toy in there for tonight. He did the heavy breathing thing again, and kinda tried to bite or push me away, even though I wasn't that close to him Poor little thing.. I sooo hope he isn't doing that later when he's hungry. I want to bond with him sooo badly

 

[Zara]

Food conquers all

 

[Tito]

It turned out okay! He didn't scream for food while in the cage, but i put him on my lap and he quickly changed his mind when he saw the food. The crop was empty too
But today; i've gave him breakfast 1.5 hour ago and cuddled a bit, then i put him back in the cage. Now he's standing in his cage and screeching on and off, while grooming himself. Also some "yawning"
What does that mean, especially the food? I doubt he's hungry already? And he seems busy with grooming..

 

[Zara]

Could just be crying for attention but if the crop is empty, feed him again.
Sometimes if they still have food and you let them stay with you, they stop making the noise, snuggle and sleep.
I´m sure he will have pin feathers? So he will be preening those. It will get messy so if you are dressed for a business meeting, put a teatowel (dish towel?) down over your lap and let him snuggle there.

 

[AviMom]

Admittedly i didnt read all the responses here. Im sure its all excellent advice. I have raised most of my tiels from 2-3 weeks old. At 4 weeks, i feed 3x a day. I usually spend an hour with them each feeding, and maybe a little longer the last feeding. I hold them close, talk to them, sing to them, even work on step up by 4 wks. Most fledge by 5 weeks, and i start working on flight recall at that point. Remember, you are mommy now, so spend time bonding, not isolating the baby from interaction. They like your hand cupped over them, it makes them feel safe.
Room temp should stay around 70 degrees. I cover mine at night, and give them something soft to cuddle up with.
Just my 2 cents. Congrats on your new baby!!!!

 

[Tito]

Could just be crying for attention but if the crop is empty, feed him again.
Sometimes if they still have food and you let them stay with you, they stop making the noise, snuggle and sleep.
I´m sure he will have pin feathers? So he will be preening those. It will get messy so if you are dressed for a business meeting, put a teatowel (dish towel?) down over your lap and let him snuggle there.

It was a bit weird, because it was a mix of all of those at once! He screamed for food, but when I went close to him he just hissed. And in between he was preening, and chirping in a different way

Admittedly i didnt read all the responses here. Im sure its all excellent advice. I have raised most of my tiels from 2-3 weeks old. At 4 weeks, i feed 3x a day. I usually spend an hour with them each feeding, and maybe a little longer the last feeding. I hold them close, talk to them, sing to them, even work on step up by 4 wks. Most fledge by 5 weeks, and i start working on flight recall at that point. Remember, you are mommy now, so spend time bonding, not isolating the baby from interaction. They like your hand cupped over them, it makes them feel safe.
Room temp should stay around 70 degrees. I cover mine at night, and give them something soft to cuddle up with.
Just my 2 cents. Congrats on your new baby!!!!

Thank you! I feed him/her 3 times a day as well! Weight was 77g yesterday, and the same today before breakfast He is so adorable, we cuddle a lot after each meal He seems much more comfortable in his cage now. I hope he wants to explore the outside of it soon