Raptor40
Meeting neighbors
Hello!
I had posted a week and a bit ago about taming cockatiel chicks, as some new chicks had begun hatching.
The eggs had all hatched, which was great, but I took a few wrong turns with the nest-care, as I was under the impression that I wasn't meant to touch the nest at all until the cockatiel chicks were old enough to leave it. I would still lift the lid up to check on the chicks, but didn't want to disturb the nest itself. I found out about a week in that two of the five chicks had unfortunately passed away (I'm assuming one a few days earlier, but parents were sitting on it so I couldn't see it beforehand), and I eventually made the decision to remove the father and chicks and fully clean the nest out. Turned out to be a good idea in the end as the nest was covered in maggots. As a general question, how often do you guys recommend cleaning nests?
I had also taken a chick out to hand-raise, as he was very little and looked very weak compared to the rest of the chicks (I assume he was the youngest). I was worried he'd end up passing away too if I didn't take him. I have been feeding him Vetafarm Neocare and he has been taking to it quite well (although he's still quite small compared to the other chicks). The food says not to feed chicks between about 10 or 11pm until 5 or 6am to let the crop clear out, but I hadn't been sure about this and have still been feeding him every 3 hours or so overnight, as I had often read that chick's his age must be fed every 2-3 hours at all times. Is it sensible to leave him unfed for that period of time to let the crop go down (he is probably about 6 or 7 days old) or should he still be fed overnight?
Sorry about all the questions, I just want to make sure I do the best for the chicks.
I had posted a week and a bit ago about taming cockatiel chicks, as some new chicks had begun hatching.
The eggs had all hatched, which was great, but I took a few wrong turns with the nest-care, as I was under the impression that I wasn't meant to touch the nest at all until the cockatiel chicks were old enough to leave it. I would still lift the lid up to check on the chicks, but didn't want to disturb the nest itself. I found out about a week in that two of the five chicks had unfortunately passed away (I'm assuming one a few days earlier, but parents were sitting on it so I couldn't see it beforehand), and I eventually made the decision to remove the father and chicks and fully clean the nest out. Turned out to be a good idea in the end as the nest was covered in maggots. As a general question, how often do you guys recommend cleaning nests?
I had also taken a chick out to hand-raise, as he was very little and looked very weak compared to the rest of the chicks (I assume he was the youngest). I was worried he'd end up passing away too if I didn't take him. I have been feeding him Vetafarm Neocare and he has been taking to it quite well (although he's still quite small compared to the other chicks). The food says not to feed chicks between about 10 or 11pm until 5 or 6am to let the crop clear out, but I hadn't been sure about this and have still been feeding him every 3 hours or so overnight, as I had often read that chick's his age must be fed every 2-3 hours at all times. Is it sensible to leave him unfed for that period of time to let the crop go down (he is probably about 6 or 7 days old) or should he still be fed overnight?
Sorry about all the questions, I just want to make sure I do the best for the chicks.