Help (Stunted growth, Handfeed or leave with Parents)

[Bill Ahm]

My tiels had 5 eggs of which 4 hatched. Out of those chicks, the day 5 chick passed away but not sure why (Im afraid its the parents poor diet). All the chicks have seeds in their crops, so I decided to put them in a brooder and handfed and it seems like its doing fine and slowly passing the seeds (his/her poop is green with 1or2 solid millet seed each time). (Day 4 chick still is the size of day 2 chick 6-7g).

As most of you know, handfeeding the first week is not fun (every 2hr around the clock).

Is it safe to leave the chicks with mom and dad who seem to be feeding but only seeds (ive tried feeding the parents other stuff like eggs and veggies but they only eat 100% seed diet). Im afraid of loosing more chicks due to the parents poor diet, would I be better off handfeeding or let the parents feed the chicks seeds and I do a morning handfeeding (to ensure they have more water crop+formula)

This is my first time breeding, so any advice is appreciated.

 

[Zara]

I know it is too late now, but for anyone else who comes across this:
Don´t breed birds that have a poor diet.

How old are the chicks? In particular the youngest

 

[Bill Ahm]

The youngest is 16hrs now (in brooder 98f 50RH). Fed it 1:6 Kaytee Exact (water was pedialyte). Other is 2 days and the last is 4 days old (its quite a bit bigger than the 16hr chick but not big enough for its age I believe)

 

[Zara]

So it is he eldest that you are saying is growing slowly? I would handfeed this chick around the clock to make sure it is getting the nutrients needed to grow.
Why is the youngest in a brooder? or are they all in there?
Do the parents have access to these chicks?

I´m sorry, I know lovebird chicks, but not cockatiels. And what happens with lovebird chicks is over the first 5 days of life, the parents pass on the digestive bacteria and enzymes to the chicks systems. I don´t know when that happens for cockatiels, I really hope someone has the answer. If they don´t get this from the parents they will need it to be supplemented.

 

[Bill Ahm]

I decided to pull them all out, since day 5 (was stunted and died), day 4 was stunted (handfed and seems to have gotten better besides the seeds not moving down its crop), newborn was pulled becuase i didnt want him to have the same fate. (I read the bacteria part somewhere else aswell, so not sure how to address that issue)

 

[Zara]

besides the seeds not moving down its crop

If there´s seeds stuck in the crop, you need to contact your avian vet asap. A house visit would be better if that´s a possibility.

not sure how to address that issue

If you pulled this chick on hatchday, it will need supplementing. Bring it up with the vet when getting the other chick seen.

Pulling a day old chick from it´s parents is very bold for a first time breeder.
Remember they require the formula altered for them, and it will change everyday. Your birds wont be able to eat the same prepared batch of formula for a few days.

 

[Bill Ahm]

I really appreciate your reply, I knew that was a risky move but needed in my case (the parents eat only seeds and didnt hydrate the chicks much either). All 3 surviving chicks seem to be doing great now (the crop draining seems to have improved as I fed it 1:3 formula(mixed with pedialyte not water) + Applesauce). The new hatchling will need some type of supplemental bacteria as it was never parent fed will need to see how thats done (either by vet or if someone has any recommendations).

Although this is the first time I myself am breeding cockatiel, my dad used breed budgies/parakeets/pigeons back home and helped me through it, although his birds ate better then mine. Looks like im going to have some restless nights to makes this cute chicks grow but itll be worth it. In the meantime im trying to get the parent birds to switch to pellets (again.. lol) and fresh fruits/veggies.

 

[Zara]

I knew that was a risky move but needed in my case

Maybe not. If the only issue was nutrition, co-parenting could have been an option. (Leave chicks with the parents, and you formula feed them.)
I would have certainly tried it before taking the chicks away.
Would you remove a baby from a mother who couldn´t breast feed? No, the baby would be fed formula.

Do you let the hen see her chicks at all?

 

[Elizabeth8577]

I decided to pull them all out, since day 5 (was stunted and died), day 4 was stunted (handfed and seems to have gotten better besides the seeds not moving down its crop), newborn was pulled becuase i didnt want him to have the same fate. (I read the bacteria part somewhere else aswell, so not sure how to address that issue)

I would have waited to pull youngest and see if parents improved in feeding it. Sometimes the chicks compete for food and smallest gets little if any.

 

[iamwhoiam]

How are the chicks doing?