Cockatiel will not wean!

[Lizz]

Hey Guys

Just after a bit of advice!

I've not been breeding cockatiels for long
This is my 4th lot of hand-reared cockatiels!

In the past my 'tiels have starting picking at seed from about 8weeks old and are pretty much fully weaned by 12 weeks but I don't let them go to new homes until 16 weeks old!

This lot (of 4) have been the same bar one of them! They turned 16weeks last week and 3 of them have gone to new owners -

However I still have one that will not wean at all! He is now 17 weeks old and has ABSOLUTELY no interest in seed!
I don't know sex but I call him 'he' - 'Chalky because he's an albino.

How come he is so far behind?

Added info:
Removed from nest: 4weeks
Rearing food: Nutri bird A19
Given by: Syringe
Times: 8am/12pm/4pm/8pm
Screams bang on these times
Crop completely empties each time!

Cockatiel seed, budgie seed and millet sprays offered at all times in bowls + on floor!

Fresh water daily (which he does drink and loves to try and bathe)

He is not fully feathered (nearly there tho)
And tries his hardest to fly

Has lots of time outside cage and loves a head tickle!

He whistles, stands on perch and plays with toys and prunes himself (basically acts like a completely normal normally cockatiel)

I'm not rushing him nor am I complaining just checking this is 'ok' to still be on baby food at this age?! I know they're all different but this seems too old to me.

Am i just a worrier or is something bigger going on here?

He's also pulled on my heart strings and I'm going to keep him

 

[CeciliaZ]

I don't know anything about hand feeding or weaning baby tiels. The youngest I have received tiels that were weaned - was just under 12 weeks old. Have you tried pellets, sprouts, veggies? They sure can pull on your heart strings - (I have 5 tiels) happy you are keeping him. Good luck with him. Hoping someone with more advice will post.

 

[sunnysmom]

My understanding is some babies just take longer to wean than others. Hopefully others will have some advice. In the meantime, this is a good resource: Hand-Feeding and Weaning - Just Cockatiels!

 

[iamwhoiam]

There is not necessarily a timeline for when a bird will wean. They just do it in their own time, when they are ready. Keep offering the 'tiel foods that he can eat on his own...veggies, small pellets, cheerios, millet, etc. Do you feel that he needs to be checked by a vet? Do you weigh him daily and how is his weight? Have you considered dropping down to 3 feedings a day?

 

[Lizz]

I don't know anything about hand feeding or weaning baby tiels. The youngest I have received tiels that were weaned - was just under 12 weeks old. Have you tried pellets, sprouts, veggies? They sure can pull on your heart strings - (I have 5 tiels) happy you are keeping him. Good luck with him. Hoping someone with more advice will post.

Sorry yes, should have added i've tried him on his veggies! Doesn't take any notice of them!
As for pellets - I've always been a seed giver
I read so much on Pellets vs. Seeds and it just confuses me

I am very open to opinions tho
However non my local pet shops seem to sell them?

 

[sunnysmom]

Have you tried millet spray?

 

[Lizz]

My understanding is some babies just take longer to wean than others. Hopefully others will have some advice. In the meantime, this is a good resource: Hand-Feeding and Weaning - Just Cockatiels!

Yeah i'm starting to think that is just the case with this lil guy! Just seems old to me haha!
Thankyou for link

 

[iamwhoiam]

I used Zupreem fruity pellets when I was weaning my red-bellies. Not the best choice but the colors and shapes were interesting to them and they were easy to pick up. Consider trying some cheerios, too, as well as millet. When my r-bs weaned the first thing they started picking at were the cheerios and then the millet.
Currently my 'tiels get Caitec Oven Fresh Bites.
If none of your local stores sell pellets you can order online.

 

[Lizz]

I used Zupreem fruity pellets when I was weaning my red-bellies. Not the best choice but the colors and shapes were interesting to them and they were easy to pick up. Consider trying some cheerios, too, as well as millet. When my r-bs weaned the first thing they started picking at were the cheerios and then the millet.
Currently my 'tiels get Caitec Oven Fresh Bites.
If none of your local stores sell pellets you can order online.

Thankyou
Shall have a browse now online!
& shall go grab some cheerios now - already got them in

And I'll try cutting down to 3 feeds after reading that other link!

Guess this is all a learning curve

 

[iamwhoiam]

BTW, post some photos of him and your other 'tiels when you get a chance. We enjoying seeing photos of others' birds.

 

[Monica]

The chick is female unless the mother is an albino or lutino. In which case, the chick could be either sex.

An all seed diet leads to fatty liver disease and malnutrition.

An all pelleted diet leads to kidney failure.

A diet of both (about 50/50) with lots of vegetables and some fruits is best.



If the chick isn't weaning, it would probably be best to take the chick in to an avian vet to ensure that there's no infections. Some chicks just take longer to wean than others, but not weaning can also be a sign of a sick chick.

 

[Lizz]

I have Pikachu who started my love for cockatiels off
He is now 17years old (I know i shouldn't have favourites) but he is the sweetest, most loving lil lad i've ever come across!

Then there is:
Ghost (White and always up to something)
Claw (Has a dodgy foot)
Chicken (Pickachu's best bud)
Apple (Who would bite your hand off for fruit)

Lastly:
Chalky (Who the post is about and I'm now keeping)

Oh and not forgetting my old boy Paddy the budgie (Whom I randomly found in my garden a few years back and after no luck finding his owners, I kept him )

I always said 'NO MORE!' to myself after Pikachu and Ghost
but then 4 birds later I emptied the spare bedroom for them,
So one more lil Chalky can't hurt

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Beautiful flock!! Tiels....

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

Woah. Did you say the chick is not fully feathered at 16 weeks? If this is true your bird has some kind of metabolic and developmental problem. A bird not fully feathered by ten weeks is sick. You need to have the chick seen by a vet to determine the metabolic/developmental problem.

How many feedings is SHE getting a day? Is there any way you could keep track of her weight?. I hand fed a chick who was attacked by another bird and lost most of her top beak at two weeks old. Her parents abandoned her and I had to step in to finish raising her. Diva didn't completely wean until she was three and one half months old. She was weaned onto Harrison's fine pellets and cooked veggies and eventually lived to ten years old. Unfortunately Diva died in an accident.

Does she eat anything on her own? First, I would put seeds on the floor of her cage and in a bowl in her cage; keep her in her own cage so you know if she is eating and what her droppings look like. I would delay her first morning feeding until noon to see if she would eat anything in her cage. Then I would give her a feeding and not feed her again until bed time.

I really think she needs an exam by a vet, especially if she is not fully feathered. If she has a metabolic problem, she may have brain damage from that metabolic problem. To illustrate this problem, one of my cats long ago, Kit, had mild cystic fibrosis disease which caused him to be born mentally impaired somewhat like a cat with cerebral palsy but without the physical problems. He was a really mentally impaired cat and that showed in his behavior and his inability to connect with humans.

 

[Lizz]

Woah. Did you say the chick is not fully feathered at 16 weeks? If this is true your bird has some kind of metabolic and developmental problem. A bird not fully feathered by ten weeks is sick. You need to have the chick seen by a vet to determine the metabolic/developmental problem.

How many feedings is SHE getting a day? Is there any way you could keep track of her weight?. I hand fed a chick who was attacked by another bird and lost most of her top beak at two weeks old. Her parents abandoned her and I had to step in to finish raising her. Diva didn't completely wean until she was three and one half months old. She was weaned onto Harrison's fine pellets and cooked veggies and eventually lived to ten years old. Unfortunately Diva died in an accident.

Does she eat anything on her own? First, I would put seeds on the floor of her cage and in a bowl in her cage; keep her in her own cage so you know if she is eating and what her droppings look like. I would delay her first morning feeding until noon to see if she would eat anything in her cage. Then I would give her a feeding and not feed her again until bed time.

I really think she needs an exam by a vet, especially if she is not fully feathered. If she has a metabolic problem, she may have brain damage from that metabolic problem. To illustrate this problem, one of my cats long ago, Kit, had mild cystic fibrosis disease which caused him to be born mentally impaired somewhat like a cat with cerebral palsy but without the physical problems. He was a really mentally impaired cat and that showed in his behavior and his inability to connect with humans.

oh Chalky is a girl then
All feathered bar back of head a few patches on chest!

4 feeds at the minute - I basically feed every time Chalky runs about screaming for it!
Am going to swap to 3

She is in her own cage and my babies dont go in the same room as my other birds
Ahh you've worried me now!
I'll ring my local vets tomorrow, he isn't always in the local vets so i'll see when he's about!

 

[Monica]

Who's Chalky's parents? As in, which one is mom and which is dad?

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

If Chalky is given a clean bill of health by the vet, then start the weaning process by dropping her feedings to three a day. Delay the morning feeding till noon and feed noon, late afternoon and bedtime. Ideally, you remove one feeding every three weeks, but make sure she is eating veggies and seeds in between getting formula. Also, you can change from giving formula and instead crush and liquidize the pellet you are going to feed her as an adult bird. Slowly decrease the amount of formula and instead replace with liquidized pellets until the feeding is all liquid pellets. Then, when she does try the pellets, it will taste like her feeding and hopefully she will start eating those pellets on her own.

 

[Robin8888]

I have Pikachu who started my love for cockatiels off
He is now 17years old (I know i shouldn't have favourites) but he is the sweetest, most loving lil lad i've ever come across!

Then there is:
Ghost (White and always up to something)
Claw (Has a dodgy foot)
Chicken (Pickachu's best bud)
Apple (Who would bite your hand off for fruit)

Lastly:
Chalky (Who the post is about and I'm now keeping)

Oh and not forgetting my old boy Paddy the budgie (Whom I randomly found in my garden a few years back and after no luck finding his owners, I kept him )

I always said 'NO MORE!' to myself after Pikachu and Ghost
but then 4 birds later I emptied the spare bedroom for them,
So one more lil Chalky can't hurt

They are beautiful & Chalky is so cute.
Good Luck

 

[Laurie]

I just want to second the opinion that she needs to see a vet. It is not the late weaning itself that worries me. When late weaning is accompanied by any other problems or late development then I would see a vet just to make sure that there are no other issues that require treatment.

 

[Jaguar]

Cute flock you've got!

If that picture of her is recent, I'd be worried as well. She should have been fully feathered weeks ago. I hope everything goes well with the vet.