Help! Lots of cockatiel trouble

Finally I can get in. I had to re-sign up for the new message boards, and it never sent my confirmation....
My cockatiels have always been happy, strange, healthy, spoiled birds. But they've been acting strange lately.
This will be easier to explain if you know more about more about my birds. I have 2 pairs. They have seperate cages, but the cages are by each other. The first pair is Raoul and Milkyway. The other pair is Finick and Snickers. Raoul is the only really tame one; Finick tries to bite and Milkyway just runs away in fear. Snickers....we'll get to that in a minute. Raoul is male, Milkyway and Snickers are female, and I'm 90% sure Finick is male....
:?
First problem: Milkyway started laying eggs. A lot of them. She has a nesting box, and that's where she lay them, but a family member removed the eggs before they could be informed that's NOT what they wre supposed to do. It's been almost a week since then, but she hasn't laid any more. she uses her cuttlebone, but she dislikes soft foods. I never see her go in the nesting box anymore, but occasionally Raoul will poke his head in there. Once he went in and started pecking on the sides, but nothing happened after that. They went on like normal.

A few days ago I noticed suddenly that Milkyway wasn't sitting on a perch, but she hardly ever moved from the nesting box. Not inside, just on top. When I gave them fresh food and water, after a while she started comgin over, but she had a limp! What happened to her, and what do I do?
:cry:

Raoul, when we first got him, really liked Milkyway. Yesterday, though, he started making chittering noises and walked to the side of the cage. Snickers, in her cage, walked to the side and started chittering quietly back. There's a sheet between to the cages, so they can't see each other.

Finick used to be obnoxious. That's how he got his name. Suddenly he started being quiet- he's the quietest of all of them! Now he just sits on the bottom perch in the corner all day.

Snickers used to be afraid of my hands like Milkyway, but she's been acting all cute and friendly recently. How do I get her to go on my hand?

I think there was another problem, but I can't remember. I'm too tired...... Please help!!

 

Hi and welcome to the boards.

Firstly if the birds are paired up i would remove the nest box and any eggs she has laid if she has abondoned them.

If you plan on breeding them i would give them a break and then reintroduce the nest box.
If not planning on breeding then best thing to do is keep them all in seperate cages or males in 1 cage females in another. During the breeding season birds can become very aggressive.

Having a male and female in a cage together but no nest box will not stop them laying eggs if they want to lay them.

I would keep an eye on Milkyway and see how she goes it maybe that she just strained a muscle.

As for hand taming its best to do this slowly an at there pace as you do not want them terrified of your hand.

Simply place your hand in the cage and slowly move towards them if the move away hold your hand still, keep doing this until you can use your finger to touch there chest, A simple up while you gently press against there chests is enough to get them to step up this is known As the step up command.

Hold your hand still while the bird is sat on your hand then you can try slowly moving your hand out of the cage, This may take a few attempts.


When you want the birds to step down use the step down or down command and the bird learns to step down.
Most birds when they bite the do not mean to hurt its there way of tasting you and they remember each taste as to something nice and that wont hurt them or something nasty that have to stay away from.

Mike

 

Thanks! How can I get Milkyway to eat more soft foods?

 

If using fruit and veggies you can purchase a bird fruit skewer abit like the ones used for kebabs and push bits of fruit and veg on there and hang in the cage.

Otherwise its just a case of keep placing it in her cage and eventually she will eat most breeders remove the normal feed for an hour during the day and this is usually enough to get them to eat soft foods.

Mike

 

Hi again! I haven't been on in a while, but...
More bird trouble. Confusion, mainly. :?
For about the first week, Milkyway had two eggs. She sat on them almost all the time, and Raoul helps out occasionally. Then suddenly, (three days ago) she layed another one, and the next day, one more. :?: They still sit on them almost all the time though.
Finick now ADORES anything I give her, especially brocolli. But Milkyway and Raoul are the problems. Milkyway has four eggs and Raouls going to have to help feed them all. But I can hardly ever get any of them to eat any of it, no matter how long it's been since they've had food or when I give it to them. Help?

Also, what's safe for them to eat? Are all vegetables okay? Which fruits? I read that you shouldn't give them milk; something about lactose intolerance, but some people recommend feeding cottage cheese,, and one recipe for birds I saw even included two cups of milk. What's this about??

 

Never feed milk most of the websites are old school before they understood that birds can not digest milk.

Do not worry to much if they will not eat fruit and veg you can buy an egg food which is designed to handfeed and wean birds i give this to my breeding pairs and i feed it dry you can either give it dry or moist.

Here is a website that has a list of safe and dangerous foods for birds.

http://www.mywestie.com/parsley/foods.htm

Allow the birds to sit the eggs for the 21day incubation period.
Have they laid them in a nest box or on the cage floor, If cage floor there is a chance they will not hatch because they can not turn the eggs or incubate them correctly.

Mike

 

The eggs were laid in the nesting box. Yesterday there were 4, I don't know if she's laid another or not because Raoul is sitting on the box and she's inside it on the eggs, so I'll have to check again when they're both eating. I know for sure that at least 2 are fertilized, I suspect that at least the third is as well, but I'm unsure on the fourth.

Raoul used to go on my hand though, and now he only hisses when I go near him. Is this natural for the moment, and when will he go on again?

 

Oh yeah, so milks not safe, but what about different cheeses?

Thanks!

 

Small amounts of cheese are ok but should only be given 1-2 times per week

 

She has 6 eggs now. The problem is, if they hatch, one will hatch in about a week, and the other in 3 weeks...How will that work? One of my friends mentioned that if several hatch first, they may just give up on the others. Is this true? How do I take care of all 6 eggs (or babies when they hatch)? What if the parents choose to kill some of them? (another idea I've heard.)

 

Cockatiels lay 1 egg every 2nd day and do not start to incubate the eggs until 2-3eggs have been laid some do not start to incubate until most of the clutch has been laid.

Are you sure all eggs are fertile?

You may find 2-3 will hatch the same day or a few hours apart so basically if she started incubating after the 2nd egg 19-21days later the first 2 should start to hatch

What are the dates the eggs were laid and i will give you a time frame of when they will all hatch.

If the parents reject the chicks which does not usually happen unles they are first time parents or the owners have disturbed the parents or touched the babies too much.

If this happens you will need to hand feed i would not recommend this to anyone that has never done this before.
Mike

 

I know that at least the first 2 eggs are fertile, but I haven't been able to check the others yet.

I am fairly sure that they are both first time parents, but they're not young birds. Milkyway just started laying eggs more last year, though- before that there had only been a few that she never sat on.

Unfortunately I only recorded the first few eggs, and I can't find the paper anywhere. But if I remember correctly, the first two should hatch between Sunday and Wednesday. The next two were laid maybe a week later, and then the most recent two 3-5 days ago.

I don't think I want to try hand-feeding- I had a bad experience with that when I was younger. But will the parents still take care of them all if they hatch at such different intervals? Will the older birds pick on the younger ones?

 

What usually has to be done is if there is a big difference in hatch dates is the oldest get pulled from the nest and handfed this gives the smaller chicks a chance to catch up, Chances are the parents will be able to deal with them all but there is also a high risk that the smaller chicks will not survive if the older chicks are alot bigger.

The parents will only feed the strongest chicks since they will beg more for food, So it is advisable to hand feed the older ones i can give you a link on hand feeding correctly if you like.

Only you can make the decision on what to do.

Mike

 

Thanks. Can I have that link on handfeeding?
Um, big problem. Milkyway was in the nesting box for three whole days, or at least if she ever came out I was never around when she did. Yesterday she came out, so I took the advantage to look into the box then. There was 6 eggs, but I only saw 5 in there. In place of the 6th was- well, the remains. A small end of shell with a hard yellow substance on one side.
She ate the egg. What in the world do I do about that?

 

You can remove the broken egg as this will eventually go off and cause bacteria in the other eggs.

This is normal for a parent to accidently break an egg and they end up eating it.

Here is the links to handfeeding

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww62e.htm

http://www.wingedwisdom.com/ww63e.htm

 

Oh, okay. Thanks. :wink: I was worried there. One of my friends said "Great Scott, we have a cannibal!" So glad that's not really the case.

Snickers laid an egg, probably just about an hour or two ago. But she doesn' have a nesting box, so it's on the floor. I'm getting her a nesting, box, but in the meantime, in case it's fertile, I put the egg in with Milkyway. I know she'll lay more eggs, but considering that was her first she will anyway, and maybe this time in the box so she'll feel a little encouraged about sitting on them. Milkyway bit me when I put the egg in, but in the process the egg got almost underneath her. Will she accept it as one of hers and sit on it?

 

Does milkyway still have eggs of her own in the nest.

The next few hours will show wether she has accepted the egg as her own most birds will some will either break the egg or push it to one side.

Since the egg, has only been laid today you could have just placed it in some tissue or in a box until you have a nest box for her and then placed in the nest when she laid her next egg.

Cockatiels do not start to incubate there eggs until 2nd or 3rd egg has been laid some do not start incubation until most of the clutch has been laid, So this egg is viable but since it is with milkway she may have started to incubate it so it will have to stay there for now.

Mike