safe soft foods for mommy?

Give the eggs 7days from the date the 3rd egg was laid if no signs of being fertile wait a further 5days if after that there is still no signs then the eggs are infertile.

Best thing to do is leave them with the female and allow her to sit them till she gets bored or remove then 21days after the last egg was laid.

The EMP or Cede the parents will feed this to the chicks aswell as there seed diet while they are getting EMP or Cede they are getting everything they need to become strong healthy birds..

Mike

 

Hi,
My birds are breeding at the moment and so far out of 5 eggs I have had one try and hatch to early (it's yoke sack was still atatched and it died during the night) and one successful hatching and my brids are refusing to touch anything other than the following:
- snowpeas
- snowpea sprouts
- brocolii (the green one)
- green and red apple
- millet spray

They are also eating out of their seed bowl but prefer the fruit and vegies. I can also tell by looking at the chicks crop that it is mainly getting the fresh stuff as it's pretty easy to see the seed in the crop. The mother will quite literally scream at me when I'm changing the fruit and vegies over for fresh stuff and I'm taking too long.

It's pretty much a matter of seeing what they will eat, I started feeding mine snowpeas and such long before I put the breeding box in so they knew what they were. Hope this helps.

Mel.

 

I've known a few breeders who use monkey biscuits soaked in warm water as a soft food. Personally, my birds played in it insted of eating it. It made a lovely mess on the wall.

I also use frozen mixed veggies. I run warm water over them until they're lukewarm, and add some fresh fruit, like apple, pear or cranberries. My birds are particularly fond of the cranberries.

Not that it's something I'd use, but for curiosity's sake, I'm wondering if Lactaid milk would cause a problem for birds. Like I said, I wouldn't use it. I'm just curious.

 

once milk is processed as in like cheese the lactose content is reduced but should only be fed in small amounts.

Lactaid again is milk so no its best to be kept away from back in the days before there was all these rearing foods people used milk and bread but there was alot of bird deaths back then aswell...

Mike

 

I'm not trying to arguementative, this is just for the sake of discussion; if the problem with milk is lactose, why would Lactaid milk be bad? It's processed to remove the lactose.

And while we're in discussion mode, what about soy or rice milk? Any problems with those?

 

I have been doing some checking and even though soy and rice milk should be ok they should not be given to birds the only thing they need to drink is water as all there correct nutrients and vitamins are in there diet thats if a good quality diet is given.

Also if giving birds bread its best to give them it dry.

Mike

 

I know that a clutch can be from 2-7 or 8 eggs and my cockatiel laid her 7th one this morning. Should I be worried about her calcium? I have candled the 1st and 2nd ones for the last few days and don't see anything what are the chances they are all infertile?

 

Hi like i say they do not sit there eggs properly until after the 3rd egg has been laid i give 5-7days after the 3rd egg was laid and they should show signs of fertility if they are fertile i have added some links to cockatiel eggs that have been candled hope they help you..

Mike

This is parrot eggs but still the same thing happens with fertile eggs.

http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/resear ... ot/d/d.htm

 

okay but what about her calcium? She laid her 7th egg this morning, so I am a little worried about when she will stop laying... Should I be? I can see a little bit of an orangish tint to the 1st one but I'm not sure if it's fertile. I'm hoping so, I want babies!

 

Alsong as she has cuttlefish bone available at all times her calcium levels should be ok.
A friend of mine breeds tiels and one of his pairs lays 8eggs each clutch but only allows her 2 clutchs a year the reason for this as with all breeders is after the second clutch has left the nest and the nest box removed the female can then regain her strength and calcium levels.

If you can get her to eat oyster shell or boiled eggs mashed up with the shells this also will give her extra calcium..

Mike

 

I have tried to feed them boiled eggs but they don't touch them, I also give them oyster shells but they never seem to touch it either. She does have a cuttlefish bone though. So, Why would a female lay a whole clutch of eggs even though she knows the male never mounted her? It makes as much sense as a human acting pregnant. I think my female may be doing this. It seems like sitting on the eggs day and night would be a waste of her time if she knows they can't be fertile. I never saw my male mount her, that doesn't mean he didn't but I'm kinda wondering if she laid an infertile clutch. I guess I'll find out.

 

When the conditions are right female birds bodies tell them its time to reproduce and will do so wethere a male is present or not or if a male has mated with her or not.

Cockatiels are known to mate in the nest box so there is still a chance they may have done so only time will tell.

One of my pairs has started laying eggs and i am sure they have never mated because the female does not like him she has just started letting him sit outside the nest box where as before she would come out and chase him away..

The problem with birds is once they start to lay eggs we have to let them finish there cycle and abondon the eggs if not fertile as removing eggs makes her reaplce the eggs taken a bit of a pain and not fair on the female i know but its the best way to stop her from getting calcium problems.

I have had cockatiels lay 8eggs and only the last 3laid were fertile so you never know you may still have fertile eggs.

Is it possible for you to hold the first egg to a light and get someone to take a picture of it so i can see in the egg and i may be able to tell you if its fertile or not..

Mike

 

So is 8 the most you've had? Should I worry if there is a 9th one? I can have someone take a picture of the 1st and 2nd eggs laid but I will have to wait til my female comes out to eat or she will get deffensive.

The reason I think they may be infertile is because my male seems to not like the female. When I first put them together he had a problem with it, then before the eggs came he was always in the nesting box with her and they weren't fighting. Now if he sits outside on the perch of the nesting box she doesn't mind (or at least doesn't chase him away) but when he tries to go in she chases him out. When she comes out to eat he still seems to attack her when she is eating or he guards the food dish as if he doesn't like her but he is fine if they are in the nesting box together. They may have mated in there but wouldn't it be hard? Anyways, I am really hoping that I have at least 2 babies. Hopefully more!

I know this is off subject...I want to hand feed but I really don't have the time to but I want the babies to be used to being handled & make good pets. Is it possible to hand feed like half of the time but also let the mom do some? Would the results be different than if they were raised full time by the mom?

 

Do not worry if she lays more than 8eggs not all birds are the same.

Yes you can Help share the burden on the parents by handfeeding a couple of times a day.
Even if you do not hand feed aslong as you handle the chicks regularly and everyday they will become used to being handled and will usually automatically come to you when you place your hand in the cage.

Cockatiels are very easy to tame and train once hand tamed providing they are allowed to come out and sit with you and your family they will stay tame..

Like i say one of my pairs that have started laying eggs she will only allow him to sit outside the nest they used to be in there together before the eggs arrived but now he is not allowed in he usually attacks her now when she comes out of the nest.

Only time will tell if we have fertile eggs.

Mike

 

I'm thinking about doing the handfeeding half-time. Does the female need to have soft food already for the chicks or will she use seed? I should probably give her both so she can choose which is better. Even before my female laid eggs my male acted as if he didn't like her. I took a few pictures of my female on her eggs and my male. I will take pics of the eggs tonight when she comes out to eat. I might have them up tonight.

 

sorry I haven't got the pics up I haven't seen my female come out of the nesting box. Hopefully I can tonight. I promise I will as soon as I can!

 

I got the pics but I have no idea how to post them I clicked on the link that says need help with posting an image and it says it is $9.99 per image... Is there any way to do it free? Or is it really $10??

 

If you prefer you can email them to me at boro_lad1976@hotmail.com i think it wuld be easier.
How long has it been now since the 3rd egg was laid.

 

The 3rd egg was laid on Jan. 24th. my female would have laid her 8th egg yesterday but there is still only 7 so I'm thinking she stopped laying. All the pics I took of the eggs look fertile in the pic but not if your looking straight at it but I'll send them anyways. I will E-mail them to you they'll be from lilbutterfly12345@yahoo.com

 

okay I sent the pics, I hope you like them but I don't think you'll be able to tell if the eggs are fertile because they look different in the pics. Get back to me when you see them.