My bird's first baby died..... - Democratic Underground

kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:26 AM
Original message

My bird's first baby died.....

i don't think they knew what they were doing and i didn't either.

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:29 AM
Response to Original message

1. That sucks. What kind of birds are they? What diet are they on?

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kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:29 AM
Response to Reply #1

2. Cockatiels

I had just bought some exact food.

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:34 AM
Response to Reply #2

4. The more varied the diet the better the survival on peepers.

Are you feeding any veggies? A spoon of mixed veggies each day is okay, and we always gave our's greens, as in fresh spinach.

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kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:36 AM
Response to Reply #4

5. I had some veggies, rice, cereal and fruit - but fed it to the parents.

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:39 AM
Response to Reply #5

7. Okay, good. They should be able to handle it.

If not, the alternative is hand feeding them yourself.

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pitohui

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Tue Sep-20-05 02:43 PM
Response to Reply #4

29. not actually true for cockatiels

these are australian grassland birds, a rich diet is wasted on them, most won't eat it & it isn't what they would have eaten in the wild

bird talk magazine often has good advice on tiels

but their diet is never gonna be all veggie & green like other species of parrots

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 02:48 PM
Response to Reply #29

30. Bird Talk is good, yes. Our Teels...

seemed to thrive on their greens and things. Oh, we fed all sorts of things to the Rosella pairs, too.

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kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:31 AM
Response to Reply #1

3. I read that you have to leave it up to the parents to feed it at first

when they are very small. Is that true?

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:37 AM
Response to Reply #3

6. Normally, yes, if they are feeding properly...

The parents have to be on a good diet for the clutch to thrive.

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kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:39 AM
Response to Reply #6

8. I put veggies and rice out - along with their pellets.

They are into the junk food (seed) and will only eat a little of the pellets. They would eat the rice and the veggies though.

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kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:41 AM
Response to Reply #8

9. Maybe they had a hard time becasue it was their first baby.

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:44 AM
Response to Reply #9

12. That happens sometimes, but feeding is instinctual...

Some combinations of mates cannot raise a clutch, but most will.

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kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:50 AM
Response to Reply #12

16. Next time - i'll have to get better advice.

It's pretty hard to hand feed cockatiels when they're really young - isn't it?

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 12:06 PM
Response to Reply #16

20. Yes, it is and most breeders don't bother. We successfully...

handfed parakeets out of favorite pairs, though. It can be done, and even a few supplementary feedings makes for some sweet birds. :-(

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:42 AM
Response to Reply #8

10. You can restrict the amount of seed for part of the day, if...

they don't seem to eat enough of the other.

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Patiod

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:44 AM
Response to Original message

11. Sorry to hear that - went through it with zebra finches

The only one who survived for any length of time had a crossed beak (bottom and top didn't meet - just sort of overlapped)

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kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:45 AM
Response to Reply #11

13. Maybe some birds are not meant to be parents....

n/t

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:47 AM
Response to Reply #13

15. It happens sometimes, but not often.

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:46 AM
Response to Reply #11

14. Misshaped beaks is a bad problem with feeding. :-(

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kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 11:52 AM
Response to Original message

17. Should i have handfed it? - i was afraid i would kill it....

n/t

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 12:01 PM
Response to Reply #17

18. With an inexperienced pair and an inexperienced breeder...

It's often frustrating. I can recall those times several thousand clutches ago. Hopefully the parents will feed the rest of the clutch properly. I'll check and see if any of the bird forums I used to visit are still active.

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kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 12:03 PM
Response to Reply #18

19. Next time - i'll have to do that. I also have a bird lady down the road.

Can i bring the baby to her to have her check on it - or is it too risky to take the baby away?

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 12:09 PM
Response to Reply #19

21. It would be better for her to visit you if she will...

That would be your best bet there, because I can only give general advice without seeing the birds.

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Darth_Kitten

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Tue Sep-20-05 12:22 PM
Response to Original message

22. So sorry.

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kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 12:49 PM
Response to Reply #22

23. Thanks - i feel guilty. I didn't know what to do and am second-guessing

myself.

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 01:22 PM
Response to Reply #23

25. See if you can suck up to the Bird Lady.

Keep your eyes open. If she knows what she's doing you'll soon see it. Watch what she feeds, if she doesn't feed veggies and has dull frumpy looking birds in dirty cages, look for someone else. I used to feed salads of fresh spinach greens, chopped corn on the cob, carrots, and other veggies every day to our breeder birds.
The babies were happy, healthy, and would eat anything you gave them. Would you believe our Amazons loved munching out on well-cooked chicken thigh bones? They'd split them apart for the marrow. Vet trips were virtually non-existant.

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kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 01:46 PM
Response to Reply #25

26. Did you feed that to the parents or the babies?

i have that exact stuff for when the babies are young...

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 02:06 PM
Response to Reply #26

27. Very good, if the parents are fed like that the babies...

will grow up accepting any foods you give them. Apples, pears, bananas and other fruits are good, too. Our baby Amazons and Congo Grays would sometimes beg to be brought to the table where they'd get a bite of this or that off a spoon. Mashed potatos and gravy made a mess, but they loved it.

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BikeWriter

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Tue Sep-20-05 02:36 PM
Response to Reply #26

28. Oh, I just remembered sprouts, too. Any sort...

Edited on Tue Sep-20-05 02:37 PM by BikeWriter

of edible seed sprouts are good for your birds, especially beans, peas, and lentils. :-)

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kerry-is-my-prez

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Tue Sep-20-05 12:50 PM
Response to Reply #22

24. sorry -dupe

Edited on Tue Sep-20-05 12:50 PM by kerry-is-my-prez

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