Hand-raising cockatiels: When a cocktail baby hatches, it is only about an inch long and is covered with yellow down. They look a bit like prehistoric miniatures with a heavy head lounging on a small rubbery neck. On the first day, they’re too weak to stand, but that doesn’t mean they don’t try.
Their parents take them under their wing and keep them warm and well-fed. It’s amazing how fast they’re growing. In just six to eight short weeks, they have reached their maximum size and are ready for a loving home.
Baby Lutino Cockatiel
Incubation period
It takes between 18 and 23 days for cockatiel eggs to be incubated. A couple of breeders I own hatched babies like clockwork, laying eggs every 18 days after the first egg. Another of my couples hatched babies every 21 days. My current breeding pair is not as regular, although it is in the 18-23 day range.
Eggs are most often laid one or two days apart and hatch in that order. This is why chicks of different sizes are often seen in the same brood.
Role of Cockatiel’s parents
Male and female cockatiels share the responsibilities of incubating eggs, feeding the young, and keeping them warm. During egg incubation, the female remains on the eggs at night, and the male takes over from the day shift. During their service, birds have the following responsibilities
- Turning eggs. Eggs are turned once an hour. This ensures that the cockatiel baby inside stays at a uniform temperature. Turning over also prevents the baby from adhering to the shell membrane.
- Maintain adequate humidity. Parents bathe in a shallow water dish and use their wet feathers to maintain adequate moisture for the eggs.
Egg tooth
Before a cockatiel baby hatches, you can hear it chirping slightly in the egg. They begin to pierce the shell using a small protrusion on the top of their beak, called an egg tooth. The process of releasing the egg is called “pipping”. It takes hours and a lot of energy for the baby bird to break free from the egg.
Cockatiel Baby Eyes
When cockatiel babies first hatch, their eyes are closed and remain so for about eight to ten days. The skin that covers their closed eyes is transparent enough that you can see if their eyes are red or dark brown. The color of the eyes is the first clue to the color that the cockatiel baby will take when its feathers grow.
In some cases, color is a sex-related mutation, and in others, it is a recessive mutation. I’ll save all of this for another item, but basically, red eyes mean the bird will cost a bit more to buy because they’re rarer. Red-eyed cockatiels can be one of the following:
- Albino
- Follow (also called cinnamon)
- Lutino
- Recessive Money
Get plucked
By two weeks of age, cockatiel babies lost most or all of their own and began growing feathers on their wings and backs, as well as crest feathers on the top of their heads. At three weeks, they have almost all their feathers, but their appearance is a little scabby; At four weeks, they almost look like an adult bird.
Young cockatiels as pets
Cockatiels are an ideal choice for a first-time bird owner. It is a small bird with a great personality. Males are more vocal and often learn to whistle and speak, but either sex affectionately bonds with their owner as an affectionate companion. Finding a cockatiel baby that has just been weaned is the ideal scenario, as it quickly adapts to its new environment.
Hand-fed Cockatiels Babies
Hand-fed cockatiel babies make kind and gentle pets. Hand feeding means that babies are removed from the nest (usually 10 to 14 days old) and fed by humans.
This practice builds trust between birds and humans and eliminates the fear of human hands. Hand-fed babies often cost a bit more because of the extra time and effort they require to be raised.
However, when buying a pet, take the time to handle cockatiel babies to see how they behave towards you. Some breeders feed babies by hand but handle them very little, otherwise.
The best choice is to select babies raised by breeders who both interact with the birds and feed them by hand. These conditions make it possible to obtain pets of the best quality.
Hand Raising Cockatiels 4 Stages
SOURCE: Bird Squawk
