I just noticed our cockatiel has hatched an egg an the chick was not near the mother or the other egg an the mother was not paying attention to her baby what does that mean we have put the baby back in the nest hopping that the mother will go back to it but still hasnt yet
Hi,
If this is the first clutch, this is common. The parents do not automatically know what to do – they have to learn. Most first clutches fail because the parents make mistakes. Both parents should be over 2 years old. If they are younger, this can be the problem. It is important that you have the right kind of nest – they should have a wooden nest box made for cockatiels. Usually the male and female share duties, taking turns sitting on the eggs and caring for the chicks. Is the male interested in the chick at all? Often the male and female will stay in the box when the chicks start hatching. You also need to have been feeding them a nutritious diet such as pellets, and not just seeds. Along with pellets, they need leafy greens, chopped veggies and an egg food. This can be a commercial dry egg food or cook an egg with the shell washed, crushed and cooked with the egg. These are foods the parents will feed the chicks. Even if they have never eaten these type foods, usually when they have chicks to feed they will eat anything. Whether these chicks survive or not, you need to remove the nest box once the chicks are out of it, and rest the pair for 6 months before letting them breed again. They must be rested between each clutch. If they fail again, then this pair just may not be good parents. Not all birds are good breeders. It’s best not to keep breeding a pair if the chicks never make it. But hopefully they will do things better next time – most parents do better the 2nd or 3rd clutch.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
