Ask Lafeber

Cockatiels

Why my cockatiels nor feeding their chick’s. There is no lack of food I provided them soft food properly nd good environment

Hi,

If these are the first chicks, often the parents can’t figure out what to do. If the parents are too young, under 2 years old, this is the main issue. If your parents are at least 2 years old, then it’s a matter of new parents needing to learn. Some figure it out, some do not. First clutches almost always fail because of inexperienced parents. If you want them to be good breeders, then you need to give them time to learn, even though you may lose the chicks. If you take them away to try to handfeed them, they most likely will not make it anyway. It’s very hard to keep 1 day old or a few days old cockatiel chicks alive by hand feeding. If these chicks do not make it, you need to remove the nest box and rest the parents for at least 6 months. If the chicks survive, remove the nest box as soon as the chicks leave it. If they fail at a second clutch, then it may be best not to breed the pair again. Some pairs are simply not good parents. Breeding birds is not easy, and you can do everything right, and still not end up with any chicks.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda