Ask Lafeber

Hand-feeding a cockatiel

So, I got a baby cockatiel which is about 18 to 23 days old (I don’t know the specific age because the breeder said it might be 18 to 23 days old when i was buying it), so my problem is that i am new to hand-feeding and I need help with it and i got very little advice from the breeder so I am scared i might overfeed it or the food might be cold, thick or thin. and when should i feed him and how much ? The breeder actually told me to feed the chick every 8 hours and feed it 5 to 7 ml of food. And i also have another question, right now i have kept the bird in a plastic box with some bedding and i haven’t placed any heating or anything, i have placed it a warm area, so should i place any lights ? And also should the crop be empty when feeding the chick

Hi,

For most of your questions, you need to go back to the breeder and have the breeder teach you. You should not have been sold a handfeeding bird at all, and definitely not without being trained to hand feed. Cockatiels can be hard to keep alive as a chick if you do not know what you are doing. The bird needs to be kept at the right temperature, and the formula needs to be the right temperature and consistency. If it is too thick it may not digest, too thin and the bird might get the formula in its lungs. If the chick is too hot or cold, it can’t digest the food. I can’t recommend amounts or frequency because hand fed birds grow at different rates & I could give you advice that might kill the chick. The crop should be filled, but not tight, and you should not feed again until the crop is almost completely empty. I would recommend that you take the chick back and buy a weaned chick from someone else. A responsible breeder would not sell a young chick like this without making sure the new owner could care for it. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help, but I do not want to give the wrong advice since I have not seen the chick in person and have no way of knowing how fast or slow it is digesting the food.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda