baby cockatiel problem

[nieniel]

hi, my 8 day old baby cockatiel that i am hand feeding has hardened food all over the head. i am concerned about the developement of the baby with hardened food on it and near its eyes. can anyone give information to removing the hard food or if it will/will not disrupt the developement of the baby cockatiel? thank you

[kendalldeans]

That food turns into a very hard mixture, whenever feeding use warm water on a cloth to wash off what is on her face, its much easier to get off while it is still wet.

[KDK241]

Yes, wipe it off while wet. To get off the hard stuff, try to gently pick it off with your finger nails or take a warm washcloth and try to soften up the food. It'll take a little while..once it's on it's like glue.

[nieniel]

thanks for helping me :)..im going to try it soon. but im kind of depressed because 1 of the chicks died. i dont know what happened..so i only have 1 baby left

[KDK241]

I'm sorry. It's hard when that happens. I had a chick die when I had babies also, I'm not exactly sure why. Did he just suddenly die or was there some sort of sign that something was wrong? With chicks it's hard to say. How come you are handfeeding?

[nieniel]

the parents abandoned them after 1 died in the nest box. so i had to take the babies and take care of them. also, it is so hard to get the hard food out. i'm scared that it might not grow any fur or feathers on the parts that have food on it

[KDK241]

It should still grow feathers. Try and get as much off as possible with a warm, damp washcloth. I had a baby who was the messiest eater. She would have food all over herself everytime I fed them and hated letting me get it off. It would stick in her feathers by her beak, on the top of her head and she even managed to get it on her back. I just took a warm washcloth and carefully crushed the food between my fingernails. Before she had feathers I would just carefully flake the food off of her head with my nails. If it doesn't have feathers yet it should actually be easier to get off then with feathers. Once it gets in the feathers it's like super glue stuck them together. Hope everything goes well with the little one!

[kali]

i had a baby tiel at work with hardened food on either side of his mouth.. it was kinda cute, like little mutton chops, eventually they just fell off! it was funny though, i didn't know what it was at first, i thought it was some kind of weird growth!!!

[nieniel]

i tried getting much off the eyes area. good thing it is still closed. but i have another question. is it normal for a baby bird to chirp and roll around after feeding it at 9 days old? because after i feed him, he always chirps and rolls but calms down after a 10 mins or so. i always thought that he was just trying to digest som of it or trying to take out the air he swallowed by accident on his own. i get realy worried because this is the first time i ever had to take care of a baby tiel. sometimes i get really scared because he is always in a corner, all quiet. i dont know if he is sleeping or still digesting food. 1 other thing, is it a good idea to spray warm water not directly at him but in the are because he looks so dry. is that normal?

[KDK241]

What do you have him in and what temperature is it at? How much are you feeding him at a feeding and how often? He is chirping because he thinks he's still hungary but if you are feeding him the right amount of food don't feed him any more. He is rolling around just because he isn't strong enough to walk yet so he's falling over. Try rolling up a washcloth and putting it in there. Then when you put him back in, lean him up against the washcloth. That's what I did with my babies. Don't spray any water in there at all. The best thing to do is take a baby food jar, plastic water bottle, or a jar and poke holes in the lid and put water in that. That will add the humidity but he won't be able to drown in it. Is he just dry looking or is he kind of red and dry? If he is red, then he is dehydrated and he needs more water.