cockatoo baby still in shell

[SandysNest]

I have just received a call from someone who has two cockatoos (1 umbrella) and (1 goffin). These cockatoos produced two eggs. One egg hatched and the parents did not feed the baby, it died. There is another egg and the bird can be heard. There is a hole in the egg, the question is what should they do with this egg? Should they try helping it crack. They are afraid to leave it with the parents as they might starve it. Please help ASAP.

Sandy

[Winged_Victory]

Does this person really have an option? Can this person feed a day old bird? Does she have an incubator to take care of such a young bird? Has she hand fed before. If she has not raised from day one, she needs to find a breeder or hand feeder to take care or the bird. If not the only option is for the parents to raise the bird.

[Winged_Victory]

I Just contacted my friend Joel who raises many birds from day one, here are his recommendations:

Joel says the bird should hatch out overnight -- he said that the baby should be okay overnight. In the morning, if the owners choose not to take a chance on the parents again, they should call around to local bird shops and avian vets to try and locate a qualified hand feeder. Joel says a decent vet should be willing to give out a qualified handfeeder's phone number or contact the handfeeder on their behalf -- he says bird specialty shops also should know of good handfeeders. He said they need to tackle this FIRST thing in the morning.

Joel says his answer is based on the assumption that the hole in the egg was just made -- it will take several hours for the chick to make its way out. If the hole has been there for several hours and hasn't gotten any bigger, he thinks they should think about assisting the chick out. He says a vet is the best choice for getting the baby out -- it takes a steady hand with a pair of tweezers and patience, working in the area where the air bubble is located. This would not apply if the baby is partially turned around in the egg. This is why they should really work with a vet to get the chick out -- especially if these folks have no experience with doing this. He feels the odds are good, though, that this chick can get out on its own since the other one did without any problem.

Joel will check this thread later tonight, good luck and keep us posted.

[dvelardi]

How is the baby? Did it make it ouf of the egg? If so, keep that baby warm. You are welcome to message me and I will send you my phone number. I have many years experience in assisting and hand feeding from hatch. I would be glad to help you. I am located in Portland, OR.

[KimBear]

Now that I have an email alert that lets me know when there are messages here, I should be able to get to the posts as they arrive.

Hope all went well with the cockatoo egg.

Assisted hatches should be done as a last resort, and then by someone who has some experience.

As you can see, just getting fertile eggs from a pair is only part of the battle. The eggs still have to be incubated properly, and the chick cared for.

Often inexperienced pairs will have difficulty with their first couple of clutches, but will "get it" eventually. There are many breeders that choose to incubate all their eggs and hand-feed from day one to avoid any problems. However, it's not an easy process. There are certainly pros and cons. If this pair produces fertile eggs again and has more trouble, it may be that they aren't going to make good parents.

One consideration here is that this pair is of two different species. That may explain why they're having some difficulty. The owners may want to consider not letting them breed any more, or finding mates of the appropriate species. Not wanting to start an argument about hybrids here. Just a suggestion.

[SandysNest]

Gary, Deb & Kim, thank you for your replies. The baby did hatch early the following morning. I found a well known breeder in our area and she gave us the info we needed to know. So far the baby is doing well. The owner of the bird has handfed babies in the past. She is feeding the little one pedialite, has it in a brooder I lent her and keeping a good I on the little one. Thanks again, Sandy ;)

[Winged_Victory]

How is the little one doing today?

[KimBear]

Hope the baby is doing well. Please share some photos with us as he grows. I'm curious to know what a combination umbrella/Goffin looks like. Is he a Gofbrella, perhaps? Or an umbfin?