Well, I've been wanting another cockatiel for awhile--three isn't working out so well for Denali, who's constantly left out and seems unhappy about it. I try to give him lots of extra attention, but I guess I'm just not quite the same as a feathered buddy. I've been scouting rescues for a bird who sounded like he'd be a good match for Denali. So I will likely keep the baby? That's the current plan if he survives.

Otherwise, my aunt mentioned she'd been wanting a bird when I told her about the eggs. She had a lovebird a long time ago that passed when her children were young, and she never got another bird because she had young children. But her kids are out of the house now, so she'd maybe be interested.

Unless I'm mistaken, the baby is for-sure pearl and possibly pied.

I called my vet, another vet, and the bird store and all told me nothing I didn't already know. No info about other breeders in the area, but a lot of them live in Wisconsin so I'm not thinking fostering's a likely option. At the last bird fair, there were a lot of just-weaned cockatiels so I think their season is over already (we generally have a lot of cockatiels in midsummer, and then none the rest of the year).

Lying on the back is normal for budgies. It's not normal for cockatiels, they're always on their feet. The face might be plonked down in the bedding but the back will be pointing up and the belly will be pointing down. I'd be concerned about him possibly coughing up his dinner and aspirating on it in this position. Here's one of Susanne's collages showing a good position for a cockatiel chick using the rubber glove method:


You can get reptile heat mats at pet stores that plug into the wall to provide heat. It works similar to a heating pad except there's no automatic shutoff like most heating pads have. I don't know what temperature they reach, but Susanne recommends them. If you have a smaller container that would hold the baby and some wood shavings it would be more portable.

P.S. Susanne recommends weighing the baby before each feeding and feeding it one tenth of its weight in formula. You measure out the water first to get the right weight, then mix handfeeding formula into it.

Yeah, I weighed him with both gram scales I have and one said 2 grams and one said 10. I trust the ten one slightly more. His crop is always empty by the the next feeding time, and I've given him feedings in between as well because his crop was empty and he was begging.

He's been on his feet most of the time, but has slept on his back a little bit. And he wanders a lot. I think he's looking for something warmer to prop up against, or maybe something softer? Thermometer says 97.

Is it normal for them to shake their heads side to side when feeding? He does the pumping motion, but also sometimes shakes his head like this video, while chirping. I don't know if that's a sign he's inhaled something?

Got a small "critter keeper" and an appriopriately-sized heating mat.

Heating mat specifically said "safe for plastic" on the outside packaging and "not for use on plastic" in the manual, so that's nice. Got a Reptotherm heating pad. It's not really heating up that much...it's warm, but not as warm as it needs to be.

Chicks instinctively seek heat because that's how they find mom, dad, and the rest of the clutch after they've backed away to take a poo. Many people will give the baby a stuffed toy to snuggle with. It wouldn't be warm unless you put something warm in it, but maybe it helps the baby feel like it's being tended by a parent.

I haven't seen the head shake before, but I've never fed a day one chick and I haven't seen them being fed by their parents very often. So I don't know if it's normal or not.

It would be ideal if you could get Susanne to advise you. If not, you could try joining the National Cockatiel Society Facebook page. They're not always helpful, but they have a lot of members and some of them are experienced at handfeeding day one chicks. If you're lucky somebody might help. You could try the American Cockatiel Society's Facebook page too. It's not as busy, but Susanne is able to look at that one since it's not a closed group like NCS, and she might see you and decide to help. If you search for cockatiel groups on Facebook you'll find some others, but I don't belong to them and don't know anything about them.

Here's some advice on feeding a newborn that might be helpful: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/inde ... 609AAH1tak

Here's another article on feeding from day one: http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-magazin ... eding.aspx It's by Linda Rubin lol. If you want to be naughty, tell Susanne you're getting guidance from an article by Linda Rubin and are asking for help from NCS since you couldn't get into ICR. She has great disdain for both and may decide to give you some REAL help.

Here are a couple of youtube videos feeding day 2 chicks:

I've messaged Susanne again on FB.

I figured out what the head shake was (I think)--when he's got his neck straight and it starts going too far backward, he does the shaking thing to get his back under his head. So when he gets overexcited eating and squirms so his head flops back, he does the head shake.

I've watched those videos about 50 times each now lol. And yeah, I'm mostly posting for moral support and just to share--I know nobody here has dealt with this. So thanks to everyone for being patient with me!

We're all rooting for the baby to make it and we want to know how it's going! And even though none of us has handfed a newborn, it's always possible that we might know of a helpful resource. So don't be afraid to post, we'll support you any way we can.

When I was at the pet store, they had dog toys on sale for a dollar so I grabbed a few (a little fox with pants, an elephant, and a turtle if that spices up the story).

He's in with the turtle now, and he's burrowed himself under it. I think he was so wriggly and wandering because he really wanted to be under something. The turtle is really soft. It's made out of that fabric that feels like goose down, so maybe it feels like a parent bird? It's super light so I don't think there's a danger of him smothering himself; he did manage to lift it enough to get under it so I assume he can also get out.



There he is, mid-scrabble to get all the way under.

That's adorable! I think you're right, he was seeking the sensation of being under something. He probably feels warmer being covered up like this, and maybe he likes a little pressure too. I've seen pictures of single babies snuggled up against the toy rather than under it. But these were older babies who would have been clumping with their siblings while mom and dad were spending most of the day out of the nest.

When Squeebis was a tiny baby he managed to survive with his 5 older siblings piled on top of him to the point that he was completely invisible, and their combined weight was probably more than the toy. I don't know how he even managed to hatch because his egg was completely buried under the older chicks and I couldn't see it. Cockatiel babies can obviously deal with this sort of thing lol.