One of the chicks weight is not looking too good. when I weighed them today his crop was not as full as the others so I am thinking that maybe I should supplement with a little formula. This will be my first attempt. I have what I need and I am getting ready to read an article again about handfeeding. Roscoe is in the cage now so I am waiting until he finishs feeding the chicks to look at the chick again. Once I start do I need to supplement every feeding or just one a day? This little guy cried the whole time I held him yesterday and I thought he was just scared, now I am thinking he was hungry.

You only need to supplement feed if the parents aren't doing an adequate job. If they start feeding the baby properly tomorrow you don't need to do anything else, and if they stop feeding the baby completely then you'll have to feed him several times a day. So just keep an eye on the situation and feed him when it's needed. Babies who are begging for food bob their heads while they cry, so if he wasn't bobbing his head when you held him he was just telling you that he hates you lol.

There are handfeeding videos on youtube that may be helpful if you need to go ahead and handfeed.

If he has some food in his crop, all it really means is that the parents haven't fed him as recently as the others. He's got some food that he hasn't processed yet and if his digestive system is working properly then he isn't going hungry. Crop and digestion issues are less common with parent-fed babies than with handfed babies, but they can occur. So check his skin color, it should be pink not red. Red is a sign of dehydration and you would need to assist feed some fluids. If the skin color is good then check to see whether he's pooping normally - all you have to do is keep him out of the nest for a few minutes and see what happens. If he's making good poops it's a good indicator that he's being fed and his digestive system is working correctly.

I'll keep an eye on him tomorrow. I can"t remember if he is one of the ones that gave me a good poop today. He's down for the night so I can"t check his skin color.

So much for love/hate relationships. LOL

Don't take it personally, it's automatic with every baby cockatiel. They open their eyes, they see that you're not a cockatiel, they hate you.

I'll try not to. LOL wonder what a therapist would say when I told them that I was there to discuss that my baby cockatiel hated me.

they make noise at me every time I open the nestbox but then calm down as I start to talk.

It takes time for them to get over the "I hate you for not being a cockatiel" phase. They'll get over it faster if you handfeed them for socialization.

I thought about co-parenting but had a few doubts/questions. I would feed them for one feeding a day. Would it have to be the same feeding everyday? What would happen if I had to be away for a day? I have been holding them 2times a day for about 15 mins each time. I know that handling them for any length of time once they start flying is harder.

Update on chick that is not gaining as much. He looks ok, not red. He has decided not to poop on me as have the others. I did manage to watch them getting fed and he is much more laid back. all 4 did get fed but he seems to be the last fed.

When you're co-parenting you can feed them at any time of day you like - it doesn't have to be the same time every day. If you have to skip a day that's OK. The parents will take up the slack, especially if you haven't trained them to expect that the babies won't be hungry at a specific time. You don't want to handfeed the babies so often that the parents think they have a large permanent reduction in their workload. It'll be necessary to keep the parents away from the chicks for an hour or two before you handfeed, or the chicks will be so stuffed that they won't eat for you.

It might be best to go ahead and assist feed the baby that's falling behind the others. It sounds like he's not competing well, and he might eat more if he's fed without having to out-beg the other chicks. The first time will be difficult because he won't have any idea what you're trying to do, but once he catches on it will be easier.

What is meant by assist feed? I think I will co-parent.

It's another way of saying the same thing. Baby stays with parents most of the time but you feed it occasionally. You're assisting the parents by feeding the baby sometimes.