i have a 4 week cockateil what is the best food to raise him on and how much can he eat each time i feed him?

Answer 1

This makes me mad. Who's the idiot selling babies at 4 weeks old without hand feeding instructions and to someone who's never done it before?? **Headdesks several times** UGH! I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the person breeding and not knowing what they're doing >.< !

Sorry for the venting. Babies that are 4 weeks old still need another 4-5 weeks of hand feeding and it's important that they be fed by a person because they still don't know how to eat on their own. It means mixing special food every so many hours, checking the temperature and feeding with a spoon or eyedropper. I strongly suggest you talk to someone in a local parrot club as you're going to need someone to speak to if there's any problems. I'll post a web site that will give you detailed instructions on what to feed, how to feed and how much.

There's three rules you need to know when hand feeding:

1- ALWAYS mix new food at every feeding time.

2- Always use a Thermometer when testing formula temperature. If it's too hot the baby can literally burn a hole in their crop (a special food holding sack at the base of their throat). If it's too cold the food can't move into the stomach and the food rots, causing a serious infection.

3- Always disinfect your hand feeding tools! Some people dip their tools in bleach then wash it off with antibacterial soap. I wash mine off with antibacterial soap and rinse with water that's just been boiled.

Baby cockatiels at 4 weeks old are still being fed every 4-5 hours. The web site I'm giving you will give you the times and methods you need :-) .

Good luck! Lets see this little guy grow up and prosper!

Answer 2

At 4 weeks old is the cockatiel weaned? If not I would buy handfeeding formula and feed with a teaspoon or bent teaspoon. I am not familiar with cockatiel but budgies a smaller bird or only just begining to wean at 4 weeks (eat by themselves) even after leaving a nest box the parent continues to feed them. I would not use a tube to feed as it is more difficult to guess the temperature of the formula or how much to give. A spoon allows the babies to choose.
The formula should be a little warmer than our own body temperature (test on the inside of your arm) make it with hot water like baby cereal about the same thickness. Use about 1 slightly heaped teaspoon of dry formula and add water. The baby will refuse to eat if the temperature is not right. Take only the tip of the teaspoon at a time and hold it at an angle the baby is happy with. The baby will stop taking when he is full. Discard any leftover formula, must be fresh each time you feed. Keep the dry formula in the fridge or deepfreeze it stays fresh this way. The crop is full at 4 weeks aprox the same size or a little larger than the head without feathers. The crop is easy to see at this age because the bird is not fully feathered. Feed again when the crop is empty, probably 3-5 hours, crop must be empty before the next feed or crop stasis will result. Make sure the baby stays warm, he does not have enough feathers yet. A double card board box with a hot water bottle between the 2 boxes works well. The box must not be too small so the bird cant get away if the box becomes too warm or too large that the hot water bottle does not heat it. Alternatively a glass fish tank in a heated room is also good. Dont feed through the night the baby needs at least 8 hours for the crop to become totally empty. If the crop seems to slow down by not empting after 5 hours warm the bird up as a slow crop is an early sign of crop stasis. In between feedings if possible leave whatever food you are going to wean him on to in the box so that he can start weaning himself. Pellets or other type of soft food is a good choice replace daily, none at night. A small container of water can be offered once the baby starts pecking at the other food. Make sure there is no chance of drowning or even getting wet, babies cant bath till feathered. They cant dry themselves till they preen themselves. I hope this helps even if not quite cockatiel specific.

Answer 3

Whoever sold you a 4 week old cockatiel, especially without any feeding instructions, should not be breeding or selling birds. This bird cannot be fully weaned at 4 weeks - he will need handfeeding formula and careful weaning onto more solid foods.
I see some people have already given you some good advice on what you can feed for now. When you wean the bird, introduce as many fresh foods as possible, and please do not take the easy way out and feed dry pellets, which ruins their kidneys (contrary to what the manufacturers will tell you).

Answer 4

A 4 week old cockatiel is NOT weaned. If yours is weaned, then it is NOT four weeks old.

If you are asking what the best hand-feeding food is, I use Hagen Tropican. You cannot find it at every pet store, however. You may be stuck with whatever you find and it will most likely be that Kaytee crap. I hate it, but it will sustain your bird.

At four weeks, my cockatiels take approx. 15cc's. Your food should be mixed to 98-103 degrees.

You should have the bird in a heated environment until fully feathered, which again, at four weeks, a cockatiel is NOT.

Their temperature must be stable and they must have their food on a schedule.

Good luck. And I hope that you are actually in possession of an older cockatiel and just asking about what foods people feed theirs. If that is the case, you should re-pose your question that way.

Answer 5

You can buy an 'egg and biscuit' mix from pet stores, that you mix with warm water.

You can alos pulp up fresh fruit, like mango, banana ect, but make sure its sloppy enough for it to eat.

They seem to really benefit from weetbix mixed with warm water and they will feel fuller for longer.

When they eat, they fill up their crop first, before it reaches the stomach, so you can see how much they have eaten and when they need feeding again.

I suggest you feed it small amounts (2-3 spoons full) every 2 or 3 hours, as this is how the mother feeds them, and at night feed it more to get it through the night ok.

Answer 6

Thats precisely what I was thinking! You should not have a 4 week old tiel that is weaned...LOVEBIRDS don't even wean that early...trust me I know, I got a bird that had been "weaned" after 6 weeks, and it ended up regressing and dying!!! I would ask the breeder for a recipe for handfeeding mix or something just in case!

Answer 7

just fill the bowl to the 3/4 line with a seed mix in big seeds tho and it will make a big mess so be ready to clean afterwards and once in a wile give it a Little mix to get any seed that might be at the bottom to the top

Answer 8

If you can get him on pellets do it. It is so much better for there diet. With seeds they can become picky. Also pellets are alot easiers to clean up. I always give mine a full cup and he eats till empty about three days.

Answer 9

this is crazy, i cant beleive some of these answers, you need to get that bird to a professional breeder or avian veterinarian, as you obviously have no idea, if you cant get your bird to one of those, atleast go to a pet store and get baby bird handfeeding formula, if you do not get this bird on fromual soon, and get it the proper nutrition, it will die, i know this sounds harsh, it is the truth.

Answer 10

make sure ... your BIRD starts on a PELLET DIET..it contains all nutrients and vitamins.> HE can eat all he wants.<..also none are wasted ..Always Provide FRESH Water.