WHEN IS A CHICK INDEPENDENT ?

There has been much favourable response to Trish’s report regarding the rules for selling baby birds . Most of us are aware of situations where baby birds have been sold way before they should have been usually with tragic results . I can’t tell you how many times I have had distraught people on the other end of my phone line seeking advice on why the cute little baby bird they purchased ( usually on impulse ) from a pet shop or market or backyard breeder is now dead .

Then the process of elimination starts to rule out the things that didn’t contribute to it’s premature demise like did their Rottweiler have anything to do with it ? Nine times out of ten it comes back to inexperienced people being sold a little bird that either through stress or simply being sold way to young has most probably starved to death.

It is up to all of us as aviculturists to make sure if we sell a bird to someone especially if they have never owned a bird before to go over every aspect of the care of the bird before they leave our property . I know many of us provide an information sheet as a lot of the time you will find people don’t always listen to what you tell them while they are choosing their bird . Another good idea is to send the bird off with a bag of the seed he is used to eating so that at least his diet will remain constant even though his surroundings may alter fairly dramatically. Another important point is to make sure they have a suitable cage to keep the bird in once they have bought it. A lot of people don’t realise how much room a Cockatiel really needs . If you think their cage is too small suggest they purchase a more suitable one and then come back for the bird or if they don’t want to do this suggest (politely) that they go and buy a budgie if they want to fit a bird in a budgie cage. I am sure the majority of breeders do the right thing when it comes to selling young birds but that doesn’t eliminate the problem of the minority who don’t.

When is a baby bird weaned ?
It seems there is quite a wide age range that people consider a bird to be weaned and self sufficient . I think part of the problem is that some birds will wean quicker than others whether they are being hand reared or parent reared.

I have always felt that eight weeks of age is when you can be fairly confident even the slower of weaners will be able to survive if taken away from their parents. I know many will disagree with me on this age but isn’t it better to allow a little more than is necessary rather than the other way round .

If a baby bird is seen to be picking up seed at about five or six weeks of age this does not mean they are consuming enough to sustain themselves totally .

If you spend time observing your birds it is fascinating to watch the parent birds teaching the babies the routine of feeding . However the parent birds will still feed the chicks as well for some time until they feel the time is right to let them feed themselves .

If you do want to take a chick away and you are not completely sure it is weaned an easy way to make sure is to remove it from the parent birds into a house cage and observe it over a couple of days to see if it does eat sufficient amounts of seed on its own . Another sure way is to feel its crop in the late afternoon . It should be packed hard with seed and is quite easy to feel . If the crop feels empty you can be sure that this baby is in no way ready to be sent on his way and will most likely lose condition very rapidly .

If the bird has been hand reared the weaning process should be very gradual . The hand feeds should be slowly reduced as more seed an greens are introduced to the bird and eventually you should find the bird actually refusing the hand feeding formula over the seed diet . Once again the crop test will soon tell you if the bird is consuming enough seed on his own to survive .

At no time should a bird be handed over to the new owner before hand feeding is finished so that they can do the last part themselves . This is a recipe for disaster to expect someone who has never had any experience in hand feeding to take over in mid stream . Everything would change at the worst possible time including consistency of feed , style of feeding , surrounding , hygiene , temperature , timing , as well as the stress that the sudden change would bring on in the bird . It would take a miracle for this bird not to experience crop problems and weaning problems if not death .I know a lot of times pressure is applied by the people waiting for their little bird to be ready but a few days can make a lot of difference to the outcome and we should not let anyone pressure us into letting a bird leave until it is well and truly ready.

As members of The Australian National Cockatiel Society we are all obliged to operate within the terms of the Code of Practice which states a bird should not be sold until it is independent and within a very short time we hope to see penalties brought in for those who continue to do the wrong thing .
Robyn Ashton
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EMERGENCY BABY BIRD FOOD

In an emergency there are a lot of foods that are either in your cupboard or in the local shop which will keep a small chick alive until the proper rearing food is bought.

Arrowroot biscuits, add a little boiling water to an Arrowroot biscuit then cover the biscuit, leave for a minute or two, then you could add a little baby apples or even mixed vegetables to make a formula which will satisfy the hungriest baby Cockatiel.

Both Arrowroot biscuits and tins of either apple or mixed vegetables are usually standard stock items on most corner shop shelves.

Another good stand-by is the old faithful rolled oats, these can be cooked up and made into a small mixture to feed to chicks, as can Weetbix or Vitabrits, both of these products are a good standby in an emergency.
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EMERGENCY HEAT SOURCE

A very handy piece of equipment to have around is a vehicle inspection light . They are not very expensive and can usually be purchased in somewhere like K Mart . It consists of a plastic cylindrical frame into which you put a light bulb . It has a hook on the side for hanging up. This is then attached to an extension cord .

What do I need one of these for you may well ask ?

If you have a bird that is injured or off colour by hanging the inspection light on the outside of a house cage next to the perch and then covering the whole thing with a towel you have provided a nice warm place for your bird to recuperate . If it is in need of the heat it will sit on the perch at the side where the light is . As it feels better it will move to the other side of the cage. A yellow light bulb works best as it is not so glary on the eyes.

Remember heat is vital in treating a sick or injured bird and can mean the difference between life and death.

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