Has anyone ever hatched out cockatiel eggs

[aphalove]

Has anyone ever hatched out cockatiel eggs? If you have do you think its possible to hatch them out in an incubator? I would like to try and do this. If you have or know of a good book i could purchase would you mind sharing? Thanks

 

[birdlover]

I have and I strongly discourage you from doing this!! That is...unless you are willing to feed the babies every two hours or so around the clock for a couple of weeks! The chances of newly hatched cockatiels being successfully hand-raised are very slim. If you have a broody hen, by all means, let HER do the incubating and feeding the first couple of weeks. I forget how long they recommend letting the hen care for the babies before you can take them away and begin hand-feeding yourself. Google cockatiel care and I'm sure you'll find out. Also, the mother gives the babies certain antibodies you can't supply. I raised cockatiels for several years, before getting into chickens, and this is the best advice I can give you...don't do it!

P.S. WELCOME TO BYC

 

[oldchickenman]

best to let the female hatch them and feed them for 2 weeks then pull the babys and you can get away with 4 hand feedings a day my wife and i raised them for awile.

 

[WalkingWolf]

I raised cockatiels in FL for several years, it is NOT a good idea to take them away from the female unless the female won't sit them or feed them. A broody hen while she may hatch them she has no instinct to feed as a parrot parents do. The baby will starve, they are fed regurgitated food by both parents.

Take the baby from the parents at 2 weeks and start hand feeding. It can be done sooner, but they are very prone to sour crop. Feeding a baby parrot is a rigorous schedule. Food must heated to the correct temperature at each feeding or chance sour crop or burning the crop. And all feeding instruments must be sterilized between feedings.

 

[blasto]

I*ve not hatched out cockatiels, but I have reared one from day 2 (we lost the mother and the father wanted nothing to do with the babes) and I have to agree with the others, it is a huge PITA! Much better to leave the eggs with the parents (if at all possible) for the first 10 days+ and then hand rear them if you want to tame them. We did have a pair who mated and laid but would not set, and I had always thought about incubating their eggs, but after trying to hand-feed that one tiny babe I quickly gave up on that idea! Funny you should post this question, because I was just thinking about it again (haven*t had cockatiels in 10+ years) because I just got an R-com mini and the literature mentions incubation days for cockatiels.