Is My Baby Tiel Sick??

[Coturnix Quail]

Bad news.. Unfortunately my baby passed away.. I'm not sure what was wrong.. But I hope to try again soon.. if there are any tips you guys can give me that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the help and support.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Sorry for your loss.
Honestly, my advice? Rescue an adult from a shelter. There are a lot of parrots and parrotlets in shelters that need help, and the adults are a lot more durable. Meet the bird first, make sure you aren't going to end up with one that has major behavioral issues you aren't yet equipped to care for, but you could change a 'tiel's life dramatically and make sure it doesn't end up miserable in a tiny cage.
I'm also a little suspicious of anywhere that sells unweaned anything. I can't think of any reason to take them away from the parents early other than to get the parents back to breeding sooner. Bird parents have a few million years of practice at caring for babies, after all. With the exception of individual cases where the parents aren't doing their jobs right, they should be left to parent.

 

[JaeG]

Oh no, I'm sorry.

It would be safer to get a weaned chick (ensure it has been fully weaned for at least a week, preferably two before taking it home). From a pet shop it's possible that it could have been carrying a disease even before you took it home. A private breeder most likely has better bio security practices (or you would hope so).

The babies I raised came from a very good breeder who is breeding for specific colours/patterns, so any more 'pet' quality ones came to me, lessening the burden on his breeding birds (who didn't think anything of have 6+ chicks in a clutch) and meaning the non breeder quality ones found good homes. His birds breed twice in a season at most and that's it, and his aviaries are beautiful and spotless. So I can tell he treats his birds very well.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

I wanted to adopt but I felt I wasn't ready since this is my first time with cockatiels. I'm pretty sure they buy from a breeder, and store conditions seem to be pretty good, all the cages are clean and the birds look happy- they even get to free fly sometimes. I looked for a breeder before all of this but didn't end up finding one. Not many people keep birds around my area.. Or so I know of. But what keeps bugging me is I feel like they didn't try. My bird didn't seem that sick and wasn't inactive the day before, she showed no sign of sickness at all.. it's all just so confusing.

 

[Fishkeeper]

I can tell you right now, adopting is probably a lot easier than raising such a fragile creature as an atricial baby bird. At the very least, you should get an adult. Just be sure you look into their proper housing and how long they live so you know what you're getting into- are you still going to be equipped to care for a cockatiel in 20+ years?
If there was snot coming out of his nostrils and he was less active, he was sick. Baby animals can take a turn for the worse very, very fast, and it's possible he was in bad condition already.
Again, be very suspicious of any place that's selling pre-weaned animals of any sort. Always ask yourself, and them, why, and carefully consider the answer.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Yes, I did all my research and I am sure. I want a companion and the cockatiel seems like the best option. They do get some older males sometimes, but the reason I want a small baby is so it has a strong bond with me you know? With my past experience of birds, the older ones never bond like the young ones do. True or false since I'm new to cockatiels?

 

[Bamabexchicks]

Bad news.. Unfortunately my baby passed away.. I'm not sure what was wrong.. But I hope to try again soon.. if there are any tips you guys can give me that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the help and support.

I'm sorry to hear of your loss.

Bad news.. Unfortunately my baby passed away.. I'm not sure what was wrong.. But I hope to try again soon.. if there are any tips you guys can give me that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the help and support.

I'm so very sorry! This link is for a good avian site that I like to follow...maybe before you have a new little loved one you can get on here and do some research,and not have to depend on the petstore people who let you down. I have lost some of my babies before and know how devastating it is. Sending hugs.
http://forums.avianavenue.com/index.php?threads/how-to-raise-baby-cockatiels-help.173630/

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Thank you. I will be sure to check it out. I was really ready to spend the next 20-30 years with this bird, its really a shame.