# Baby cockatiels have hatched



## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

So all this week I've had baby cockatiels hatching. Normally the parents feed them correctly at hatch and I pull them at 2 weeks old( sometimes I feed at hatch).
Well my pairs all decided to feed the newborns incorrectly....

So here I am feeding the wee ones every two hours....

Once they feather out they will look like this 3 month old from last year


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Maryellen said:


> So all this week I've had baby cockatiels hatching. Normally the parents feed them correctly at hatch and I pull them at 2 weeks old( sometimes I feed at hatch).
> Well my pairs all decided to feed the newborns incorrectly....
> 
> So here I am feeding the wee ones every two hours....
> ...


Wow! Thanks for the pics!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Oh word, ME. They're ugly little buggers that really turn into beautiful swans. They'll absolutely tame when they mature since you're taking over for the parents.

What else do you have to do for them? Did you pull them the parents or will you leave them and take them out to feed? Do you have to keep them warm?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

They are small like pinky mice when born. Like an inch long. I have syringes ( no needle ones) that I use with a plastic tip to feed them baby bird formula.the temperature of the formula must be between 106 and 109 degrees

It's a grueling week of feeding every 2 hours when they hatch when I hsnd feed, then every 3 hours at the 2nd week mark, and as they get older the feedings get spread out more..
By 3 months old I wean them to millet and seed and veggies.
They are in incubators set at 92 degrees as they must stay warm until they get feathers.the temperature goes down 2 degrees as they get to a certain age and in the incubator I have a small container of water as they need humidity so they dont dry out.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Here are the 3 older ones


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

And how many are you doing this with? Maybe if I was younger I could that kind of feeding but no chance these days.

But do the parents really feed them around the clock? Or is this an adjustment because of the hand feeding?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I'm feeding 5 chicks right now,there are 3 eggs left to hatch too.

I am not sure if the parents feed during the night.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Dang, woman. Add in the fulltime job, the stuff around the new house and you're pretty well covered up time wise.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Yep lol.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

7 total now. One more egg to go. There are 4 in here lol


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You know what I'm thinking. 

But then I'm in awe of what they become a they begin to grow into to those ugly little bodies. And little they are compared to their grown up size.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

*A hard but fun experience to hand feed cockatiels. I always waited until the chicks were three weeks old; whenever possible. I don't have tiels any longer, but your pictures sure make me miss them more than I did before.

Super pictures! And a beautiful pearl bird.*


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Thank you! The chicks should feather out like last years baby did. #7 that hatched has red eyes so it's going to be fun to see it feather out. It's either going to be all white or pearl .
I'm going to keep it as I am retiring both WF pairs as they are 13 years old and I didnt check the bands when i bought them almost 2 years ago. It's not fair to breed them at 13. So now I'll keep the red eye one and one from the other pair to set up together to breed in 2 years. Now I have 3 retired pairs lol and one active pair.
Its alot of hard work and i tried to pull at 3 weeks last year but couldn't get them as tame as when I hand feed at hatch.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

OK, I'm confused. The way you talk about breeding it sounds like you're talking about puppies. Isn't the hen still going to lay eggs? Wouldn't he also still breed her?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

The hens wont lay eggs unless I put a nest box on their cage. They still breed, but as long as I dont put a nest box up the females wont lay eggs


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

So they just quit laying? That one is hard to wrap my brain around. 

Too bad chickens can't be taught that trick.


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## Overmountain1 (Jun 5, 2020)

Yes, there are several of that bird species- or type?- that react that way. If the environment is ‘unfavorable’ for breeding for them, ie no nestbox, they just... don’t lay! Pretty neat stuff. But it also blows my mind that chickens lay as consistently as they do. I guess that’s really at each end of the spectrum! 

I’m sure she or they can speak more to this behavior but I do know there are several just not the details. I think. 

Oh- and duh- ME- they are so stinking tiny!! I would be so scared of hurting one. Omgoodness!!!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It really is hard to wrap my brain around that's all it takes to stop them from laying. And that the act of stopping laying doesn't lead to other physical issues like it can with chickens.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

robin416 said:


> It really is hard to wrap my brain around that's all it takes to stop them from laying. And that the act of stopping laying doesn't lead to other physical issues like it can with chickens.


*All hookbills are vastly different from chickens in just about every way. Hand feeding hookbills is easy, tedious, and a huge responsibility when the chicks are hand fed at such a young age; as they grow it is far less difficult and not nearly as demanding.*


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Well, ME has been known to take on the impossible more times than I can count. I have no doubt that each of the newly hatched will go on to be full fledged juveniles.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

robin416 said:


> Well, ME has been known to take on the impossible more times than I can count. I have no doubt that each of the newly hatched will go on to be full fledged juveniles.


*Not impossible at all. Just takes an experienced person with a deft hand, the time, and a lot of patience; been there and done that.*


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I know you have. ME has also rescued many four legged critters and rehabbed them. She's truly an animal person and us humans are just in the way for the most part.

She's going to get me for that last part.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I'm back. The forum signed me out and I couldn't find my.login info .

Babies are good, I'm down to 5 as the last two failed to survive. These two are a month old. The other 3 are feathering in nicely. These two spend the day now in the weaning cage and at night go back in the brooder. They get formula now 3-4 times a day and are nibbling on millet.
The other 3 are still getting formula, I'll get pics of them tonight


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Robin hookbills can get egg bound just like chickens, they get sour crop, impacted crops too


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

ME, is that what they are? Hookbills? 

Amazing change from when first hatched.

Do you have my email?


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

So cute!


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## Overmountain1 (Jun 5, 2020)

Very pretty!


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Yep hookbills. ( parrots are all hookbills).
They start out ugly lol and then morph into such beautiful birds lol.

5 more just hatched.with one egg to go but this group I'm letting the parents feed until they are a month old then I'll take over only cause I'm still handfeeding the 5 that were born in april and may.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

The other 3


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

They saw you and mouths opened for you to feed them? What a hoot. 

I can't tell which is head and which is butt on the one pic. 

What about warmth? Do you have to do all of that like we do with chicks?


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

robin416 said:


> ME, is that what they are? Hookbills?
> 
> Amazing change from when first hatched.
> 
> Do you have my email?


*"Hookbill" is a term used for all parrot and parrot-like species. Budgies nd parakeets are also hookbills.*

*Beautiful birds ME!*


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

They stay in a brooder box with temps starting out at 99 and then as they get older ti slowly drop the temperature. I use a chicken incubator and as they grow I use boxes for the bottom part and keep using the incubator top. Formula has to be 106 degrees and they get fed a little at a time until they are old enough for 10ccs and start out eating every 2 hours,then at 2 weeks old 3 hours, and so on. Right now the 2 feathered ones get 10cc of formula 3x a day and are starting to eat millet and seed. The younger 3 are at 7ccs 4x a day. .
They stay in a dark brooder and only see light when its food time, then after eating it's dark brooder time . The 2 larger chicks only go in their brooder at night now, they spend all day in the brooder cage. 
Its harder then chicken chicks lol but worth it . It's not easy feeding, I have to be very careful I dont overfeed or put the food on the wrong side of their mouths as they can aspirate. I lost a few chicks feeding tooo much and on the wrong side. It was devastating watching them die. I am extra careful and underfeed a little so I dont make the mistakes. They also have to have completely empty crops before feeding to avoid sour crop, so I make sure food temp is right and their crops are empty


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Dang, woman! That's dedication to have that many to care for so frequently. Do you let hubs anywhere near them?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

He says they are ugly when hatched so he stays away. He isnt interested in them so he doesnt bother with them. He only interacts with Dewey my senegal


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Well, then that's good. You don't have to threaten him to stay away from the babies. But that's still a lot of work on you. 

Do you feed through the night? The parents don't do that, do they?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

No I dont feed thru the night, the parents sleep at night so I do too. When I first started a few years ago I did feed thru the night lol. Talk about no sleep getting up every 2 hours hahahaha.
Yeah he prefers bigger birds


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

And working. It's a lot. A whole lot. But the outcome is pretty stunning. 

When will they be going to new homes? I am assuming you won't be keeping them.


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## Overmountain1 (Jun 5, 2020)

What she said ME! That is impressive and really really cool. Thanks for sharing- I had no idea it was quite that involved and precise. Amazing!


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I'm only keeping the red eyed whiteface lutino that just hatched and one male .the rest go to their new homes in 2 months for the ones that are feathered . The 5 new babies wont go anywhere until they are weaned too. 
Yeah it's pretty involved when you raise from hatching and feeding. Most of my customers want tame birds so when people want tame birds I do al the work lol.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

No LOL. I hope that translates into extra money for all of the work. 

Having relocated how are you finding folks to rehome them to?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

You never make out selling. Only if the parent bird raises then you do good as your time and energy and formula adds up. 
Everyone wants cockatiels down here, I out an ad on craigslist and I had emails like crazy, plus I'm on cockatiel forums on Facebook and the local bird group here in va . I already have a wait list for any babies that hatch. I have a pair of lovebirds sitting on 4 eggs too.
Plus I keep my prices low. Everyone else is price gouging the birds to $20] and up to $600 depending on color . My little red eyed chick who will feather out pure white is going for $400 and up.

I sell my cockatiels for $125. I also weed out the people who wouldn't be right for my birds as best as I can.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That didn't take you any time to get known in the area. And you're not in the middle of a big city. Not shabby.

What's nice is if you wanted them to spend time outside you are in a good place for a huge aviary.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I could put them out in an aviary,but then I have to deal with hawks, foxes, weasels, snakes. I'd rather wheel the cages out on the porch and sit outside with them as its safer. 
We are in the woods so the predators are all around.
Oh yeah at my low prices people want to buy. Why pay over 200 when you can pay 125..
But I only breed a few times a year so once I'm done in the fall I'm done until the following spring and I dont always breed all my pairs.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> I could put them out in an aviary,but then I have to deal with hawks, foxes, weasels, snakes. I'd rather wheel the cages out on the porch and sit outside with them as its safer.
> We are in the woods so the predators are all around.
> Oh yeah at my low prices people want to buy. Why pay over 200 when you can pay 125..
> But I only breed a few times a year so once I'm done in the fall I'm done until the following spring and I dont always breed all my pairs.


Send more pics when you can!


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)




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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Thanks for the smile of the morning, ME. That last pic did it. Adorable baby.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> View attachment 40891
> View attachment 40892


So sweet!


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

And unfortunately casualties happen. The red eyed wf lutino that hatched a few says ago died. The parents kicked it in the shavings and I found it tonight when I did a wellness check.  I pulled out the other tiny chicks and am now handfeeding the 2 small ones that hatched a few days ago as I dont trust the parents. This is the 2nd time I found they had done this, and stupid me should have pulled the 3 tiny ones right away.they are feeding the bigger chick and were not feeding the tiny ones. It happens with inexperienced parent birds. I'm so sad I didnt pull her right away


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Tonight's earlier photo shoot with the 2 month old chicks


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> Tonight's earlier photo shoot with the 2 month old chicks
> View attachment 40913
> View attachment 40914
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Such beautiful birds!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Maryellen said:


> And unfortunately casualties happen. The red eyed wf lutino that hatched a few says ago died. The parents kicked it in the shavings and I found it tonight when I did a wellness check.  I pulled out the other tiny chicks and am now handfeeding the 2 small ones that hatched a few days ago as I dont trust the parents. This is the 2nd time I found they had done this, and stupid me should have pulled the 3 tiny ones right away.they are feeding the bigger chick and were not feeding the tiny ones. It happens with inexperienced parent birds. I'm so sad I didnt pull her right away


Sorry, Maryellen. I know that's hard.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Maryellen said:


> Tonight's earlier photo shoot with the 2 month old chicks
> View attachment 40913
> View attachment 40914
> View attachment 40915
> View attachment 40916


Sweet little things. How much flying do they do?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

They just started testing their wings so they cant fly good yet


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> They just started testing their wings so they cant fly good yet


Is that a good or bad thing? Sorry I haven't owned cockatiels before..


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## 444lover (Jan 1, 2018)

Back in 2,000 I had a male and female and the female was laying eggs,most broke though. My dad had raised all sorts of birds he'd hatched in incubators and wanted to try hatching cockatiels so I brought him a couple eggs. Unfortunately right when they were ready to start hatching,they died in the egg. He had loaned the incubator to a lady for something and whatever she had cleaned the incubator with must have killed them. He re-cleaned the incubator to try it again but my female died so we never got the chance. As hard as it sounds to raise them by hand I'm sort of glad we never got any hatched,I'll stick with ducks and geese since they can feed themselves at hatch .. Now I only have a male anyway so I don't have to worry about it anyway.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Animals45 said:


> Is that a good or bad thing? Sorry I haven't owned cockatiels before..


It's good in a way as they are learning how to fly but bad as they cant control how they fly so they crash into stuff. It's like a child learning how to walk- they fall alot and have to learn how to work their legs


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> It's good in a way as they are learning how to fly but bad as they cant control how they fly so they crash into stuff. It's like a child learning how to walk- they fall alot and have to learn how to work their legs


True.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

The babies are growing up. 2 are weaned and I have 2 people coming Saturday from Richmond and North Carolina to buy them. Two of the younger ones are on deposit and I have 4 available.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Growing up


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

The food WAS in the bowls...


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Youngsters. Not much you can do with them. Tell them to clean their room and they'll laugh at you.

It's amazing that there is so much change in such a short period of time. 

Does anyone buy them in pairs?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Sometimes people do. The 2 young that are on deposit their owners already have a cockatiel and the other has an Amazon. 
I prefer they go in pairs but it's up to the persons wallet and what they can afford.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Yeah they are messy at first as I have the bowls on the floor, then I put cups up and start raising the roost bats. eventually the cups are up high and they are roosting up high and not on the ground .


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Learning to roost


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

*What are hand fed cockatiels selling for these days? I've always told people that for the best bird pet, none compare to a hand fed tiel. I was always partial to the females with their loving, devoted ways. Males are to independent for my taste. I've often regretted parting with our cockatiels.*


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Everyone sells for different prices. I sell between $125-$180 for my hand raised hand tame. Most people sell for $200 and up. Since covid bird prices have tripled. I've always kept my prices lower then everyone else


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I've seen a couple for sale here, they wanted over 1K for the birds.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

robin416 said:


> I've seen a couple for sale here, they wanted over 1K for the birds.


$1000????


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yep. I was also looking for a brush cutter for my tractor, they wanted as much for a used one as a new one. Needless to say, I didn't buy it.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

robin416 said:


> Yep. I was also looking for a brush cutter for my tractor, they wanted as much for a used one as a new one. Needless to say, I didn't buy it.


For a cockatiel? Are you sure it wasn't a parrot of a different kind? The highest I've seen is a whiteface lutino with red eyes for $600


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Thanks for the great pics!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Maryellen said:


> For a cockatiel? Are you sure it wasn't a parrot of a different kind? The highest I've seen is a whiteface lutino with red eyes for $600


Umm, maybe? Now I can't go back and look to see what it was they were selling too much time has gone by.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

green cheek conures hand fed babies - farm & garden - by owner - sale

Have no clue what a conure is but this is the first ad I've seen in a while for the bigger birds.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

And 3 went to their new homes today. One couple bought a 2nd one with my recommendation.. the other one went home with an adorable boy named Jack who is about 10 and he thought his new cockatiel was so awesome perching on his fingers and sitting on his shoulder. He always wanted a friendly bird and is homeschooling so the bird will have him all day. 
The 1st couple drove 3 hours( they were really an hour south of Richmond VA) to get their two and Jack and his mom drove 2.5 hours from North Carolina.

I sent them home with baggies of their food and the name of the food and bags of millet.


The other 2 birds on deposit go home July 19 to one home and August to the other( I'm bird sitting the August owner as I birdsat his birds when he went away for 3 weeks in June ( so his new bird will just stay here until he is back from vacation since his bird won't be ready to go until the end of July..

I weeded out 30 possible homes by talking and emailing and decided on these people. 

Once the 3 month olds are ready to go I'll put them up for sale too.

I had 8 chicks total in the 2 clutches.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Bird sales have tripled due to covid everyone wants to make money off them. 

I couldn't open the Craigslist ad


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Babies learning to eat seed


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Maryellen said:


> And 3 went to their new homes today. One couple bought a 2nd one with my recommendation.. the other one went home with an adorable boy named Jack who is about 10 and he thought his new cockatiel was so awesome perching on his fingers and sitting on his shoulder. He always wanted a friendly bird and is homeschooling so the bird will have him all day.
> The 1st couple drove 3 hours( they were really an hour south of Richmond VA) to get their two and Jack and his mom drove 2.5 hours from North Carolina.
> 
> I sent them home with baggies of their food and the name of the food and bags of millet.
> ...


I think the best new parent is the ten year old. They will have a special bond for many years. 

It sounds like just ferreting out who you trust with the birds is a full time job all by itself. 

You haven't wasted time making connections in your new location. 

They were asking 600 for green cheek conures. It did open for me when I just checked.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

600 is the high price normally they are 300.
Covid raised bird prices crazy

Yeah weeding out the hoarder breeders is a full time job


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

Maryellen said:


> And unfortunately casualties happen. The red eyed wf lutino that hatched a few says ago died. The parents kicked it in the shavings and I found it tonight when I did a wellness check.  I pulled out the other tiny chicks and am now handfeeding the 2 small ones that hatched a few days ago as I dont trust the parents. This is the 2nd time I found they had done this, and stupid me should have pulled the 3 tiny ones right away.they are feeding the bigger chick and were not feeding the tiny ones. It happens with inexperienced parent birds. * I'm so sad I didnt *pull her right away


*It is so hard to know what the right thing to do and when to do it. This plagues all of us that raise birds; there just is no good answer. Pulling babies too soon can result in their deaths too. You/we can only do your/our best and move ahead.

Are you going to hand feed the lovebirds? They are wonderful to hand feed, but as a friendly weaned pet-thumbs down. For every one that turned out loving, ten were mean and nasty. *_*I view them as great cage birds to look at, but I'd never recommend them as a companion pet; parrotletts too.

Have you ever hand fed a conure? If it weren't for the noise they'd be at the top of my best companion bird list.
I used to raise sun, nanday, and green-cheeks. All were wonderful, especially the green-cheek as they don't have the loud screams of the others., but they are temperamental compared to cockatiels.

Prices have definitely gone up (no surprise) since I had tiels.*_


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I don't have the lovebird pair I sold them. I still have the single lovebird though. I have only fed cockatiels nothing else. I'm getting a pair of sun conures in 4 months that I will be breeding when they are mature so I'll be handfeeding their chicks once the chicks are 2 weeks old.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Wow! So cute! Wow, are you serious $1000 dollars?? When I was looking to buy a house I went inside one to look at it and their was a Cockatiel in a cage.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I just had a large pet store ask me to supply them with 12 cockatiels a month that they would buy from me. I turned them down. I don't have that many pairs to give 12 birds a month ( which is impossible as it takes 21 days to hatch and 2 months to fully wean so I'd basically to have birds breeding nonstop)
I only have 4 pairs of breeding birds and I won't do that to them. I only breed 3x a year max and I alternate .then the birds don't get bred for a year. 

My birds health is way more important then the money i would have made. I would have been able to quit my job with the money I would have made on the sales but it isn't worth my birds health.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm not at all surprised you turned them down. It's just not who you are when it comes to your animals.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Yeah I can't do something like that. I'm sure he will get other people with more birds to do that. He is actually better off importing the birds and finish the hand feeding if he wants 12 a month


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It's odd that he hasn't approached someone who does raises them for resale like he wants.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Price... it's all about the price.. I'm low at $180 a bird. Everyone else starts out at $200 and up..


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Guess, he's going to have to bite the bullet and pay the price from others if he really wants to do this. You're not going to put your babies through a questionable life no matter if he was willing to pay you big bucks.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

No he will find someone with more breeders to buy from. It's insane how many people here breed cockatiels and he will find someone and offer a price to buy all the chicks once they are ready. It's a little over $2100 a month he is willing to pay so someone with alot of birds will do it, or they will import 3 week olds in and hand feed until weaned and sell and make a profit.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I know he will. 

I got a goldendoodle last week. I had wanted one but I wouldn't do the breeder thing. Then low and behold there's a local lady with Mom and Dad and they had puppies. Mom and Dad are part of the family. I couldn't say no to that.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I'm afraid to ask what you paid for the goldendoodle


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Good thing, because I won't tell you. More than I ever imagined me paying for any pet. After having had to put my last boy down a year and half ago I swore no more. This is the only breed that could kill that resolve and being that she comes from parents that are part of the family only sealed the deal.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Oh boy..... well if her temperament and health is good that's all that matters.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Knock on wood, so far so good. She's obviously smart. That might be where I get into trouble. Her out thinking me.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

Maryellen said:


> I don't have the lovebird pair I sold them. I still have the single lovebird though. I have only fed cockatiels nothing else. I'm getting a pair of sun conures in 4 months that I will be breeding when they are mature so I'll be handfeeding their chicks once the chicks are 2 weeks old.


*Accept for the very loud screaming, Sun Conures are a great bird as a pet and to hand feed. We brought our last pair with us to TN when we moved from WI; it was actually a sun hen with a jenday male. They were frustrating to try and get chicks from. Every time, when the eggs started to hatch, the eggs would be broken open and the chicks slaughtered. We did get a few chicks by fostering the eggs to cockatiels. That worked well for the chick's first week, but the tiels stopped brooding as much sooner than the conure parents would and the chicks sickened as they needed to be kept warmer much longer than tiel chicks. Once we saw what was going on and pulled the conure chicks for hand feeding they recovered and did very good on KayTee formula. It was a daunting experience to hand feed conures from such an early age to 6-8 weeks of age. After we moved here the conures did not adapt to new surroundings and we finally sold the pair. Our first couple years here in TN were hard and there simply wasn't time to give to the birds.*


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

danathome said:


> *Accept for the very loud screaming, Sun Conures are a great bird as a pet and to hand feed. We brought our last pair with us to TN when we moved from WI; it was actually a sun hen with a jenday male. They were frustrating to try and get chicks from. Every time, when the eggs started to hatch, the eggs would be broken open and the chicks slaughtered. We did get a few chicks by fostering the eggs to cockatiels. That worked well for the chick's first week, but the tiels stopped brooding as much sooner than the conure parents would and the chicks sickened as they needed to be kept warmer much longer than tiel chicks. Once we saw what was going on and pulled the conure chicks for hand feeding they recovered and did very good on KayTee formula. It was a daunting experience to hand feed conures from such an early age to 6-8 weeks of age. After we moved here the conures did not adapt to new surroundings and we finally sold the pair. Our first couple years here in TN were hard and there simply wasn't time to give to the birds.*


I've fed from hatch so worse case I incubate the eggs if they don't be good parents . It's rough the first two weeks feeding every 2 hours lol


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

These two are so bonded they forget about the 3rd chick


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Little sibling


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

They bond that young? 

What do you have to do different for the odd baby out?

LOL Is that your stove?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Lol yep my stove. I feed them on the stove as I prepare their formula in the sink. The formula has to be 106 degrees so I mix it with hot water, let it sit for 2 minutes then I use a coffee warmer plate to slowly heat it up to 106. I take the babies out of the cage in a container and then once the food is 106 then I use plastic syringes (no needles) and hand feed them .

Then they go back in the container and I take them back to the cage. The baby is a week younger then them so the baby gets fed 4x a day . The 2 older ones sit together at night now on a perch and the younger one still won't perch so he sleeps on the cage floor( I have the floor padded with wee wee pads and paper towels for easy cleanup). The baby is from another pair so it didn't grow up in the nest with the other 2


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The things we do to accommodate the needs of our critters. Can you just see those that don't have them like we do cringing when they learn some of the stuff we do to make life easier for ourselves and them?

Are you keeping any of what you hatch?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I'm keeping 3 . A lutino female that hatched 2 weeks ago, a cinnamon pearl that I sold and got back 12 hours later as the bird is very attached to me and just didn't work out with the owner and a little whiteface chick that hatched july 4th from my other pair. I'm retiring my 2 pairs that are 13 years old so I won't be breeding them anymore so I need new chicks for breeding in 2 years.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

And this one cinnamon pearl


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

OK, is Lutino a variety? 

I didn't know you sold them that young. Good on the people bringing it back to you when they realized things weren't going well. Will or did they choose another?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I sell them once weaned. Usually 2 months to 3 months old. I don't sell them younger. 
The lutino has red eyes and will be a pale yellow color. It's the biggest chick in the picture. Usually with the red eyes they are female but I'll wait till it either lays an egg or whistles. The other little white down baby I'm keeping . The smaller yellow down chick we be up for sale once it's weaned


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

robin416 said:


> OK, is Lutino a variety?
> 
> I didn't know you sold them that young. Good on the people bringing it back to you when they realized things weren't going well. Will or did they choose another?


We went and took the bird back and I fully refunded him. 
He decided he didn't want a replacement as his cockatiel isn't fond of other birds


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yep, I thought you sold featherless birds to someone. I was a little surprised but some folks do know how to take care of them that young. 

When will you know if you've got pairs for breeding? I'm confused here. If you're selling them when they're weaned who are your replacements going to be? Are they coming from the chicks? Are you holding some back for a while?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I refuse to sell birds that are not weaned. Doesn't matter how experienced the person is I refuse to do it. Chicks must be in a controlled brooder with certain temps until they are fully feathered...
The 2 babies I'm keeping are from different parents then the cinnamon pearl. I have two pairs of whiteface pearls that are 13 years old. I'm keeping the cinnamon pearl chick that I got from them and thev2 young chicks that are being fed by a pure white cockatiel and a pied male ( pied is grey and yellow). So these chicks are all unrelated. I have another breeding pair that will be bred in the fall and I'll keep a chick from that breeding as well but that chick will be paired up with the cinnamon down the road as the grey female is the daughter of my white cockatiel and her pied mate. I was able to buy my grey females parents last year. 
My 2 whiteface pearls are sitting on their last eggs right now so once those eggs hatch I'll be able to keep one from each of them and sell the rest.then they will be retired. 
I've got 4 chicks I'm not keeping going to their new homes in 2 weeks . 
Confusing yet? Lol
Basically I need 4 unrelated cockatiels male and female to pair up to breed in 2 years since I'm retiring 4 cockatiles this year..


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm glad you asked me if I was confused. Because I am. 

What I'm trying to figure out is how do you know who to sell if you need to keep two unrelated breeding pairs if you won't know the sex for certain for a while?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

What I do is I keep the best ones for myself irregardless if they are male or female. Then I put the others up for sale.

The cinnamon one I was hesitant on selling and should have gone with my gut. The guy was nice( I petsit his birds so I knew the chick would go to a great home) but the bird was very attached to me ( I hatched and hand fed from birth) . Once I got the bird back it was all happy and I decided I would keep it.
Now the other 2 chicks I'm keeping as they are not related to the cinnamon one nor its parents. if any of the 8 eggs hatch from the other whiteface pairs I'll see which one feathers out the best and keep the one that is the best one. By 2 months old I'll know who to keep and who to put up for sale. It's like chickens in a way, you see how the chicks grow and keep the best of the best. But chickens you can sell at a few days old as they can eat and drink on their own but parrots need a parent figure until they wean and eat seeds and pellets and drink on their own


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Can they be sexed once fully feathered? That's the part I'm struggling with. 

Yep, we can easily sell chickens as day olds but for most of them we might be selling all females and keeping males. 

So, that baby is your forever more. That's actually pretty sweet.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

No you can't tell until first molt who is male and female so usually 16 months old they molt . Only other way is males will copy whistles and words and be very chatty with chirps and whistles and will stare at themselves in a mirror. Females are usually quiet and not as loud as males..
Or you do a blood test where you cut their toenail and get a few drops of blood and send that in, or yank a chest feather and make sure you get the quill part too and send that in. It's only $12 to find out. Or you send in the dried eggshell but then you gotta mark the chicks so you know who is who


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Are you going to do any of those things to make sure you're keeping pairs?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

No I'm going to wait and see who whistles and stares in the mirror. Right now I've got the cinnamon whistling and starting to copy my whistles so he is a male. I'm in no hurry so as the 2 little ones grow up I'll wait. Usually the red eye ones are female so I've got a good chance the little lutino with red eyes is a female.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

New ones born July 2, 4,7th 2021.
Parents plucked the back of their heads so now I'm hand feeding them and 4 qeek old babies...


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Dang, woman. I know these couldn't have all been first time parents. 

Should I ask you how many full time jobs you have now?

Are you have any problems getting their formula or are you using something different?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I've got 4 breeding pairs that I stagger hatches. I've got 22lbs of formula in the freezer lol so I'm good on formula hahahaha.

I have one more nest box up but they haven't laid eggs yet, this last pair that I have the nest box up I've gotten no fertile eggs from them the last two times so if no fertile eggs this time I'm retiring them too and they are 6 yes old. Then I'll be down to 1 breeding pair as I retired my 2 older pairs with these last 4 fuzzy white babies. So I'll be keeping the one grey and white chick out of the 3 older chocks, I've got the cinnamon one I'm keeping,and the rest will go up for sale. then no cockatiels will be bred till next year in the summer or fall so they get a break( or maybe winter or I'll give them a longer break)

I bought 2 sun conures and they flew in Thursday night that I will be breeding next year . . Once they mature they will loose most of the baby green feathers and be bright yellow and orange with some green on them.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Mature sun conures


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Some more of mine.
I'm letting them destress from the 10 hour flight and will take them out next weekend to get better pics of them.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Maryellen said:


> I've got 4 breeding pairs that I stagger hatches. I've got 22lbs of formula in the freezer lol so I'm good on formula hahahaha.
> 
> I have one more nest box up but they haven't laid eggs yet, this last pair that I have the nest box up I've gotten no fertile eggs from them the last two times so if no fertile eggs this time I'm retiring them too and they are 6 yes old. Then I'll be down to 1 breeding pair as I retired my 2 older pairs with these last 4 fuzzy white babies. So I'll be keeping the one grey and white chick out of the 3 older chocks, I've got the cinnamon one I'm keeping,and the rest will go up for sale. then no cockatiels will be bred till next year in the summer or fall so they get a break( or maybe winter or I'll give them a longer break)
> 
> ...


Who are you going to put the Cinnamon with if everyone else will be sold? 

Like I really know anything about breeding these guys. 

Do you make your own formula or buy it?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Maryellen said:


> Some more of mine.
> I'm letting them destress from the 10 hour flight and will take them out next weekend to get better pics of them.
> View attachment 41508
> View attachment 41509


Until you posted the adults I thought they wouldn't look as stunning losing the green. They actually are more stunning with their adult plumage.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

3 July babies.
They love to kick their food out of their plates


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Massive change in such a short period of time. Pretty babies. They even have faces that make them look happy.

They make bigger messes than chickens.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

LOl They do.. they get the plate and a bowl hung up so they get used to eventually eating out of a bowl up higher. The plate comes out in another month. 

These 3 turned out really flashy( well the 2 are more flashier)


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

To me their all pretty flashy in their own way. But I think my favorite is the first pic.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

That's a whiteface pied. It's mom is a whiteface lutino( all white feathers with red eyes) and dad is a pied pic attached


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Another picture of baby . Side view too. I can't wait to see when it molts what it's going to look like. 5 more months to go before it molts.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You're really pleased with him, aren't you?

Are you waiting to see if he gets the color on his head like dad has? I hope he doesn't.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I'm hoping he turns more white when he molts,but it's up to what he molts out . He won't molt out and turn yellow and grey like his dad,he will stay grey and white, or turn maybe more grey or more white


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

OK, I'll go along with more white but not a lot more. I'm glad he won't get the same facial coloring his dad has. He's just a stunning little guy.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I'm hoping he turns more white when he molts,but it's up to what he molts out . He won't molt out and turn yellow and grey like his dad,he will stay grey and white, or turn maybe more grey or more white


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

It's going to be fun to see how he turns out


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'll be watching for him in his grown up feathers. 

I'm guessing he's a keeper?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I'm keeping all 4 babies as I just retired 4 older cockatiels.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

And I have 2 new babies in a nest box. So those 2 new babies will be paired up with 2 out of the 4 I'm keeping and will be bred next year when they are ready.

I just moved my sun conure pair into a nice cage I got last night in roanoke.
They will be bred once they are ready too.

I had them in a small cage temporarily until I could find exactly what I wanted for them and I lucked out yesterday finding the perfect cage.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

How many babies does this make that have hatched so far this year? 

BTW, did they go through a big adjustment with the move? How about their human? Are you liking it?

Are the different things in their cage toys?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I've had 16 babies hatch total . 10 I sold, 4 I'm keeping plus the 2 new ones I'm keeping.

The sun conures have toys in their cage to chew,swing on and play with. Chewing toys keep their beaks trimmed and mental exercise. I have a chest of toys that each cage gets a bunch of. I see which toys are a hit and get destroyed the most and I buy similar toys after that. Some toys they all ignore , some they destroy, and others they just like to sleep on lol.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

All the cockatiels adjusted great with their owners except 1 which I took back and am keeping. That one bonded really strong to me so he stays here. I keep in touch with all the new owners to make sure things are going smoothly.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

How many breeding pairs did have for the Spring breeding? 

I remember that little guy that has turned into a Momma's boy. It's actually pretty sweet. 

On the toys, sort of like with cats and dogs. Just give the cats a box and save money. Maisey has favorites one day and has no clue what they are the next.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I have 4 pairs of breeding cockatiels and just retired 2 pairs so I have 2 pairs left. The 4 babies plus the 2 new babies will be paired up and take the plave of the 2 retired pairs. 
All 4 pairs were bred this year in staggered stages. I'm done now till next fall as I giving everyone a year off. 

Yep like cat and dog toys. It's funny alot of parrot toys are rabbit and gerbil toys lol


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I expected you to say you had like six or seven pairs since you had so many hatch this Spring.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Nope 4 pairs. Each pair laid 4-5 eggs each


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Maryellen said:


> Nope 4 pairs. Each pair laid 4-5 eggs each


Wow, such progress, thanks for the great pictures!


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

My 2 keepers from Snowflake & Dusty and my 1 keeper from Donnie & Marie


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

And my 2 keepers from Elsa and Sergio.
These two are a cinnamon whiteface and a cinnamon possible pied or a cinnamon normal. It's still too early to tell until all the feathers come in


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## lovely_chooks (Mar 19, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> And my 2 keepers from Elsa and Sergio.
> These two are a cinnamon whiteface and a cinnamon possible pied or a cinnamon normal. It's still too early to tell until all the feathers come in


Cute birds! I never pet those before so I’m interested lol like what do they do? Like same as chickens? They seem pretty small so like what if you go outside and they fly away?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

lovely_chooks said:


> Cute birds! I never pet those before so I’m interested lol like what do they do? Like same as chickens? They seem pretty small so like what if you go outside and they fly away?


They are indoor birds, if they go outside they will fly away. 
People like them as pets . The makes can learn how to talk and mimic whistles


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That pied boy is still my favorite. I notice he has barring that I didn't see before.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Fully grown some can be almost 10 inches long


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## lovely_chooks (Mar 19, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> They are indoor birds, if they go outside they will fly away.
> People like them as pets . The makes can learn how to talk and mimic whistles


Oh nice but I like chickens


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

lovely_chooks said:


> Oh nice but I like chickens


I like chickens too, we have chickens as well. I breed and sell cockatiels.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

robin416 said:


> That pied boy is still my favorite. I notice he has barring that I didn't see before.


All chicks have the barring until they molt, then after molting if the barring remains its a female. If no barring then it's a male.

I'm really liking how the grey pied is growing .


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

A whiteface cinnamon I'm keeping. Hatched July 30th


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Don't blame you. It's a stunning little bird. 

But why is it called cinnamon?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I have no clue lol. The cinnamon ones look light grey to me buy when next to a grey you can then see the difference. Once the bird molts the cinnamon color comes thru more
Here is the grey pied and its sibling pearl pied.
These two are just soooo stunning


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Pics 3 and 4 are the same bird? Never mind, scrolling back and forth I can see it is the same bird. It is a pretty baby. 

My pied baby now has competition with that cinnamon in the picture.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Lol. Yes it's only 2 birds. I just take lots of pics hahaha.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The one pic doesn't show the pattern detail on the wings of the second bird. That's why I was confused but then I started looking for other details and was able to figure it out.


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## chickenpersoon (Sep 11, 2021)

robin416 said:


> Oh word, ME. They're ugly little buggers that really turn into beautiful swans. They'll absolutely tame when they mature since you're taking over for the parents.
> 
> What else do you have to do for them? Did you pull them the parents or will you leave them and take them out to feed? Do you have to keep them warm?


I think the babies are the cutest ones


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

This one goes to its new home in a few weeks. It's growing up fast lol. I call it Starvin Marvin as he is always begging for formula after he gets formula then pigs out on seeds and pellets in the cage lol


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Hmm, his Mom must be giving in to him because that was quite a smiley pic.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

He is still on 2 formula feedings a day 7am and 7pm. But he gets to sample regular food now . The others are teaching him how to eat from the food and water bowls too.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Another of him. He is really pretty I think.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> Another of him. He is really pretty I think.


Wow he is absolutely stunning! How many do you have?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

He looks like he's got a happy personality. That could really endear him to his new family.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Animals45 said:


> Wow he is absolutely stunning! How many do you have?


I've got 13 cockatiels


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

robin416 said:


> He looks like he's got a happy personality. That could really endear him to his new family.


I think he does too. I've been sending pics and videos to his new owners. He will have a flock of other cockatiels to live with and will be out of the cage allll day with the others which is perfect


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> I've got 13 cockatiels


Wow, that's a lot! Do you breed and sell them?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Maryellen said:


> I think he does too. I've been sending pics and videos to his new owners. He will have a flock of other cockatiels to live with and will be out of the cage allll day with the others which is perfect


They must have a wonderful setup for them to be out of cages like that.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Animals45 said:


> Wow, that's a lot! Do you breed and sell them?


Yes I do.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> Yes I do.


Wow, do you have any chickens?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Animals45 said:


> Wow, do you have any chickens?


Yes 4 chickens and 2 goats , 3 dogs, 2 cats , 2 sun conure parrots and a senegal parrot.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

And one of my keeper chicks is definitely a male as this morning one was xopyingvmy whistle and saying good morning.. now to figure out which one. I think it's my grey pied


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Didn't you suspect the grey pied was a male before this? Goes to show you can read them pretty well. 

Missed the chickens, didn't you? You might have more time to enjoy them if you can keep the numbers down low. I know that's not easy.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Yeah I was thinking that one was.
The chickens I did miss 1 rooster, 3 hens. I get a blue,green and light tan egg from them. They get to roam around the property close to the house. 4 is a good number, easy to care for vs the bunch I had back in nj lol


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I meant to ask, how did your old home place do in that big storm? 

OK, now we need to hope none of your girls go broody since you have a pretty stunning male keeping watch.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> Yes 4 chickens and 2 goats , 3 dogs, 2 cats , 2 sun conure parrots and a senegal parrot.


Wow, sounds like a lot, but nice to have a lot of animals! What breeds of chickens do you have?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Looks like she got EE's again. Although in ME's other life she had lots. 

@Maryellen I forgot to ask you this. Do you remember when you posted the pic of all the different color eggs? I've never forgotten it, obviously.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

The white chicken and the grey ones are supposedly Easter eggers, the black one is a polish mix who lays the tan eggs. The rooster is a legbar barnyard mix. 
Yeah 50 chickens was wayyy to much lol. 20 was a nice number until I got 20 eggs a day hahaha. 4 is good, I'd love to get 6 more but then that's more work, plus their coop area in the shed is good space for 4 so I won't mess with it. 

Omg I remember all those colorful eggs I posted!!


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I am not sure how the nj home did in the storm, we tried to stay friendly with the new owners but they didn't respond to us .
Here in VA we just got alot of rain and wind that was it


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I wasn't even thinking about the new owners but your neighbors up that way. I thought you might have stayed in contact with them.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I did talk to my one neighbor, she said they got alot of wind and rain


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

What's amazing is that the storm did more damage up there than where it made landfall.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

3 of the babies


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Considering how quickly they mature it's surprising how long lived they are.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Isn't it crazy? They can live to be 20 or older.
Yet in 2 months after they are born they are fully feathered.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yeah, with that revved up growth you would think that it would continue through their lives making them shorter. It has to be a survival thing. Get up, get out and then enjoy life all laid back.


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## lovely_chooks (Mar 19, 2021)

Cute.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Marvin fell asleep on me last night. He goes to his new home in 2 weeks


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The family he's going to are going to love him. 

Seems to me someone else has a soft spot for him too.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I've been sending them videos and pictures , he will have other cockatiels to live with and be out of the cage all day. 
I always have soft spots for them when I raise them,but it's the same for all my breeder pairs too.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Nothing like seeing the care they get to know they're making a smart purchase.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Definitely.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Marvin is in his new home and his new name is Skylar. He has free flight and will meet the other cockatiels in the home soon.


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## SilkieGirl (Apr 29, 2021)

Aww! He looks happy in his new home.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

OK, Skylar works. A little classy. 

How many do they have?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

They have 10 birds , she is a breeder too but all her birds are tame and are only in their cages to sleep, the cage doors are open all day.

Hanging out watching TV with his new dad


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I was going to say something about bird math but they're also breeders so that that won't work. 

I love that they send you updates on how he's doing.


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## chickenpersoon (Sep 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> Marvin fell asleep on me last night. He goes to his new home in 2 weeks
> View attachment 42748


it kinda looks like he's dead. Oof


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## chickenpersoon (Sep 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> They have 10 birds , she is a breeder too but all her birds are tame and are only in their cages to sleep, the cage doors are open all day.
> 
> Hanging out watching TV with his new dad
> View attachment 42881


I love all types of pet birds! Sadly I can't own inside birds so.....


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## lovely_chooks (Mar 19, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> They have 10 birds , she is a breeder too but all her birds are tame and are only in their cages to sleep, the cage doors are open all day.
> 
> Hanging out watching TV with his new dad
> View attachment 42881


Could I get some birds


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## chickenpersoon (Sep 11, 2021)

lovely_chooks said:


> Could I get some birds


yes!!!


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Wow they're all so beautiful! Glad to see they are liking their new homes!


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

lovely_chooks said:


> Could I get some birds


I won't be breeding until next summer, and if you live with your parents they must approve . I don't ship, so you would have to drive to VA . They are not free, I charge $200 for hand tame cockatiels.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

chickenpersoon said:


> it kinda looks like he's dead. Oof


Lol I thought so too when I looked at the picture


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## chickenpersoon (Sep 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> Lol I thought so too when I looked at the picture


but when you THINK he's asleep its really cute 😍


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## chickenpersoon (Sep 11, 2021)

are you thinking of hatching more in the future? Or breeding and selling?


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

chickenpersoon said:


> are you thinking of hatching more in the future? Or breeding and selling?


I'm a breeder so I breed and sell most of the babies. So I'll be setting up nest boxes next spring to have babies by summer. ( takes 19 days for eggs to hatch then 2 oaths for babies to be ready to sell)


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## chickenpersoon (Sep 11, 2021)

Maryellen said:


> I'm a breeder so I breed and sell most of the babies. So I'll be setting up nest boxes next spring to have babies by summer. ( takes 19 days for eggs to hatch then 2 oaths for babies to be ready to sell)


nice!


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