Cockatiel training questions?
Category: Cockateil Training Q&A
My bird laid some eggs, and now i have two adorable cockatiel babies. What i would like to know: when is the time to pull the babies from the nest to start to train them? The babies are 3 weeks old, so when should I start?
Unfortunately, to pull them from the parents would require you to hand feed them and care for them as the parents would.
Unless you have experience with this or have on hand help from someone who has done this before. Then you should not do it.
Wait until the cockatiels are eating solids and out of the nest. This should happen at about 8 weeks.
From there you should put them into a separate cage and take them to get their wings clipped and a vet check
From there you can begin getting them use to people.
Remember to take the nest box from the parents so they don’t have another clutch.
http://www.cockatielcottage.net/
is a great site with lots of info. I recommend you read it.
Is the Momma tame? If so, then you can start handling the babies right away and still let Momma feed and care for them. Even if Momma is not tame, you could still handle the babies several times a day so they are used to you. You may have heard that a bird will not accept an egg or a baby that a human has touched because they can smell the human scent. This is not true. Birds do not have a sense of smell. Ideally, you could pull them as soon as they have enough pin feathers to keep warm and finish handfeeding them yourself. This is time consuming and not something for the amateur, so unless you know someone close to you that can help you with this, I would not recommend it. Wait until they are eating on their own, then put them each in a separate cage. Once they have learned to fly, have their wings clipped. Most vets/groomers will be happy to show you how to do this. That way you will not have to keep going back over and over. Once the birds wings are clipped, they are more dependent on you to get around, and it helps with the bonding process. Spend as much time as you can with each of them individually.