BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Birds Can i handle them?

Hey Mavis, hope your ok.

as u know i have baby cockatiels now <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
they are now 10,12 and 14 days now and i want to start handling them. how do i go about this as the parents are in my aviary they are not that tame and i am worried that they might abandon the babies. they seem fine wen i check on the babies in the next box. hope u can help:) p.s I also need to clean the nest box but am worried if the parents c me with the babies they will reject them? how do i go about this Mavis?

thx x

Mike x

I had the same worries when my two cockateils decied to have chicks. They ended up raising 11 chicks over a couple of years and they never bother about me taking the birds out of the way, last 2 broods were in the aviary. I used to take the box out then gently lift the chicks out into a tissue lined box to keep them warm. I didn't remvoe them fromt he room and the adults were able to watch them at all times. I never had any probs with them going back to them. They would usually head back in very quickly to check the babies out once I put the box back in. My lot weren't tame either but would speak and sometimes come onto my hands to get seed and their favourites, bread sticks.

Cockatiels that have been good parents will normally accept some handling of the babies. As Pamela mentioned, I wouldn't remove them from the aviary, but keep them where the parents can see them when you clean the nestbox and play with them a bit.