no idea

[jusdeb]

Pulled my cockatiel babies out this afternoon in readiness to hand feed them , they are 3 and 4 weeks old approx , put them into the hospital box which was nice and warm .
I left them for a few minutes to start dinner and when I checked them again 1 was dead , it looked like he had just passed out and died.
They are from hand reared parents and human interraction is happening all the time.
Does anyone have any ideas ? Was it shock or my suspicians are it had a heart problem could this be right ?
Is there any rules to taking chicks from the nest ?
Ive never seen this before and am totally clueless to what happened.

[avinet]

Sounds strange - cockatiel babies are pretty adaptable when it come to pulling them out for hand rearing. Three to four weeks is a normal time to take them out.

Was it a 3 or a 4 week old baby that died? Was it thin compared to the others - indicating it had a pre-existing problem?

Were all the babies from the same parents?

Was the box too warm?

What were the parents being fed?

Have the parents bred before without any problems?

I have never had a baby die of shock from being pulled - and I have bred and hand raised hundreds of cockatiels. Also I have never had one (baby that is) die from heart failure, although it is possible I guess - some humans are born with hole in the heart problems for instance.

Unfortunately the only answer would come from autopsy - and whether it is worth spending $50 or more for an answer is questionable, even if you have a competent avian vet on hand.

cheers,

Mike

[jusdeb]

Thanks for the quick reply ..the baby was just over 3 weeks old , fat and healthy , felt strong when I held it . Yes same parents and it was the 3rd clutch no problems ,box was good heat and parents eat small parrot mix , wholegrain bread , boiled egg , egg and biscuit , capsicum , cucumber ,spinach , leftover cooked peas , carrot and corn.
We dont have an avian vet here in Dubbo so a autopsy even if wanted is not an option. Its got me buggered what happened . It did seem to be breathing a bit faster than the other ones when I put them in the hospital box but thought leave it alone to snuggle and relax and it would be OK . It died very fast as I wasnt away all that long . Its a mystery .

[vankarhi]

wow I am shocked.......i have taken a few babies from the nest to raise (not as many as Mike though lol)......and in the past have raised af few cockatiels and they all were ok and I have a fairly rambunctious household ........ well we did before the older 5 children grew up and left home ....... just one 8 year old left now so the house hold is lot quieter ...... at times.

My guess is something else was wrong and it just couldn't handle the shock........but that is purely a guess.

Sorry to hear of your loss by the way also. It is always sad to lose one of them.

[jusdeb]

Yes Im thinking there was some other problem , my quarrions are usually tough as old boots and arent bothered by kid or other animal noises , in fact they just join in .
Anyhow Im thinking better now than later , cant be selling hand reared birds that will drop dead .
The other 2 are in the hospital box snuggled up to the heated wall and hissing madly when I go near them so its all good with them . Thank for the reply lets hope no more dramas.

[meandem]

Did it choke on something..........maybe.........just a suggestion???

[jusdeb]

I thought of that too (choking) but it wasnt gagging just breathing heavier than usual . First thing I asked hubby was " did you accidently press on the crop " he assures me he didnt .
Thanks for the suggestion though ...