Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
Baby cockatiels not growing feathers?
I have 2 baby cockatiels, one is 8 days old and the other is 6 days old. Unfortunatley they're inbred - their parents are brother and sister and they rejected the babies so I've been hand feeding them from day one. I can't see any dark spots under their skin where feathers would grow in. This same brother and sister pair had a baby 2 months ago but it died at 2 weeks from being injured by a cat and it didn't have any feathers either. It had maybe 3 baby fuzz tufts. These 2 are very fuzzy but I'm worried they will have the same feather problem. What do you think will happen?
7 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
They shouldn't start getting their pin feathers until they are about 12-15 days old. Your babies should still be down covered and have their eyes closed with the older one starting to open its eyes any day now. If you don't see any feather growth by 3 weeks get them checked out by your avian vet because at 3 weeks they should be fully feathered (minus a small bald patch on their stomachs) and ready to move from the brooder to a cage.
If you insist on allowing sibling pairs to breed, please addle the eggs so they don't hatch. Allowing first degree relatives to breed only opens the door to problems with the young, if they even survive.
- 1 decade ago
You said you are hand feeding them. This is why you are not seeing any signs of feather growth. It will take longer than if the parents do it. How ever that being said you would not normally start to see feather growth in earnest till about 12 to 14 days of age and if none by 21 days then you need to worry.
Source(s): bed teils for years - 1 decade ago
Feathers can take so long to finally grow out.. You should start to see very new feathers coming in along with more fuzz as they get older. I'd say that within a month of age, they'll look more like birds than they do now :) Be patient.
- OwlwomanLv 71 decade ago
First, buy another cage and separate these two so they stop breeding. Then keep the cat away from the birds.
If the parents have proper nutrition - i.e., a half of a hard boiled egg mashed with the shell on every day and a cuttle bone, the babies will grow feathers soon enough.
- How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
- Anonymous5 years ago
Most birdy parents will pluck their babies if they feel they are too crowded in the cage. It's their way of saying "Get Out !" The parents want to nest again and w/ juvenile birdies in the way they can't. The feathers will grow back, although if repeatedly plucked some pin feathers may not come back in. Give mama and daddy bird their own space and remove the babies when they are eating on their own (mom and dad not feeding anymore).
- 1 decade ago
Don't worry about the feathers,they take a while to grow.First they will get fuzz,then slowly they will get feathers.The birds are still very young.You need to be patient.
Source(s): I own a cockatiel.
