My pair of cockatiels have a 4 week old baby. It`s the hens very first clutch. Everything started fine until the third week. I noticed the parents rarely feed it as often as they should and have begun mating again. I`ve also noticed the hen biting at the babys pin feathers and has caused a bit of bleeding and bruising on the poor thing. Only the mother has been doing this from what I have observed and have separated her from the nest box. The father is still feeding it from time to time but I also pull it out to hand feed it.
I read up on the forums on what is causing this behavioral change in the hen and I think it could be either sodium deficiency or she wants to nest again. I gave her a bit of bread, lightly buttered, and got her back in the cage with the nest box. She jumped straight inside and was immediately hostile to the baby. I took her out again and put a divider up in the cage so she has no access to the nest box.
I`m not sure what to do from here... Should I keep her separated until the baby is ready to fledge and let the father do the looking after? Or should I just move the nest box away from them?
I was thinking of getting her salt licks for the sodium deficiency, but I`m not entirely sure if thats the right way to go...
I read up on the forums on what is causing this behavioral change in the hen and I think it could be either sodium deficiency or she wants to nest again. I gave her a bit of bread, lightly buttered, and got her back in the cage with the nest box. She jumped straight inside and was immediately hostile to the baby. I took her out again and put a divider up in the cage so she has no access to the nest box.
I`m not sure what to do from here... Should I keep her separated until the baby is ready to fledge and let the father do the looking after? Or should I just move the nest box away from them?
I was thinking of getting her salt licks for the sodium deficiency, but I`m not entirely sure if thats the right way to go...