[cassie.c87]

one of my parent birds bit their single surviving chicks beaks causing a split in the lower mandible. it was seen by an avian vet who cleaned it and proscribed antibiotics but sadly it was too small to do much with it. It's parents continued to feed it without issues thankfully and it has now fledged (injury was when baby was only 1 1/2 weeks). my problem now is weaning. it's bottom mandible does not line up with it's top so I'm concerned about it's ability to crack seed. My vet believes it should be able to crack small seeds such as millet but larger seeds and dry pellets may be an issue and advised that I should offer hand rearing food along with soaked seeds, soaked pellets, mashed vegies and possibly fruit/veg baby food.
Now for the hard part. should I offer these in the aviary, bring baby inside by it's self or bring dad inside with him (dad is one of my tame boys, mum is not)

 

[S912]

How old is your baby cockatiel now? And how is it getting on?

I am occasionally once or twice a day hand feeding my baby cockatiel some additional baby formula to help its growth. It's my first time but in my limited experience I find it best to hand feed the chick without any parent and where they cannot see (my male is also tame but he gets in the way when trying to feed). I do the hand feed from a syringe very quickly and when I remove the chick I give the parents millet to keep them busy but try to limit time away from them

My chick is 3 and a half weeks old now

Hope your chicks beak is better and it is eating or being fed ok