[tielfan]

Is it possible that there's some kind of infection in your flock that doesn't bother the adults but is affecting the babies, and they become too weak to feed? It would be a good idea to get a necropsy on the latest baby and/or a vet exam on the parents. The first step in preventing future problems is to identify what's going wrong and fixing it. If your babies were healthy and well-fed otherwise they wouldn't die just because you were late with one assist feeding.

How did the babies' physical development compare with the normal development in Susanne's article at http://justcockatiels.weebly.com/watch-me-grow.html ? That baby was bigger than average so your chicks would probably weigh less, but the feather development and general growth should have been similar.

P.S. Another possibility is that a lethal gene is involved. Lethal genes can sometimes make a healthy-looking individual die suddenly and unexpectedly.

 

[tielfan]

Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of vitamin E according to http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=111 This news is going to make a lot of cockatiels very very happy.

If your tiels eat pellets and Nutriberries they would get some vitamin E there too. I hope the problem is something as simple as this and all your future clutches are happy and strong.

 

[tielfan]

Have you tried offering sunflower with the shells removed? Some tiels have never learned how to crack off the shells.

Once the shells are off it's easier to use the standard tricks: sprinkling the seeds on top of a food that they really love so they have to touch the sunflower to get the good stuff, holding it in your hand for them to eat, spreading it on a table and tapping your finger in it like a pecking bird, and pretending to eat it yourself. Or maybe REALLY eating it yourself - sunflower is delicious.

 

[tielfan]

There's an easier way to do it if you have a natural-foods grocery with bulk bins. They usually have human-quality raw unsalted sunflower seed with the shells already off, and you can buy as much or as little as you want.

 

[tielfan]

I also wandered if maybe altitude might play a role? We're at higher altitude now then we ever were in CA.

How high are you? My tiels produce well at an altitude of 3000 feet.