10/07/2025
**What are the chances?!? All five are indeed entirely different color mutations!!!** 😱
Check picture descriptions for mutation names.
Our 5 cockatiel youngsters have been pulled for handfeeding! Late Sunday afternoon, shortly after passing out their evening veggies. I checked on the chicks like usual. For the first time, I noticed something wrong. Which led to me immediately pulling ALL of them without hesitation.
Hansel & Enoki began 'overparenting' the youngest. Who I had already noticed was starting to not gain properly. The poor baby was absolutely stuffed with practically nothing but seed. Why? Their older vigorous siblings, knowing only survival. Greedily would accept everything mom & dad had to offer first. Obviously this meant ALL the hydrating veggies and fruity pellets. Leaving the smallest to only be fed after everyone else was full.
There isn't much of a point to not pull everyone when the smallest needs to be. To pull only half a clutch can cause ditress to the parents. Which may lead to them abandoning or attacking the others. So since that evening, they have been fully under my care. Had it been a different issue. Things may not have been so urgent. I had to act quickly to get this sweetheart back on track however! Had I not interfered, most likely they'd no longer be with us now. This level of impaction would have easily caused a domino effect of negativity. Overstretched crop muscles (which they do have but are recovering from well) can cause them to stop digesting food properly. Crop stasis then sets in, raising risks of fungal and bacterial infections. If left untreated gastrointestinal stasis can occur. Their entire digestive system then attempts to shut down. Not often do babies come back from that point... 💔
Thankfully, I was keeping my eyes on them! Our littlest lutino is responding exactly as I hoped. With those crop muscles starting to shrink back to their appropriate size already! Going to catch up in no time! 🥰
To anyone who's curious. I posted a picture. Taken of this baby's condition Sunday evening. Definitely NOT what anyone wants to see when doing chick-checks!
**Hansel, Enoki. You guys did a great job! I am so proud of you both as always! To get all 5 of your chicks to this point is no easy task! You've both been such nurturing and attentive parents. It's easy to make mistakes when you have five little ones. Howling at you for food. While also trying to climb up you! You overfed one, oops! Pretty sure all us parents have put thier child into a food coma at some point. Haha!! 😅 You got them safely this far. I got it from here! 💖
