Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 12:41 pm Post subject: It is so cold, how do they do it?
Yesterday I took a chance and looked inside my nest boxes, I was thrilled. One cage had three 1-2 day chicks and another box had three -the same age too.
I have three cockatiels in this cage, 2 females and 1 male. It looks like the male is taking care of both boxes.
The problem is that we are exeriencing the coldest weather we ever see in my part of Sydney Australia. 9.9 C. this morining. I went out to give them extra food and the two females were off the babies eating, the male was on one of the nests.
I expect I have a very low chance of them surviving? I also know some of the heat comes from the nesting material which is a blend of grass clippings, peat moss and sphagnam and composted pine chips.
Anyone with experience with nestlings in the cold? I do not want to disturb them.
Dont worry, we have had them breed mid winter here, and heavy frost..
Have 3 pair sitting at the moment and got heavy frosts in the last few days. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Hi guys i have baby kakas at the moment in this cold Sydney weather but they are not fussed. I did go to a mates place at Penirth (west of Sydney) on saturday morning and there was a princess parrot tapping on the water bowl trying to crack the ice which was about 5mm thick on top so he could get a drink. Some breeders attach a light bulb inside a length of plastic pipe on the outside bottom of the box for warmth. Cheers Kev
As Steps says, don't worry about the cold; though this would generally apply to kakariki, it looks like you are maybe referring to Cockatiels?....not as sure myself with anything other than Kakariki.
Absolutely no worries with Kakariki, they can handle extreme cold; I have had chicks hatched over the winters in -12c, 3 inches of snow etc.
Kakariki will breed when no other bird would even think about it .
Any problems with the cold could come from the hen sitting hard on freshly laid eggs and not getting out enough for a little exercise/food.
As long as there are 3 or more chicks they help keep each other warm at about a week old....this allows the hen to get out a bit more.
And yeah...break the ice , unless you provide skates...I'm sure they'd enjoy that! they enjoy a swim still and flap all the small bergs out.
There are some old posts about weather and stuff.
The only thing I would add is the nesting box out of direct wind.. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
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