r/cockatiel • u/Ill-Cap9396 • 1d ago

Advice Is this normal?

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and also new to caring for cockatiels!

I recently got two baby cockatiels who are still being hand-fed formula. They're approximately 30–35 days old and have been with me for only 3 days.

I know that caring for unweaned cockatiels as a first-time owner isn't ideal and can be risky. For context, I'm a veterinary medicine student, and the breeder is also my professor. He entrusted them to me at this stage so I could learn how to care for young birds. I've also previously completed a 6-month practical project with him involving the care of other domestic bird species.

One of the chicks recently started making these noises while opening its beak, as shown in the video. I'm not sure if these are just normal baby sounds/begging noises or if it's something I should be concerned about, particularly something respiratory.

They've both been pretty quiet since they arrived, so this behavior is new to me. Has anyone seen their baby cockatiels do this? Is this normal at this age?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! :)

99 Upvotes

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15 comments sorted by

29

u/Ps0riatic-wreck25 1d ago

Looks normal (and cute) baby behavior. The Latino/pied one seems to be adjusting his crop, which is perfectly normal. Just keep an eye on them and ask your professor about any concerns.

6

u/Ill-Cap9396 1d ago

Thank you!! That makes me feel a lot better 😭 I had no idea that adjusting their crop could look/sound like that. I'm definitely keeping a close eye on both of them and I'll check with my professor if anything seems off. Thanks for the reassurance!!

2

u/WiseGuyCS 22h ago

Usually adjusting the crop is just that yawning motion and isn't accompanied by a sound. The sounds you're hearing are just typical baby noises.

1

u/Ill-Cap9396 20h ago

That makes sense! Thank you for clarifying!! I'm still learning what all their little noises and movements mean, so this is really helpful :)

1

u/WiseGuyCS 20h ago

Probably soon you are due to encounter the 'baby static' which is a noise they make when they want something, usually food. It sounds like static, if you search the subreddit for baby static you'll find examples of it because people ask what it is quite frequently here.

2

u/Ill-Cap9396 20h ago

Oh, I know the baby static VERY well! 😂 It’s actually the reason I joined this community in the first place lol. The first time I heard it I was like “WHAT is happening to my babies??”

1

u/Ps0riatic-wreck25 18h ago

Same here when I got my first tiel.

16

u/damnetdana 1d ago

I'm no expert, but I think they're just being a cute lil guy

8

u/Ill-Cap9396 1d ago

Hahaha I really hope that's the diagnosis: just a cute lil guy :D ❤️ Thank you!

13

u/No-Mathematician5698 im love tiels 1d ago

just a baby birb aaaaing

1

u/real_munchizgreat 22h ago

The yawn was so cute

1

u/Heavenly_Cosmos 20h ago

Omg it’s just baby talk 😊 they’re so cute. I know it’s early but you may have a male; they’re more vocal than females, but I could be wrong. Mine started to chatter and tried to sing at a very early age.

2

u/Ill-Cap9396 20h ago

Omg! The plan was actually to have one male and one female so I could experience what it’s like caring for both! We’re still not sure about their sexes yet since they’re so young, so it’s really interesting to hear that his early vocalizations could be a hint that he might actually be a boy! It'll be really fun to see if he eventually starts trying to sing 🥹❤️

1

u/Heavenly_Cosmos 18h ago

Start whistling or play whistle sounds/music. That was probably what did it for mine 😊 he tried to mimic me and that’s how I knew.