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I need to remove my female tiel as she is plucking the chicks and wondered how to possibly coparent the chicks. I am a experianced handfeeder but don't want to handfeed all chicks Thnks, melissa

Is she plucking ALL the chicks?
You might just have to hand feed them all...

Melissa,

If the hen is plucking the chicks, ban her from the nestbox. You will most likely have to supplement the male's feeding. I went through this scenario with my last clutch, and while somewhat of a PITA, it's not that bad really, plus you get to get some hands on time with the chicks which will help later on, but in my case, it didn't. The chicks were about 5-6 days old when we first noticed the plucking, or perhaps even later, but it was clearly evident Missy was plucking all the chicks, and not just one. We made out pretty well, and Smokey, being the good daddy bird he is, was able to feed all 4 of his kids without killing himself. I suspect I supplemented feedings for about 2 weeks... memory no good, but I was so happy to have those prickly little kids begging me for food, till it really was a joy to feed them. At some point in time, you might re-introduce the hen back with the chicks and watch very closely for plucking, but remove her again if she starts plucking again. In my case, Missy started plucking feathers from her mate even before the eggs hatched, but we didn't really catch it till some time later. At about 4 - 5 weeks, we started letting Missy back into the nestbox / cage, and she did not pluck any more, but still would feed the chicks when they were begging. YMMV

Sam

Thanks Sam, I was hoping you would get on and help me!! Monica said you knew about Coparenting and she was right, I seperated the female and the male has done quite well but I actully put her back in for the night. I still plan on feeding the 2 and letting him feed the other 2. She has only started plucking one and he still has pin feathers, I am still kinda new to breeding this is their second clutch, even though I am experiance in handfeeding I raised 3 chicks last year and handfed my first chick the year before for a breeder I knew that was training me to handfeed. Well thanks everybody else that answered too.... Melissa

Melissa,

I would strongly suggest you let the male feed the all the chicks, while at the same time supplement his feeding. Reason behind this is because of the fact that he will pass along the good bacteria and some other stuff that they can only get from the parents. When Missy started plucking the last clutch, they were old enough that I didn't have to add much to them, but Smokey was having a hard time keeping all the chicks fed. Naturally, the older they get, the more food they need, and there was just no way Smokey could eat enough to keep them all fed and full. One thing that I attribute to our birds health is the amount of protein they were getting. Smokey and Missy would both pig out on boiled shrimp, and that is one of the most protein rich foods they could eat and then pass along to the chicks. It might not hurt to give boiled shrimp a try for the male which would be a big boost in the amount of protein they get. Hand feeding alone would not provide them the necessary good bacteria and other stuff that helps their immune system to develop. If you do try the shrimp, a little hint... if you purchase frozen shrimp raw, drop them in boiling water and cook for exactly 3 minutes, whether or not the water has come back to a boil. That way, they are done, and not overcooked, and that also applies to fresh raw shrimp. Three minutes max! You don't lose much in the way of nutrients when cooked that method, and you might find out your male and female actually like eating them I know that's kind of an expensive diet even for humans, but it's worth it in the long run if they eat 'em.

Sam