Egg Binding, A Breeder's Approach

Egg Binding is a serious problem attributed to the inability of a bird to lay or expel its egg/s from its body.
It is observed that smaller birds including cockatiels are more susceptible to egg binding.
The usual cause of such inability is an abnormality in the egg's structure. Either soft shelled or abnormally larger in size, the stuck egg may kill your bird within seconds.
Lovely, my first cockatiel to succumb to egg binding, was all playful and active minutes before egg binding struck and killed her immediately.
The following are major causes of egg binding:

Lack of Calcium. Eggs are made of calcium. Being depleted of this element will cause hens to produce soft shelled eggs that are hard to expel. This happens when there is little or no calcium source within their diet, and even if there is a source, too many clutches laid within a small period of time will be too much for any small bird.

Overbreeding. More than two clutches a year places your bird at a high risk to encounter egg binding. Calcium and nutrient intake will not be able to catch up with the fast depletion of these nutrients due to excessive egg production.

Lack of Essential vitamins. Producing and laying eggs are stressful activities and Calcium is but a small portion of what a hen needs. Lack of other vitamins will lead to abnormally shaped egg that the cloaca is not designed to handle.

Age. A young bird, in the case of a cockatiel, below a year old, have a higher risk of egg binding due to the underdeveloped reproductive systems.

Prevention.

Apparently, given the list of causes, a responsible breeder can take steps to minimize it. Cuttlebone is the best and most trusted calcium source as it is natural, it also supplies necessary amount of iodine and most importantly, your cockatiels are more than willing to take them. They should always be available even when not breeding. Two or three times a week, soluble vitamins can be added to their water source. It is said that adding drops of vegetable oil to their seed dish can lessen the risk dramatically. For the overzealous breeders, remove the nest box after the second clutch to discourage further breeding until the next season.

Cure

Unfortunately, your veterinary is the only possible cure for your bird. Operation may be necessary and you don't have the tools for it nor the knowledge. The bird may be injected with calcium for cloacal contraction helping to expel the egg. With all these possible solutions the risk of losing your bird is still very high.

Always remember that breeding and egg laying is always an emergency situation. Do your best to stop egg binding before it happens.

Handfeeding cockatiels

Things to remember

When to Pullout

If you have a choice, chicks should be pulled out at 2 weeks of age. During this period the chick should be stronger, its eyes open, it would be easier to feed, domesticate and its immune system more complete.
Pulling out a chick younger than 2 weeks old is possible though not recommended. Uno, our first handfed bird was pulled out from the nest when he was 2 days old, he is a sour crop survivor. During this period until the second week you have to feed it once every two hours constantly with a watery solution of your handfeed mix with a rubber tube and syringe.

Brooding materials and sterilization

Others use an enclosed small glass aquarium, bottom lined with wood shavings then covered with newspaper. What works best for me though is a fruit basket more like of a wicker nest. bottom covered with newspaper and another layer of crumpled paper. This makes it easier(and cheaper) for me to clean up. the crumpled paper had to be replaced when soiled before the next feeding time.

Temperature Control

The younger the chick's age the more important this is. Young chicks don't have enough feathers to regulate heat properly, they still depend on their parents for their heat source, especially in colder places. If purchasing a heater is easy in your location, lucky you. The most commonly used improvisation though is the use of a lamplight. The distance of the bulb from the brooders' floor can be adjusted to properly meet the desired temperature which should be as warm(not hot) as a humans' breadth.

Handfeeding formula/mix

There are lots of available hand feeding formulas in the market. In our locale though, it is not that easily available. And yes there are proven options if you have a similar situation as mine. Baby foods specifically those which are made of fruits, cereals and the like are possible and sometimes, specially at chicks a week old or younger, safer. I purchased a handfeeding formula that is really good except that it is still grainy (not powdery like baby's food which is finer) and I'm not sure if my formula is not watery enough, choked one of my 4 day old chicks to death. Since then I only use Cerelac (Fruits and soya) for week old or younger chicks. Upon reaching the first week though, it is better to use the more balanced specifically formulated handfeeding solutions. You can notice that they grow much faster and fatter.

Preparing chick for handfeeding

Handfeeding Schedule

Wing clipping

I will make a stand on this as others try to play safe in the middle others oppose it, but one can say that when one is handfeeding chicks, this is almost a necessity.

Sour Crop on Handfed Chicks

This is said to be typically common on cockatiel chicks. One of the common culprits is cold food. This induces the fungi Candida to grow which is one its main causes, it can also be caused by bacterial growth. It can also be due to impaction, solid foods blocking the passage, though it should be a rare cause for handfed chicks since they are fed plain handfeeding formulas. This is a RED ALERT, time is definitely against you, our first handfed chick Uno survived it.