Okay, as long as you know the formula is fresh, your good to go. Make sure when you start new babies on formula that it's almost water. I know a lot of breeders are cautious about the temperature they feed so I don't know what your breeder told you. All of my babies, big and small, want their baby food between 115 and 120 degrees. Below 115 they don't want it. But you do whatever your breeder told you. It takes a couple of feedings to get them used to it and once their hungry enough they will gobble it down. When they first start eating they may not take very much per feeding so don't be alarmed. I feed every two hours until I get them started, and within two days we have a set routine and they know when it's time to eat. It sounds like your babies are old enough to be fed 4 times a day, but start them on five times a day and if their not eating much in a couple of days back them down to four times a day. Make sure their always warm. I keep a light on my babies day and night to keep them warm until they are fully feathered. By then their in a cage, starting to wean, so I cover their cage at night. When I first pull my babies I cover them with a wash cloth so they will feel secure like mom is still there. It gives them comfort so they don't stay huddled in a corner and are comfortable. Good luck.

What was wrong with letting the parents do the work and you just handle the baby all the way along.

This makes for a better adjusted adult later in life.

Ripping them from the nest and hand feeding sucks. Sorry!

And I say this sucks with conviction as I am one of those who tries to rehab birds that have become so humanised by this practice that when things go wrong the bird does not know it is a bird and does not know how to deal with life without its human.

Yes sure ripping them from the nest and humanising sounds great. But by handling them from day one and letting the parents do the work you can have just as tame bird, and without clipping too boot.

What was wrong with letting the parents do the work and you just handle the baby all the way along. This makes for a better adjusted adult later in life.…show more

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I've hand fed a few baby cockatiels before, but they were about a month old when I started and got them from a breeder. Of course they were hand fed from them which made it a whole lot easier for me. It's an amazing thing and they become so tame. I have two cockatiels and they just laid eggs. Only one hatched. I just pulled the baby today. He's 3 weeks old. I wanted him to get all the nutrients from mom and dad before I start hand feeding...when I pulled him however, he's not accepting the formula. I let him have a taste, but he doesn't do the bobbing of the head up and down or seem to like the food in general. Its the right temperature and i use a syringe, even had a bent spoon in hand. Is this normal at first? Will he eventually start eating the food? How many tries does it take? I don't want him to starve either...I use kaytee exact hand feeding formula. I'm a little worried. I took him to the vet a few days ago and the lady said he was healthy and it's up to me if I want to hand feed.