Recently deceased cocatiel parent

Question
Hi, before we knew our 2 cockatiels were to-be parents, our male escaped out our front door and we weren't able to get him back. A few days later, to our surprise, our hen gave birth to her first clutch of eggs. It's been a week now and she's been sitting on them. I don't think there's a problem, but when they hatch (there are 3) will she know what to do without the presence of the cock, like feed it? Should I worry? Is she capable of doing the job by herself when she knows that she is the only one of her kind around?

Thanks.

Answer
Hi, Graham.  Thanks for posting!

Sorry to hear about the loss of your male tiel.  First of all, there isn't any guarantee any of these eggs will hatch.  This doesn't have anything to do with whether the male is present or not.  Many things can go wrong with an embryo from the time the egg is laid until it hatches, if the egg is viable to begin with.  In a normal situation, tiel pairs share the duties, i.e., the male incubates the eggs 12 hrs per day, the female the 12 hour night shift.  They also share feeding duties, etc.  Since the female is incubating her eggs, it sounds like she intends to do what needs to be done.  Is she incubating them 24/7 or only 12 hours per day?

She should be able to feed 3 chicks on her own.  A normal tiel clutch is 4-6 eggs, which takes 2 birds.  However, I would advise you to very quickly get up to speed on handfeeding baby parrots with handfeeding formula and a handfeeding syringe IN CASE the female can't keep up with her babies and/or to help her out (you could help feed the babies a couple times per day).  Otherwise, keeping 3 babies fed, warm, and herself nourished and well is going to be a BIG job for the female.  

A good female hen of the correct age (how old is your female?) and in good health should be able to care for 3 chicks fairly well on her own.  I've seen it happen!  Don't forget, however, that these eggs may not even hatch.

Visit my website for more information on handfeeding, etc., and come back with any questions.  Tiel eggs start to hatch about 18 days AFTER the female starts incubating them.  They will hatch in the order laid (if they are fertile) every other day.

Were these eggs laid in a nesting box or on the cage bottom?

www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Chrys