How do I make a incubator/brooder for Cockateil?

You're lucky that both cockatiel parents sit on their eggs . Dad will do the job himself, but there's any problems, you can make a quick incubator/brooder by using an old aquarium or plastic critter keeper.

What you need is listed below:

**Tuna can or small animal food bowl. Keep filled with water. Used if the eggs need incubating.

**Reptile substrate warmer. Keep this under 1/2 the critter keeper so if babies get hot they can move about.

** Milk carton with one of the long sides cut out. Lined with paper towel and used when the babies hatch. I find this helps the babies stay warmer if they're very young.

**Towel to put over the kritter keeper.

**A reptile themometer and a Hygrometer **VERY IMPORTANT!!** . This helps you keep the babies at the right temp and humidity. Since I've added these I've been able to keep the babies at the right temp more often.

**Sock filled 1/2 way with uncooked rice. Heat this 2-3 minutes if it's cold outside and you'll be travelling distances. Wrap it in a face towel and stick it beside the babies agaist the milk carton. I've used this in the middle of winter, on a bus with 2 chicks. The babies did wonderfully with this thing!

**Toy and small piece of felt to cover the baby chicks with. I find babies don't cry as often between feedings when they're covered with a black piece of felt. The toy gives them something to snuggle against, as if mommy was there with them . They feel more secure when this is done and it mimics what mom and dad does with them.

What you do with this set up is that you put the substrate heater under the keeper/aquarium. Place it under 1/2 of it, so the babies can move about if they're too hot. Over this, line the bottom with 1 or 2 layers of paper towel. Put the babies inside the milk carton lined with one layer of paper towel. Place the milk carton evenly over the heated and unheated side of the aquarium to allow the babies to escape the temperature according to how they feel. Put the hygrometer and thermometer near the wall closest to the floor of the aquarium / critter keeper. This keeps a more accurate temperature (one that the babies are experiencing) than if it's placed near the middle of the aquarium. Make sure the hygrometer and thermometer are kept inside the brooder! Then I cover the babies with the felt. if they're too hot I find they sit on top of the thing.

As the babies grow older you can drop the milk carton. This usually happens when they're 10-14 days old. Then they treat it like a toy and they fall out of the thing. However, I use the rice flled sock as a wall so they are kept in half of the brooder. That way the rice keeps them warm, they have something to lean on and they can still escape the heat without wandering too far from each other.

You can do this exact set up with eggs, but you have to turn them a minimum of once a day. Keep the paper towel lightly dampened with clean water or place the tuna can/food bowl in the middle of the brooder. For eggs the temperature should stay around 82-98˚F . The Hygrometer should stay 50% and not get above 65% or the embryos will drown. The humidity should never dip lower than 50% or the embryo will dry out.

I'll post a site that should help you out with hand feeding and incubator temps. Good luck! Baby cockatiels are super cute!