Hi All,
We have our first baby cockatiel chicks and I have two questions:
First, can I move a nesting box with chicks in it (2-3 weeks of age) to a safer location, or will the parents get upset and stop feeding them?
A little more info: We have several cockatiels that we keep in a huge enclosure at the back of our house (it used to house an indoor pool, for size reference). We have a nesting box with our first three chicks in it (about 2-3 weeks old now) sitting up on a high cabinet in this enclosure. I am afraid that the chicks are going to leave the nesting box and start to explore in the next couple of weeks and don't want them to fall and hurt themselves. We do have a large bird cage that we keep inside the enclosure, and it is large enough that I could put the nesting box on the floor of this raised cage. My concern is that the parents might not like that and will stop feeding the chicks. (Though I have all the supplies to hand-feed and handle the babies daily, I am trying to stay "hands-off" when it comes to feeding since the parents are doing such a great job.) I keep reading over and over again what a bad idea it is to ever move the nesting box. Advice?
Second, will my chicks be safe around our other cockatiels if I DO move their nesting box to the big cage that all of them share? They usually only go to the cage to eat and then they fly around and play and sleep elsewhere in the enclosure. Though I call it a cage, the doors are always wide open.
Thank you in advance for any helpful advice or shared knowledge!
Heather
We have our first baby cockatiel chicks and I have two questions:
First, can I move a nesting box with chicks in it (2-3 weeks of age) to a safer location, or will the parents get upset and stop feeding them?
A little more info: We have several cockatiels that we keep in a huge enclosure at the back of our house (it used to house an indoor pool, for size reference). We have a nesting box with our first three chicks in it (about 2-3 weeks old now) sitting up on a high cabinet in this enclosure. I am afraid that the chicks are going to leave the nesting box and start to explore in the next couple of weeks and don't want them to fall and hurt themselves. We do have a large bird cage that we keep inside the enclosure, and it is large enough that I could put the nesting box on the floor of this raised cage. My concern is that the parents might not like that and will stop feeding the chicks. (Though I have all the supplies to hand-feed and handle the babies daily, I am trying to stay "hands-off" when it comes to feeding since the parents are doing such a great job.) I keep reading over and over again what a bad idea it is to ever move the nesting box. Advice?
Second, will my chicks be safe around our other cockatiels if I DO move their nesting box to the big cage that all of them share? They usually only go to the cage to eat and then they fly around and play and sleep elsewhere in the enclosure. Though I call it a cage, the doors are always wide open.
Thank you in advance for any helpful advice or shared knowledge!
Heather