move nesting box to safer location?

[Heather77]

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

 

[Zara]

Hello Heather, Welcome to the Avenue!

That sounds like a very large space for your birds

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.

What you can do is lay some mats and duvets under the box. Granted, they may get pooped on a ton, but they should be able to soften any accidental falls. Though being in an enclosed area (not wild), there will be little wind, no predators, it´s not very likely they will fall out unless there´s a very unfortunate accident.
Usually the chicks will huddle in the corner farthest from the nesting box entrance. So they will be safe back there. When they are feathered and moving around they may peak out, but tend not to venture out until their wings are able to safely flutter them to the ground.
If you find fledglings on the floor around the nestbox that are feathered, leave them and check back later on in the evening to be sure they made it back up to the roost.
If they are unfeathered, return them to the nest box. But check on them the following day in case they were pushed by a parent.

 

[Gigibirds]

I have moved lovebird nesting boxes and the parents didn't mind at all! (bu tot be fair the mom was obsessed with her kids and nothing was going to stop her from getting to them.) They were 3 weeks old at the time.

Also I was very worried about my first lovebird babies when they started approaching the age where they were going to leave the nesting box. They came out for the first time when they were only 6 weeks old! And guess what? They did great! Birds are somehow absolutely amazing at surviving.... I was going to put down soft stuff for them, but a couple of things happened. 1. Their mom started shoving sticks in the entrance of the nesting box so they couldn't leave unless they tried reallllyyyy hard, so I knew that she was watching out for them. 2. I saw them leave! They were trying out their wings and having a blast! Their mom followed them around everywhere and was constantly checking to see if they were ok. 3. She somehow could round them up and tell them to go back into the nesting box, and they would obey instantly! 4. In the wild, birds don't have soft stuff to protect them. Of course, we change things when we take them in and turn them into pets, but the main instincts are still there. As long as you check every now and then to make sure that no one is stuck on the ground, you should be fine.

Good luck with your baby birds!

 

[Zara]

4. In the wild, birds don't have soft stuff to protect them.

We can´t compare captive birds to wild birds. Also, in the wild, do you think a chick has never fell from the nest? Sure they do, but life goes on for them.
In captivity, we can give them an advantage in breeding, and prevent as best possible any unnessecary deaths.
I did already go into the unlikelyness of falling from the nest, but laying some soft sheets around that area can´t hurt, and should the unlikely happen, there´s a nice soft landing.

 

[Gigibirds]

Oh I know, and I still did put down some soft stuff, but my point is that they live without it sometimes. Like I said, we change things when we turn them into pets, but don’t worry - I’m completely for protecting them as much as possible!!