What seems strange to me is that even though we all know what teflon does to birds, and how much we hammer this notion in new bird owners' heads, nobody checks that there is no teflon cookware at a bird fair.
Maybe the cause of the deaths is something else.

It's possible that it was something else, but it's easy to overlook this sort of thing. Our old venue didn't have a kitchen in the building but the new one does, and it never crossed anyone's mind that it might cause problems. We were busy trying to take care of our own operations in a new location, and the food service area wasn't on our radar screens except as a place to get snacks. The kitchen is far enough away from the bird area that maybe it wouldn't cause problems even if they started emitting teflon fumes or smoke or something, but we can't be sure of that.

January 21st I posted that I was going to build the cage on the 22nd. As usual it took a much longer time for me to do that... It's really embarrassing how slow I am at completing things

The cage was completed and ready the 9th of February. It's quite big but maybe I filled it too much with perches, platforms and toys.
Darcy was immediately very curious about it, but didn't dare entering.
It's quite funny, when the big top door is open all the birds rush inside to play and eat; as soon as I shut the large door and open the smaller door, they won't go near it.

This little video of Angelina frowning at me illustrates the deep mistrust they all feel about that cage




Anyway, Darcy and Angelina have been housed in it for the last four days, and Sesamo was added yesterday.

I have removed Bubu from the bird room, now he spends his days between my room and the kitchen, and sleeps alone in a cage next to my bed.
I haven't had any problems with flock calling and he's quite happy to spend time with me.

For the rest of the flock I have established the following routine:
Morning and early afternoon Keith, Trilly and Frank have their lunch and then I move them out of the bird room.
Darcy, Angelina and Sesamo stay in the cage for a few hours and then I let them out, and they have the bird room all to themselves.
Later in the afternoon I let Keith, Trilly and Frank in the bird room so they all have some flock time together.
They all stay out for their dinner and then everyone goes back in his own cage.

I ship everybody else out of the room when the captive trio is inside the cage because I don't want them to see everyone flying free while they are kept inside, it seems cruel to me.

Darcy, Angie and Sesamo are doing quite well together: there have been no fights at all and they are starting to get more comfortable in their surroundings.

I don't want to keep my hopes too high, but with Bubu out of the equation Darcy is such a sweet boy! I haven't spent too much time in the bird room because I don't want to distract them, but when I am there Darcy really enjoys the attention I give him and seems very relaxed.

I haven't seen any signs of bonding but I guess it's way too early for that.

Am I doing this correctly? Should I keep Darcy & Co in the cage all the time? Please let me know your thoughts about my strategy, I am sure I can make it better!
I feel that being so involved in all this I might be missing something that is clear to the observer's eye.

It sounds like a good plan to me! Everyone gets some out of cage time and some time to socialize with the whole flock, and they also get some private time in their new cage.

A little update on Mr Darcy.
I have been following the plan all these days, and he has been a very good boy. Not seeing Bubu was definitely a good thing.
BUT
There were two occasions when Bubu was with the general population, and in both occasions Darcy was definitely still following him around.
The only improvement I noticed was that I was able to give him a little head scratch without being bitten, with Bubu present in the same room.
He hasn't formed a bond with any of the girls who are in his cage; I am not giving up on that but it seems that, even though he is definitely less nervous, he won't be changing the object of his lust/affection.
Both girls are now trying to make friends with the new boy (more about it in its own thread), so I guess Mr Darcy is destined to be on his own, which is such a sad thing considering how keen he is on having a loving companion
The way he behaves now is very manageable (unless he goes beserk again when Bubu is reintroduced to the bird room in a couple of weeks). But I am very sad for him.
Maybe an aviary is a better option for him, compared to staying here and being on his own for the rest of his life.
What you guys think about it?

I would give him some more time. Cockatiels can be VERY persistent in their romantic attachments and he's still settling in to the current situation. There's no guarantee that he would be happier in an aviary, or that he would pair up with a hen in a different flock. Mims followed Vlad around for more than a year before he finally decided to accept her as his companion. I can't quite call them mates since he can't figure out how to mate lol.

Ok now this is getting really weird : the new boy is following Darcy everywhere just the way Darcy follows Bubu.
Well, it looks like my girls are destined to a life of chastity


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You won't have to worry about birdie birth control lol.

Lately I've come to the conclusion that Azazel is bisexual or gay. He sings to hens more often than he sings to cocks, but for several weeks now he's been following Teela and Squeebis around. I thought he was in love with Teela but it's looking more and more like he's actually in love with Squeebis. When I split them up he's much more anxious to get back with Squeebis.

Oh dear. Another gay couple. Beaker is definitely a gay boy. He and Jaid have their bromance. And now I'm sure Beck is going to be that way when he gets to meet Poppy. Beck is pretty hormonal right now, but he's a nice hormonal. He gets super friendly when he's itching for some loving. Too much bromance.

My birds are the opposite.
They never masturbated once! If they feel that urge, they mate. I found Shodu and Cloudia mating today but since Shodu doesn't mate properly, she didn't get fertilized