I have this cage: http://smile.amazon.com/Prevue-Hendryx- ... 0002AQ228/ I do NOT use the cups that came with it because I don't like them, and use metal coop cups instead. The side doors of the cage have tension springs on the hinges, so I locked all these doors with clips to make sure that a bird doesn't try to push through the door and then get its head caught because of the spring.

It's hard to say what the odds are of the eggs being fertile. The best way to check is to hold a small, bright light like a penlight up against the egg to see what's inside. If the egg is infertile it will look yellow inside. If you see red coloring or if the egg looks dark inside, it's fertile. There's more info on egg candling at http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.com/i ... dling.html

would I see anything if I point the penlight to the egg without touching the egg (inside the nestbox)? Anyway, our parents protect the nest and very rare I have a chance to even see the eggs. I was worried for DIS but I didn't see any eggs turning dark. little birds and the dad already spend their night in the new cage.

What for are the side doors with the springs? I've got the smaller version of this cage. Can't say yet if I like it... Our birds are out of the cage all day long.
Looks I can't use regular bird feeder that you insert in the slot while sliding the door up? hmmm this is strange... Is coop cup the one that has a holder with the screw? Our birds like to eat all together pushing each other, so the long feeder that came with the cage is handy

our first clutch was incubated when it was pretty hot outside so we had to use a bit of AC or just keep windows open. Now its a different story with the central heating. I wonder how it may affect the eggs. We have a water bowl inside the cage with nestbox, plus I am using warm mist humidifier in the room. Don't know if this is enough.

You'll get the best results if the light is touching or almost touching the egg - an LED pen light works great for this because the bulb doesn't get hot like some other kinds of lights do. You might be able to see something if the light is further away. But you need a tight, focused beam of light to illuminate the inside of the egg, and the further away the light is, the more the beam will spread out.

The side doors on the cage can be used in any way you like. I use one door for the nestbox entrance during breeding season, and sometimes I'll open one of the doors if I want to do something in the back of the cage and need access. Otherwise I hang food dishes on some doors and don't use the others. I reach inside the cage through the main door to change the food bowls rather than going in through the side doors.

If you like the cups that came with the cage then by all means use them! I don't like the way they're divided in half. I was putting one type of food in one side and a different type in the other side, and it was hard to empty out just one side. But different people have different ways of doing things, and this arrangement might be perfect for you.

There are different ways to attach coop cups. Some have a screw, but I tend to prefer the type that uses hooks:


It sounds like you have plenty of humidity in the room. If you have a humidity gauge you'll know the exact level. There are inexpensive digital thermometers that have a humidity gauge built in, and I keep one of these in the bird room.

today I saw both parents being out of nestbox for a long time. Until this, they carefully incubated eggs all the time. 4 eggs are past due but 2 more still could hatch if fertile.
Do they have a way to know that eggs are not going to hatch? Can they feel it? I put the hen in the cage, she got inside the nestbox but very soon got out and went flying.
Should I lock one of the parents inside for a few more days?

Sometimes parent birds can tell that eggs aren't going to hatch and sometimes they can't tell. It sounds like your birds have given up on this clutch. If they're not spending time in the nest, you have the opportunity to candle the eggs and find out what's going on inside them.

Today I watched Seussical (the musical) and there were a bird who got tired of sitting on her egg so she asked the elephant to sit instead of her as she needed to go to vacation (and then to a date). This reminded me my poor hen Actually, she came back and was sitting on the eggs like normal. I wish our dad would sit more during the day. he does, but she spends much more time in the nest. The chicks don't even consider her a parent (I think), all she does is preening them. The father is much more involved with the chicks.
I would need to watch video on how to candle eggs. At this time, if remaining eggs are to hatch, they would be starting hatching process. I would be very afraid to pick them up and mess with them.

2 chicks are trying to sing but don't have a singing voice yet (adorable!) - should we assume they are boys?

With a second clutch, it's typical for the male to tend the older babies while the hen tends the eggs. It's possible that your "singing" babies are males, but it's very early for them to be displaying male behavior. It's more likely that they could be either sex, and are discovering their voice.

I don't know about anyone else .... but I certainly learned a LOT from this long and fascinating post. Carolyn you are an excellent and patient tutor. If and when I ever have chicks, I'll refer back here. I think the most important thing I learned is how much of a responsibility it is to breed.
Chipper...congratulations to you for staying committed and loving to your birds when it got so overwhelming for you. I hope it all works out well for you and your birds. They are lucky to have you.

Thank you Peach's mom and THANK YOU TielFan!
Well, I am not always sure that having me as an owner was a blessing for them
Anyway, I just checked their keelbones and I would say that certainly some of them are underweight. My biggest concern is our pearl girl. She is really slim, and the problem is that she depends on the parents a lot still but shes not getting much. She begging for food very loud. I guess she used to be father's favorite who always got fed but she needs to move on but she doesn't realize it.
One baby is probably fully weaned. She doesn't want to eat from me, she looks good and not bony, she is the heaviest and most mature.
Two others look OK and begging for food a little bit just from the habit I guess. They eat formula and other food all right.
All of them still need parent's approval for anything, even to go to eat. If the parent is eating, they will be eating with him/her. If parents are not present, the chicks would be waiting for parents to appear even if its been a long time. I always take them to the food and sometimes they would eat on their own, sometimes not.

What should I do about the pearl girl? Feed her formula more often? Because she doesn't eat from me well - just force her to eat whatever gets inside? or just wait when she weans and gains weight from eating on her own? I would say, she is naturally not small, like one of other chicks (who weighs only 80g but looks and behaves OK)

Tomorrow will be the last day for eggs to hatch. Should I remove eggs and the nestbox immediately or wait a few days? Should I also transfer mom to sleep with everybody? She sleeps in the old cage with eggs.
I also noticed that mom becomes pretty round. She used to be rather slim. I guess she is eating well but not feeding anybody. Is it a concern or not? I don't know what she weighs and never did.

Does having a pearl baby mean one of the parents is split? They both appear pied.