do you think babies prefer to be fed while seated on a perch? I am trying to feed on the table but they always eager to climb anything they can find - one baby perches on the handle of the pot where cup with formula is sitting, others go to the curtain rod and would have no problems to eat sitting there but not on the table. I have one bird who always climbs the wall of the formula cup (which is not acceptable option). Do you think it would help providing them with a small portable playground with the perch? I have to take them to another room to feed as parents would be too distracting

Another question. When I mix formula, at the beginning the consistency is just right. But while the cup is sitting in the pot with warm water, I noticed formula becomes more watery. Does any one else have the same problem? It takes me a long time to feed my babies as many don't cooperate.

Oh, no, my feelings aren't hurt at all, we're fine. It just sounded like you were starting to feel defensive which was not my intention. My posts here don't seem productive, so I'm bowing out.

There is a lot of general questions that I am still having, you helped about DNA sexing and other things.

The feathers will grow back. It's theoretically possible that the feather follicles are damaged and they won't grow back, but it usually takes repeated plucking for that to happen. It's more common for the mom to be the plucking parent, but sometimes it's the dad.

You can try giving the babies something to perch on while you feed them. If the table top is slippery, having something to grip will make them feel more stable and secure.

Thanks Carolyn. Were you all right thru your absence?

The father does something to the chicks that can be either preening or plucking. He did it to the previous clutch too, but nobody ever missed any feathers, so I conclude he is preening them. He goes thru their feathers with his beak until the chick screams. They often scream when he does it and he does it anywhere in the house, not just in the nestbox. What could be the reasons to pluck them? I understand if parents were trying to kick chicks out of the box, but this is not the case. I remove the box for the whole day. In the evening, I don't give the hen any chance to slip in. I didn't see them mating yesterday but they mated today. Can we say from hen's appearance if she has an egg inside or not? I can see a lump in her rear sometimes but this can mean she bends her rear part due to hormones (I think)

The chicks have a table with the towel on it for feeding. I even bought a small stand with perch, but it doesn't really help. One baby (the youngest who we call Babyface) still eats from me, two others would eat in restrained position and two cinnamons don't eat at no circumstances. They all fly away from me inside the bedroom and scream back to their father, who screams to them thru the door. I think, it can be that father always have those different colored daughters his favorites, and feeds them more? At least, it was the case with Stella the pearl.

Yesterday I went to the local bird store. They are famous in bird world here. I told the owner about my problems, and she said she could be interested to buy the parents. She has bred birds for many years and seems pretty adequate. She's in her 60s. Anyway, as she has direct financial interest, there is a few things I found disturbing.

- she has birds in what she refers to as "facility" (not sure if we can call it aviary), where birds are always in cages (large enough), that has rotating lights that imitate the Sun. I am not sure if there is enough, if any, personal attention the birds get. She visits every day and 2 helpers come to help. Most likely no toys, and no out of cage time.

- she said she pulls the babies out at age 3 weeks, so she doesn't co-parent.

- when I said my babies fly from me, she suggested I clip their wings. We know she does it to the babies in the store (I saw them clipped and clumsy)

- she told me earlier that its safe for cockatiels to have 4 clutches a year. double clutch twice. Other breeders in the Net said they allow 1-2 clutches a year.

I would certainly prefer in-home environment for them where they can be let out of their cage at least sometimes, along with some personal attention. But I wonder if birds would be happy at her facility. Maybe it doesn't appeal to me but would be fine for them?

What you think?

Handfeeding this time is even more frustrating! It takes two hours of my time (for just one feeding and I am trying to do twice a day) and yields almost zero results, plus I am all in formula, so is the house. NOt sure what to do... I often see Cinnamons in the seed bowls, maybe I should give up trying to feed them. 3 (pied) chicks is much better than 5, and those 3 more or less know what we are doing (so they more or less cooperate). But the Cinnamons weigh both under 80g.

I know I said I was bowing out of the thread, but no one is replying so I thought I'd give it a shot. It doesn't sound like you're comfortable selling your babies to her, so why are you considering it? There are other options. Have you checked into seeing if there's a bird club in your area? Again, if there is one, you may get some great advice there.

What are your plans if your female or one of the older baby females lays eggs?

Cloudy skies, thanks for the input. I don't want anybody to bow out.

I need to mention that the bird store is a little bit more than just another pet store. This is where everybody gets their seeds (they also have their own seed company) and brings their birds to clip nails. They have probably 30 years history in the city. I am sure if there were a bird club, it would revolve around them. When you say babies, do you mean my parent birds? I was talking about the parents. I haven't checked into any other options yet, the parents won't be ready to go quite some time. Right now I am surviving. Simple things like loading dishwasher (kitchen is a mess) or laundry seem as complicated as world revolution. My stomach is always empty. Well, enough complaining... I tell myself that this times will be over. 4-5th weeks are always super hard (this is when babies start flying, loosing weight, refusing to eat from me, etc).

Answering your other questions. Today in the morning, when I uncovered the birds and was going to wait for the babies to leave the box so I could take it away, something took my attention (was it my daughter asking about clean socks and underwear? LOL). When I came back to it, I discovered that Cuddles was inside, I was going to kick her out and them I saw she just laid an egg... Honestly, I was glad she was done so quickly and it happened in the box because otherwise, it could be much more complicated. I still kicked her out and took to the box with the egg away. Usually, I put it on the floor in daughter's room. In the afternoon, I came up from the basement and saw that some birds were in daughter's room (they normally don't come in there). That was suspicious , and I kept looking what brought them there. I opened the box that was on the floor and saw our mom (Cuddles) in the box, sitting on her egg. I can't express what her eyes told me. It was like: Hey, you are a mom yourself, don't you know how much it hurts to be kicked out off your babies? I kicked her out and moved the box to a different room. I guess we can't use it anymore for babies to sleep. Tonight is the first night they are spending not in the box.
I expect things to get worse. In 2 days she will be due for the second egg. I don't think she would stop laying eggs so quickly. Last time when suddenly she lost her box, she was frantically checking everything is the house for a good nest location.

yes, Mama bird needs calcium and greens, babies need formula, father needs various food to feed the babies, human daughter needs clean socks and underwear (and not only of course), I need to do and submit homework. Forgot - rabbits need to be fed, etc.