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 Post subject: Next step with chicks
PostPosted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 3:00 pm 
Finch
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The chicks will soon be coming out of the nestbox. They are beginning to poke heads out and are flapping their wings. They are now in a flight cage with the nestbox at the top. I have a perch just outside the opening of the box and a large shelf in the corner which can be reached by the perch. I have removed all perches and wll place a solid material over the grate at the bottom. I will cover it with white papertowels or newspaper for ease in cleaning.
Once they come out of the nestbox do I put them back in at night? Do I begin to offer them some millet. I did read on Cockatiel Cottage about introducing foods but I probably will have more questions as we progress.

Am I on the right track? Is there anything else I need to know at this time? They are spending some time out of the cage on the floor for exploring and play and them I hold each of them for at least 15 mins. reading and cuddling them. I am beginning to have the oldest try to perch on my finger but maybe it is a little soon.

I have been so luckly to have had a good experience so far


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 Post subject: Re: Next step with chicks
PostPosted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 3:40 pm 
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Name: Carolyn
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Your plans are right on track. You could offer the babies some millet spray and other foods right now when you have them out on the floor - they're interested in messing with food even before they fledge.

When the babies start leaving the nest, keep an eye on the situation to see if the parents are still feeding them. Fledglings tend to spend most of their time on the bottom of the cage during the first two or three days out of the nest, and some parents can't figure out how to deal with "floor chicks". If the parents are confused, you can put the baby back in the nest every two or three hours - the parents definitely know how to feed it there. If the baby can balance well on a perch you can put it up there for feeding. Many babies have a hard time standing on a perch at first, but you're giving perching lessons to yours already so they might be able to do it sooner.

Until my babies can balance well on a perch, I always put them in the nestbox at night because I think they'll feel a lot safer there. This is optional of course, they don't get this kind of service in the wild.

They won't try to fly too much at first since they're more occupied with other things. But once they feel a little more confident about the outside world they'll start working on their flying skills, and you'll need to provide a safe place for them to do it. Basically a room that's not too big so they can't build up a dangerous amount of speed flying for a long distance in a straight line, and no major hazards like uncovered windows or big mirrors.



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 Post subject: Re: Next step with chicks
PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 6:00 am 
Finch
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OMG I had the chicks out for playtime this am. Bitsy and Roscoe were on the floor also when something startled them. Bitsy and Roscoe took off flying and so did chick #1. I couldn't believe it. He/she flew into dining room and I found the chick clinging to a playstand I have in there. We resumed playng and Bitsy started to fly and chick #1 went with her. Still living in the nestbox, can't perch very good and has started flying, can't believe it!!


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 Post subject: Re: Next step with chicks
PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 6:07 am 
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How old is he now? My babies usually fledge at 24-26 days and I've heard of babies doing it as young as 3 weeks. It sounds like baby #1 has fledged without passing through the nestbox door. :cheery:



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 Post subject: Re: Next step with chicks
PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 9:13 am 
Finch
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chick #1 28 days, chick #2 26 days and chick #3 24 days.


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 Post subject: Re: Next step with chicks
PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 9:23 am 
Conure
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28 days old is the usual age that they start fledging. It's interesting how he dis it without passing the nest box :)


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 Post subject: Re: Next step with chicks
PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 11:40 pm 
Lovebird
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I was convinced that bigger rooms would be more suitable for chicks and youngsters learning to fly.
My reasoning was: if the room is bigger they can avoid bumping into things and hurt themselves.
I didn't think about the risk of them building up too much speed, silly me.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk



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 Post subject: Re: Next step with chicks
PostPosted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 11:14 am 
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They will crash into the walls no matter how big the room is. They don't understand the concept of barriers until they've smacked into one a few times, and they probably crash into trees while they're learning in the wild. Baby birds are pretty naive wherever they are.



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 Post subject: Re: Next step with chicks
PostPosted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 11:19 am 
Parrotlet
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My baby has picked up flying rather quickly, seeing she was 7 wks on Wednesday. She actually has been wing fanning a lot. Doesn't that mean its a girl? Isn't that early Carolyn?



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 Post subject: Re: Next step with chicks
PostPosted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 3:52 pm 
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Name: Carolyn
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Most chicks fledge at around 4 weeks. Standing around in "bat bird" position tends to be a female thing but boys do it too.



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