The youngest chick is 8 wks old now. Thw 2 oldest seem to be weaning better, but the youngest still will cry alot. I don't think that Bitsy is feeding them anymore. Everytime I see feeding going on it is being done by Roscoe. He seems to try very hard to avoid feeding them but when the crying is overwhelming he seems to say "ok here is a little"

Two questions: When can I move Bitsy and Roscoe out of the family cage and back into Smokeys cage?

Next question: I have tried to find homes for them through word of mouth but iI have found no one. My next obtion is Craig's List or I have talked to a pet store north of here that will take them. What do you all think? The oldest baby has turned out reall friendly, will step-up etc but this is the one I think I will keep. H/S is the white faced pearl pied and is really pretty. The other two will land on me during out of cage time, can step up but in reality are hard to catch and would prefer to be left alone. They will cuddle a little when tired. They were doing real well but after they could fly they became much more independent and to get them back in their cage I have had pick themup with my hand which they do not like. .I am thinking about doing a light wing clip on them to see if this settle themdown a little.

You can move the parents when all of the chicks are 100% weaned. Make sure the chicks are eating themselfs and not begging at all

I dont know an answer to the second question since I never rehomed any of my birds.

I wouldnt clip any of the babies yet. They are very small and need to learn how to fly before you clip them. Babies like to fly, alot! They would rather fly than eat.

Please dont clip them. Its not healthy for them because they will have flight problem when they grow back.

Clipping them so young is going to bring a lot of problems in their lives; it's something that's not suggested anymore by anyone because if they don't learn to fly properly, in the first few months of their lives, it will be seriously detrimental.
Unfortunately when they are so young they are full of energy, I feel for you because I remember how exhausted I was every night after they were all asleep... It's the worst part for someone who's no spring chicken like me, tying to keep up and convince them to listen.
Have you tried to take one baby to a room on his own and then interact? Without all the distractions they are usually calmer.

About selling them, a while ago Hannah posted a similar question and got a few good answers
http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1628
If you don't care too much what happens to them it won't be too difficult to sell them, I personally suggest high price and ferocious screening to avoid breeders, brokers, hoarders and other bad individuals.
I asked a high price but the ad was written in a way it attracted all the right people and they went very fast, all of them.
They were not particularly tame either... I had to chase them all around the house when it was time to put them in the new owners' carriers... and they still bought them

At 8 weeks, they've been flying for about a month and should have good flying skills at this point. I don't see any problem with clipping them slightly to slow them down a little and make them easier to handle. I would leave them with enough wing power to at least fly across a room or two. As an alternative (or in addition) you could try offering a really nice treat when you want them to go back to the cage but it might not work. It's hard to compete with the fun of flying.

Oh really? I never knew that. I thought you can clip then at 8 months. I remember seeing something like that on another forum.

If you say it's okay, then I say it's okay

Eight months is a really long time! I don't know what that number is based on, there isn't any particular milestone that they hit at that time.

My personal feeling is that if they've been getting several hours of out of cage time per day for a month, they're about as skilled as they're ever going to be. They'll also be quite strong at that point, as proved by how long it takes to tire them out if you want them to go in the cage and they don't want to. It's still not a bad idea for any clipping to be on the light side, so they can keep on practicing their flight skills. If they're lightly clipped they'll just have to work harder to fly, which means they'll get even stronger.

They have had out of cage time on their own since they started flying. They do very well but I sure have some crooked pictures. LOL seems that and the top of doors is the best place to land.

Barbara, would you mind sending me a few pointers on the wording of your ad. I would like to see them go to good homes but am a little afraid that if they are hard to catch, someone may not want them or worse yet would keep them in a cage all the time. I love having them loose. Smokey has had complete out of cage time since the chicks were a week old. He sleeps on top of their cage and feels like he is still part of the flock. I am a little disappointed that he does not seem to want to have anything to do with any of the chicks now that they get out of the cage but perhaps that will change once 2 of them are gone.

I', not so young either age wise but I don't always think of myself as "old". I am so grateful to all of you that have been so supportive to me thru this process. And my chicks say thank you too. Hugs to all.

I don't think eight weeks is remotely enough for a bird to learn to fly. They still bump into things and they don't know how to steer properly.
Clipping a bird should be a last resort, not the norm, I am sorry but we will never agree on this.

I am going to fish out the ad and will send it to you ASAP, I hope it will help

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

I sent you a PM with the text of my ad, I hope it can help and give you some ideas

I wish you good luck on finding homes for your babies!