Take as long as you need to - if the eggs get chilled it's all over. I'm kind of surprised that they're so scared of the nestbox. Usually the lure of a hidey hole is stronger than the fear of the unknown.

They're both usually more adventurous than this. Maybe parenthood has made them cautious. Usually it's Denali who's terrified of everything while the other two delight in getting where they're not supposed to be . I cracked open the lid a skosh, so they can see in and see the box isn't inhabited by a scary snake or something (One thing Pippin is scared of is anything that too closely resembles a snake).

I might have to break out the big guns and get the popcorn maker out.

Are they tame at all? What I like to do when I want my birds to explore a nest box is by letting them perch on my finger and slowly approach them to the open nest box. They will then peak through and see it's actually pretty cozy. Good luck!

They're tame, but not interested in being near the box. They fly off if I try to move them close.

We got close yesterday night--since they're in a bucket right now, I thought if I kept the box lid open it might look similar and entice them. I moved the eggs temporarily, and JJ was looking at them and seemed interested, but still wouldn't go in. And then I had to move the eggs back because JJ went to sit and got very upset he couldn't get in the bucket (I put the lid on it so they couldn't see the empty nest). Soooo...progress!

I also candled the eggs again, and if I'm doing it right then I can confirm that both chicks have dark eyes. As expected; I don't know the parents of either but I don't think JJ is split lutino and I'd be surprised if a Petco bird had the rarer splits.

Well, JJ is inside and sitting so I moved the eggs. I went to the local bird fair today and when I came back, JJ had spent quite a bit of effort enlarging the entry hole. JJ's a pretty big bird, at least compared to the other two, so maybe that was his problem.

Pippin still hasn't figured it out. She'll stick her head in, but she won't go all the way in. I took out the bucket and she doesn't seem distressed yet, but she is confused. JJ's calling to her, so hopefully she'll get it.

And we have a problem. JJ was fine sharing the bucket with Pippin, but he will not let her in the nestbox.

Males will chew on the entrence hole to decorate it for the hen until she accepts it.

They won't share the nest box? That's not too good. I would wait for Tielfan to answer this question. I would take a look at this...

http://www.internationalcockatielresour ... -pair.html

This is really fascinating! I'm cheering for you and the babies.

Chewing up the entry hole is part of the male's job lol. I'm not sure why he won't let her in - it's not good if he's not really bonded with her but there are other possible explanations. The most common incubation pattern is for the male to sit in the daytime and the hen to sit at night, and maybe he thinks it isn't her turn yet. You can wait for a while to see what happens, and it might be helpful to remove him from the cage for a while to give her a chance to check out the box. Just make sure the eggs don't get chilled!

If he doesn't relax and start letting her in, you might have to make them take turns being the parent on duty by removing one from the cage periodically. It's not ideal but it will help both of them keep up the level of their breeding hormones.

I have considered he's just a dolt--he was whistling and flock calling to her, and kept sticking his head out, but then he'd charge the hole when she tried to go through. He didn't seem to have a problem until she actually tried to enter. And he wasn't biting, just gaping--JJ tends not to warn before biting, so I'll take that as a good sign. Hopefully he's just hormonal and confused. JJ has no impulse control, and he's only a year and a half. Fingers crossed that's the problem! They were bathing in their bathtub together this morning, and have been okay sitting next to each other, so I'm getting mixed signals here

I put them to bed already, but placed the eggs back in the bucket. Pippin calmed down and was sitting in the bucket when I turned off the lights, JJ was still in the nestbox. Tomorrow will be difficult because I have to work (and can't work from home, which is an option most days but not tomorrow) and am having company over at night. I will see what I can do!