It's true about the clipping. Silver came to me that way. I am sure it's because they had them in a plastic bin, and didn't want them flying out. On the other hand, it permitted me to handle them and try to get a sense of which bird was right for me.

Emma came from a pet store that had her in an individual cage. I wasn't able to try to touch her before buying her. When I got her home, she was very wild, and she's been hard to tame (but has always been an excellent flyer). I love her nevertheless, but I'm just saying that there are advantages and disadvantages to each approach.

Thanks. I just read an opinion that its really essential not to clip before the bird learns fully to fly, I don't know what exactly the point is.
From another hand, I believe our hen, Cuddles, came from the same bird store (so I presume she was clipped as a baby). Previous owner didn't let her fly much. When she arrived here, she flew pretty clumsy but she learned quickly (the owner saig she was a year+ old). (I am not sure if she would be able to fully grow her clipped feathers back, because she appeared not clipped).

I don't know if I am doing the right thing with them again. Trillie used to be sleeping in the new cage with the kids, while Cuddles slept in the old cage with the nestbox. Now Cuddles goes to sleep to her old cage but not inside the nestbox. Trillie chooses to be with the kids, but I picked his up and took to the old cage because this is where the eggs are. So, its like first reducing their hormones and now trying to increase them back? I guess I shouldn't do it, right? Do they still need to sleep 12 hours? Most of the perches are used for the new cage, and very few left in the old one. There are 2 short perches up high so they both could have one. But no, they both wanted the same perch, they fought a bit and ended up sleeping on the same perch which is not long enough for 2 birds (I am expecting to hear his outraged song in the morning). Should I just let Trillie sleep with the kids?

Learning how to fly is important for the baby's physical and mental development. If they don't learn to fly at this age it can be difficult for them to learn it later on, and they may never be as strong and as skilled as a bird that learned at the proper age. They also might not learn the sense of confidence and independence that comes from learning to fly at the right age.

It's possible that your parent birds buried the eggs under the bedding. Cockatiels do this sometimes. No one really knows why, but I suspect that it's to help protect the eggs from being found by predators while the adults are away from the nest. If you dig around in the bedding you might find them.

It's possible that the hormone control suddenly kicked in and they've lost interest in breeding. If I were you I wouldn't encourage them to go back to the nest unless you want them to have more babies. Another possibility is that they do plan to breed but they're not ready to start incubating yet, so they've hidden the eggs and will start sitting on them later. Time will tell.

thanks. do you have suggestions

- should I continue 12 hours nights? this is maximum possible for us. Today I had a hard time to make it home on time, and nobody else in the family would put them to sleep (sad, but true)
- should I let Trillie sleep in the cage with kids?

Not to have more chicks at this time would certainly be better for me. I was planning to look for a job But if they have some, I guess we just going to make it thru.

Is it possible for a bird to appear unclipped if the bird was clipped as a baby?

The babies in the store looked much clumsier than mine (but more round, for sure, and very clean:). I am glad I didn't take our kids there. I gave handfeeding formula to the store that I had left because the package says to use within 30 days. AS I understood, the store doesn't pay much attention to what the package says (she was surprised I brought formula, as I said I am not done with having baby birds). She said a month is for the best nutritional value but certainly doesn't make formula bad. What you think?

Carolyn, do you have an article about molting? I have never had a bird who molts, I have no clue what and when to expect.

And no, our cock doesn't preen/pluck our hen to make her scream. Only himself and the babies. Today I had a good chance to spray them from the spray bottle. Some liked, some didn't.

it was a clipping nails day at the store - lots of people brought birds. I am sorry, do I need to clip nails for any birds in here? what is the purpose of this? I have no problems with their nails, honestly.

14 hour nights are more effective but 12 hour nights are sufficient. We just had the winter solstice on Sunday so the days are starting to get longer, which complicates things.

I don't have an article on molting but it's a fairly straightforward process. The bird loses some old feathers and grows in new ones to replace them. Wing clipping shortens the bird's flight feathers; the actual flesh and blood part of the wing isn't touched in any way. So a bird that has been clipped will return to being unclipped when the cut feathers are molted and replaced with new unclipped feathers.

A bird's toenails grow continuously, just like our fingernails. But unlike us they have a blood vessel in the toenail, and when the nails are trimmed you have to be careful not to cut the blood vessel. In the wild the nails are worn down naturally. But in our homes the nails are a lot less exposed to rough surfaces and they tend to become overgrown. So nail trimming might be needed periodically to keep them at the proper length. Providing a concrete perch or sandy perch in front of a food dish or some other popular location will help keep the nails worn down and reduce the need for nail trimming.

Your babies have been allowed to fledge naturally and learn to fly and learn all the other skills that they need to move around successfully in the world. The babies in the store have probably been kept in a tank or cage and haven't had the opportunity to learn these skills, and it's very likely that later on in life your babies will still be more skilled than them. Learning skills at the proper age has an effect on brain development as well as on the muscles and bones. This is the advantage of letting babies explore and learn to fly.

Merry Christmas, everyone, and Happy Holidays!
Thank you very much for your help!

ok. there were one egg that you could see in the box, and also looks like she laid another one recently. All others are hidden/buried. They kind of trying to incubate but they often get out of the box for a long time (I guess getting spooked easily).

Should I maybe find eggs and put them all together so they incubate all of them, not just 2?

If these were my birds, I think I'd dig the eggs out one at a time so the clutch gets bigger gradually instead of all at once. No particular reason, it just feels right.

Thanks. I guess their hormones are kind of in the middle, today was the first day she kind of incubates those 2 eggs, going back and forth - she even seems to be spending a night in the box. Immediately, this has negative impact on the chicks. Mostly, they are just on top of parents' cage, waiting for them to show up. I have a feeling, when parents are hiding in the box the chicks are not eating as well as if parents would be around. With all the Christmas hassle, I wasn't handfeeding this last days or weighing them.

If she spends a night in the box, then she needs to be let out to poop (she can surely poop in the cage but normally she was waiting to be let out to poop out of the cage). Not quite sure how long nights would do with this.
I guess they already forgot what they did with eggs or where they hid them.

Having chicks who basically grew up, what kind of sitting on eggs schedule should they have?