Awww, no whiteface babies then. Oh well!

They MIGHT be split so don't give up hope. For that matter I suspect that there are probably some birds who have the split without showing any signs. There's too much individual variation to have one hard and fast rule that covers every bird, and a number of knowledgeable breeders who don't agree with the signs Susanne has observed.

I'm just getting too excited with ~*~the possibilities~*~. I could actually contact Pippin's breeder and ask for info on her parents--there were a couple whitefaces up for sale with her that I think were her siblings, but I don't remember for sure anymore. JJ's will remain a mystery forever, I suspect.

Plus whiteface pearl is my favorite combo. I get a little sadder every time Denali's pearls fade a little more...

I agree that whiteface pearls are GORGEOUS. It sounds like there's an excellent chance that Pippin is split whiteface. It's a very common mutation of course so a lot of birds have the split.

The whiteface cockatiel itself is beautiful and fancy. I'm proud to have one. Personally, I'm biased towards cock WF. They look so proper and distinguished.

I like your profile picture. Is it Pippin?

Yeah, that's Pip in my profile picture.

Candled this morning...both air cells are big, and the one looks like it moved? Like I can see a line, sort of, where it used to be. It's possibly the internal pip? There aren't many clear photos of it. Can't hear peeping or anything though. There's kind of a dark spot in the air cell now, on the egg wall. I hope it's not bacteria in the egg. And I hope it isn't really pipping, because I have to be gone all day today because of Prior Obligations that I really can't shirk without screwing over a lot of people.

Tried to get a clear photo, but couldn't.

Still baffled by humidity. Left the gauge in the nest itself for a while when parents were out, and it read 68% in the nest. In the middle of another attempt to get them to accept a nest with wood shavings instead of paper--last ones didn't go well, but maybe the paper is drawing enough moisture from the eggs that 68% humidity isn't sufficient?

EDIT: Oh hey, we're sitting nicely on the wood shavings! Apparently the trick is to change it in the morning before she's had a chance to wake up and realize that something's off

If wild cockatiels were all whiteface and the orange cheek was relatively new, do you think people would be more excited about orange cheeks?

Unfortunately I'm not an expert on egg candling so I can't answer your questions. The air cell does tilt more as hatch time approaches. All we can do is wait and see what happens.

I think so. It's all about what people don't have. Then that's when they want it. But even though normal, wild cockatiels are normal grey, I still love the mutation a lot.

Must have been a false alarm--I could've sworn I saw movement in the air cell yesterday, but no sign of it today. Embryos aren't moving much, since they're now so big, but veins are still large and red. No signs of drawing in yet.