# When to remove nesting box?



## laurig99 (Dec 29, 2012)

Hi. I was surprised to find out that my pair of male cockatiels that I have had for 2 1/2 years turned out to be 1 male and 1 female. Needless to say they presented me with a clutch of 5 eggs, 4 of which hatched approximately a month ago. Now the babies are coming out of the cage during the day, but still spending the nighttime in the nesting box. When should I remove the box completely? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as this is a first for me.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I usually remove the box once the babies are spending most of the time out of it. If you don't want more babies, you can take it away right now as it sounds like they've fledged.


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## laurig99 (Dec 29, 2012)

roxy culver said:


> I usually remove the box once the babies are spending most of the time out of it. If you don't want more babies, you can take it away right now as it sounds like they've fledged.



Thanks. I will take it off the cage tomorrow. I definitely do not want any more babies, these four were enough. I refuse to sell them to homes where I cannot monitor their progress so breeding and selling them is out of the question. Besides, from what I have read it is not good for the female to keep having eggs.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

You can take the box out once the babies can stand on a perch without struggling for balance. They're likely to stay upright on a perch during the night at that point. Babies have night frights more easily than adults do, so it will be helpful if a human is close enough to hear them if they do and flip on the light.


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## laurig99 (Dec 29, 2012)

I actually took the box off an hour ago when I noticed all the babies were out of it but the parents were inside it. Like I said, no more babies. :huh: From what I have noticed, the babies all like hanging out on the spiral rope toy that hangs from the top to the bottom of the cage. Probably because it is smaller than the wooden perches and easier for them to grip.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Have the parents been mating? If so, you might want to try some light hormone control on them using the long nights treatment. But until the babies are weaned, you have to be careful not to overdo it to the point that they stop taking care of the babies.


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## laurig99 (Dec 29, 2012)

tielfan said:


> Have the parents been mating? If so, you might want to try some light hormone control on them using the long nights treatment. But until the babies are weaned, you have to be careful not to overdo it to the point that they stop taking care of the babies.


I haven't seen any mating behavior other than the female being extremely aggressive but I don't want to take the chance. I am not here to monitor them all the time and like I said I do not want any more babies. They are still feeding the babies and I am keeping them on the same light schedule for now. I have noticed one of the older babies making an attempt to eat on her own. Right now they are still on a diet of Fiesta cockatiel seed mix and oatmeal. The oatmeal was the only soft food the parents would accept.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

You can hang up some millet spray for the babies to experiment with. Babies learn foraging-style eating faster than they learn to eat from a bowl or plate, and millet spray is easier for them to eat than any other seeds. You can hang up some leafy green vegetables for them too.


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## laurig99 (Dec 29, 2012)

I will have to pick some up when I go to the store tomorrow. I have been watching the parents for the last hour or so and they are still feeding the babies.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Best of luck to you! You may want to have a look at our diet info so everyone is eating healthy:
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27479


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## laurig99 (Dec 29, 2012)

bjknight93 said:


> Best of luck to you! You may want to have a look at our diet info so everyone is eating healthy:
> http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27479



Thanks. I have tried introducing other foods to the birds but they have refused almost everything except for plain popcorn, oatmeal and crackers. I did read one of the stickys on switching to a "mash" type food but honestly I don't have the time or money to invest in that. They are doing well on the seed diet, maybe in the future I will try again.


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## laurig99 (Dec 29, 2012)

UPDATE: I was worried about them after I covered the cage and sure enough they were all on the bottom. So I placed a couple pieces of cardboard on half of the bottom and covered them with the pine shavings I use for bedding. Now they have a safe place to rest and I don't have to worry about them falling off a perch in the middle of the night.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

The improvised sleeping place was a smart move!

On the subject of diet: you're in the US so you have easy access to Nutriberries. They're nutritionally equivalent to pellets but they look like seed balls, and it's usually MUCH easier to persuade a cockatiel to eat them. 

Pellets are actually better as a breeding food, since the parents can eat the dry pellets, drink water to soften them up, and regurgitate them to the babies, while the Nutriberries don't soften up this way and will stay as hard as seeds. But both products are an excellent way to boost your birds' general nutrition level. Cockatiel Classic is a good nutriberry variety. 

If you ever decide to let them breed again in the future, you can mix some handfeeding formula with the oatmeal to sneak some extra nutrition into the parents and babies.


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