Domino (the father of the two just-fledged chicks) is being fussy and plucky towards his mate, Cloud. Sigh! Luckily I caught him in the act before any serious bickering had started. The cage divider was still in place from where I temporarily had another pair in the same 30" cage, so I tried to put him on the other side of the divider. He'd have none of THAT! He pitched a royal hissy fit, trying to get back to their chicks. So, instead of separating them, I just pulled the cage divider out completely, and opened the full length of the cage up to give them all more space. I'd planned to do that anyway as soon as the chicks fledged, so it worked out well as far as the timing. I just didn't want to make any big changes while the chicks were still in the nest for fear of abandonment.
I added another perch and a ladder so the chicks can have an intermediate landing spot between the floor and the regular perches. Their navigation systems (LOL!) are still clumsy. They know where they want to go, but have trouble landing in the exact spot where they want to be. They'll get the hang of it VERY quickly, though, usually within 24-48 hours. :-) Newly-fledged babies are so fun to watch. I also added an extra food and water cup, and put a piece of spray millet on the floor to tempt the chicks into learning to eat on their own. Spray millet is almost like candy as far as birds are concerned. :-)
Hopefully Domino will stop making a pest of himself now that they have extra room. Apparently he wants "his" chicks all to himself! ;-) I'm keeping a close eye on him. Usually the dads want the youngsters gone so they can start a new clutch with the mom. Hopefully he won't start plucking the chicks while we're asleep later.
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