Best time to remove fledglings?

[a_gouldian]

Looking for opinions on the best time to move our 3 Fire Finch fledglings to another cage. They have been weaned for at least a week, maybe two. The parents are sitting on eggs again and they probably will hatch in about another week. They are in a large double flight cage with a pair of Greenback Twinspots and Cordon Bleus. The Cordon Bleus are sitting on eggs now also.

We are thinking that if we moved the fledglings now it would disturb the adult Fire Finches and maybe the Cordon Bleus. The fledglings occasionally go in the nest with a parent sitting on the nest and the parents do not mind. They do not sleep in the nest. This is a different nest that the fledglings were raised in. We removed the box they were raised in about a week after they fledged.

[Sally]

I'd be very tempted to leave the weanlings in the cage. As you said, they don't sleep in the nest, so not likely to disturb either the Fire or CB nests, but you trying to catch those little ones could cause the adults to abandon the nests. I don't know how you could catch those weanlings without causing a ruckus.

Congrats on all the eggs/babies!

[a_gouldian]

Thanks Sally. That's what we were thinking. Catching them would be a major task in itself. When it's time to catch them we may just leave the door of the cage open and steer them out by going in the other door. Two of them have gotten out in the past when changing food or water and it is easy to catch them in the room. I just hope that when it's time to move them to another cage we can tell the female parent from the female fledgling. We think that two of the fledglings are males and one is a female.