Hello. The primary problem with putting them back in the same cage, assuming there would be no animosity, is you would be risking inbreeding. Regardless of the gender of the babies, you have that possibility, one way or the other, Mom and son or Dad and daughter. If you would be willing to immediately hard boil, and return to them, any future eggs, then you could try putting them back together so long as everyone gets along well and there are no squabbles. If you don't feel that is something you could do, then they need to stay separate as risking inbred chicks is just not worth it. Too many problems can arise, physical deformities in the chicks, etc. Have you tried moving the cages further apart or maybe one in a different room, if possible? No one can predict their reactions as to whether that would make the situation worse or better. Putting distance between them could make everyone happier, or it could just as easily go the other way, causing them to fret and call even louder to each other. Not a lot of parrot behavior is solidly predictable so you might have to experiment. As for Dad pulling out feathers, that may or may not have anything to do with the separation, especially after this much time has gone by. There are some illnesses for which plucking feathers is a symptom. You need to be sure, by catching him in the act, that in fact he is pulling them out himself and that it's not Mom doing it. If he is pulling his own, after this much time, it might be a good idea to take him and Mom in for a check up, just to be on the safe side. There are two main reasons any bird plucks; a health issue or a behavior issue. Any time any parrot begins to pluck feathers, we should always rule out any health issue first. It does no good to approach it from the behavior standpoint first. We must know there is no physical reason. If it turns out he does not have a health issue, then it could be frustration brought on by any of several reasons. He is upset the whole family is not together, if one of the babies is a male, it could be getting close enough to sexual maturity, he is feeling defensive; if one of the babies is female, she may be getting close enough to sexual maturity he wants to mate with her. Several possibilities and no way for us humans to be sure of our intrepretation of the actions. Bottom line I feel is to rule out any health issues, combined with experimenting with cage placement and, depending upon your feelings about boiling the eggs, a test run of them all in the same cage. I hope this will be helpful for you but if you have any more questions, just let me know. Patricia
__________________
If I've helped, please click the ACCEPT. Even if a deposit was made, I won't get paid until you accept. A bonus is always appreciated and leaving feedback benefits us both.
