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Emmy

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Blog Entries posted by Emmy

  1. Emmy
    The owners of the shop/post office in the village keep ducks and one day when I was in the shop they were telling me their ducks had eggs but as they didn't want the eggs to hatch --they pierce the eggs with a pin and this stops them hatching but they hadn't done that yet.
     
    Then they remembered that a few years ago I had been given a duck egg from their dad and I had hatched out that duck egg in my incubator.  
     
    Next question was "Do you want any eggs to put in your incubator before we pierce them?" 
     
    My answer was "NO thank you-- I'll be in big trouble if I put duck eggs in the incubator" but after we had chatted for a while I agreed to take just ONE egg.
     
    Now I didn't get back to the shop for a few days and the next time I was there the owners were out, so now it was over two weeks since I had agreed to take an egg.
     
    Next time I was in the shop (May 4th ) I apologised and said maybe it was just as well I hadn’t managed to collect the egg then came the bombshell! He told me he still had the FOUR eggs in the shop for me but he also told me that he had read that after eggs had been away from the nest for 7 days there would be little chance of them developing. and those 4 eggs had been away from the nest for almost 3 weeks so feeling relieved that they wouldn't hatch I said "OK I'll pop them in the incubator and let you know"
     
     
     
    After a few days it was obvious nothing was happening with the eggs so early next morning I decided to put one of them into the bin in the kitchen, then later on in the afternoon I binned two more, I don't know why I still left one in the incubator but that night about 11pm I made up my mind that  I would switch off the incubator  and bin the fourth egg but for some reason unknown to me I decided to check it with the ovascope before I binned it and that's when I got a shock this egg was showing the first signs of being fertile!!  Without a moment to lose it was quickly returned to the incubator. 
     
    Now it was panic stations what if those other two eggs that had been binned in the afternoon had been fertile too? 
     
    Very carefully I searched the bin found the two eggs I had binned in the afternoon (they hadn't broken) I washed them and then checked them and Yes they were showing signs of being fertile too. Very quickly those two eggs were back in the incubator too.
     
    I felt there was no sense looking for the egg I had binned early that morning because it had been without heat for over 16 hours so I went to bed -- but all night I couldn't settle thinking about that other egg still in the bin so I got up at 6am and eventually found the 4th egg at the bottom of the bin and it too was still intact but cold. So it got washed and when I tested it? Yes!  Unbelievable it too was showing signs of being fertile so it went back into the incubator too. 
     
    The surprising thing was all 4 eggs were developing normally so I numbered the eggs 1 to 4 (number 1 being the one that never left the incubator, 2& 3 were the two that had been binned in the afternoon and No 4 was the egg that had spent 16 hours in the bin! -- they have been named already
     
    No .1 -  is  Lucky
     
    No. 2 -  is Binny
     
    No. 3 -  is Bucket 
     
    and no. 4.- is Miracle because it is a miracle it has survived and developed.
    First signs of development in the egg
     
    A few days later.
     
    Showing heart beat in one of the eggs 28th May 2018
    Those ducklings will definitely have a story to tell if they hatch out and survive - They not only beat the deadline of 7 days but had a short holiday in the kitchen bin before getting down to the job in hand (lol)
  2. Emmy
    Hallo again everyone.  It's been a while since I managed to get to  the computer without my 'Mum' seeing me.  (I do have a 'Blog' on here but this is just a quick note)
    This morning I got a good opportunity to get what I spied I would like after my 'Mum'  had let me out of my cage and she had gone to get something.  Fortunately for me she left the plate with 
    the toast sitting near my cage and she had cut off the crust (think it was meant for Rabelou (the Chihuahua) but he gets plenty anyway so this was going to be mine- )
    Good ! she's not back yet.
    Now I'm getting a lecture about stealing, so I'm off!!
    'Mum' can't reach up here -so! I'm going to have a nice breakfast too even although I've stolen it
    I'll be back again sometime -that's if 'Mum' hasn't 'imprisoned me or sent me to a new home! 
  3. Emmy
    Reading over the Blog 'Hand Rearing Birds' which featured Shadow & Co. it was hard to believe that was in May 2016 and its now February 2018.   Shadow is still with me and he is still in the house ()
      Shadow January 2018
     
    He now has a mate (a white zebra finch) and they have just finished rearing these 6 lovely little chicks. 

     
    A 'Family' photo  left to right: Shadow, two of the chicks , Snowy (the mum) and the other 4 chicks. 
    Guess there's no chance of Shadow and Snowy going out to the aviary now
    Emmy
  4. Emmy
    Peek-a-Boo everybody:

    That's my latest game with 'mum'. but for the past 5 days I've been  VERY worried - I doubt you will believe me when I tell you why
    There have been two more additions to the family   and their names are Piper and Darcy and they are 7years old, but the worrying thing is they are PARROTS!! and mum had said I was special and there would be no more!. 

    O K they are not the same as me they are orange winged Amazon Parrots and are 7 years old- They told me they are married and hope to have some babies soon. now that is another worry - I definitely will not be roped into helping with any chicks that may appear. NO WAY!!
    Tiko and Tika have been moved.  I can hear Tika but I can't see her anymore they  are in a different room now .The cockatiels have been moved too but they are still beside me in the conservatory. Percy and Darcy have been given the WHOLE of the double cage --  I thought I would eventually be getting that!
    I was a bit happier yesterday when things started to get moved about again, My pals, (mum's grandson and his dad) did all the moving of the cages and when it was finished Piper and Darcy were nowhere to be seen. 
    I soon came back to earth with a bang! She hadn't got rid of them they were just in another area outside.
    So now I need to keep on my best behaviour and try to please 'Mum'

    I started that this morning by going to sit beside  her on the chair in the conservatory and let her scratch my head. She was so pleased she even took a video of me.
    (you can have a peek at it but don't let her know I've copied this:https://youtu.be/ZVQQU1RBuL4    
     
    I think she really likes me but she wouldn't let me get some of her crisps. She actually caught me trying  to get into the packet.

    I'll be back soon
    Bye for now.
       
     
  5. Emmy
    Well it is now the 25th May 2016 and Shadow and Co. are all doing well. I still have them in the house - nothing wrong with them - It's ME I'm finding it difficult to put them outside in the aviary.
    Saying that I have been trying not to handle them so often and I have taken the nest box away that they always slept in at night. (I'm being cruel-am I not?)
    25th April 2016
    Shadow and one of the Bengalese chicks
     
    25th April 2016
    The four hand reared chicks.
     
        Shadow 5th May 2016
     
     15th May 2016
    Shadow eating seed.
     
    Here are two video clips of Shadow at the end of the hand rearing.
     
    1. Shadow lasts time being fed
    2. Shadow eating seed no more  hand feeding
    https://youtu.be/yGAVN-xN9nM
    (seems that video No.2 is coming up as the talking parrot ?? if you go into you tube and type  (16th May 2016 Shadow eating seed no more hand feeding from now on)  No 2 should come up) I think the problem is I downloaded the two video clips at the same time.)
    Hope you enjoyed reading about Shadow and the  three Bengalese chicks.
    Emmy
     
     
     
  6. Emmy
    As the title says "Well I'd Never have believed this!!" I really mean that 100%.
    Just take a look at this:    https://youtu.be/vTWs3BN0_NA
    I think this says it all!
    I'm really trying my hardest to improve my speech and 'Mum' seemed to be very pleased with me. Now she has she remembered she had a 'parrot' that talked - didn't need a cage, didn't need to be fed and didn't need to be cleaned !
    Now please tell me how can I compete with that!!!
    Mum doesn't say very much about the other two in front of me but I heard her telling a neighbour she thought the female (Piper) would soon be getting charged with 'domestic abuse'  It seemed that Darcy the male was wanting to feed Piper and she was having none of it -she lifted her leg stretched out her 'foot' and hit him in the stomach, guess she caught him off balance  because it seems he fell off the perch. Mum was annoyed that she didn't have her camera with her when that happened.
    I am saying a lot more things now and I had a laugh yesterday - 'mum' had never heard me saying 'Hiya!' before. She always says this to my pals (her grandchildren) when the come and they shout that to her - but 'mum' always says 'Hallo' to me. 
    So I tried out saying 'Hiya' as loud as I could and Mum answered, " I'll be there in a minute I'm getting the keys, the doors locked"
    -you should have seen her face when she opened the door and there was nobody there!!!
    So I did it again and she thought they were playing 'hide&seek' with her.  By then I think she was thinking it must have been her imagination then when she came in to see me later I greeted her with a loud, 'Hiya'  No I didn't get a telling off she just looked at me and said, "What a clever boy you are"  I was really 'chuffed' because  she gave e a tiny bit of a crisp 

    The she let me out from my cage and played with me for a while and I also got my favourite biscuit - a custard cream!

    While 'mum' is busy hand feeding the five cockatiel chicks I'm going to do some more work on increasing my vocabulary to give her some more surprises.
    Bye for now
    Bobby
     
     
  7. Emmy
    10th April 2016
    I am now feeding them every 3 to 4 hours and every time they get fed their nest box gets cleaned before they are put back. 
     7days old:.10th April 2016
    One thing for sure Shadow has a really good set of lungs when they are wanting fed he is louder than the other three put together. This is when I really noticed the difference in the sound they make. Fascinating.
    Shadow is now 1 week old but the Bengalese are a few days older and I can see a difference in them every day. More feathers are appearing too.
    I’ve also increased the ratio of the formula to water: 1 part  formula to 4 parts water. I am also using a larger syringe now which makes feeding much easier and  takes up less time too.
       8 days old: 11th April 2016
    Every day that passes there is a difference.
    They were becoming a little bit squashed up in the dish I had them in so I decided now was time for them to go into a proper nest box but the nest box would be inside the large brooder which had a 60w red bulb (this would soon be changed to a 40w bulb but the nest box wasn't placed as close to the light bulb as shown in the photo the opening in the nest box faced away from the light and was closer to the vent that is in  the side of the brooder
      15th April 2016 More room to move about.
    The tub inside the brooder (top right.) contains a paper towel soaked with water to provide humidity when the lid of the brooder has been put back on.  The container bottom right is the one the chicks slept in before being move
    This is not really a good photo of Shadow but now at 12 days old it shows not only the tiny pin feathers coming in on his back but also what is inside its mouth too  (looks as though he has a little kitten or it could be his own little 'pet' on the roof of his mouth

         This is a better view of Shadow's 'little pet.'     
    What do you think Shadow's 'little pet' reminds you of ? 
    This is what I think 
     
    To be continued - Part 3 coming soon.
     
  8. Emmy
    The first thing I want to point out - This is what I believe - I would say only attempt hand rearing if the chick's life is in danger i.e if the parent birds die or if they stop feeding the chicks for some reason - please don't do it to get a tame zebra finch - the parent birds will make a far better job of rearing their young themselves. 
    I thought I would begin by telling  you about my most recent hand rearing event:
    This is Shadow's Story  (Shadow's name was suggested by Clare (a member on the forum) when I first shared with her the photo of the chick's  image in the shell-  Thank You Clare that name was Ideal for the chick)
    Back in March this  year when I was cleaning out some of my cages in the bird shed I found a few eggs had been laid on the bottom of the cages. So instead of binning them I gathered them up and decided I'd pop them into the incubator to find out if any were fertile (I had no idea which birds had laid  them.)- the reason I put the eggs into the incubator was the eggs wouldn't have yet started to develop because they hadn't started to be incubated so it would be at least 3/4 days before any signs of fertility would show by candling the eggs.
    It turned out two of the eggs were fertile and at a later date, when I was checking them with the ovascope,  in one of the eggs I could see the image of the actual chick inside the shell
      The chick (Shadow) almost fully developed inside the shell on 30th March 2016.
    .
      This is Shadow- it hatched out on the 3rd April 2016
      Shadow at one hour old.
    The other fertile egg hatched out before Shadow.  So I had two chicks to care for.
    I left them in the incubator for the first 12 hours - they don't need food during  this time they survive on their egg sac.
    I began by giving them a few drops of water to which I had added  'electrolyte' (prevents dehydration) 
    The hand rearing formula I used this time was 'Neocare by Vetafarm'  I mixed a very thin mixture of the formula (1 part formula to 6 parts water) using the electrolyte solution, but still just gave the chicks a few drops at a time. To begin with I used a cocktail stick with the sharp end removed.
    My next decision was would I now foster the chicks into a Bengalese nest that already had 3 very young chicks  or would I hand rear the chicks myself.?
    I thought perhaps the new chicks would probably have a better chance of surviving with the Bengalese ( I had fostered chicks with them before) 
    I put the oldest chick into their nest first and when I saw it was being fed I put Shadow into their nest too.
       7th April 2016
    It's difficult to see the two chicks that are being fostered but they are at the top of the nest.  Only 3 of the Bengalese eggs hatched out so they had only 5 chicks to feed and there were 3 Bengalese adult birds in the cage all helping with the feeding
    All was going well then 'disaster' 
    What happened was actually a mistake made by ME!
    Cleaning their  cages
    After I clean  their cages, as usual I remove the cages to clean the shelves the cages sit on - this only takes about three to four minutes , then the cages are returned to exactly the same position they were in before.
    The next morning I got a shock the Bengalese adults were not on the nest as usual and then I realised I had mixed up two cages and their cage hadn't been returned to the exact position it had been in  the night before. 
    I feared the worst because I had learned from previous mistakes that  if I moved the position of the  cage for any longer  than 5/10  minutes if  the birds had  eggs/young in the nest the parent birds came off the nest and didn't go back.
    I checked the nest and found that one of the foster chicks was dead, (I was surprised because it was the larger of the two foster chicks that had died) The three Bengalese chicks and Shadow were still alive but not moving  they were cold and their crops were empty. If I hadn't checked when I did they would have died too.
    The incubator, switched on in the house because it had two rescued canary eggs in it as well as a few others (another story)  so I quickly removed the 4 chicks and put them into the incubator to warm them up..
    As I was also hand rearing 3 cockatiel chicks that had been neglected by their parents (yet another story!!) I had all the things ready for hand rearing the 4 chicks but the intervals for feeding them and the strength of the formula was different to that of the cockatiels (a lot of time would be taken up for this but if I wanted them to survive it would be necessary -that is why I first said DON'T choose to hand feed just to make a bird tame because  you will be shocked at the time you have to devote to this and it would not be right to give up half way and let the chicks die.
    Shadow was now 4 days old. Once the chicks were warm and I had fed them I transferred the to a small brooder I had just bought (it was really for heating baby wipes - (Lionheart Baby Wipe Warmer a US product but can be bought in UK)
      7th April 2016
    The 3 Bengalese chicks and Shadow in the small brooder
    That first day I fed them every 2 hours. until midnight  but I didn't feed them during the night. Their crop has to completely empty at least once in every 24 hours to prevent health problems occurring.
    This will be continued:
     
     
     
     
     
  9. Emmy
    29th April 2016
    They are now 26 days old
    This is them on the 19th April --16days old:
                        Cute -looks like Shadow is growing ears like a rabbit
    There is a saying, "What a difference a day makes" well watching Shadow's and 1,2 & 3's (the Bengalese chicks) development nothing could be more true.
    The last entry was what was happening to them from the 10th  to the 15th April when they were 12 days old and when I had transferred them into a proper nest box and put the nest box into a brooder.
    They were in the brooder for almost a week then they were transferred to a proper cage with the nest box inside on the bottom of the cage with no extra heating  (the cage was near a radiator in the house)
        By the look on Shadow's face he  doesn't seem to approve of the latest move.
    They were now being fed 4 times a day with the formula mix at the weaning stage:  1 part formula to 2 parts water.
    On  April 20th I moved the nest box onto the outside of the cage, this encouraged them to hop out onto the perches to get fed.

    On the 21st April I decided to find out what would happen if I let the out from the cage to feed. So to keep them safe I took their  cage into the shower room.
    What happened next really surprised me :
                                                                                                                                                                                             When I removed them from the nest box and put them on top of their cage and stood back they immediately flew onto my hand.
    They now go to have a fly about in the shower room most days but always come back and land on me.
    They are now 26 days old and I've  already put some millet spray on the bottom of their cage so next thing will be to get them to start eating by themselves but until then they will still need to be given some formula.

    will  be continued:
  10. Emmy
    Well I never thought this would happen, guess 'mum' must really miss teaching because she has decided to start a beginners class, I'm sure she said it would be the same as being in Primary 1.- the first Infants BUT so far it seems I'm going to be the only pupil.!?!
    I can't understand why Tika and Tiko and also the cockatiels are not being made go to school too? 
    Maybe it will help me to speak properly and stop me trying to say too many things at the same time.
    She got a surprise today when she heard me copying what she keeps saying to Rabelou  when she wants him back in.  When I first heard her making this 'sound'  I thought she had been watching too many 'cowboy and Indian' films- she sounded just like one of the Indian braves getting ready to go and try to scalp someone!  Maybe that is why Rabelou obeys that command. 
    She told me she has ordered  a 'teaching' toy for me and its NOT to be CHEWED and that it had arrived today but she is not allowing me to see it yet!  even when I said to her, "I love you!" the answer was still NO!
    Apart from teaching me new words we had some fun today. She was playing a game with me to teach me to say 'Peek-a-Boo' that was an easy one. Then out came my favourite treats -sugar snap peas and custard creams but I had to work ******* the next lesson before I got a taste of them. . I only wished she had made up her mind what she was asking me to do  - first it was 'shake my hand' then it was 'How do you do?' (that to me sounded silly--  how do I do WHAT??)  OK it was my foot she was referring to when she said 'hand' but she has always said I use my feet like a person would use their hands  - Bet she couldn't do that with her feet
    She took a short video of the training session and I've managed to sneak a link to it for you all to see.
    https://youtu.be/gqfyHQrWdNg
    Time for my bed now but I'll be back to see you all again soon.
    Bobby
     
     
     
     
  11. Emmy
    Sorry I haven't let you know about my  moving  before now, but I'm just getting settled in. 
    My new cage is here and it has been built up and guess where it has been put??!!  In the conservatory - (if you could call it that!), from  what I see it is filled with boxes of all sorts of things to get sorted out -I think it's all the things the other birds use too.  I think the next thing I'll be saying will be:  "This must get done tomorrow"  because 'Mum' has been saying this every day for a while now but nothing seems to change.
    I've still not been allowed  out to fly with Tika yet -I think 'Mum' doesn't trust me! but if I tell the truth it's ME that doesn't trust Tika!
    I think once 'Mum' finally does get things sorted out it will be quite nice in the conservatory, it's nice and light and gets the sun too, and 'Mum' has put in a large fan just in case it gets too hot. 

    As you can see I've been doing a bit of 'sightseeing' and this was as high as I could go - no windows open so I just had to come down again -why? there was 'Mum' standing looking up and she had a custard cream biscuit in one hand and a sugar snap pea in the other - now that was too much of a temptation for me so she did win that time.
    I have lots of nice company in the conservatory, There's Tika and Tiko the Barraband Parrots and 5 cockatiels- one of them is always calling me 'Cheeky Chops' and is constantly asking me for a kiss! I think he must really like my BIG beak.
    I can't find the photo of me in my new cage but I'm sure 'mum' will be taking more photos of me soon (that is when she stops taking photos of the tiny chicks she is feeding just now
    (I think I'm going to be in 'Mum's Bad Book when she discovers I've chewed through not only the new perch she bought for my cage but also the large perch that came with my cage. I'll just have to remind her that I'll need all the proof I can gather for my CV if I want to qualify as a first class demolisher. Just thinking those blinds in the conservatory look good too)
    Bobby
     
     
     
     
  12. Emmy
    I thinking my 'mum' is neglecting telling you all about my progress so, as the title says from now on I'm taking over her Blog  although I shouldn't say this I think she is on the 'Go-Slow' and shouldn't have so many birds (at least that's what I keep hearing  her family say! -  hope she doesn't read this or I may be the first to go- that's what I've heard people say,  "The last one in is the first one out" 
    Well, never mind-- 'Mum' is really OK so let's get on with my progress.
    I think I've got a secret admirer and her name is Tika but the problem is she is already sharing a cage with Tiko but she is the same colour as me but not the same type of bird, but now in this generation it seems that doesn't matter She is always coming to sit on the top of my cage and looks down at me and she has scared Tiko away when he came close but  'Mum' wont let me out at the same time as Tika -wonder why?
         This isTika on top of my cage.
    I've been getting LOTS of treats lately I think Mum is trying to discover what my favourite things are and she has managed to get me to fly onto her arm to get the sugarsnap peas - they are even better than the custard cream biscuit I sometimes get.
    I do love Chicory as well so most of my food is healthy food but no way will Mum let me taste the chocolate that she eats or the coffee she  drinks - I can't understand why she wont let me get a taste of that when she eats so much of that herself and is never without a cup of coffee beside her! 
     Me enjoying my Chicory
    I'm off to bed now -- I need at least 9 hours sleep every night because if I don't get that I can become a bit 'Grumpy'
    I think I heard Mum say my new cage will be arriving on Friday I'll tell you about that when it comes -Just hope I like it!
    Bobby
     
     
  13. Emmy
    10th February 2016
    Thought I had better write this rather than 'Mum' because if I let her tell you she may  use some words she shouldn't and get banned from the forum.
    Yesterday when 'Mum' left me.in the shower room on my own I did some investigating. I thought a  few things  need to be sorted in the shower room but before I could get started 'Mum' was back with a rich tea biscuit and with me that definitely comes first before work!
    So today I was allowed free flying time and Mum told me she would be back in 5 minutes. Now that wasn't leaving me much time to get the work done and I wanted to do a good job so it could go on my record, if and when I had to apply for a job.as an experienced demolisher!

    In my opinion there were plastic strips which were of no use and they also got in the way when I tried to perch, if they were removed I'd get a better grip. Strip No. 1 was easy because I had practised on it before.

    I was just started to strip No. 2  when - bet you have guessed it- 'Mum' came back in and from what  I was hearing she was NOT amused. 
    As usual out came her camera to get evidence-( I didn't mind too much because in the future I could use that as proof that I was a good demolisher)

    .I thought I was just as well to get 'hung' for a sheep as for a lamb' so I decided to just finish the job.

    Strip no 2 fell to the floor - In my opinion ,'Job Well Done' (Just wished I had to use hearing aids then I could have removed them and then I wouldn't have heard all those loud words Mum was using.)

    I finished by putting on my 'Sorry Mum' look but I'm not stupid,  by now I knew she wanted me back in my cage and even if she was angry with me she would  have to give me a treat before I go back in-  Well at least I did deserve it after all that hard work.
  14. Emmy
    Before I could transfer Bobby to a slightly larger cage (not his final one- still to order that yet) I had a few days making sure that the 3 plus 2 cockatiels would get on OK together in the same cage.
    For almost a week I have had the 5 of them out together flying free and one of them was determined to be the Big Boss so I had to be certain there would be no fighting when they were all in the same cage!  Bobby was patient and just sat in his cage and watched them -not sure about allowing Bobby out with them at the same time. 
    The next step was to tempt Bobby into the other larger cage but he's very alert and seems to read my mind. So I just clipped the two cages together and put some of his favourite food into the new cage and left him to make  up his own mind.
    When I returned he was in the larger cage  but it was obvious he didn't like the perches and although he seems to like the wooden beads on the swing he has yet to sit on the swing.
    While he was having his free flying time this gave me the chance to swop his favourite perch  from his old cage into the new one  and it worked!
    I stayed with him while he was flying about and he did come onto my arm when I tempted him with chicory what I didn't expect was that he must have thought that  I would be a bit more tasty and proceeded to try out my arm (OUCH!) good job I had a thick sweater on. The good thing was he did stay on my arm and let me walk with him and when I sat down he stayed there and continued to eat the chicory. 
    Guess he's going to be OK -- after all is said and done  'Rome wasn't built in a day!'
     (p.s.--. (It's ME Bobby-I didn't want  to hurt Mum's  feelings but there was a wee bit too much fat there for me so I’ll stick to my proper food from now on )

    Guess this will have to do me meantime!
     
  15. Emmy
    As the title says this blog is about the new addition to my 'mini zoo'
    Perhaps I should start off getting members to guess who/what Bobby is ? and that's what I'm going to do!
    (After some good laughs, their comments/guesses were hilarious, It was Andyn who guessed correctly )
    Is it an animal?  Is it a bird?  or is it something else? 
    One clue I'll give is I've always wanted this ? and I hope it will be happy living with me.
    Now no cheating! some members will already know what this is -- so they can answer this post but are banned from telling what it is.
    Pictures etc will come later -- that's if I'm still here to post the results  after my family finds out what I've done (lol) .
    Just curious - just how many members will be willing to have a guess!
    (Read the comments at the end to discover the 'guesses' that members posted)
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    January 25th 2016
    Hi everybody, this is Bobby typing. (My New Mum doesn't realise just how clever I am or she would have closed down the computer before going out to see to the other birds.)
    Yesterday was priceless!  I did a 'Houdini' on her!   I had been given some treats to get me to go back into my cage-- I know what I'm doing here -the longer I take to go in the more treats I get - but I don't overdo it -I'm wise to that -if she thought about it-  my treats would perhaps disappear.
    Well I did go back in and she locked all the doors of my cage then went to the other room.  I maybe young but I'm a quick learner and in a very short time I had undone the lock and opened the door of the cage and decided to have a look around  from the top of the cage.  I was really comfortable and forgot to be quiet and when I saw that 4 legged thing lying sleeping on the settee I thought I'd waken it and introduce myself so I shouted, 'HELLO!'
    Well I had heard my previous owner TALK  about Superman and Flash Gordon but this was the first time I had actually MET the two of them combined. Odd thing was they  looked like my new Mum.  So I decided I'd join in the fun and try out MY flying skills. 
    I had always thought Mum was slow at getting about in the house but I must have been wrong so I decided I'd stop flying and sit still and watch for a while.
    Woosh!! doors were banged shut. How she managed to close all three doors in seconds was a miracle.
    The 4 legged sleepy thing on the settee was Rabelou - a dog  he was grabbed and held tight. Next she 'flew' to the sink to empty soapy water she had been using to wash the dishes. I heard her giving a sigh of relief but she must have forgotten I was still not in my cage - just great!!  Rabelou wasn't happy because he got locked up in his cage. 
    Now I was out from my cage I was just as well to make the most of it and do a bit of exploring, which I did.  My only problem is I just can't resist Rich Tea Biscuits and Mum had just taken one from the new packet and the only way I was going to get a bit was to make my way back into my cage- which I did.
    Mum was now on the 'Go Slow!' but I had had a great time.
     
    You'll never guess what she has gone and done now?!!
    She's tied up my escape route with string and got clothes pegs on all other exits of my cage-  So I'm not sure when I'll get access to her computer again, but until the next time. Cheerio!   from Bobby

    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    January 27th 2016
    Bobby is still in the cage he came in but I'm going to move him sooner than I was advised into the bigger cage. 
    Everything seemed to be going wrong this morning and even Rabelou, (dog)  didn't want to go out because it was heavy rain When I found a big 'puddle' on the floor below Bobby's cage that was the final straw and I got hold of the dog and said,  'rain or no rain out you go!! '  So I cleaned  up and then let the dog back in -- he was like a 'drookit rat' I was thinking deserves him right he should have barked to get out in the first place.
    5 minutes later yet another puddle on the floor below Bobby's cage?? This just couldn't be Rabelou again!! then I noticed the water was dripping from the table where Bobby's cage  was sitting.  When I looked at Bobby, his head was soaking wet -  he must have been trying to have a bath in his drinking water.  Not content with the mess he had already made he took the edge of the water dish and tipped the remainder of the water out. Guess he was trying to tell me something 
    So I got out the water spray and I just wished I had been able to video the next part, he sat on his perch and first lifted one wing to let me spray underneath it then the other one. When I was finished Bobby looked like Rabelou-- drookit! 
    Both of them look good now but Bobby will be getting moved very soon so he will have access to a bath in his cage and I wont have wet floors and  Rabelou will be relieved to know he wont be getting blamed for something he wouldn't and didn't do. I felt really bad at having put Rabelou out in the rain when I should have known he was Not Guilty!
    I'm beginning to think that Bobby is beginning to act like a young  child with an attitude!   (lol) (Think I've just realised parrots are more  intelligent than I have ever given them credit for ! )
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    February 7th 2016
      Bobby actually came onto my arm to get his greens.  Must admit his feet felt cool but it's progress.  
     I'm sure he can read my mind. I was thinking what would be the next step to get Bobby to fly onto my arm instead of 'stepping up' ?  To get him to step up I just rested my arm along the top of the cage so he just had to lift his foot and he  was on my arm, he stayed on my arm until he got a taste of what was on the menu then literally grabbed it in his beak and flew to the top of the shower cubicle where I couldn't reach him. After a few times I thought I would make it a bit more difficult for him, so I moved my arm off the cage so he would have to jump to get onto my arm. Yes he did come to the edge of the top of the cage, actually stared at me,  then started to walk backwards and just sat there. He seemed to realise he was being tricked. (At least that's what I thought) So it's back to square one.
    Today was hilarious, Bobby's cage is close to the cockatiels' cage, and some of my cockatiels can 'talk/sing'     Today it became very obvious that Bobby is listening to them because Dallas (one of the cockatiels that sing/talks) was on performing mode and one of the things he does is sings the first part then goes Putt! Putt! but what was happening today was a duet Dallas singing the first part and Bobby providing the ending Putt! Putt! and I missed getting it on video!
                                                                                                                                                                                                              (My 'mum' tried to trick me again today this time with a grape but I was too quick, she can't reach me here, so  now I can eat my treat in peace)
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
     
  16. Emmy
    Rabelou (born 23rd June 2013) came here as a tiny puppy on August 21st 2013 when he was 9 weeks old.  So many things have happened since it's difficult to know where to begin.  So I guess the best place to start is at the beginning.
    I have had many dogs before but  this was the first time I had one that came as a trainee demolisher
    (I think I'll change the word 'trainee' to 'highly experienced')
    OK,  all tiny dogs have sharp teeth, and need something to chew on,  but most of them are content chewing the new toys they get bought for them --but toys were not good enough for Rabelou -- he decided from day one the first thing he would use to extend his skills would be  MY FURNITURE!
    The very first thing was the dining room table,  now this had been in our home for over 40 years without a scratch on it!
    The table legs must have been a real temptation for him because that's where he started.  (sounds silly to say this but apart from the damage he was doing I was afraid he was going to hurt his mouth! - That NEVER happened, he must have been born with a mouth that had been reinforced with steel!
    I was given lots of advice how to stop him doing this and I eventually decided to try things out.
    Goodness knows what people must have thought when they came to visit and noticed that one of the dining table legs that was being chewed, was now  sitting inside a plastic tumbler  ( Glad to say this actually worked - at least with that table leg)
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Caught in the Act
    As soon as Rabelou  realised he couldn't chew through the plastic tumbler on the dining table --  he just changed tables!
    Obvious with what happened next - the tumbler was only going to work on one table at a time so it didn't have they desired outcome I had hoped for.
     This tiny little 'Ninja'  decided there was plenty other things available.  Because I was keeping a closer watch on him he was caught in the act - no need to send him to trial - he was GUILTY.!
             
                         Demolisher at Work                                                     Oh!!    I've been caught!                           I'm sorry I won't do it again.
    Question now was did Rabelou mean what he said in the 3rd photo.?
  17. Emmy
    This true story began on the 20th March 2015.

    Just after 9 a.m. on the 20th March I received a 'phone call from my son. He said he had just taken my granddaughter up to her Primary School and he was having a chat with the Janitor whom I knew well and the Janitor wanted to know how I was and what I was doing now.

    When my son told him I now had an aviary and had lots of birds and was even incubating eggs-- I'm sure that's when the two of them put their heads together and did some plotting .

    Now this 'phone call really wasn't about someone enquiring about my health there was another motive involved: it concerned TEN, 10 day old chickens.

    One of the infant classes in the school had been incubating hens' eggs as part of a project but could only keep the chicks for 10 days after hatching and the janitor said I would be the ideal person to take the chicks and give them a good home.

    So the next part of the phone call went something like this:

    Son: "How would you like some 10 day old chickens Mum?"

    I found it hard to believe what I had just heard!! now this is my son who had been lecturing me to stop going to bird sales and pet shops and to stop buying more birds- something was odd here-- then a little bell clicked HE had always wanted to have chickens but he was going to have to wait until he retired in a few years time before that would happen

    Me: "No way! I'm not wanting 10 chickens!"

    Son: "Mum! That's not like you to refuse 10 lovely tiny chicks you wouldn't want to see them being homeless?"

    Me: " The answer is still No! In any case I've no place to keep them."

    Son: " Yes you do! Meantime, you could keep them in the large rabbit hutch you have just had re-roofed.
    I can come up and move it to where you want it to be in the garden and you have the chick crumbs
    that you were feeding the young quails so you have feeding there for them as well"

    At this point the Janitor joined in to remind me about when I taught in the school how I had an incubator and incubated hens eggs and even had a broody hen and her chicks in my classroom.

    'Blackmail' wasn't a strong enough word for this!'

    Well I guess you'll know what happened - Yes! within 2 hours I was the new mum to 10 chickens!

    Why did I give in?

    To be honest, even now, although my family are all married with grown up children of their own I still look on them as my 'wee bairns' and like to see them happy - after all that son is the 'baby' of the family and I just had to let him get the chickens
    -----------------------------------------
    The chicks in their new surroundings:


    This was to be their sleeping area but the chicks had different idea and slept in the other part of the hutch which I believed would be cold for them during the night so out came the doggy heating pad again.


    chicks using the heat pad at night.

    I didn't take long for the chicks to settle in and to tell the truth I had already fallen in love with them but I still wanted to find out more about them.

    So I 'phoned the school and had a chat with the teacher involved. She was very pleased I had taken them and asked me if it would be possible to keep the school informed about the chicks' development so the information could be passed onto the children- I thought that was a great idea and promised to send photographs, videos etc

    It was during this conversation I discovered that if nobody had wanted to take the chicks they would be taken back by the organisation that had supplied the fertile eggs, incubator, brooder etc. and the chicks would be taken to a farm.
    ( odd how the Janitor and my son conveniently forgot to mention that part!)

    I was told the chicks had hatched out on the 10th March but she had no information regarding the type of breed they were.

    However she did tell me the person who supplied the eggs had told them the sex of the chicks!!! Four of the chicks were a light brown colour and the other six were yellow.
    Next piece of information had me asking myself just what had I done to deserve this!
    The 4 brown chicks would grow to be hens and the 6 yellow ones COCKERELS!!
    There was no way I could keep even ONE cockerel never mind 6 of them!

    I had a good many sleepless nights worrying about this because I didn't want them ending up on someone's dinner table.

    Finding homes for the cockerels was definitely going to be a job for my son.

    --------------------------------------------------------------

    16th June 2015

    Re the cockerels I found a web site (Homes4Hens) where they rescue hens after the hens have been used to mass produce eggs in horrible conditions. They then rehome them where they will live out the rest of their lives in freedom. I did enquire about the cockerels to find out if they could be rehomed and they would have taken them only problem was it was too far away for me to deliver them.

    Time was passing and the cockerels were growing fast-


    At 12 days old

    At 4 weeks old


    Showing the comb beginning to appear on its head.



    enjoying themselves n the garden


    Just look at me now!

    It was about this time I discovered that one of the 6 cockerels was in fact a HEN! GOOD!
    Now I had only 5 cockerels to find homes for -one good point was- they still hadn't started to crow BUT they had started to think I would taste good on their menu! From then on at feeding time for the cockerels - I dressed appropriately : Thick jacket with long sleeves, heavy duty gardening gloves and trousers tucked into socks! Yes!! and I still got pecked
    The hens were OK-- but after all they were female and like all females, they were very obedient and loving

    My son eventually found a person who was looking for cockerels and with a sigh of relief they have finally been delivered to their new home with the assurance from my son that they would not be killed.
    I was to get photographs of the cockerels in their new surroundings to prove they were still alive -but so far I'm still waiting!!

    22nd June 2015

    I'm still waiting for the photographs of the cockerels!?!

    Now they have been rehomed I had to get the hens sorted out so I bought a large hen coop (ebay) it was a German firm and the hen coop was actually posted from Germany (free postage).

    My son and my two grandsons agreed to built it up for me but when it arrived the instructions and the fixtures, screws etc. for assembling it were missing but mistakes do happen and when I emailed the firm they apologised and immediately posted the screw etc. and emailed me the instructions for assembling it.

    When I had printed off the instructions just couldn't help laughing ---they were in German. but I told my son just take his time and look a the diagrams and he should be able to work it out --- I'll not print what he said in reply.

    About 1 1/2 hour later after studying the instructions and re-opening the four boxes to check the parts they discovered there was also a panel missing and the metal bar for opening/closing the door to the sleeping area.

    Once more the email I sent stating the problem was answered immediately but it meant this time there would be a delay in getting the missing panel etc.

    At first I thought the hen coop would be better next to the outside flight so to save time later they decided to assemble the coop in that area and the missing parts could be added when it arrived.

    Now my son is used to me changing my mind where I would like things put and after a lot of thought I decided it would be better in the back garden where there's a bit more shade - it was a good job he agreed with me this time :biggrin:.

    He had to cut down some fir trees, bushes etc. then he laid down slabs which was great, making it easier for me to keep it clean. When the missing panel etc arrived they moved the coop into the back garden.

    I'm really pleased with the end result and the hens seem content with their new home.


    The new hen coop.


    The four hens now inside


    chick at 12 days old Look how I have grown!
    .
    When the weather is OK I take the hens out (have to carry them one at a time ) to the outside runs I have in another part of the garden and they spend the day there and they get carried back to their coop at night.

    They also now have a new feeder and drinker but I'll talk about them later

    to be continued:

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    January 30th 2016
    Well it's almost 7 months since I added anything here. So far my 5 hens are doing well and are keeping everyone supplied with eggs. I get 4/5 eggs every day now. I thought they would have stopped laying when the weather got colder but so far that's not happened.
    One good thing I don't have to carry them out to their run anymore, in fact they haven't been in their run for a while because when I'm out in the back garden and the dog is in the house!! the hens get to run free in the back garden.  .
    They  have grown up to be  very clever hens so  I had a thought , instead of letting them try to dig down to Australia in their run I would teach them how to do some gardening. 
    I have two plum trees in the back garden and I wanted the weeds/grass removed from around the bottom of the trunk of the trees so I could put down fresh top soil then pea gravel on top. I chose Susie, she is  the calmest of the 5,  to be leader and  I took her to the tree and explained to her what to do and told her to  get the others to help and they  maybe find some worms too.. Soon the five of them were busy scraping the weeds away then they went on to hollow the area and smooth the ground ready for the top soil. Must admit they were almost black when they had finished but they seemed to have had a great time.(lol) (Once the snow has gone I'll take a photo of their handy work!)
    The other job I gave them was to scrape together all the fallen leaves I had missed unfortunately they must have misunderstood what I had said because they had the time of their life scattering all the fallen leaves I had gathered  ready to put in the compost bin.  
    Now they have been rewarded for their work (lol) I have bought each of them a lovely waterproof jacket, which also keeps them warm but there was    another reason for them getting the jackets (but I didn't tell them .lol) when it gets dull/dark  I can find them in an instant and don't have to go searching for them   They must get their jacket off before going to bed!!

    There are 3 pink coats and two yellow coats and they get turn about .  When two are wearing the yellow coats they are on henpatrol duty and have to make sure the other three don't go down the driveway to cross the road!
    (So far -- I haven't been locked up yet lol)
     
     
     
  18. Emmy
    I'm beginning to believe that the two adult Heck Finches I have must be related to the Gremlins

    They seem to have this delight in tossing their newly hatched chicks out from their nest.

    This time they had 6 eggs in their nest - 4 chicks had hatched out and when I checked the birds this morning I discovered 3 of the chicks had been tossed from the nest and were dead. (I do have a photograph of this but it's just for my own records and I'm not posting it here - not a nice thing to find)
    After finding the dead chicks I knew this was going to be the same thing happening all over again.
    So I made up my mind to remove the nest box and check the contents, There were two eggs still to hatch (they are fertile) and one little chick almost 'gone' its crop empty.

    I know the saying is if the parent birds are letting their chicks die then there must be something wrong with the chicks and the best policy would be that you shouldn't intervene and let nature take its course Personally I don't 100% agree with that - I believe every creature no matter what type/size has a right to be given a chance to live- --I believe there is something wrong with these parents!!

    So once again out came the incubator and the hospital cage.

    The two eggs went into the incubator and I put the chick into the incubator as well until I had everything else sorted out.

    This time I'm using a different hand rearing food (haven't used this one before) It's 'Orlux Handmix
    by Versele-Laga. To begin with 1part formula to 7 parts lukewarm water each feed to be approx. 10% of the body weight of the bird.

    I must own up and say that this time it is taking longer to feed this chick and it doesn't take much at a time so I was having to feed it every 10 minutes and each time after the 10 minutes was up its crop was empty. It's now 7pm and I've managed to extend the time to every 15 minutes but I've still no idea what will happen during the night - I was hoping to get at least two hours sleep between feeding times but it looks like that's not going to happen
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    May 17th 2015

    Sadly the little chick died at 1am tis morning. I think I was just a bit too late in rescuing it yesterday.
    After cleaning the hospital cage just after 1am, I checked the incubator and found one of the eggs had just hatched - the chick looks to be very small, smaller than a finch chick when it hatches, so as it should stay in the incubator for a while I decided to catch up on some sleep.


    Newly hatched chick

    This was not to be!! now Rabelou, my wee Chihuahua, decided he wanted some attention so at 1.30am there was me taking my dog for a 'very short' walk in the garden, (he has to be on a leash or he would disappear )

    At 6.30am I checked on the new chick and it looked OK, so I transferred it to the hospital cage and I gave it its first feed.

    I have been feeding it ever hour, unlike the other chick that died, this one is begging for food.

    I'm thinking the other egg in the incubator as though the chick may be dead in shell. That will be a pity if it doesn't hatch I always think it's easier to rear two chicks rather than one on its own.

    Sadly all those little chicks died.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This is now the 9th of June 2015 and the Hecks have been at it again.
    this is what has been happening:

    4th June: They have eggs in their nest and they have been incubating them. (don't know how many eggs)
    On the 4th of June I found the first egg on the floor of the cage broken and it had been fertile.
    It seems they are going to be following their previous pattern: either tossing the eggs out or when the eggs hatch they will be more than likely to toss the chicks out.

    5th June: Found another of the Heck's eggs on the floor of the cage this morning , but I was lucky it still felt warm and hadn't broken so I decided to remove all the eggs from the nest.

    I have a pair of Bengalese in a breeding cage and today is the first time I have noticed one of them sitting in the nest pan but so far no eggs.

    So I decided to put two of the heck's eggs into the Benglalese nest pan and keep my fingers crossed they would incubate the eggs.

    I've checked their nest twice and one of the Bengalese was sitting in the nest , 2nd time both Bengalese were in the nest so that's looking promising but they are young birds so time will tell.

    Thinking about the saying that "You don't put your eggs all in one basket"
    I've put the other 4 eggs into the incubator and if these 4 eggs hatch out and the Bengalese don't reject the other two eggs I'll transfer the Heck chicks to the Bengalese nest as well.and hope they feed the chicks.

    Just wished I knew why Hecks don't like raising their young. So annoying when the eggs are fertile


    6th June 2015

    Still just the two Heck' eggs in the Bengalese nest, the Bengalese haven't laid any eggs of their own yet that's what making me wonder if they will incubate those two eggs.

    I think it will be ok if they do hatch those two eggs because if they feed those chicks it should be ok to add the other chicks if they hatch out in the incubator.

    7th June 2015

    Discovered that a chick was dead in shell in one of the eggs so its been removed from the incubator.



    Above is a candled computer version of the three remaining eggs in the incubator

    9th June 2015



    The above is another computer candled version of one of the eggs in the incubator taken yesterday 8th June

    .and this was taken this morning at 7a.m.



    Went out to check on the Bengalese to find out if any of the heck's eggs I put in their nest had hatched yet but this is when I got a nice surprise

    The hecks' eggs hadn't hatched yet but surprise, surprise the Bengalese have laid two eggs of their own which I think makes it more likely they will feed the fostered chicks, at least I'm hoping so.

    I transferred only one of the Heck chicks from the incubator to the Bengalese nest to find out what would happen, they haven't tossed it out from the nest and the female was back sitting on the nest.

    So later I transferred the 2nd chick into their nest and I have just checked and so far, it looks as it will be OK'

    Question now is "Will the Bengalese feed those two chicks?"

    -----------
    10th June 2015

    Things are looking good for the two that hatched and are now in with the Bengalese but the remaining Heck's egg in the incubator -- the chick was dead in shell, it hadn't formed properly.

    So that leaves only the other two Heck's eggs that are in the Bengalese's nest but now, my problem with that is I cant tell the difference between which eggs are the Heck's and which belong to the Bengalese-- the eggs all look the same

    So if any of those eggs in the Bengalese nest do hatch I guess I'll have to wait until the chicks fledge to discover who they belong to

    -------------
    11th June 2015

    Saw the chicks being fed this morning so I guess they are going to be O.K. but I'm still going to check regularly to make sure everything is OK.
    -------------------------

    13th June 2015

    Very good news the heck chicks are growing and they are being fed and tonight I noticed there is a new arrival in the nest.

    Three chicks are in the nest now the new arrival could have only hatched out today. I doubt if this will be one of the two heck's eggs that were transferred into the Bengalese nest in the beginning.

    I'm thinking it must be one of their own eggs that has hatched (a Bengalese chick ) only time will tell. I'm really pleased how things are developing and I'm very glad I fostered the chicks to that nest.

    -----------------------------
  19. Emmy
    The title may give a clue to this 'blog'
    I have no idea why this has been happening this year but my birds have decided to share nests and some have even turned into little 'Lucifers''

    The first incident took place a while ago when one of my diamond doves decided it wanted to share one of the zebra finch's nest. The zebra finches had eggs in the nest and were incubating them and whenever one of the finches left the nest to feed in hopped the diamond dove and it cuddled up to the finch that had remained in the nest. Problem was it didn't want to leave the nest when the other finch returned I even chased the dove from the nest but whenever my back was turned it was back in the nest again.

    Then not long ago I had a canary and another pair of finches wanting the same nest. No they didn't fight they decided to share the nest and the finches laid their eggs beside the canary's eggs. The finches didn't even move when the cock canary came to feed its mate. How things were going, it wouldn't have surprised me if the cock canary decided to feed the female finch as well



    25th April 2015 zebra finch -bottom right-- sharing canary's nest



    The male finch still in the nest while the fawn hen waiting to move in

    Then I decided I'd put up a lot more nest boxes to find out if that would solve the problem-- that didn't make one bit of difference.

    A pair of Finches; a pair of Canaries and a pair of Begalese all wanted the same nest while the other nest pans and nest boxes sat there empty--

    The first to take over that new nest was the cock pied zebra finch and the fawn hen finch that had shared the previous nest with the canaries. Then when the finches were out gathering nest material along came Mr & Mrs Canary ignoring the fact the nest was taken- but they had a bit more sense and one of them always stayed in the nest while the other did the 'shopping'.

    The fact their nest had been taken over by the canaries made no difference to the finches they just hopped into the nest with their nesting material and settled down.

    This time the canary went on to lay two eggs and the finch laid 3 eggs in the same nest! but the harmony between those two pairs didn't last when a pair of Bengalese decided it was time for them to intervene. I guess this was a bit too much for the zebra finches and they gave in and left the nest and the Bengalese snuggled up to the canary -
    Could the Bengalese have come to an agreement with the canary? that if she let them stay they would help her incubate her eggs - the Bengalese laid no eggs of their own! I have no idea what happened to the finches eggs they just disappeared!


    Looks as thought the canary has hatched out a new breed of bird (lol)

    I thought things had settled down but I was in for a shock. If I hadn't witnessed this myself I would have found it difficult to believe what happened when the Bengalese were out from the nest and the canary went off the nest for a few seconds - The pied zebra cock finch came back hopped into the nest and deliberately, with its beak, pierced one of the canary's eggs and was about to do the same to the 2nd egg but I managed to chase him off and I rescued the remaining egg.
    It shouldn't take you long to guess who has taken over the nest now! Yes, the first occupants the pied and the fawn zebra finches - The Canaries and the Bengalese have given up and the zebra finches have won the battle.

    Maybe I should have put up notices:
    "Variety of free nest homes available, materials for furnishing them also free of charge"

    No! that's not the end: in my outside flight I have a diamond dove incubating not only her own egg but somehow a canary has managed to lay 2 eggs in her nest too (and not to waste the other canary egg I rescued I've popped that one in there as well)

    Just to finish off, tonight when checking the outside flight I have found that the pair of Bengalese that were sharing the nest with the canary now have built a nest of their own (3 eggs in it) in a box I had made recently and hard to believe but right next to the Bengalese in the same box a pair of canaries have built a nest too and they have 3 eggs as well.


    The nest box containing the two nests


    Two nests in same nest box Bengalese and Fife canary

    ]
    Bengalese in shared nest box


    Canary in shared nest box


    27th May 2015

    Last night I fixed a large nest basket into a small fir tree in the outside flight -the reason I did this was because a pair of the canaries were desperately trying to build a nest there and she had laid eggs but they just fell on the ground and broke
    .
    Well surprise, Surprise Lucifer the pied zebra finch (that's his permanent name now ) and his mate have left their nest in the inside flight and YES! they have decided I have put that nest basket there for them and the canaries are not getting a chance to use it!!

    I wouldn't have believed birds could behave like this and I know its the same pair because I don't have many pied cock birds and only that one pied cock paired up with a fawn hen.

    If Lucifer doesn't change his behaviour soon I think I'll be sending him to a nice warm place beside his namesake

    28th May 2015



    Lucifer this morning determined to make this new nest his!

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    29th May 2015

    I'm now convinced it must be something in the Scottish air (or could it be something about the month of May? ) because it's not only in the aviary that odd things are happening! I have my CPQ's in a different area in a large hutch and I have discovered that two female cpqs have laid their eggs in the same area and both are sharing the 'nest' and are sitting together incubating their eggs



    Its not a very good photograph but I may get a better one later didn't want to disturb them too much.

    Maybe this is a common thing to happen but I've never come across this before.

    and a nice surprise tonight I have my first diamond dove chick! 2 of the canary eggs that were in the nest as well as the Diamond Dove's egg have disappeared but there's still a canary egg in the nest beside the chick but I doubt if it will hatch.



    My new Diamond Dove chick

    My cockatiels have four (?) eggs in their nest and the first one hatch out today

    30th May 2015
    Feel like putting the flags out this morning! My first gouldian chick has left its nest box

    Tonight I'm just back in from the outside flight and I'm devastated. The Diamond dove chick is not in the nest and there is no sign of it anywhere in the outside flight. Is it possible that one of the cockatiels or one of the other birds/ or another cock diamond dove could have killed /eaten it? I'm thinking the only way I'm going to rear diamond doves is to isolate them from the other birds the canary egg was still in the D. dove's nest basket- I've removed it and it's in the incubator until I check to find out if its fertile.

    update: canary egg from Diamond Dove's nest - after candling canary's egg seems chick had died early on in incubation.

    31st May 2015

    I was talking to a breeder today at the bird sale and he confirmed what I had originally suspected - it's more than likely that it has been one of the cockatiels that has taken the diamond dove's chick - he said cockatiels were bad for that. He also said it would have eaten it Yug!! That's probably where some of the fertile eggs have disappeared to as well.

    What makes it worse is, it's the 'pet' hand reared cockatiel that's the aggressive one towards other birds - I noticed too it has been trying to get into the other pair of cockatiel's nest box where they have eggs and chicks but they chased it off.

    So he, (Cheeky), has had his free flying outside and is coming back inside the house until the breeding season is over.

    Now it seems I've got 2 Lucifers (Little & Large)

    June 1st 2015

    On 29th May I mentioned that 2 female CPQs were sharing incubating a nest which contains LOTS of eggs tonight they have been joined by yet another CPQ but the new foster parent? is a cock bird - just maybe he thinks he's the dad It was raining tonight so I didn't get a chance to get what would have been a lovely photograph of them.

    Now Cheeky (the large Lucifer) has scuppered my plans to remove him and his mate from the aviary and bring them back into the house.

    They've gone and taken over an empty cockatiel's nest box that was in the inside flight and guess what?? they have an egg. He (Cheeky) usually always comes out and lands on my shoulder but tonight it was a different story when I went to move the nest box - he literally Flew AT me, all guns blazing, that's when I discovered there was an egg in the box.

    Now here's a laugh! Two months ago I sold a cock Texan white quail to another member at the bird club I go to, it was an extra cock bird I had. Shortly after I sold that quail I lost the only two other cock quails I had, one died and the other was killed by a hawk, so at last month's sale (April) I explained to the member what had happened and asked if I could buy back the cock bird I sold him. True to his word he sold it back to me at Sunday's sale 31st May. . I thought that was great now I would be able to get some fertile eggs for the incubator. Later when I went to move him in beside the female quails I had another surprise HE had laid an egg!! to add to all the previous happenings --now the birds are even changing sex.

    3rd June 2015
    Things seem to be looking up! At least, so far, the cockatiels are sticking to their own nest boxes and the pair with the nest box in the outside flight have hatched out all four eggs, but this is the pair that gives up on feeding their chicks when they are a few days old -so I'm keeping my fingers crossed there will not be a repeat performance

    Not to be outdone, 'Cheeky' (Large Lucifer)and his mate now have two eggs in their nest box in the inside flight!

    --and today I've just put 11 Texan White Quail eggs into the incubator (bought 12 fertile eggs on line - one egg was cracked in transit)

    I've just had a thought if the cockatiels decide not to feed their young and all those quail eggs hatch out it will be bedlam here!
    Thinking - I really should get my head examined!
  20. Emmy
    First Photo: this is Patch taken today 13th April 2015.







    This is a little information about Patch's Siblings.




    This is Storm and Snowflake on March 14th 2015


    This is them today 13th April 2015
    I had just finished hand rearing Snowflake and Storm a few days ago (they are Patch's siblings from the parents' previous brood) and was relieved they had survived after mum and dad had stopped feeding them.
    They had hatched out on the 24th February and on the 2nd March it became obvious they were not being fed by the parents although 'mum' did sit on the nest from time to time she didn't feed the chicks. Storm, (dark coloured one) was the smallest one and if I had waited any longer before removing them, it would have died. I had meant to remove the nest from their cage but with looking after the chicks a few days had gone by, and when I went to remove the nest- yes you've guessed there were more eggs in the nest.!
    She had laid 4 eggs in total but only one egg was fertile: Patch.
    My thoughts were if its only one chick that will be OK they'll look after this one.

    How wrong could I have been!

    Patch hatched out on the 2nd April and things were going OK it was being fed and 'mum' was in the nest keeping Patch warm, because everything was working out this time I wasn't worried about this chick being abandoned.

    On the 12th April I noticed 'mum' was off the nest but she was feeding so I thought everything was OK
    and I wasn't worried but when I checked again later she was still off the nest so because of what had happened before I thought I'd better check the chick to make sure it was OK.
    When I lifted the chick it wasn't moving it was very cold and its crop was empty. My first thoughts were that the chick had died and that I should have checked earlier.

    But I was lucky I had found it just in time and the heat from my hand must have helped and I was sure the chick moved a little and fortunately I still had the hospital cage out and I quickly switched it on, meantime I kept the chick in my hands until the hospital cage was ready.

    This time I'm using the formula NutriBird A21 by Versele-Laga (green lid) and I'm also using avian electrolyte supplement and following the instructions I'm adding the correct amount of this to the sterile water I use to mix up the formula.

    It's early days yet but so far Patch is feeding well and I'll be still feeding it twice during the night for a few more days yet.

    Maybe its just my imagination but I feel its easier to hand rear two chicks together rather than one on its own.

    Re 'Mum and Dad' they had their chance and abused it!! so now they have been returned to the inside flight with access to the outside flight.

    So fingers crossed that Patch will be able to join Snowflake and Storm in a few weeks time.
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    15th April

    Well that's 2 days Patch has been hand reared and so far he's doing really well.
    There are no signs of dehydration and his feathers are coming along nicely .

    Only one thing I would say -- and I'm probably wrong, I think he looks small considering he is almost 2 weeks old.



    It looks like he will have a dark head and he has a patch of dark colouring on one of his wings - hence his name -Patch (lol)

    He is going longer between his feeds too. Last night he was fed at 11.30 pm and didn't get fed again until 3 am then the next feed was 6.30 am so happy about that.

    Will try to get some more photographs soon
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    17th April

    Very happy to say that Patch is coming along in leaps and bounds. I notice a difference in its growth as well.

    Patch is flapping its wings now when getting fed.

    This may be wrong what I'm doing but during the day if I notice Patch 'begging' when it sees me passing the hospital cage I do give it a little feed, so during the day this time there is no set pattern to the feeding times. If I have to go out for any reason I always feed Patch immediately before I leave - in other words I'm 'topping up' Patch (lol)

    During the night its getting better too - now only feeding Patch once during the night.

    I have taken a short video of Patch today but haven't got it downloaded yet so I'll post that tomorrow.
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    18th April 2015

    Didn't download the video I took yesterday, I decided to take another short video this morning and here is the -- 'growing up fast' -- Patch-- wings going 'ten to the dozen' to make sure it gets fed.

    https://youtu.be/29LqcJDGWtM

    There is a difference in Patch's feathers too.
    So far I haven't weighed Patch (had problem with the weighing scales) hopefully I'll be able to start weighing Patch soon.

    Update: After Patch's last feed he weighed 19g.

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    20th April 2015

    Patch is still doing OK although I did get a bit of a fright this morning. When I went to feed Patch at 3a.m. it just refused to take any food so I didn't force it and just left Patch in the hospital cage.
    Unfortunately I did sleep late and it was almost 7a.m. when I got to feeding Patch.
    Once again Patch was refusing food. The crop was definitely empty, so I sat with Patch for quite a while just giving it tiny drops of formula from the end of a cocktail stick. Patch was actually taking the food from the cocktail by itself I didn't have to put the cocktail stick inside its mouth.
    After a while,-- I don't know who felt the most tired me or Patch --when I saw there was some food in the crop I put Patch back into the hospital cage.

    I have noticed too that the nest is quite damp even although I change the 'paper' every feed.

    Pleased to say everything so far is back to normal and Patch is feeding from the syringe again.

    What I'm doing today is I'm removing Patch from the hospital cage and putting him/her- with the nest - into a very small cage for during the day and I'll put Patch back into the hospital cage at night.

    I'll be monitoring this to make sure everything is ok.

    This is Patch in the small cage:




    It is now 10pm and so far everything has been OK today. Patch has been out of the hospital cage for most of the day and has been feeding OK too.

    I have had Patch out from the cage a few times today trying to get it to perch on my finger and its getting better at doing that. Tomorrow I'm thinking about trying to get it to use a proper perch.

    One thing I have noticed today is that Patch's feathers are thicker and more softer than the other chicks I've hand reared I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the fact I'm using the avian electrolyte supplement in the water that I mix the formula with?

    It will get its last feed tonight about 11pm and I'm not going to feed it during the night- I'll give it its first feed in the morning at 5am

    So fingers crossed this works out.

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    21st April 2015

    Feel like putting the flags out! Everything went to plan and I didn't need to feed Patch during the night.

    It got its first feed at 6am and I put it back into the small cage where it will stay until tonight. After its last feed tonight I'll put it back into the hospital cage overnight ( lowered the temperature in the hospital cage- just a little )

    I've had Patch out this morning perching on my finger. Maybe its just my imagination but it looks as though it has an extra claw on one of its feet. Will have a closer look later.

    Here's two photos taken this morning with Patch on my finger.






    2pm I have managed to get a photograph of Patch's claw and it looks as though there is an extra claw, reminded me of a dog's dew claw

    If I'm correct in thinking this is an extra claw should it be removed or just left alone ?.



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    22nd April 2015

    Everything is still OK with Patch -another night I didn't have to feed patch during the night

    Patch is preening himself now and I've had him onto a perch for a short time. He has also hopped out from the nest, another sign of progress -didn't hop back in though

    I'm considering just leaving Patch in his small cage all the time now and not using the hospital cage for during the night.

    Next will be to get Patch to start pecking at the millet spray--this is where I really do find that rearing two chicks together helps at this stage - they copy each other and learn faster.

    Just hoping that other two pairs of canaries who both have young in their nest in the inside flight of the aviary make a better job of rearing their chicks - if not I can see me having to send a message to 'Mary Poppins' to come and take over

    Two photographs of Patch's first time on a perch.





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    23rd April 2015

    Another step in the right direction:

    Patch is in the small cage full time now but he's still kept in the house near a radiator. Tomorrow I'm moving him to a normal size cage and hopefully this will encourage him to move about more.

    This afternoon I noticed he was attempting to peck at the panicum seed I had put down but he wasn't actually eating it- at least he was showing an interest in it.

    I will definitely be taking him to the vet to find out what can be done about the extra claw. It looks as though this extra claw may cause problems with him perching.

    I am worried about this because if it has to be removed will the 'shock' getting this done harm him?

    Wouldn't want to lose him now he's just a lovely wee thing.

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    25th April 2015

    Patch is now 3 weeks old and he is really enjoying being in the larger cage and he's going onto the low perch that I fixed for him.
    I'm still giving him the hand rearing food but I'm cutting back on the amount I give him.
    Patch is definitely pecking at seed so that is a big step forward and he's gaining weight as well.
    The only problem to be seen to is the foot with the extra claw -he'll be going to the vet at the beginning of May.

    A short video of Patch in his new home.

    http://youtu.be/8UjT0H8YHHw

    Patch



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    1st May 2015

    Just a short update on Patch. Its still doing well but for some reason it still wants fed with the formula and is now ignoring the millet spray etc. and when it's hungry ?!? well just let me say there is definitely nothing wrong with its vocal chords :lol:
    So I guess I'm going to have to be cruel to be kind and only feed it early morning, then about 2pm and finally at 10pm. giving less formula each time.

    Re the extra claw (vet's appt. isn't until May 18th) Patch has been picking at the extra claw and it did bleed a bit, (I fixed that) but its still perching OK. Be glad when the vet has a look at it.

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    2nd May 2015

    Because Patch had stopped attempting to eat seed and was back to wanting to be hand fed I decided to bring in Patch's two older siblings ( Storm and Snowflake) and put them into the cage beside Patch.
    Initially I was a bit concerned because 'Storm' looked as though it wasn't going to get on with Patch and every now and then it would give Patch a peck.
    I kept a watchful eye on them ready to step in and remove Storm if things got out of hand but in the end it all worked out OK.
    In fact, if anything, it was much better than OK
    It was like watching two young children both wanting the same thing-- and that 'THING' was SEED.
    Yes! Patch was back to eating seed so bringing in the other two has worked and meantime it looks like calm has been restored.

    Patch, Storm and Snowflake this afternoon:



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    8th May 2015

    Re Patch's extra claw- The other day I was talking to a person who breeds Fife canaries (he is also a judge at shows) and I was told that the 'extra claw thing' is quite common but it's looked on as a fault when exhibiting. He also said its really quite simple to remove it and explained how - but I'm not saying how to do it here-- I'm taking Patch to the vet
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    20th May 2015

    At last Patch has been to the vet and the extra claw is actually attached to a bony structure, to remove this Patch would have to undergo an operation which would mean giving it an anesthetic.
    The vet didn't advise to do that just now firstly because Patch is very young and secondly because Patch is perching and feeding etc normally and he said it's not in pain it wouldn't be worth the risk just to make it look better but I have to keep checking the leg and later if it starts to create problems for Patch then I've to take it back to the vet then he'll then decide what option would be best for Patch.
    Meantime Patch is back in its cage with its two siblings and doing well - its feathers are still very fluffy and soft.

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    ________________________________________________________________________________
  21. Emmy
    I know I have already posted about this on the forum but I want to keep a record and thought the best way to do this using a 'blog' entry.

    I've had this pair of Hecks since last year but they were not last years birds.
    The hen was always laying eggs but she never incubated them.

    Then surprise, the last lot she laid (6eggs) they decided to incubate them. The only difference this time was Instead of the usual nesting material I use I gave them coconut fibre. I was surprised just how quickly they used this to build the nest.
    6 eggs in Heck's nest

    Eggs candled via computer 3 look to be fertile - this eventually proved to be correct

    Unfortunately today when I was checking the cages seed/water etc.- I found one little chick was on the floor of their cage -it was dead so at least I knew some of the eggs were fertile.

    I can check the nest from outside the cage but had decided after I knew they were incubating the eggs I wouldn't disturb them unless they were both out of the nest feeding. So as both birds were out from the nest this afternoon I decided I would check the nest.

    Only 3eggs were in the nest - no eggs had been thrown out and definitely no other eggs hidden in the nest. What happened to the other 3 eggs? well one had hatched but no idea about the other two eggs. !

    The pair seemed as though they had given up incubating the remaining eggs so I cleaned out their cage and removed the nest box and was about to bin the 3 remaining eggs when I thought --just in case they were fertile --and maybe there could a chance they would hatch out I decided to put them into the incubator and would candle them later to find if they were/had been fertile.

    30 minutes later my eyes about 'popped' out of my head one of the eggs had hatched out in the incubator. I was so glad I hadn't removed the nest from the nest box so I put the newly hatched chick back in the nest and put the nest box back onto their cage and decided I'd wait for 15 minutes to find out if the parents would go back into the nest box and crossed my fingers that the parents would feed it. Both adult birds were going into the nest so I'm hoping they are feeding the chick.
    Sadly in the morning I discovered they had tossed the 2nd chick out from the nest and it was dead

    The other 2 eggs are still in the incubator but I think only one is fertile but if it hasn't hatched out by the morning I guess it will be dead in the shell .
    I have now candled the photograph of the egg I think is fertile but I can't see the red dot (heart) that usually shows up when the chick is alive in the shell , but it could be the angle I have taken the photograph.

    this is the image of the chick inside the egg.



    (you can see from the entry photograph that this chick did hatch out successfully)

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    March 27th 2015
    Day 2

    So far so good the chick is fine! (Me on the other hand I'm a nervous wreck! Maybe I should be changing places with the chick )

    I put the chick into the hospital cage last night and set the temperature just slightly lower than the incubator and it seems to be working out OK. I have been feeding it every 2 hours. I'm using a cocktail stick that I adapted this is fine for the early stages and the chick is showing a positive reaction to this and it ensures that the chick isn't getting too much formula each time.

    Hospital cage:




    Tonight I have increased the strength of the formula (as directed) and it seems to have made a difference how the chick is feeding.

    Using Kaytee formula :
    Day 1-2 = 1 part Kaytee to 6 parts water
    Day 2-5 = 1 part Kaytee to 2/3 water
    day 5 onward = 1part Kaytee to 1 1/2 / 2 parts water.

    Depending on how it goes I may extend the time between feeds. But it will only get fed if its crop is empty.

    (Soon be Sunday and hopefully the Bengies will take over )
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    Saturday, March 28th 2015

    'Hamish the Heck' (it's been named! ) so far is doing well. Although it's 'early days' I'm not even worried now if the Bengalese don't take over the feeding -- (but I could do with more than 2 hours sleep at a time lol)

    As it's working out OK feeding him every 2 hours, I'm going to leave it at that meantime.

    I'm still using the modified cocktail stick to feed him- I know the crop tube would be quicker but as this method is working out OK I'm going to keep on with it meantime.

    This photograph was taken this morning at 7am (and all his bodily functions are in perfect working order )



    A very short video of Hamish being fed:

    http://youtu.be/a_uQJro9bLU



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    Sunday March 29th 2015

    Was really worried this morning - I didn't hear the alarm and I was about 2hours late for Hamish's 1st feed. I took me ages to get him to start feeding and for a moment I was dreading what may happen.
    I had to keep returning him to the hospital cage from time to time to make sure his temp. was OK
    It took a lot of patience but it paid off. I only fed him a little and let him rest for about 10 minutes in the hospital cage then tried feeding him again after 2/3 times doing this he was back to normal.
    So its obvious he still can't go all night yet --which by now he should be able to go from 11pm until 5a.m.
    Today I've started him on the 1 part formula to 1 1/2 -- 2 parts water
    Hopefully this may help to make him go longer between feeds.
    I did buy the two Bengalese at the bird sale today and I was told it would be very unlikely they would feed the chick until they decided to go into the nest box.

    What are the Bengies doing?? Yes sitting on a perch! I've put up a nest boxes at both ends of the cage and also put one inside the cage on the floor. Not sure if that is the correct thing to do but I'll see what happens tomorrow.

    Short video clip:

    This is Hamish tonight waiting to be fed - just wait until you see the end of this short video! Is it really a chick or is it a creature from another planet?



    Feed me NOW!



    My last thoughts tonight- Please let the Bengies choose a nest tomorrow!

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    Monday March 30th 2015

    Hamish definitely went a bit longer between feeds last night.

    It's now 10am and after Hamish has been fed I'm going to set the temperature in the hospital cage to a few degrees lower. Doing this on the basis that if I had been using the brooder I would have changed the light bulb from 60W to 40W

    3pm: Having a bit bother with Hamish's feeding today -definitely not as responsive to getting fed.
    I've decided to go back to the previous formula mix: 1 part formula 2-3 water to find out if that makes a difference.

    One thing I find odd is sometimes when chicks are being hand reared they don't get the downy feathers like the other chicks get when being reared with their parents? When I look at Hamish he looks as though he is made from black leather

    9 pm: Still having a bit of bother with the feeding routine. When its time for him to be fed he is begging but he doesn't make a cheeping sound and after just 2 tiny bits of formula he doesn't seem to want any more. I'll leave him now until about midnight and try feeding him then although I will be checking him at regular intervals until then. Just hoping this glitch sorts itself out.
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    Tuesday 31sr March 2015

    This morning I'm really worried about Hamish he's definitely not feeding as he was before.

    Today I was considering going on to using a crop tube but the one I had that would fit his beak has broken and seems impossible to fix but I'll have another try fixing it later on (to do it properly I would need to order more materials etc ) next size of crop tube I have is just a fraction too big.

    Re the new Bengies they are still not going into any of the nest boxes but the ones I have in my aviary I guess would be ideal -they look as though they want to nest but there would still be the worry that they wouldn't feed Hamish and maybe toss him out from the nest- and at this point he definitely needs to be kept warm. and there would still be the problem of catching the other Bengies.
    So it seems I'm going to be 'Mum' for a while longer.

    I thought the first 4/5 days would have been the worst time for things to go wrong - but I'm not giving up hope just yet - I still think miracles do happen.

    3pm
    I think I have found the solution to the feeding problem.
    I had a look through all the medical equipment I had used for my different pets in the past and I found this syringe:



    But it is far too big to use as a 'crop feeder' for Hamish but part of it is ideal to use in the same way as I have been using the cocktail sticks and a safer method too. This is the part I'm using:



    This syringe is meant for giving liquid only so Hamish's formula wouldn't have be able to be withdrawn into the tube. Using only the above part - which is just a perfect fit to go into his beak - I just dip the end into the formula and then insert it into his beak and so far it has worked.

    I think this may be another cause for this 'Blip' in the feeding--- I noticed he hadn't been 'pooping' much.

    Maybe the initial cause was by following the formula instructions to the letter! So now I'll be keeping Hamish on the 2-5 days old instruction - 1 part formula to 2-3 parts water even it this means I have to feed him at shorter intervals. and then I'll use my own judgement after that.

    I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will work out because if it doesn't I just don't know what to do next!

    5.15 pm

    Sad News Hamish didn't make it.

    Just wished I knew for certain what went wrong when he was feeding OK to begin with.
    I know he would have died sooner if I had put him back into the nest but I wanted to give him a chance.
    So, so sad that he didn't survive.
  22. Emmy
    Some of the information here has already been posted in a previous 'Blog' but I decided to start at the beginning from the day Billie hatched and this photograph was taken approx. 5 minutes after Billie had hatched out from the egg.

    (As I don't know the sex of the chick yet to make things simpler I'll refer to Billie as - he. )

    For the first 9 hours I left him in the incubator along with the nine Chinese Painted Quail eggs that hadn't yet hatched out.

    At 9pm that evening I transferred Billie to the brooder:

    The brooder is a large plastic box with a lid, an air vent at one end and a fitting for a light bulb at the other end. This was fitted with a 60 watt red light bulb, which is left switched on 24/7 to provide some of the heat required.

    Setting up the inside of the brooder:

    First a large towel was folded to fit the base of the tub then that was covered with a non slip material.
    For the first two weeks, inside the brooder, I'll be using a large bird bath -lined in a similar way to the tub- this helps to keep the chick contained and also helps with the heating. Inside this bird bath I also use a hand size wheat filled microwave pouch which I heat for 30 seconds and this is wrapped in a piece of fine sheeting and a dent made in the middle where I place the chick. I then cover the chick with a small cushion made from gauze and filled with soft wool nesting material. This is placed on top of the chick to represent the mother keeping it warm after hatching.

    This is the first time I have also used a dog warmer pad, this is sold for dogs that have health problems and need a constant source of heat to relieve pain. It is heated in the Microwave for 6 minutes and it keeps warm for 10 hours, I put this underneath the bird bath- The dog warmer pad is vey handy especially for during the night.

    Also in a corner behind the bird bath, (opposite side to the light bulb )--I've placed a tub of water ( I add a sheet of paper towel into the tub to absorb some of the water in case it spills) This creates some moisture inside the brooder.

    Billie is now 'fluffying' up and is getting covered in yellow down.

    Feeding: I am using NutriBird A21 hand rearing food by versele-laga (green lid) and I make up a fresh batch every feed. Day 1-2 it is one portion of hand rearing food to 6 portions of water.
    As Billie gets older the proportions of food /water will change - the mixture will finally look like a creamy custard and he will be fed this until he gets introduce to millet spray.
    At the moment I'm using a crop tube to feed him but and as he gets older I'll either use a syringe or a special feeding spoon.

    Day 1: I fed him ever 2 hours - during the night as well just to make sure he was OK
    .
    Day 2: Time between feeds was lengthened to 2 1/2 hours / 3 hours -still getting fed during the night as well.

    Day3: Now that the portion of hand rearing food has been increased I'm trying to increase the length of time between feeds to 3- 3 1/2 hours but it will all depend on how long it takes for Billie's crop to empty. Before feeding him its something I always check -if there is food in his crop I leave feeding
    him until a little later. So far everything is going to plan and he is taking the food without any problems.

    Some photos of Billie:

    1. January 18th: Day two.


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    2. January 19th: Day 3.






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    Tuesday January 20th 2015.
    Billie has put on weight (2gm) since hatching. He is coping with a longer interval between feeds too and is becoming more active.
    A few more photographs taken this morning:


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    Wednesday, January 21st 2015.

    New photograph taken today: getting stronger too. Increasing the strength of the hand rearing food.



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    Thursday, January 22nd 2015

    This afternoon I stopped using the crop tube/syringe to feed Billie. I am now using the 'feeding spoon' and Billie is having no problems with being given the food this way.

    This is the feeding spoon I use:



    Billie now weighs 11g - weighed just under 5g on 17th January -day of hatching.

    New photograph taken this morning:


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    Friday, January 23rd 2015

    I think there will be a big change in Billie within the next few days. Noticed late last night that Billie's eyes are beginning to open.



    This is a link to short video clip of Billie being fed by the feeding spoon:

    http://youtu.be/hjYD66vbls0

    !.30pm today waiting to be fed:



    Tonight after being fed at 6pm Billie weighed 20g !

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    Monday , January 26th 2015

    This is Billie tonight just after his last feed, moving about a lot more now and eyes are fully opened.
    Billie now weighs just over 30g.


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    Tuesday, January 27th 2015

    Billie has just been fed (now weighs 40g) loves to get petted and then cuddles in and sleeps. Feathers are now beginning to appear on Billie's head.



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    Wednesday, January 28th 2015: (the start of the12th day from hatching).

    Using a normal syringe to feed Billie - for alternate feeds.
    Noticed this morning tail feathers beginning to appear and a few more on its head too.

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    Thursday January 29th 2015 (day 13 since hatching)

    This is the 1st time I haven't had to feed Billie during the night - 6 hours between last night's 11pm feed to 1st feed this morning 5a.m.
    (Photo taken last night after his 11pm feed)


    This photo taken this morning showing the beginning of feathers developing on Billie's breast.



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    Friday January 30th 2015 (beginning of day 14 since hatching)

    'Billie' is two weeks old today and what a transformation has happened in that short time.
    Billie does not need to be fed during the night now (last feed at night approx. 11pm and 1st feed next morning approx. 6am--( by then, by his actions, I believe he would be able to eat a 'horse' )

    After you have seen this video link I think you will agree with me that I have a lovely cuddly new addition to the family.



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    Saturday January 31st 2015 (day 15 since hatching)

    Billie now weighs 72g
    I have changed the bulb inside the brooder from a red 60watt bulb to a clear 40 watt bulb.
    I'm using the dog warmer pad at night time only and the small wheat bag inside the 'bird bath bed' during the day.
    I have had to put him into a 1litre plastic container when feeding him now. He was jumping out from the previous one.
    Today I may remove the 'bird bath bed' from the brooder for a while to see how Billie copes with more space and I may put in a millet spray just to see what happens.

    Billie in the 1litre tub:



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    Sunday February 1st 2015 (day 16 since hatching)

    This was the longest Billie has gone between feeds. His final feed last night was at 10.35pm and his first feed this morning was 7.15am (that was my fault - too late going to bed last night -sorting out the diamond doves) this hasn't done him any harm - but he definitely was hungry lol He now weighs 87g It's amazing how quickly the 'feathers' are all forming now. He's beginning to look like a little hedgehog lol.

    Short video: Billie having a little walk lol



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    Monday February 2nd 2015 (day 17 since hatching)

    I'm just hoping I don't have another day like today. It has just made me be more aware just how much Billie means to me.

    It started this morning with Billie appearing to be hungry but after the first taste couldn't take any more and his crop was quite swollen in fact it looked like he had just been fed and he hadn't been fed since last night. Thinking he may be needing a bit more room to move about, and at the same time keeping the temperature stable in the brooder, I re-arranged the heating and used a heat pad that can keep the temperature at the level I wanted.
    This made no difference to Billie and he still wasn't taking any food - he did actually take a tiny bit off the feeding spoon but that was it! It was becoming obvious he wanted to eat but couldn't . His crop was very swollen too.
    Next step was to 'phone the vet for an emergency appointment and I was lucky to get one for 6.20pm tonight.

    The vet said his crop was full of air and Billie also had food in his crop that hadn't been digested.
    What the vet did was to make Billie regurgitate some of the food from its crop (to me it would have been the same as making Billie vomit) I didn't see the next part being done because He had to take Billie into another area but the vet explained what he had done. He had used a hypodermic syringe to extract air from Billie's crop I'm not sure if he said he had removed some fluid as well.

    I had been making the mistake of letting Billie eat until he was full. I was advised not to feed him again this evening nor during the night but to wait until tomorrow morning just give him a little food no more than 5ml and don't feed him again until his crop is empty even if Billie is begging for more. Vet reckon every 3hours would be OK.

    The vet did say Billie was a bit stressed after what had been done (no wonder) but just to keep him quiet and warm. Well the good news is Billie looks OK now and his crop is not distended.

    I'm just so lucky having such a good vet so near to where I live.

    But one thing is certain, I don't want to go through another day like today.

    I've just taken this photo of Billie tonight - what a difference from this morning :good:



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    Tuesday February 3rd 2015 (day 18 since hatching)

    So far so good, I was up at 5am checking on Billie and he was begging for food but I didn't give in
    and I waited until 7am before I fed him.
    My problem then -- I was a bit confused re the amount of food the vet recommended at each feeding - I know he said no more than 5gm but did he mean 5gm of formula before adding the water or 5gm with the water added-that makes a big difference so I decided I'd weigh Billie before I fed him and weigh him at intervals during the feeding until he was 5gm heavier then stop. It was difficult to stop feeding him because it was obvious he was still hungry but whenever the scales showed he weighed 5gm heavier I stopped feeding him.
    It's very difficult to be 100% sure his crop is empty before feeding him again so I'm going to feed him every 31/2 --4 hours and just to be sure and I'll just keep weighing him before and after feeds. I wont be feeding him during the night. I'm hoping Billie will cope with that.
    He had a long snooze cuddled up in my hand this afternoon -not sure who enjoyed it most- me or him

    Update 11pm: Billie is not looking good. He was hungry at 10pm and after the first little drop of food from the spoon he seemed to be having difficulty and his crop started to swell again. The sad thing is he was hungry. I've now got him in his warm box inside the brooder and pray that he'll settle down until the morning and hope that he has had enough food during the day to keep him going. I'll phone the vet first thing to ask for advice and get an appointment. Just wished I knew what has suddenly gone wrong when he was doing so well. I'll be checking on him regularly during the night.

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    Wednesday February 4th 2015 (day 19 since hatching)

    I've just phoned the vet and I'm taking Billie down at noon today. I've confirmed the amount of food he recommended me to give Billie, but what I don't like is each time Billie was fed yesterday his crop started to swell up (not with the food) it was like he was having difficulty swallowing . About 8am I managed to get Billie to take just a little of the formula using the syringe but the same happened.

    Last night I really thought he wasn't going to make a recovery, but I'm just so glad I can get him to the vet in about two hours time to try to discover what is actually happening - This time round it just cant be Billie overfeeding.

    Just wondering if Billie could have been taking in too much air when he's feeding when he has been really hungry?

    Update: 2.30pm: What a difference after the visit to the vet. I was glad I had been doing the correct thing re the feeding - Billie's to get 5ml (one teaspoonful) of prepared formula and no more at each feed. Before I give it to Billie I have to add just a tiny drop of olive oil to the mixture -just a drop from the end of a needle -I used a cocktail stick then used that to stir the formula and I fed him using the syringe. (I'm sure vet said the oil would help to break up the surface tension inside its crop)Another thing the vet said was to wait until Billie was actually begging for food - where its neck would be fully stretched that way any air he may take in can be expelled.
    Very lucky that Billie did beg for his food and he 'scoffed the lot' he wont get any more now for at lest another 2hours. and he's now sound asleep in his cosy bed.

    The vet did say anything could still happen. Although I knew that I didn't like hearing it being said.

    One thing for sure if I hadn't found this wonderful vet Billie would never have survived.

    I'm exhausted so I'm going to sit down and have a coffee and put my feet up for a hour or so! I'll update this again tonight.

    Update 6.15pm

    Billie had a 2nd feed at 4.30pm and once again I was lucky to get him wanting to beg for to be fed.
    I didn't handle him much and put him straight back into the warm bed in the brooder and he has slept since then. I checked on him just now and once again he is begging for food (see attached photo which was taken just now at 6.20pm) but there seems to be still some food in his crop so I'll check again at 7pm just to be sure the crop is empty. The vet did say not to worry if it was longer between feeds and that Billie wouldn't starve (lol) better to have the crop completely empty.



    Just keeping my fingers crossed that adding that tiny drop of olive oil does the trick.

    (I do have two more photos of Billie before he went to the vet - I'll post them here but if its not allowed Gary please let me know and I'll delete them.)





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    Thursday February 5th 2015 (day 20 since hatching)

    The beginning of this day has been a nightmare!! Because Billie hadn't fed since 8.30pm last night I set the alarm to check on him at 2am. I got a shock!! He was sitting very still, all huddled up, didn't move when I touched him and he was VERY cold. I really thought he had died. When I lifted him into my hand I thought I felt him move a little and for a moment, because I was so upset, I just couldn't think what to do. I knew the most important thing was to get him warm but it would take too long for the incubator to heat up so I popped him inside my top so he was next to my skin and kept him there until I fixed up somewhere to get him the extra heat he needed.

    I reheated the dog warmer pad and the small hand wheat bag. but even that wasn't enough so I also heated the large wheat bag as well. I had to make sure Billie didn't have direct contact with these so I made up a 'bed' by putting a sheepskin rug onto an easy chair and put the dog warmer pad onto the rug then putting the wheat bags around the heat pad and then covering them with material and paper towels and he has been kept warm like this since then. I have had to keep reheating the wheat bags to keep the temperature at a high level. From time to time I have taken him onto my hand and 'talked' to him and he responded to that.

    About 4.30am a wonderful thing happened he started begging for food. I felt I had just been given a million pounds and what was even better he actually stretched his neck to be fed. He had 1 teaspoonful of the mixed up formula plus that tiny drop of oil he would have taken more but I didn't give him any more.

    From then he has been in the 'bed' I made up and again from time to time I hold in my hand.
    He had another feed at 7am, once again begging for the food and stretching his neck to be fed-- I hope I'm not tempting fate saying this- but so far no excess swelling of his crop.

    1st photo putting him in the new bed.
    2nd photo after his 7am feed



    Guess there's no sense in me going to bed now but I don't mind so long there is a chance Billie will get over this blip

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    Saturday February 7th 2015 (day 22 day since hatching)

    Missed two updates but how things have been the past two days I was beginning to think there would be no more updates. Billie has been ill again. His crop wasn't emptying and he seemed to be becoming dehydrated.so its been a case of more nights without sleep. I have been given lots of advice from one of our new members (fetchingfinches) and tonight Billie is looking a little bit better but he's 'not out of the woods' yet. So I'm hoping everyone who reads this will keep their fingers crossed that he can get over this 'blip' - well better correct that - not a blip for me its a nightmare and I'm worried sick. (he's been getting baby apple puree, probiotics and tiny drops of olive oil with his formula.) What I couldn't find was rehydration fluid that could be given to babies.

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    Sunday February 8th 2015 (day 23 since hatching)

    Another bad day for Billie. Feeding has been very erratic and he has been sick too - very glad he survived that. I'm giving him probiotics (mixing up the solution and using that to make up the formula instead of sterile water. He is not getting the apple puree/water now and I'm not putting the drop of oil in his food.

    20 minutes later

    This is something I'd hope I would never have had to post:

    I'm really very upset at the moment because Billie was sick again and this time he didn't make it.

    15 minutes ago Billie died in my hands and I've just buried him.

    In some ways I'm blaming myself because I fed him the same way I did with the other nine I had hand reared. I let him feed until he didn't want any more and that worked up until last week when I had to take him to the vet. So I may have overfed him. I'm really going to miss him he was such a lovely little thing.

    So sadly this blog ends here but I thank you all for your support and interest in Billie.
    Emmy

    This is the last photo of Billie taken this afternoon.


  23. Emmy
    This is the last photo taken of the cockatiel 'chick' inside the egg taken last night (Jan. 16th) at 11pm on the 17th day of incubation.

    This morning (Jan.17th ) I checked the incubator as usual at 7.30 am and everything was normal-- no changes --egg was in the same position as last night.

    About 9a.m. I got out my camera to take the first photo of the day to candle the egg on the 18th day of incubation. - That's when I got a shock!! the egg was broken!!

    No! not smashed but in two halves and staggering around in the incubator was my newly hatched cockatiel chick

    Why then was I disappointed? I had intended to film the hatching and I had missed it by minutes!!

    Possibly some members wont remember Rabelou the duckling that hatched in the incubator and it had hatched out on my l.husband's and my daughter's birthday (She shared the same birthday as her dad lol)
    Well not to be outdone, this new arrival has hatched out on my sister-in-law's 88th birthday so its being named after her Her nickname is 'Billie'

    So meet the new baby Billie. attached are a few photographs just after hatching.

    Thank you all for reading my blog.

    I will be starting a new one soon about Billie's development and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed he survives!

    I'll try to post a link to a short video later.

    edited to add video link: http://youtu.be/tTvsHtU3JU0

    January 17th 10pm : 'Billie' now in the brooder and has had its 4th feed this is a link to a video of Billie in he brooder: http://youtu.be/VXTozqJg8Mg

    January 18th 8am. Billie now one day old- was fed twice during the night but it only takes seconds to feed it. There is a difference feeding Billie from feeding a chick that has already been fed by its parents (by saying this I'm not advocating that eggs should be taken from the nest of any type of bird if there is no danger to the chick and the parents are capable of feeding them- to remove an egg for any other reason would, in my opinion , be cruel)
    Although Billie is just one day old when I go to feed it- Billie is opening its beak immediately - he has no fear of me whatsoever. Therefore it takes less time to feed it.

    This is a link to a short video taken this morning just after Billie had been fed.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w9pcz0N6Kw



  24. Emmy
    As the title says 'What an end to 2014! Not only have I crashed my car (black ice on road) but my cockatiels have decided to follow my example and as the photo above shows, crash some eggs!!

    This is the 2nd egg they have broken they still have two eggs left in the nest that, so far, are OK. (edited to say she has laid another egg- so that's 3 eggs in nest now)

    This blog is about what I've decide to try to do with the broken egg but I will be very surprised if it works.

    I really don't know if the yolk of the egg has been damaged but I have patched the egg up using micropore to cover the missing part of the shell. If it had been only a crack I know nail varnish would have worked.
    Before I attached the micropore to the egg I made sure I covered the part of the micropore that would be next to the contents of the egg so that nothing inside the egg would get stuck to the micropore.
    It's now inside the incubator next problem will be how to turn the egg without causing further damage.
    My other problem is - should I take another egg from their nest and incubate it too just in case this broken one does survive?. I feel its always easier to rear two chicks rather than one.

    I've still to examine the photos I've taken today to find out if any damage has been done to the yolk.
    (update: The yolk of the egg had been punctured so egg has been removed from the incubator and destroyed.)

    Update January 3rd 2015:
    This morning when I checked the cockatiel's nest when they were out feeding I was knocked for six - I found more eggs broken in the nest box, only one whole egg left. I've removed the last whole egg and put it into the incubator beside the previous one I had removed the other day.

    I have since checked the egg removed today and it definitely is not fertile but the one I removed the previous day is showing veins inside the egg. I have put two false eggs into the nest- but I am very concerned with this happening, they have had 3 broods before and no eggs damaged.

    At the moment I cannot make up my mind whether to remove the false eggs and the nest box or leave it as it is just in case the one egg left in the incubator does hatch out and then take the false eggs out and put the chick in- worry then would be-- would they kill the chick?!!

    (Update: decided to remove the false eggs and the nest box. If the egg in the incubator hatches I'm not chancing putting it in with the parent birds knowing their past history. The Parent birds seem to be more settled now)

    This is something I didn't know- I intend to weigh the egg that is in the incubator to check if everything is OK. I would have expected the egg to gain weight getting close to hatching.

    This is what I discovered :
  25. Emmy
    This top photograph of the nest was taken this morning (29thNovember 2014)

    This nest of my Pied BC contained 5 eggs -three of the eggs have hatched, only one more egg is fertile.

    After I downloaded the photograph into my picture folder I candled the photo using the two methods I use.

    Photos:

    1. The above photo cropped to show position of one of the chicks

    2. photo 1. candled using the first sequence I used to candle the eggs

    3. photo 2. cropped to enlarge image.

    4. photo 3. candled using the new sequence.

    5. photo 4. cropped to enlarge image.

    I've found it interesting comparing the two methods used so I thought I'd share it with you.