Babies

Here is a picture of the newest baby I had to pull for handfeeding.  Tentatively named "Sonny" (or "Sunnie" if a girl), he is the only child of Rico & Mickey.  They decided that 13 days was old enough to wean, I guess.  They have been spending more & more time out of the nest box in the last week & I had noticed that the baby didn't ever seem to have a full crop.

Saturday morning, Adrian looked in the nest box &, while Mickey & Rico were in it, they were on the other side, completely ignoring Sonny.  So we set up the aquarium, which is right next to where I sit on the couch & knit, for single occupancy.  I got the stuffed chicken at the Salvation Army Thrift Store so Sonny wouldn't be alone.  He has figured out the the syringe is the bringer of food and sucks it right down now.



I'm trying to nap here!



Adrian was holding him last night after the 5 pm feeding.  Sonny fell asleep in his hands.  I leaned down to listen.  Sonny mutters in his sleep.  Little peeps and other noises.  Adrian says that means he's a he, since male cockatiels are usually more vocal than females.

Sonny

In retrospect, using Adrian's Xbox 360 magazine for a platform for the picture probably wasn't the smartest thing to do.  But you can see from the picture that Sonny is going to be a pearl. I'm hoping he isn't a he, as the males lose their pearling as they mature.

As it turns out, there was a reason Mickey & Rico were sitting on the other side of the box.  She laid another egg today.