My apologies that I haven't taken photos in over a week. This time of year gets quite hectic with gardening projects and the children's activities, which is why I knew better than to hand raise any of these chicks. I am just really glad that all three mothers did a wonderful job and didn't need me to step in to rescue any of them. This in spite of the fact that these moms were "super producers"- there are 20 babies down in those three nests!
Several of them have come out of the boxes and are learning all kinds of lessons from their dads about bird behavior and how to eat different kinds of foods. The parents will still feed the chicks when they are out of the box, but not quite as much as they did inside of it.
When they have had enough practice at eating food with the support of their parents, then I will move them to a separate cage. Or sometimes I leave the chicks where they are and take the parents out. But I like to give them at least a week after that so I can evaluate whether they are self sufficient and ready to weather their transition to the strange surroundings of a new home.
I'll try to get some more current photos of them posted soon, and then we can get the ball rolling for the people on the waiting list to be able to choose their baby.
Several of them have come out of the boxes and are learning all kinds of lessons from their dads about bird behavior and how to eat different kinds of foods. The parents will still feed the chicks when they are out of the box, but not quite as much as they did inside of it.
When they have had enough practice at eating food with the support of their parents, then I will move them to a separate cage. Or sometimes I leave the chicks where they are and take the parents out. But I like to give them at least a week after that so I can evaluate whether they are self sufficient and ready to weather their transition to the strange surroundings of a new home.
I'll try to get some more current photos of them posted soon, and then we can get the ball rolling for the people on the waiting list to be able to choose their baby.