Well, yesterday the half-dead thrush baby began to move more, and by yesterday evening the two of them were feeding voraciously. This has been a delightful experience. I'm feeding them every hour or so with a smidgeon of dog food (about 1/4 teaspoon) mashed in a little milk and warmed to blood heat.
They are such a hoot, because when they hear my voice and see me coming, they wiggle their little bottoms as if to say 'here it comes, Mum!', and then lift them up as far as possible to do a little deposit over the side of the 'nest'. If I was a good mother thrush, I'd pick the little gooey bundle up in my beak and drop it over the side. But as I am human, (or, according to one person, a Toblerone), I just lift them out and replace their rag.
Then the feeding frenzy begins, and they strain their scrawny necks and hold up their immense orange mouths and I squirt the mixture in with a little plastic eye-dropper. They finally subside into little squeeks and churrips through their closed beaks, as if they have a mouthful, then fluff up again and their eyes close and they fall asleep again. All in about 20 seconds. In a weird way, the routine 'babyness' of them all is like feeding my own little ones.
Another interesting thing, if you can handle it, is that even their poos smells sweet too, just like breast-fed baby.
And I even feel quite chuffed that they slept for 5 hours last night!
Have they got names? I suggest you call the one on the left Alexander and the one of the right Victoria. Don't know why - they just sound like good names for baby thrushes. I hope they live.
ReplyDeleteV & A, it is, then. Or, depending on circumstances, Victor and Alexandra. They'll live, they are thriving!
ReplyDeleteOk smelling bird poop (and proudly blogging about it) is a new low even for you.
ReplyDeleteYou are one sick Toblerone.
You're a good mom. Promise me you won't start teaching them to read until they're in first grade.
ReplyDeleteSilverback! The smelling was inadvertent, I promise you! As regards "A new low"! and "Even for me"! You big meanie, you! I post LOVELY posts! And well you know it. You're just jealous that I have baby thrushes and you don't. So there.
ReplyDeleteDan, thank you. I'm just reading to them at bedtime and playing classical music, soothing Bach, and a sprinkling of Tommy Emmanuel and "Fret Killer" - 'I'll see you in my Dreams'
PS I've been looking at the Tumbleweed plans. But N.says where is her bedroom? So I'll have to build a
2-car garage (where NZ'ers put their cars) with a large studio room over the top, which rather defeats the purpose!