The chick got four feeds today though the last feed was only a couple of minutes long, it was a bit close to the third and the chick was still full. Pigeon and Starling were on the menu.
Azina feeds the chick its first meal
Only a few minutes at a time but Tom got to spend a bit of time with the chick and the eggs. Very gentle as usual.
Tom ‘kisses’ the chick
A second egg has been pipping all day. It started with a tiny hole and a crack and didn’t seem to develop so I was starting to wonder if it wasn’t a bit of down stuck to the egg but at 6.30 the hole was bigger and the chick visible. It still had a bit to go and may be hatching under Azina now as I am typing this.
The chick and the eggs
There is a mark on a third egg that may be a pip but somehow I think it may just be a mark.
Another quiet day apart from the moment Azina spotted something high up (first two shots) and went after it. It was so high up I never managed to spot it and lost Azina as she was just a teeny dot on her way after it. This was just before lunchtime and it’s only then that Tom came for his first shift
Two things today: first the chicks spent most of the night on their own and second chick #1 stood up and did a few steps for the first time.
Home alone
The chicks were also left on their own for most of the day though Azina did come and brood them from time to time.
Azina brooding the chicks
There were seven feeds, usually not very long except for one that lasted 40 minutes. Only pigeon on the menu. Maybe tomorrow chick #2 will also stand up? Maybe chick #1 will decide to explore a bit more?
No big outing today. Chick #2 went out for five minutes on its own and Chick #3 was back in as soon as it was out.
Chick #2 flapping
The chicks got to taste Parakeet for the first time this evening and they’d also had Starling on top of the usual Pigeon so a bit more variety on the menu today. Azina must have caught that Parakeet as it looked quite fresh and Tom had been sitting on or by the ledge for over an hour when she arrived with it.
First Parakeet
There were only five feeds today but the chicks were very full at the end of each of them. Chick #2 is getting a bit even more steady on its feet and Chick #3 is making more effort. Chick #1 has reached the pincushion back stage, making it quite easy to recognise it from its siblings today.
Chick #1 has reached the pincushion back stage
When it was sitting next to Chick #3 on the porch at one point the difference 4 days make was quite striking when looking at the cheek patch and around the eye.
You can see the difference 4 days make on the cheek patch comparing #1 on the left and #3 on the right
Chick #3 cast a pellet on the back of Chick #2 this morning.
It has been a tough day. It all started last night after I posted the daily update and I checked the cameras. I noticed that Chick #1 had either been crying since the last feed or had trouble breathing. When I checked this morning, it wasn’t any better. We made plans to pick it up tomorrow at ringing if it wasn’t improved and have it checked up at Wildlife Aid. Throughout the morning it seemed to perk up from time to time and ventured outside a couple of times. At one point it lost its balance and fell on the ledge floor but picked itself up again. It pancaked with Chick #3 in the box for a while. Then around 12:30 it got up, went out of the box, to the hidden corner for a while. At 12:55 it came back to the wall in front of the box, collapsed and drew its last breath.
From the start last night I suspected it may be frounce/trichomoniasis. From a clip I sent Sean confirmed that it is the most likely cause. But, obviously, without checking the bird physically, we cannot be 100% sure. It is not avian flu. It will have come from one of the pigeons they ate. With hindsight, what I called being weird a few days ago, that it pretty much stopped pancaking and was spending its time sleeping standing up, was probably due to the illness. So it’s been going on for a few days. I didn’t say anything yesterday, in part because Chick #2 had stolen the show, but I had noticed that it seemed a bit lethargic. And thinking back on it, I don’t think it had done much flapping.
Now the sad thing is that it has felt like Chick #3 has been a bit off today, and has been sleeping sitting up a bit. But at other times it seems to perk up, and to pancake. Hopefully it is me being paranoid. Chick #3 is also the one that seems to be missing Chick #1 the most. It’s sat by or pancaked on it a few times. The rest of the family have completely ignored it.
The good news is that Chick #2 on the other hand has been very perky. It’s been up and down the ledge a few times, enjoyed a few paddles and did a lot of flapping.
There were just three feeds today, two by Azina, one by Tom. Again only pigeon on the menu.
Not much to report, it’s been fairly routine. Except for one intruder I witnessed on Saturday evening but who was very quickly seen off by Azina. No messing about.
