Say Hello to Magoo!

The poll showed that Magoo is the winning name. Thanks to everyone who voted!
And as you can see, our baby bird is healing very nicely. You can see some white feathers on his/her chest: this is where feathers were pulled off and are regrowing. His/her muttonchops (my name for the feathery jowl area on a budgie) are growing back gradually. The chin remains a bit bare, and there are a couple of smudges remaining from the goo episode. However s/he is doing a good job rubbing sticks with his/her head and beak to clean these smudges. Otherwise our baby is doing great! MIlestones include her/his standing on both feet equally, eating with pleasure, biting us (the human guardians) and flying, once again, with reckless abandon. However, we will be keeping a close eye on this baby, and also, Magoo's compatriots.

Baby Getting Better

The baby is getting better. His chest almost has a full set of feathers again; only his mutton chop feathers (The fluffy feathers budgies have on the side of the cheeks) and a few patches under his chin remain a bit bald. His beak is working fine; he bit K last night with respectable malevolent intent it seemed. We were thrilled of course.

He does seem to be favoring the left leg: he doesn't stand on it as much as the right leg, and while budgie legs are always blue-ish, the left leg seems more blue-ish than the other. This seems to be new since yesterday. Nonetheless, all parts of that leg are moving normally in in a healthy configuration, it seems, even his toenails. He is eating, and Sutcliffe continues to feed him. He also took a crap on K, another glorious event.

As noted by yesterday's commentator (but also, a very special tator), C, the young have a tremendous capacity for recovery. Its a good thing, as they also tend to be somewhat foolish. (Wow, does that last remark mean that we human guardians are becoming old grouches?)

Baby Injured: but Recovering (Warning-Sad, Upsetting)

I am sure many of you wondered this week what happened to Boos-day posting? What happened to regular blog updates at this important time in baby development?
The reason we have been a bit silent, is that on Tuesday, the baby had an accident and we've been focused on tending him, and neglecting blogging. He flew out of the box without our knowlege, and got stuck in a spider trap (which is essentially, a tray of goo that traps spiders). He was really glued to the trap! Fortunately, the trap is merely goo, no chemicals. His entire under-belly, chest, neck, beak, and feet, as well as parts of wings, were stuck and covered with goo. We had to cup our hands under him and physically pry him free. We could not easily remove the goo from him, so used a dilute vinegar solution and paper towel/Q-tips. Fortunately, all of his parts are intact, although he has some minor injuries and has lost feathers especially on the neck and tummy. His beak was really gooey, because he groomed himself and got more and more goo on him, but a dilute vinegar solution is very helpful for beak cleaning as well. Now, he is feeding himself, and Sutcliffe also feeds him. He spends a fair amount of time in the nest box, but does normal budgie behaviors which is a good sign. Mary ann was pecking him, so Mia has a new roomate.
Please send positive vibes, good karma, and prayers his way for a speedy recovery!