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 Handling

We are handling the baby daily. Hopefully, s/he will become tame, but currently, not so much. The baby appears a bit more pale yellow than Boo. S/he is healthy in appearance. Mary ann is spending more and more time outside the nest box. She no longer takes giant "mother poos" as she did when the baby and eggs were being incubated and prior to her fledging. fThe baby pokes her head out quite a bit but has not yet emerged. S/he cannot yet stand on a finger perch; perch standing will be key to emerging from the nest box and subsequently, feeding.

Budgie Breeding-A Euphemistic Yet Biological Update

I have received a few requests to not be vulgar on this blog, so, I am using Euphemisms from this point forward as much as possible. However, if anyone wants a euphemism to biology translational post, I'd be pleased to oblige upon request.

This morning, both parents were out of the nest box. Mary ann did her "toiletting" Her "butt" was triangulated in appearance. The tail region was large. Sutcliffe was feeling "romantic" and attempted/succeeded in mating activity.

This is of interest, because there are already two eggs. Therefore, not all eggs are fertilized, one would surmise from this, at the same time. Only two eggs were seen so far. Last time, she laid 4 eggs, three hatched, only one survived. I don't know if there are unfertilized eggs laid when there is a cock around, or if the other simply didn't make it at an earlier point in the brooding.

Mary ann and Sutcliffe have also begun rigorous housecleaning. Mary ann "toilets" once a day (always in the same spot: to me, that is interesting). However, Sutcliffe occasionally "goes" in the nest box. This is removed promptly, as are some feathers (others remain, not clear how these are chosen-perhaps soiled featehrs are removed?).

BIG news!

An EGG!

We got the webcam hooked up today, and lo and behold, AN EGG. Naturally, we were very excited. I hope we did not disturb the parents too much in webcam set up. They seemed a bit agitated during the set up. Mary ann came out and I witnessed the GIANT budgie crap as well. So far, one egg. It seems to be nestled in a tiny collection of feathers (very cute). At one point, Mary Ann was rolling it about, and at others, both she and Sutcliffe covered it with their bodies. They spent a bit of time outside of the box after the "webcam set up disturbance". We will keep you posted. Of course. Keep your fingers crossed for 1. a healthy brooding and hatching of this egg and 2. laying, and health, of more eggs. And of course, 3. Health of the parents. and Finally 4. Successful blogging.

Increase in Nest Box Time!

Both Sutcliffe and Mary ann are spending much more time in the nest box: Mary ann certainly is "in" more than she is "out". Additionally, the "giant budgie poop" as mentioned in earlier posts is still occurring, daily. Our webcam is not functional (it figures) but, I did peer into the nest box. I saw no eggs, but I did see Stucliffe grooming Mary ann on the top of her head with what I believe to be great affection. He also fed her cilantro last night which I provided. She basically doesn't eat at all now, and he does all her feeding, even if she is out of the box.For interest sake, pictured here is an earlier shot of the M and S in teh nest box, looking out.

A Change in Routine

Warning: some content of this post may be embarrassing to some people (but not birds).
Over the last week, Sutcliffe and Mary Ann have been spending even more time in the nest box. It is not possible to estimate the total time spent in the nest box, because we are not monitoring them constantly. However, more often than not, when we go to visit them in their love hideaway (Ie the basement), they are both in the nest box.
The "BIG" news: this morning, I spied a very large stool. It is the type that Mary Ann had when she last laid eggs: some may recall, that unlike most budgies, who poop pretty much throughout the day delivering tiny pellets of waste, the nesting budgie goes once a day, and delivers a large dollop.
The unfortunate matter of this is its right next to the food bowl. That could prove to be a bit of a messy issue. Otherwise though, an excellent, and yes, very exciting sign.
Yes, its a giant bird poop, and its VERY exciting!
For those of you who are really fans of biology, I will try to get a photo. I'll watch comments to see if the fans of the blog wish me to post a giant poop picture.