Strawberry and BCCB Babies - Fledging

FeatherHarp · Post by **FeatherHarp** » Mon May 19, 2008 6:35 pm

They sure are growing fast! It would be neat to have a timed video of them from hatch to full feather and watch it in high speed.

Sorry about the strawberry not making it.

fairestfinches · Post by **fairestfinches** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:11 pm

Sally, Congratulations!

Hope the fosters make them big and strong. It's always great to hear when someone is having some success with a species like the Strawberries since they are getting so hard to find here in the states, and getting them imported is nearly impossible these days. Keep us posted on your progress.

Sean

Shy2 · Post by **Shy2** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:27 pm

Congratulations Sally, I am so excited reading about your new babies.

I love my little strawberry guy. I can only imagine the incredible sound you will be hearing once they all get older.

t's always great to hear when someone is having some success with a species like the Strawberries since they are getting so hard to find here in the states, and getting them imported is nearly impossible these days

These little birds seem to be very hard to find in Canada as well. I have been searching and searching and can't find any.

jamezyboo21 · Post by **jamezyboo21** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:54 pm

wow, they are getting big. the socities are going to have to work hard to feed all those little babies. i got a pair the other day that was sitting on 7 eggs 4 were infertile the other ones just starting hatching today. and i just counted the eggs in the big cage and i have a total of 31 eggs so far in different nests.

williep · Post by **williep** » Tue May 20, 2008 2:09 am

Congrats sally, they are looking in top condition.

Glad to see you got the date stamp sorted out on your camera as well.

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Tue May 20, 2008 5:20 am

it is going to be interesting to watch these guys especially as they start to show their differences in color and size

plantsandbirds · Post by **plantsandbirds** » Tue May 20, 2008 9:08 am

Congratulations on your new kids! My little Strawberry male (that came in an adopted group) would LOVE to have a lady of his own. Someday perhaps.....

Post by **Sally** » Sun May 25, 2008 8:38 pm

Here is an update on the babies. You can see how big they are getting, starting to get their wing feathers. They always seem to lie in a circle, butts to the center and heads facing out. I tried to close band them the other day, and they were already too big, so it will have to be done at fledging with the next size up. You also can see how well Felix and Oscar are keeping them fed! They are 9/10 days old now.

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PS - the BCCB babies are the three at the top of the photo from left, and the fourth about 4 o'clock, the Berries are at the bottom, except for one that is trying to join the BCCBs.

williep · Post by **williep** » Mon May 26, 2008 2:02 am

They sure grow up fast and looks like they are well fed too. Keep us posted

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Mon May 26, 2008 9:43 am

Looking great there!

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Mon May 26, 2008 2:49 pm

I am glad you told us which are which. They all looked the same to me.

Post by **Sally** » Tue May 27, 2008 12:00 am

Actually, if you look close, the BCCB babies still have the tan fuzz on their heads that they were born with. By the time they are feathered out, they will have some blue color to them, where the Strawberry babies are very plain when they fledge.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Tue May 27, 2008 6:28 am

Sally wrote:Actually, if you look close, the BCCB babies still have the tan fuzz on their heads that they were born with. By the time they are feathered out, they will have some blue color to them, where the Strawberry babies are very plain when they fledge.

Yes, I can see that now!

jamezyboo21 · Post by **jamezyboo21** » Tue May 27, 2008 7:29 pm

Im glad that the societies are doing a great job raising the babies.

Post by **Sally** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 12:05 pm

Tada! It's fledging day! Actually, they fledged yesterday evening, but didn't get photos till today. These guys just will not sit still, so I've had a time getting a photo of them that is not all blurred. This is two of them:

The one on the right has a lot more blue already, so I wonder if that means he is a male?

I thought I lost one last night. When they started fledging, I decided to closed band them, also figured I'd do the Strawberry babies at the same time, since they are just a day or two away from fledging themselves. I missed the chance to band them when they were smaller, so had to wait and go with the next size up band.

Anyway, I noticed during all this that one BCCB was missing. Looked everywhere, and I knew it had been in the cage when I started. Finally gave up after dark--figured that it had to be in the birdroom somewhere, and hopefully it would show up in the morning. This morning, I finally found it, the furthest possible distance from its cage, hiding behind a shelf post--without a flashlight, I would have not seen it. It must have squeezed thru the bars of the cage, they have all been trying that.

As soon as the Berry babies fledge, I will get a photo of them, too.