Owl Child

[lovezebs]

Hello Owls and Owlets

As some of you may recall, Mr and Mrs Owl, layed a couple of eggs, and hatched one tiny baby Owling (which I nicknamed Owl Child).

As singletons go, Owl Child, was being well fed and very well looked after....
...until Mom and Dad, decided to lay more eggs in the same nest.

Our Sally, warned me to keep an eye on the situation (which I have been doing). All seemed to be going well, when I'd snap a picture, and OC had food in his crop and was doing OK.

Today however, when I snapped a picture, I didn't like what I was seeing. Something just didn't look right, so I pulled him (and I'm glad that I did).

No food in the crop, listless and lethargic, appeared dehydrated and weak, but oh so cute. He opened one eye, and looked at me (as if to say : What happened, why don't they love me anymore?) then closed his eye again and settled in the palm of my hand.

I offered some food, but he wouldn't open his beak. I moistened my fingers with some warm water, and wiped the sides of his beak. At that point, he unclenched his beak, and I managed to get a bit of food into him.

I'm worried about this baby folks....
I placed him back in the nest, with the hope that maybe he'll have some energy to beg, and that maybe the parents will feed again. If not.... I'll have to attempt hand feeding him, which will be difficult if he will not cooperate....

Wish me luck.

[finchboy]

lovezebs
Sure looks like he'll need a miracle to survive.

[erine]

Christmas miracle? Good luck. If anyone can save him, it's you, lovezebs.

[lovezebs]

finchboy and erine

Hope for the best.
If I managed to get enough food into him to get him strong enough to beg....
I have seen the parents going in and out of the nest (hopefully feeding him). Also saw them mating several times, so maybe they are planning on more eggs

[Sally]

That is the problem with single babies. The parents often decide that it is not worth the effort to raise one child, when they could be raising an entire clutch in the same time period, so they will stop feeding the singleton and start a new clutch. Hope this little guy makes it.

[lovezebs]

Sally

I hope so Sally.

They are mating and laying more eggs, and more eggs.
I feel like taking all these new eggs, and just tossing them. They have this beautiful baby who needs them....

[lovezebs]

Baby Owl Child, had another feeding with a toothpick, like a newborn. It took me close to half an hour to get a tiny bit of food into that unwilling little mouth. Once I pry his beak open, he does lick the food off the toothpick, which I figure is a good sign (at least he's trying to eat a little).

I hope he'll still be with us tomorrow morning....

[rcharrod]

lovezebs

Good luck, we're pulling for both of you!

[Sally]

Good luck! Normally, once a baby has tasted the food, it will readily accept it. I'm surprised it took a half hour for this little one to eat enough.

[lovezebs]

rcharrod and Sally

Thanks for the good luck wishes.

I first saw baby Owl Child on Dec 10th, but I think he was probably hatched a day or two before (which would make him about 12 or 13 days old) . He is small and thin for his age, and I can't figure out why he has no head feathers.

I don't know why he's not really accepting the food more readily, Sally, unless he's to that stage, where they start shying away from being fed by people (if they hadn't been handfed from earlier on).

I really hope that he makes it through the night. At least with a bit of food in his crop, he has a fighting chance (that's if he's not too far gone). At least he'll be kept warm in the nest overnight, seeing as parents sleep in the nest.

[Rox]

Good luck Elana, I really hope little Owl Child pulls through!

[debbie276]

Something about his head doesn't look right to me. Maybe the parents sensed something was wrong and have decided the chick isn't worth wasting their resources on.
Hope he makes it, good luck

[finchboy]

I don't think the parents will feed him anymore, as they behave by instinct and not thought, since they apparently have decided to raise a new clutch.

As long as the little one is able to swallow enough food to survive, he still stands a chance of making it. Otherwise, you may be rewarded with a goodly clutch later.

[lovezebs]

Rox and finchboy

Thanks guys.

They are all still asleep downstairs, so I don't know if he's survived the night or not.

[lovezebs]

debbie276

Hi Deb,

I know what you mean about his head. I thought it just looked that way, because his body is so emaciated, making his head appear too big.

We shall see how the day progresses. As mentioned above, I don't even know if he made it through the night yet, sigh...