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Last night I heard a strange noise from the Caiques’ cage and investigated. Zorro was rubbing herself on a perch and I half-heartedly made fun of her and laughed. But I saw something weird next to her and took a better look. It was Dweezel, trying to mount her. This is a huge breakthough in their relationship. I’m thinking it had to do with the romantic setting- dusk, a light rain, the house was quiet. But I really have no idea. It could also have been because earier yesterday I took them outside and they got to enjoy the sun and fresh air. They also got to take a bath on the deck which they love to do.
The Parrotlet babies are still doing great, though the last baby has yet to hatch.
The Parrotlets, Simon and Doe, have hatched their second baby. Both babies and adults are doing great. The next baby should hatch in about 2-3 days or so. These babies should be ready about 6-7 weeks after the last baby hatches.
I heard Dweezel, my male Caique feeding Zorro, my female Caique yesterday and right when he was finished, I opened the nest box and saw food on Zorro face. So he is actually feeding her which is great! They have also become a little more relaxed which I think is because the frustrations are diminishing between them. Zorro is getting fed and Dweezel understands what to do.
I have also found that when my boyfriend is around, Dweezel is much nicer. I have no idea why since last I knew, Dweezel hated my boyfriend, but he must have the same “daddy” complex as many kids do- when daddy is mad, he means business. I think Dweezel tries to behave more when my boyfriend is in the room because he knows my boyfriend can get upset when Dweezel is being aggressive or loud.
This morning the Parrotlets hatched out their first baby of this clutch. Hopefully we have a couple of boys, and at least one of them being American Yellow.
This morning also, I was able to witness Dweezel, my male Caique, feeding Zorro, my female Caique. At least I believe he was feeding her. It was hard to tell if there was an actual passing of food, but they went through the motions, which in itself is a giant leap. We are getting closer and closer to them being completely bonded and mating. Since they have already laid eggs, they have the nesting part down, as well as incubating so I am quite confident that if they ever mate and lay fertile eggs, they will good parents and will take very good care of the babies. The nest box will be coming down for a few months after Zorro is done setting on these eggs.
I know it has been awhile. I’ve been rather busy with babies to feed, my job, and school work. But there is news from the bird room!
The Parrotlet’s baby is doing great, it is a little green boy which I have named Froggie since he was born on Leap Day. He is still available for deposit.
The Parrotlets are back on 3 fertile eggs, hopefully they will all hatch this time and we will get at least one American Yellow. They are due to hatch in about 1 week or so.
The Lovebirds are feeling spring fever right now.
I am handfeeding 3 babies from Freya and Loki and apparently they heard my call for green pieds, but forgot the “pied” part! They had 2 normal green males, 1 is a Medium Green Violet and the other is a Normal Green (no dark factors, no Violet factors). The 3rd baby is a Seagreen American Cinnamon Violet female. I am also handfeeding the first baby from Yin and Seible, he is a Normal Green, though he may have a violet or dark factor.
Rowan and Fletcher are back on eggs, 2 are looking fertile, but again, I don’t know if they will hatch. I do hope they do.
Isis and Osiris are on 2 fertile eggs. These babies are always so beautiful, but Isis and Osiris seem to have a hard time hatching them and keeping them alive. I am hoping that is because they are young and that maybe this time they will be just fine.
My rescues, Sunny and Marvin look to have one fertile egg, and I will be leaving it with them this time.
The Caiques, Dweezel and Zorro are back on eggs as well. I took their box down and moved them into a different cage, but I saw Zorro with an “egg-bum” (about to lay an egg) so I gave her back the box so she didn’t become egg-bound. This time they have 5 eggs and are much more aggressive.
The fourth egg came on Saturday night (the 16th), following a series of Caique moaning. Zorro tends to screech for about 4 hours before and after she lays an egg so the arrivals of the eggs are now more predictable. Yesterday I gave them a dish of veggies in the nest box, fearing Zorro maybe losing weight since Dweezel does not appear to be feeding her. The dish was empty when I arrived home from work last night so I know she was hungry. She does come out periodically during the day to eat and drink but even with these short sessions, I think she is losing weight. I did weigh her and tried to compare her current weight to her weight from a month or so ago, but that proved impossible. With her ‘baby fat’ she is carrying from laying eggs, I can’t really compare the weights. I did give her some handfeeding formula in the hopes that she will keep the same weight at the very least.
Simon and Doe, the Parrotlets, now have 3 eggs and I do believe the third is fertile as well. I still only have on person on the waiting list so at the very least, I should have 2 babies available from this clutch. I really hope I get at least one American Yellow in this clutch!
The Caiques have laid their third egg on the 13th. They are getting increasingly aggressive over the nest box, which is a good sign. Zorro sits on them so well, it is adorable! I candled them again but there is still no sign of them being fertile.
Simon and Doe (Pacific Parrotlets) have 2 eggs only, both are fertile though! I have one person on the waiting list for sure so far.
The Caiques have laid their second egg now. With each day, they get more and more protective of the nest box, the cage and the nest. Each day is a new adventure with the Caiques and each day I learn something new. There are no websites or books that can tell you exactly what a female Caique sounds like when she is laying an egg. Well, I had to learn that one first hand. When laying this second egg (since I have been watching her like a hawk to make sure I didn’t miss this one), Zorro made a noise I had never heard before. She also now uses this noise to protect her eggs from me and Dweezel (sometimes he is permitted to view and fondle the eggs, but other times he is not even permitted in the nest box). the noise is similar to the “trying to scare you away” noise, but quieter, higher pitched, and in short bursts rather than one drawn out note. She tilts her head to watch me, keeping the egg(s) under her neck for warmth, and makes this sound. Then she will raise her rump, in an effort to protect the egg(s) even more. She will even grab my hand gently and move it away or sometimes give me a small nip to get her point across. I was able to keep them out of the nest box for a minute tonight (by shoving a t-shirt in the entrance hole and praying it held its ground) so I could candle the eggs to see if they had any striations on the inside. Unfortunately, I did see striations in both eggs. Striations can be a sign of infertility, but I will keep my hopes up. Stranger things have happened, so I am not going to assume anymore that all the eggs will be infertile for sure.
The eggs:
Zorro warning Dweezel to stay away from the eggs:
The Parrotlets have laid another egg but there will be no pictures for a couple weeks. I am hoping that they take good care of this one and I am going to really limit the amount of times I check the box. I am so anxious to see babies from this pair, but I know I need to have patience and leave them alone so they can do what they do best.
So, unfortunately, the Parrotlets broke their only egg. They have still been mating everyday so I am still hopeful that they will lay some more and they will be fertile. Here is what the egg looked like. It had very faint stress lines on it that made it evident that the egg was not fertile, so that may have been the reason for them breaking it.
In other egg news, my female Caique, Zorro has been staying in the nest almost the entire day. She has had a swollen abdomen for a couple of days now (symptom of carrying an egg). She has what I like to call, “egg bum.” I am hoping that if she lays this egg with n problem, my male Dweezel will understand that he should be mating with her. If she actually lays an egg (since this could be a “false pregnancy” where a bird will do all the motions of laying an egg but not actually do it), I know it will not be fertile, since I don’t think they have mated.
I was again lulled in to a false security by Dweezel. I greeted my feathered friends and proceeded to open the nest box, which until last night was neutral ground. Both Caiques jumped in the box to greet me and I scratched Zorro’s head as she tried to climb out of the box. When Dweezel got to the end of the box, I reached around to scratch the back of his head and he gently grabbed my pointer finger with his beak, his way of starting to play. I expected him to start regurgitating for me but instead he started to gently chew on my finger. With every bite, the pressure got more intense until I saw his eyes pin and he started to grind on my bone like a walnut shell.
I pulled my hand out of the box, the small parrot dangling from my pointer finger. I used my undamaged hand to pry open his beak and remove him from my flesh and bone. As I held his head between my fingers, I could see his eyes locked on me, his pupils so small his eyes were almost pure red. I put him back in the box, shut the lid and latched it to keep it shut.
Last night I did my rounds in the bird room, mostly expecting to see my birds shaking with the anticipation to be in my company. This was not the case. As I walked towards the front of the cage that houses my two Black Headed Caiques, I was greeted by my male, Dweezel, as he head-butted the cage, beak aimed for my fingers that were reaching to rub his cheek.
He raised his head feathers and pinned his eyes at me. I moved my hand and he followed with his gaze and flared his tail. I knew exactly what was on his mind. This of course would not have been obvious expect for the fact that he had tried to mate with my hand only a week prior. His crazed behavior was due to the change in his hormones since the beginning of the new year. He will turn four years old on March 24th and I had expected this abrupt hatred of me.
During this territorial display, his mate and my fluffy ball of Caique feathers Zorro, sat on the perch in front of the nest box, her chest expanded with air in an attempt to lure me in for snuggles. Fortunately her “lure” was not quite that- I knew that if I gave in, she would turn to mush in my hands. She is my forever cuddle-bug.
I attempted to stroke the beak of my angry feathered friend, only to have my index finger receive a thin slice down the middle. I refrained from going for a second time and instead handed him a few almonds to try to make peace. He took one and threw it to the bottom of the cage and turned back to look at me. I smiled and handed him another. Now this is a fun game. He grabbed the second almond and proceeded to throw that one to the pit of half eaten pellets, broken seed hulls and toy parts. I pick them both up and put one in his “Bird Kong” (which was tricky but still accomplished) and the other in the food dish.
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