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denThat sounds like a collective noun, but it describes my current situation. For some reason we've had a run of cocky rescues and everyone who can care for the birds has several. I've taken up the overflow, and have three. One is an aviary escapee who can talk, which is why the wild birds beat the crap out of him.
The other two are very young. They're fully feathered but they aren't old enough to fly or eat seed. So guess who is mum? That's right, it's a dessert spoon. The young ones don't care which human has the spoon as long as the spoon has parrot porridge dripping from the end. They squawk and fight and guzzle, the porridge mostly goes down hungry beaks and often ends up on me.
The youngest of the pair is constantly begging for food from the older one, but she ignores him. She's busy cracking her own seeds. I hope she teaches him to do the same. Raising them together is far far better than raining them on their own. They'll grow up thinking they're sulfur-crested cockatoos instead of humans.
Which is how it should be.
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Last day of work today. I'm sort-of unemployed apart from the odd bit of casual work I can get off Dad's company. Next week I netwrok the office and install a WAP for the laptop. I've registered for Social Security, but I probably won't need to collect anything until after christmas.
The other two are very young. They're fully feathered but they aren't old enough to fly or eat seed. So guess who is mum? That's right, it's a dessert spoon. The young ones don't care which human has the spoon as long as the spoon has parrot porridge dripping from the end. They squawk and fight and guzzle, the porridge mostly goes down hungry beaks and often ends up on me.
The youngest of the pair is constantly begging for food from the older one, but she ignores him. She's busy cracking her own seeds. I hope she teaches him to do the same. Raising them together is far far better than raining them on their own. They'll grow up thinking they're sulfur-crested cockatoos instead of humans.
Which is how it should be.
---
Last day of work today. I'm sort-of unemployed apart from the odd bit of casual work I can get off Dad's company. Next week I netwrok the office and install a WAP for the laptop. I've registered for Social Security, but I probably won't need to collect anything until after christmas.
no subject
Date: 18 Dec 2004 06:12 (UTC)Hmmm, I'll admit that there is merit to your madness... We use large capacity syringes and disinfect them in, er... (a clear solution whose name escapes me) between feedings. Drat, I can almost smell the stuff. *snaps fingers* Well, anyway, the same goes for bottles and nipples used to hand rear mammals as well -- left to soak in disinfectant between feedings. [b]But[/b] with my fawns I never disinfect. I house them all together and feed them bowls of dirt from day one (gut flora and minerals). Disinfecting only increases the proliferation of resistant bacteria.
no subject
Date: 18 Dec 2004 11:31 (UTC)no subject
Date: 18 Dec 2004 13:46 (UTC)I don't usually get large mammals like wallabies and kangaroos, but I *do* get bats and echidnas. The bats are adults and only need meal worms and hang-space, and echidnas don't need teats.
People who think platypuses are weird have never looked after an echidna.
no subject
Date: 19 Dec 2004 06:46 (UTC)I only do deer. I really have to worship a critter to put that much energy into hand-rearing and releasing it. ^_^ You don't get any flying foxes? At work we have one roussette (Pteropus giganteus). For unknown reasons, he won't/cannot fly.
no subject
Date: 19 Dec 2004 14:21 (UTC)I'd love to have some of the other larger ones in this area but we're too far from the coast.