Photos - Happy photos

[den]

Five Peewees

The two large ones in the big cage were released and the three little ones in the little cage were moved into the big cage so they had more room.

Except there's a problem. One of the older peewees doesn't like being free.

He refuses to leave and hangs around the cage he used to call home, even visiting the young ones when I put them in the sun. (They need UV or they get rickets.) He still begs for food. This greets me every time I step outside.

At feeding time I have three screaming maniacs in the cage, and one screaming maniac running around my feet. Sometimes he even comes into the house.

Now I have even more screaming maniacs. Three baby peewees arrive this morning. That's 6+1 in care.

Comments

[oceansedge.livejournal.com]

Its the peewee mafia - once you're in, you don't leave!

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

It's true!

[beki.livejournal.com]

Do you think that the older one sees you as mom? I have heard that some places use bird hand puppets...

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Puppets should be used if they're raised on their own, but these birds are in groups. One of the older ones flew off never to be seen again, yet this one hangs around. I think he'll go off with these three younger ones. It looks like they've bonded into a flock.

Either that or I'll have four screaming maniacs at my feet.

[walkertxkitty.livejournal.com]

They're larger than I'd expected but beautiful birds. It sounds like the older one who is hanging around bonded with the other three and might be waiting for them to be released. Either that, or you'll have four mooching birds pestering you for attention when you release the younger ones :)

[fledchen.livejournal.com]

Funny, if those cages are as big as I think they are, peewees are *smaller* than I'd thought originally.

[walkertxkitty.livejournal.com]

I thought the pee wees were the size of humming birds...and I have visual perspective problems in the first place. Considering that, they could well be either small or the size of turkeys for all I know :)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

That large cage is about 1m/40" long, just to give you an idea of scale.

[sanderling.livejournal.com]

What were the circumstances of his arrival? Hopefully he didn't imprint to humans. Although I have to imagine once he's feeding on his own reliably he'll prolly disappear. :)

They're really beautiful birds. :)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

I think I'm encouraging bad habits by feeding him when he begs. I've started giving him smaller amounts to encourage him to hunt his own food, and in a few days I'll have to stop feeding him. Time to grow up, I'm afraid.

The other one he was raised with went straight out into the wild.

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

Weren't *they* supposed to make *you* an offer you couldn't refuse, and not the other way around?:)

Maybe you should feed them in the house only so the hanger gets the hint. It's a good thing the mafia hasn't picked the house for the local headquarters.