kinetic
23-01-2014, 05:49 PM
We found a baby parrot close to death recently in our driveway
due to the 5x days of 40+ weather here in Adelaide.
(we have had everything from echidnas to koalas, etc in recent years suffer the same
extreme exhaustion and find their way into our property)
It had obviously fallen out of a tree nearby.
On the first night I managed to feed it water droplets on the end of my thumb and it showed a bit of spark.
We didn't hold out much hope in the first 24 hours.
After a few days (still enduring the 40+ weather) I had it eating a mush
of porridge oats and milk/ warm water off the end of my finger.
The poor little bugger would only lick my finger and not bite anything, still
waiting for Mum to feed it and not quite knowing how to bite things and feed itself with its beak.
I tried some apple, it loved it but would only lick it, even if I sliced it into
tiny mushy bits. So I would force it into its beak.
During the day we put him out in the breeze under a tree and suddenly Mum and Dad appeared.
We knew this because in all of the years we have lived here we have never been able to get close to one of these types of rainbow lorikeets
even to get a photo. They are so hard to get close to.
So this MUST have been the parents of this bird.
Mum and Dad would even land right on the cage and feed the baby through the wire cage.
I opened the bars of the cage to let this happen.
Mum and Dad would appear regularly during the day and land right where I
had left the cage previously, even if I had moved it.
They even came in right under our verandah and fed bub.
Meanwhile, bub can't fly that well so we have been teaching him to fly
a bit further each night in our loungeroom.
He is almost ready to go, he can repeatedly fly across the room to my
hand or feed bowl.
He thinks I am Mum (or Dad) too because I've hand fed him so much.
The kids don't want me to let him go but I've told him it is the best
thing if we can as soon as he is ready.
Steve
due to the 5x days of 40+ weather here in Adelaide.
(we have had everything from echidnas to koalas, etc in recent years suffer the same
extreme exhaustion and find their way into our property)
It had obviously fallen out of a tree nearby.
On the first night I managed to feed it water droplets on the end of my thumb and it showed a bit of spark.
We didn't hold out much hope in the first 24 hours.
After a few days (still enduring the 40+ weather) I had it eating a mush
of porridge oats and milk/ warm water off the end of my finger.
The poor little bugger would only lick my finger and not bite anything, still
waiting for Mum to feed it and not quite knowing how to bite things and feed itself with its beak.
I tried some apple, it loved it but would only lick it, even if I sliced it into
tiny mushy bits. So I would force it into its beak.
During the day we put him out in the breeze under a tree and suddenly Mum and Dad appeared.
We knew this because in all of the years we have lived here we have never been able to get close to one of these types of rainbow lorikeets
even to get a photo. They are so hard to get close to.
So this MUST have been the parents of this bird.
Mum and Dad would even land right on the cage and feed the baby through the wire cage.
I opened the bars of the cage to let this happen.
Mum and Dad would appear regularly during the day and land right where I
had left the cage previously, even if I had moved it.
They even came in right under our verandah and fed bub.
Meanwhile, bub can't fly that well so we have been teaching him to fly
a bit further each night in our loungeroom.
He is almost ready to go, he can repeatedly fly across the room to my
hand or feed bowl.
He thinks I am Mum (or Dad) too because I've hand fed him so much.
The kids don't want me to let him go but I've told him it is the best
thing if we can as soon as he is ready.
Steve