Post by ccbmom on Dec 16, 2004 10:14:29 GMT -5
It has been really cold here lately. DS went with me to help me feed the animals so that we could get it done faster and get back inside (he is only 8, but a lot of help). Well, when we went to feed the cockatiels, I saw one of my older females coming out of a nest box. She is about 12 years old and hasn't layed an egg in about 4 or 5 years. And, my cockatiels never lay eggs during the winter. Well, when I opened the box, I saw 3 tiny little babies-dead. They were completely purple and white, but they weren't stiff yet. As I was pouring the food in the containers, I was holding the babies out for ds to see. He was making all of the comments about how he couldn't believe that I was holding anything that discusting, with them being dead. Then, he yelled that he saw one of them move its mouth. I really thought that he was just seeing things, but agreed to bring 2 of them in and warm them up, even though they weren't breathing and I didn't see any heart beating. I didn't really want to get his hopes up, but he was crying and I couldn't be a bad Mommy and just bury them alive like he was saying that I was going to do. The 3rd baby was completely white and had been bleeding on its abdomen for some reason. I figured that something had attacked them and the mother abandoned the nest. It was laying with its mouth wide open and limp. So, I left that one out in the barn and brought the other two in and put them in the incubator. Well, after a couple of minutes, I saw one move. And, then the other. Within 15 minutes, they were up and moving their heads around and begging for food. Then, ds starts saying that we would have saved all 3 if I would have brought the 3rd one in. Well, I went back out to the barn and got the last baby. I had layed it on a bench with the intention of coming back and burying it. Well, withing 15 more minutes, it was up and moving too. I really can't explain it. The babies are so tiny (about 1 week old) and you can easily see the hearts beating and breathing. Before I put them into the bator, I couldn't see any kind of life. Now, they are eating great and seemingly back to normal. Even the one that was bleeding is healing and looks as good as the other two. DS says that they are Christmas miracles.
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. I gave the three of them to a lady who had been wanting to handfeed and she has experience in cockatiels. She recently lost her husband and things have been emotionally hard for her lately. These babies have given her something to do (she is retired). So, they are in good hands and she said that she is very attached to them and she is never giving them up.
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