A new addition
I thought of posting this on our carers blog, since that's what it's about, but I get more visitors here so I thought I'd share it with more people.
Yesterday I got a phone call from another carer in our area asking if we could take another baby lorikeet. There aren't many people in our area that do lorikeets so we tend to get a lot of calls about them from vets, wildlife organisations and other carers. This particular carer told me she was picking it up from a vet, but they weren't absolutely sure it was a lorikeet. They just said it had grey downy feathers, which meant it could be pretty much anything.
Well this is what arrived a half hour later.
You can see why the vet wasn't completely certain of the species, in fact I'm not even sure yet whether it's a Rainbow lorikeet or a Scaley-breasted lorikeet. For those that are interested in such things, the little tyke weighed in at around 31g. That little hole behind the eye is one of its ears. How often do you get to see a birds ears?
This is a photo taken today just after a feed. That bulge in the chest is the crop, full of Wombaroo honeyeater mix, a special formulation we feed a lot of our birds. The crop literally swells up like a balloon when they're fed, then deflates as they digest their meal. Then it's ready to fill it up again in a couple of hours.
As you can see, the eyes are starting to open now. He (or she) can't really stand up properly on those legs, but it won't be long.
I'll keep you posted on the progress.
6 comments:
So cute! How old do you estimate it is?
He's more than a couple of days old, but probably no more than a week.
We need you to come on our walks and be our bird guide. THIS from our latest hike. Is it a King Parrot?
I'm pretty sure that's a crimson rosella, they're a bit more colourful than the king parrots. I see heaps of them in Armidale and we had a baby pale headed rosella yesterday.
I always go bushwalking with 3 things, binoculars, a camera, and either a bird field guide or one of my zoology lecturers, most of which are right into birds.
I'd love to go for a walk with you, thee only thing against us is time and money.
That's a tiny chick Steve. Hope you can help it to survive. I will follow with interest. Say "Hi!" to Madonna for me. - Dave. cimba7200.blogspot.com
Hi Steve, I also hand raise Lorikeets...my sons breeds them and when they're about 3 weeks old they are taken and bought to me for feeding.....I just love doing it....at the moment I have an Olive Lorikeet and have just weaned a rainbow and a Musk....Margaret/Nutmegg
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