Yesterday I spoke of how my new father budgie had become very weak. It seemed that he'd been so devoted to his fatherly duties he'd forgotten to actually feed himself. Sadly I have bad news...Io didn't make it.
I spent most of the day looking after him as you know from this post. In the evening, I popped him under my chick brooder and kept dripping multi-vitamins and probiotics into his mouth. He seemed to perk up a little and he'd run off and waddle around on the bed...but he'd always be looking forward somewhere dark to sit. That's NOT a good sign; it's natural survival behaviour from a prey species. Then, he seemed to noticeable become alert again. But a few minutes later his legs gave way. I picked him up and held him. He took his last three deep breaths in my hands.
I'm pretty gutted but sadly the saga doesn't end there. Sunny, not knowing what to do as a single mum, spent the whole day in the nestbox waiting for Io to come back with food. As a result, she didn't feed the chicks and she didn't venture out to feed herself. This morning, chick 4 who hatched this past Sunday, was dead. Chick 3 was very weak, and chicks 1 and 2 - sturdier due to being a few days older - didn't have full crops.
I had to go out and expected the worst on my return. But it seems Sunny has realised her beloved and doting partner is gone, and that she alone must now feed her babies...and herself. I pulled the babies out when I got home to check on them - you can see the blurry pic below; I was just happy they were alive...maybe I was shaking a little! Now I've spent the afternoon in the spare room, tidying, organising, cleaning and in that time Sunny has continued to come in and out of the nestbox so, it's fingers crossed!
At this point I've decided that I'll be keeping any chicks that make it through. They've gone through too much for me to let them go. Plus they have Io's genes. At the birdshow in February, I'll look out for some potential mates, but until them, it's chick watch for the foreseeable future!
Thanks for reading,
Geoff
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