We have been hatching this week! These three chicks are the offspring of our peachfaced love birds, Henry and Min. The eggs were laid about 3 weeks ago, and Henry (the hen) has been nurturing them like a pro ever since. The largest hatched on Monday, and the tiny one on his back, barely visible, hatched yesterday morning. It has been very exciting to check the nest each day.
Henry came to us at Christmas time. She's had a rough life. She was originally one of a pair Mum gave to Dad for their anniversary a couple of years ago. Dad was living in a nursing home, due to early onset dementia. He loved them dearly, and named the birds Henry Crumb and Spotty Minnie Bannister, after characters in his favourite The Goon Show. As Dad grew sicker, he started to pull the cage apart to get the birds out, so Mum had to take them home so they would not be lost. She left them on her balcony while she was at work and visiting with Dad. One day she came home to find they had been attacked by a hawk. One bird was dead, the other badly injured, with an eye missing. The remaining bird survived, but Mum could no longer leave it outside, for fear that it would be attacked again. She was also out of the house a lot, working full time to support herself and Dad, and visiting Dad until he fell asleep each night. When we visited at Christmas she told me how worried she was for the lonely little bird, and asked us to take it. We already have a cockatiel, and were glad to take care of Dad's pet. We called it Henry, because we had no idea which of the two it was. Henry was packed in the car with the kids and driven four days back home. We got a second love bird for a companion and the rest is history!
Sadly, we lost Dad in January, just three weeks after we took the kids to visit him, but I know he would have been very excited to hear of the little hatchlings, which we plan to name after more Goon Show characters.
The second picture is of the proud father, Min. I haven't got a photo of Henry yet, as she's a very busy little mother!
2 comments:
So cute! :o)
Thanks Mrs Blythe. Sadly the smallest ne didn't survive, but the other two are growing like weeds!
Emma
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