Filbert has been calling for his parents, especially as he sometimes hears them outside and sees them sometimes in the poinciana or the palm tree just outside the window.
Frances and I were heartbroken, so we decided to try something this morning and that is to take him out to the garden and see what happens, under our watchful eyes.
I took him out and placed him on the grass by the poinciana and stepped back 25 feet or so to see what would happen, but close enough to step in and rescue him if need be.
The mother didn’t take very long to come down and greet Filbert; she immediately started to feed him! The poor thing was hungry it seems and the amount of food he has eaten is maybe not enough for him, I though he was weaned but I could be mistaken.
The father came down soon thereafter but started to jostle the mother and push her away. We were a bit afraid as he was a tad bit aggressive, but the mother seem to have handled the situation, that string is quite strong.
They fly away and come back and the process continues for a while and the mother keeps feeding him, she flies away and he complains and squawks.
In between these sessions he had the full garden to walk about; unfortunately the mynah birds noticed and one swooped for the attack! Fortunately both Frances and I were close enough to shoo it off, but that didn’t stop them as the other of the pair swooped down too and we put a stop to that too.
Frances and I took different positions to protect Filbert a bit better.
The parents continued to come down and look after Filbert for a little while longer until he walked into a nook in the garden to settle and preen. He had had enough with food it seems. The parents flew away and went into the nest to look after their other chicks.
I picked him up and took him back in. Frances and I decided that the syringe should come out and we should give him some of the special chick mix and use that as the main feed and supplement him with grapes, nuts and seeds as required.
He was a lot calmer after that feeding and he settled on his perch to sleep off the morning’s exertions.
Although the parents did not reject him, it was pretty obvious that there is no way for him to be taken back to the nest; and as the father was a bit aggressive, we don’t want to risk him being hurt if somehow we do manage to put him back into his original nest.
So he’ll stay with us for a while longer I think.
Comments
Great work M!
I would suggest getting a wooden, bird house for him to live in, but maybe the Mynahs may attack him there. Perhaps you and Frances will have to nursemaid him till he is strong enough to defend himself.
The pet shop in sanabis has bird feed that may help. Get him a perch to baalce on as parrots like that and a feeder that he can peck at and get seeds. Don’t forget the water trough too. Good luck! You are life savers. 🙂
My friend…
The picture you have taken is a KODAK moment.
The mum feeding the chick and the dad looking on.
It is one for the books.
Awwwwww Filbert!
Awwww! cute little munchkin!!!
Poor baby needs its mummy! he’s probably half weaned, maybe u can take him out for an hour a day, let his mummy feed him! :biggrin:
Actually, I dont really know how weaned these birds get… We have this african grey that insists on trying to feed me!!!! :wassat:
I guess i should take it as a sign of affection…
But if Filbert takes a proper liking to you, you can teach him/her to speak! He can walk around saying “Freedom to mahmood, Freedom to speech! Down with Mo(d)I!” :w00t:
Oh yeah, as he keeps growing, u should trim his/her flight feathers… google it, but i think with these parakeets its the first 4-5 wing feathers. It might sound cruel, but trust me, it will mean he/she wont fly up on the curtains get stuck there and sprain his/her ankle or something. But he/she’ll still have enough lift to jump and land safely! 🙂
If he can’t fly he isn’t weaned. In the wild, even after he learns to fly, it will be a few more weeks till he learns how to forage for his own food. The parents do not bring the babies food, they just feed them the way you saw in the garden.
If you are planning on putting him back in the wild, the best time to try would be the first time you see the family out together. If you taught him how to fly, he might rejoin the group and learn along with the rest of the babies. (if he flies in the house, be very careful of ceiling fans!) The father will always be aggressive to him. He probably is to all the babies and he may have shoved him from the nest in the first place. He just wants them out so he can try to have a second clutch before spring gives way to summer.
Beautiful bird Mahmood!!!
Thanks Cindy and naddooi for the advice. Will keep all of that in mind and research some more.
I don’t think we’ll be releasing him to the wild but would rather selfishly keep him/her.
Perfect roleplay, we will stay tuned! 8)
hashim told me about this tonight at dinner and i had to come and read for myself.
this is the most touching story and my heart goes out to you and frances for being such loving adoptive parents to this little filbert.
these parakeets are very caring… ours are the same. the male is always very protective of the female, even when i get close to the cage and speak to her and such… he’s always there watching over to make sure i don’t try anything…. but… he’s also very much the one wanting attention as well.
this is wonderful and i hope he continues to get love and attention from all of you.
I think cutting off the feathers is cruel… It like getting your achilles tendon sut…. then u can walk but not run….
I am from Goa- India… many folks there keep bulbuls and mynahs ast pets….
The birds there receive a similar treatment like filbert…. the parents feed the youn and then the human family supplements with other nourishment…
i noticed that the mynahs and bulbuls when they matured would fly around the countryside but would return to feed in the afternoon and before sunset to their human home.
To use a cliche.. if you love filbert let him free…. if he returns he is yours if not he never was….
Another thing if you feed him cooked rice and raw chillies or vegetables he is your freind for life…
i agree… don’t clip his wings. ours fly around….. they love it. but like one lady said above… make sure your ceiling fans are off. my sis had an unfortunate event take place because of one. her bird flew into it and broke its leg. he got a cast and healed…. and is fine now.. but they can do damage.
I don’t have to worry about that, I don’t have any ceiling fan in the house. I wouldn’t have them!
Tooners, you’ve seen my house, full of windows and French doors. Without clipping his wings, he will fly head-first into a couple of dozen and be brain-dead within a couple of days when he starts flying proper.
As it is, he flew into the study’s windows twice today.. that CLUNK noise certainly sounds painful to me, let alone to the little tike!
don’ t worry about filbert crashing into the windows…. parakeets are intelligent… afew bumps and he’ll know he needs to confirm that the windows are open…
Great pet photography on your post, and what an amazing story you have! You should crop the photo in a little tighter and submit it to some contests – I’ll bet your little bird could win a lifetimes worth of food.