so it turns out, trooper is one sneaky little s.o.b. -- building little tiny step stools behind my back, and hiding them somewhere in his house....! after four clutches of unfertilized eggs, and apparently too-trusting and naive me, thinking i didn't need to pull the eggs, they got me.
i was walking thru the bird room, and something just made me stop, and walk back in....i peered down under freya, and shrieked - there was a tiny fuzzy yellow peanut under her!!!! NOOOOO!!!!!
i scooped up the other egg, and could see the little stars where the other wee one was working on her exit, and i could feel her wiggling around in there.
in about an hour, i checked again, and she had made a crack all the way around the top of the egg. it popped off in my hand, and there was this tiiiiny little damp wing! i didn't know what to expect next, and i prayed it wouldn't be too gross, but after many repetitions of 'come on little one, you can do it!' and 'ohmygodohmygodohmygod', she wiggled out of her egg, right into the palm of my hand! i felt like god. i put her under her momma, ran some errands, came back, and took the initial photos of them. they both fit in the palm of my hand. that was less than two weeks ago.
they are the cutest/ugliest little freaks i've ever seen!!!! do you know how fast pigeon babies grow???? it's disturbing! every day i come home from work, let all the birds out, trooper and freya go sprinting out to take a poo, and i get to scoop them up for some quality snugglin time. and every day, they've grown - noticeably! i've never known another living thing that grows this fast, other than maybe a bean sprout.
they're super healthy, but i have a feeling the little boy was there a day before i noticed. so the little girl, is about a day behind in development. i usually take him out for longer, so that baby girl gets a little extra food/attention. but i bought handfeeding formula, too, and have given her a few extra squirts here and there. she never shuts up....typical girl, everybody says.... 'peep peep peep peep peep' ..... the only time she's quiet is when i hold her right up against my face as i'm walking around, and i talk to her and tell her all about stuff. the big boy is sooooo like his daddy, all huge and laid back, and he already LOVES to be pet! it's hilarious.
and the parrots seem like they actually realize that they are babies-- my one caique is totally smitten with them. she scoooooooches up next to them, and preens them, real quietly....it's heartbreakingly cute. even kai, the big monster macaw - knows to just 'kiss kiss' the babies. [i question his kissing ability, so obviously baby-kissing is strictly supervised.]
my italian greyhound is like a little blue mommy, too, when they're peeping, she runs over to the pen and peers in crying. so i have to go over and get them, and she has to see them, and sniff them and apparently make sure they're okay, and not being abused by their parents.
i haven't named them - i guess i'm waiting for personalities to emerge, but the big boy, seems to be a 'peabody', and i have NO idea why.... just popped into my head one day when i was holding him.
so, i'm an idiot, and now have two grandbirds, and will NEVER NOT PULL EGGS AGAIN. i'm still stunned by the whole thing. but boy oh boy, do i loooooove those two littles!!!!!!! they smell just as good as mom and dad, and are infinitely kissable. photos to date are all in a new album!
