We have a new baby!!

When we got Priscilla we knew she was a she because her specific coloring is sex-linked.  But we weren't sure about Plimpton, who we already had.  So we had him tested and sure enough, he was a he. 

We knew that housing them together would probably result in babies and decided that we'd let it happen once.  We're definitely not interested in creating more pet birds for the world, there are plenty in shelters and foster care, but we have several friends who are so enamoured by Plimpton and Priscilla (undoubtedly the sweetest little lovebirds ever) that we were pretty sure we could take care of homes for one clutch.  Plus it would be a great learning for the kids. 

About a month ago they started showing interest in each other so we bought them a nest box.  It took them less than a day to start filling it with shredded paper and other goodies for a nice soft nest.  A week later Priscilla started laying eggs....and kept laying over a 10 day period.  Six to be exact.  We are relatively certain the first two and maybe three won't hatch. She wasn't sitting on them consistently and we think they probably got too cold.  We'll see. 

I peeked in the next box this morning and there was our first awkward, bald baby bird! They've been very protective of the nest box since the eggs first arrived.  Today they were even more protective!  The timing is in line with egg three or four being laid so I think our theories about the cold eggs are probably correct.

We're still going back and forth as to whether we'll pull the babies at two weeks and hand feed or if we'll let P and P feed them.  There's tons of info on both. A coworker of mine is a seasoned hand feeder so she will teach us if we find ourselves having to go down that road.  Ultimately the goal is to ensure the babies are well socialized and that the parents stay well socialized - so far with P and P it's going well.  As long as we stay away from the nest box, they still jump at the chance to get out and hang with us.

I've prepared the kids for the fact that some of (or even all) of the babies might not make it, but we're all super excited and can't wait to see how this all plays out.   And we're planning for ways to avoid more eggs in the future - heh heh.

Don't mess with my babeh!!!

You can just barely see a hint of pink which is the baby, under Plimpton and next to the egg at the bottom.