Sunday 28th November 2021

Yes, I do have an opinion!

​Hello friends and family
The best thing to be said about this week is that it is over! Each chick that has survived is a miracle that we are grateful for. The team has stepped up and we do the rounds with at least 2 of us each day. The big days are Tuesday and Thursday when we give the chicks their weekly weighs. This week we were joined by Janelle who took swabs so now all of our survivors have been swabbed. This is quite tricky work to do in the field – on the side of a slippery shitty hill, with no traction, it is a challenge!

Just loafing!

​Wednesday was a death free day thank goodness. Sadly, on Thursday we had a new problem – chick disappearance. Somehow when a chick goes missing it is worse than for an egg. All of this drama plays out surrounded by glorious flowering trees and shrubs with wonderful perfume!

abundance

​The reason we weigh the chicks weekly is to be able to intervene before a thin chick becomes a dead chick. This happened on Thursday. One of our chicks had only put on 100g in a week. Records showed mum had not been seen for a week, so we uplifted the chick and fostered it into the nest of a recently bereaved pair. They were both at home at the time and accepted it immediately. I put a camera on the nest to observe feeding but what I saw was the chick checking out the new neighborhood. This is age-appropriate behavior but concerning when the individual is so small.

Find the wayward chick

Yesterday one of our oldest chicks, that had been healthy to date was found dead. This is yet another challenge as we thought it was past the danger zone. It has gone for an autopsy. We now have 47 chicks alive.
Have a great week!
Rosalie