Drem Yol Lok, Wunduniik

I had just gotten back from my dog's neurologist appointment, which was...4 hrs long and stressful😭 Planned on eating a nice lunch and then getting some work done while there was still time in the day.

Only to watch a myna with a fat grub in it's beak land by my back door and then deliberately drop said grub and stare at it for a moment before flying off with a little "bwee" sounding coo.

And then I watched the grub move.

And then the horror dawned on me that it was not a grub.

it was this fucking thing:

I had a very ugly reaction that I will not describe in detail but fuck me 😭 I did not need this rn.

because I knew. I KNEW no rehabber here would take a myna hatchling. And I was right. Was basically told "congrats, it's urs" or "let nature take its course". It's such a strong, spirited little guy, if he's gonna die, he's gonna die warm with a full belly. Got a heatlamp and the appropriate food.

Let me be frank, I have no hope for this guy.

I have hand reared chicks before, but never this young. I hated doing it back then and I never wanna do it again. but this guy...He is like..1-5 days old.

SO, my life for the next week is gonna be waking up at 5:30am to feed this guy every 30 minutes until midnight. All day, every day. Assuming (biiig assumption) he doesn't just die overnight.

But he IS eating and pooping very well so far...so maybe he's gonna force me to live like this for a while after all 🫩 I give it a 50/50 chance, very generously. There's still a matter of diseases n' shit. He looks and acts healthy but who fuckin' knows what's going on under the hood.

So, I have 2 plausible theories abt this

usually, when a parent kicks a chick out, it's because the chick is obviously very unwell and tending to it further is a waste of resources.

This chick, however, is very strong and determined AND had apparently been fed prior to abandonment. So--not unwell and not a waste of resources.

my first plausible theory is that these are first time parents who are very stressed by the monsoons and LOUD construction taking place across the street. Filicide can occur under such conditions.

survived the night :V

Ate a fuckton of breakfast.

So it's time to

get weighed, idiot!

9 gram.

When I weigh him tomorrow, I wil be able to get a clearer picture about whether or not he is on a trajectory of healthy development or if his growth is stalling and he is failing to thrive.

He can look good and strong, but if he can't absorb the requiered nutrient load and grow, then that could very well be the end for him.

I've been watching him around the clock and his behaviors seem good so far as my eyes can tell me...but more importantly, pls look at his tiny feetie claws

"guess who's hungry!!"

How does this happen? Terminal lucidity???

Anyways, I fed him. Slowly. Over the course of an hr. As much as he begged for. He ate a lot.

we'll see.

like...he was GONE gone when I fell asleep last night. I mourned the little bastard.

He went 14 hrs without food. I don't where he got all this enrergy from at 5am.

I hate had rearing baby birds

also, I like to think this looks like some development:

but it could just be the lighting hah...

Tho...even just looking at the size of the fibers on the towel compaired to the size of his head...hm.

Wigh time is in another 2 and a half hrs, but I'm realizing a critical flaw: I should be weighing him in the morning when he hasn't eaten for a few hours. Not in the afternoon after eating all morning. Oh well.

I'll start weighing him properly in the morning if he wakes up to see another sunrise tomorrow. But I'll also keep up the 1pm weigh-ins as well.

inat:

On the other hand, pileated woodpeckers

You can't see it, but you can feel it