update - recovering canaries and easter
My poor canary hen, who was so active in building her nest, had a mishap on the 5th. She somehow injured her left leg and was holding it at an odd angle, like it was broken, unable to use the foot and having great difficulty balancing when perching. She couldn't get food or water properly, so over her protests I put her in a small "hospital cage" on the 6th. I laid it out so her food and water dishes were on the cage floor, and the small size of the cage prevented her from moving around too much and furthering the injury.
Although she looked weak and frightened at first, she started eating well after the second day and perching on the good foot again after the third day. By Friday morning she was attempting to use the injured foot and leg again. When I returned on Monday, after leaving her in the care of my dedicated bird-sitter, she was using both feet again and seems to be nearly back to her old self. I'm quite relieved, though she'll be kept in the "hospital" for observation until the end of the week before returning to her to her much bigger house.
The healing abilities of tiny, fragile birds can be quite amazing.
Easter weekend (a 4 day for me, since I had Good Friday and Easter Monday off) was good. On Saturday Dave and I hiked for several hours at a local woods, enjoying the spring weather. Sunday morning I headed to Peterborough to see the family. My older nephew, who will be starting High-school in the fall, is becoming very tall and lanky, like a basket-ball player. I'm not sure where he inherited tallness from. My younger nephew, at the age of 9 months, is not only walking but running on his own, apparently skipping the crawling stage all together, and needed to be watched constantly.
Back to work yesterday. April is usually a fairly dull month here, since students and faculty are absorbed in exams.
Although she looked weak and frightened at first, she started eating well after the second day and perching on the good foot again after the third day. By Friday morning she was attempting to use the injured foot and leg again. When I returned on Monday, after leaving her in the care of my dedicated bird-sitter, she was using both feet again and seems to be nearly back to her old self. I'm quite relieved, though she'll be kept in the "hospital" for observation until the end of the week before returning to her to her much bigger house.
The healing abilities of tiny, fragile birds can be quite amazing.
Easter weekend (a 4 day for me, since I had Good Friday and Easter Monday off) was good. On Saturday Dave and I hiked for several hours at a local woods, enjoying the spring weather. Sunday morning I headed to Peterborough to see the family. My older nephew, who will be starting High-school in the fall, is becoming very tall and lanky, like a basket-ball player. I'm not sure where he inherited tallness from. My younger nephew, at the age of 9 months, is not only walking but running on his own, apparently skipping the crawling stage all together, and needed to be watched constantly.
Back to work yesterday. April is usually a fairly dull month here, since students and faculty are absorbed in exams.