Starling update
I need to take pictures! At this point I can tell them apart and they have names too! The first one to be named was Lemmy, after the lead singer from Motorhead, because he tilted his head all the way back and opened his mouth real wide when it was time to eat. The second one to be named was the runt, whom Bree dubbed Banana since banana runts are a favorite in our house. Howard argued that in a house with 10 cats, one of them had to be named after an appetizer and thus Knish was given his name. So there you have it, our three starlings are henceforth Lemmy, Banana and Knish.
Of the three, Lemmy is doing everything first: first to gape, first to take food from my fingers, first to take food from a plate, first to fly. Knish is about a day or two behind Lemmy milestone wise and Banana is still gaping. Banana probably got less to eat than the other two in the nest because they are more aggressive so he's a little behind on the learning curve. No, I really don't know if they are male or female so pronouns may change.
At this point, they have eaten canned cat food, canned dog food, meal worms, dry cat food that has been soaked in water and small pieces of chicken. I'm feeding them every two or three hours now and think they'll start self feeding soon. Lemmy has taken to flying back and forth across the cage so I think tomorrow I may give them flying practice in the large master bathroom.
I'd still like to release them if possible but that depends on them. For now, they are still skittish of people and that's good. I'm getting them used to as many foods as possible and trying to expose them to food they'll find outside. While I wouldn't mind having them as pets, I think that as wild birds, they should be free.
Of the three, Lemmy is doing everything first: first to gape, first to take food from my fingers, first to take food from a plate, first to fly. Knish is about a day or two behind Lemmy milestone wise and Banana is still gaping. Banana probably got less to eat than the other two in the nest because they are more aggressive so he's a little behind on the learning curve. No, I really don't know if they are male or female so pronouns may change.
At this point, they have eaten canned cat food, canned dog food, meal worms, dry cat food that has been soaked in water and small pieces of chicken. I'm feeding them every two or three hours now and think they'll start self feeding soon. Lemmy has taken to flying back and forth across the cage so I think tomorrow I may give them flying practice in the large master bathroom.
I'd still like to release them if possible but that depends on them. For now, they are still skittish of people and that's good. I'm getting them used to as many foods as possible and trying to expose them to food they'll find outside. While I wouldn't mind having them as pets, I think that as wild birds, they should be free.