I *finally* have a few minutes to post an update on the babies here.
We ended up with two grey split to pied and one cinnamon pearl. The
tiels weaned in record time--the oldest weaned himself at 40 DAYS old,
the youngest at 44 days. The cinn-pearl has already gone to her new
home--the others will be leaving next week. They eat everything, and
enjoy cuddling under my chin, and playing with toys, just like the
conures do.
The baby jenday (almost 8 wks old) is flying and landing like a fighter
pilot, down to 2 feedings per day (almost not necessary, since he/she is
only taking about 5cc per feeding before leaping up and whipping around
the kitchen ceiling). This baby is going to be one of the smaller ones
we've had here, but he's just as sweet as all the others have been. He
gets along fine with the baby tiels and the baby cherry-heads.
The jenday's owner-to-be came down to visit last week. I decided to take
the risk and let her come in, since Dr. Ritchie felt that her Senegal
was unlikely to be a carrier of PDS (if it was, it should have been sick
by now, he felt). SHE suggested that she take a shower and wear freshly
cleaned clothing before coming over, and SHE asked to wash up before
touching the baby. I never had to request a thing. The baby took to her
like he'd known her before; he cuddled against her and fell asleep...she
cried. It's a done deal--all we need now is for the little squirt to
fully wean and gain some weight back before leaving here!
The baby cherry-heads (btw 6 & 7 wks old) can all fly, but not nearly as
well as the jenday yet. The younger two just took first flights
yesterday. They too are on 2 (more substantial) feedings per day, and
are happily staring to eat bird bread (that stuff is a godsend for
weaning babies!). They like the tiels, and I even found the eldest
cherry cuddling against the eldest tiel when I went in to shut off
lights last night.
The youngest cherryhead is going to be a MONSTER. At 38 days old, he/she
peaked at 221 grams! At 46 days and slimmed down to fly, he weighs 195g.
(For comparison, his elder half-sister, Kirsche weighs 155g at 6 years
old, and she's a bit chubby.) This is the biggest baby I've ever raised.
He's 35 grams heavier than the oldest baby in the same clutch. His head
and feet are even larger than those of the other babies. He's still
quite a klutz though; he mastered taking off before he mastered perching
well. So his landings are still of the "fold up the wings and feet, and
crash onto whatever is closest" kind. Unfortunately, his siblings are
usually closest...they don't like his landings. 
I'm finding it interesting that the 3 cherry-heads don't have the same
head or beak shape. The oldest has a very square head and large beak.
The middle child has a very petite, rounded head and a tiny beak
(actually the whole bird is rather petite compared to the other two)--
the head shape reminds me of an orange-fronted conure. The youngest has
a massive square head and beak. I'm awaiting the DNA sexing results to
confirm my guesses, but *I think* that the middle kid is a female, and
the other two are boys. We'll see when the tests come back.
If the sexing tests come back the way I hope, I'm considering keeping
the "monster baby" as a potential mate for Kirsche. She's not too crazy
about Rico's new friend, Ivy (the new Jenday). Once Rico and Ivy have
bonded, Kirsche will be the only unpaired bird, and she's not going to
be happy about that. She's been acting like she wants to nest... Given
that it was very hard for me to even bring "tested-to-the-max" Ivy into
the house, I've decided not to ever bring any more birds in from other
sources. Since I really don't care if Kirsche ever reproduces, I'd
rather have her with her half-sibling than take another chance with the
risks an unrelated bird would bring.
Life has been incredibly busy, but the birds keep it interesting...
--Kathy
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