Monday, April 23, 2012

Baby Lady Gouldian Finches

Here they are, stuffed full and all five are doing well!

Have to say though, that a clutch of bald, dark-skinned baby Gouldians with mouths only a mother could love are not as appealing as fuzzy baby Bourkes or Splendids. With apologies to all Gouldian breeders, even bald baby Budgies are cuter, and so are baby Zebra finches. Smile.


However, in another week or two, they will be feathered and adorable. That is if we ignore, or get used to their mouths. The dots (or papillae) around their beaks are intended to reflect incoming light inside a dark nest to show parents where to place the food. Probably very effective.

I'm not sure when these disappear, but will learn as they mature and will share that information with you.

The parents are now spending more time outside the nest box than in it. The weather is warmer and I assume the babies keep each other warm enough that Mom doesn't have to stay with them all the time like she was doing until recently.

 


Peace & Blessings!

1 comment:

neversink7 said...

the shinny dots won't completely disappear until the babies fully wean and has been on their own for a bit. the color of the middle one can be very useful to tell the blue mutation - they are white instead of yellow in blue gouldian babies.