We are sad to say we've
lost our #3 owlet late on May 12. It hatched only 8 hours or so after #2 and
started out fine. But it tended to keep its head down more than its siblings.
As a result, it started to fall behind in getting food. We named it
"Lucky," after another local street, and with some hope that giving it
a positive name would help turn him around. The young are very competitive when
food is delivered, and any weakness leads to a downward spiral in that individual's health.
The female, Peach, only
laid three eggs. The average is 5 and some lay up to 7. Clutch size is the
result of many factors. One possible reason for a small clutch is inadequate nutrition.
That could also be a factor in the failure for young to thrive. I think Lucky
was born with a problem, but we’ll never know. We had become more attached to
these little owls than we realized. It is a sad day for us today.
Filly and Collister are
now growing rapidly, and we wish them the best! And they can be assured that their mom, Peach, is on the lookout!
No comments:
Post a Comment