They All Made it This Time

I just had to update you on the baby rheas.
It has not been a good summer. The Big Grey
Daddy finally hatched his eggs. 5 little angels,
4 grey and 1 white, how adorable.
 
Daddy is so proud.
He took them all around the field,
showed them off to the rest of those big beautiful
birds. The lady birds were unimpressed. But the other Dads
were in envy.
 
The next morning 1 was gone. The following morning
I went out to find 4 very wet, cold and lost baby
rheas. I collected them all. I think they were happy to
have me gather them up. They somehow knew I was there to
help them. On my way back to my house I strolled
past the nest, sure enough, there was Dad. Sitting on at
least 30 un-hatched eggs.
 
Perhaps it was his paternal instinct to try to
hatch more but by doing so the 4 beautiful baby rheas were left to
fend for themselves. They would have died at the talons of
predator birds or from sickness because of the cool,
wet Michigan weather.
 
It didn't matter what Dad chose. I chose to try to
save these beautiful 3 day old babies. I have told you before
that I think there is nothing cuter than baby rhea. Knowing they
needed my help made them even more precious.
 
I set up the baby playpen in the house with a heating pad and
put a towel over them. I mixed their food and force feed them
for the next 4 days. Taking them outside during the day to let
them get use to the grass. I always took them in at
night. Putting them in their playpen on a heating pad and covering
them with a towel.
 
Call me a typical Mother, but I would get up just to look at them
at night, precious. All Gods children are precious, but seeing all
4 snuggled together as if one...words can't describe my thoughts of
them.
 
As I have told you of my other posts about rheas, they are not the
brightest bird. In fact they are pretty s_t_u_p_i_d.
I always spell it I would hate for them to hear that word.
 
These birds are not like chicks. These little guys have no idea
how to eat. I know that seems silly but it is true.
The Dad teaches them the "art of eating". Since I only know the
"art of eating" with a fork and a knife, my teaching takes extra time. I
must force feed these little wiggle worms about every 2 hours. They are
not like the birds that come to my bird feeders. Those birds open their
mouths wide for you to feed. These little ones you must pry their beaks
open EVERY TIME. it doesn't matter because they are gaining weight
and looking great.
 
After about a week of caring for these little ones, they finally discover
watermelon that I have cut into tiny bites. Keep in mind that I
would put that in there everyday, but it took a week of stepping
over it to try it. remember what I said about being s_t_u_p_i_d.
 
Well that was the first step sort of speak. The next day they were pecking
at the ground looking for the food that I had sprinkled there. The next day
they discovered that the water dish was not just for stepping in.
The following day I stopped feeding them with the syringe. it was like the
light went on. They were playing with their food, and eating it. I had done
Dads job for him.
 
After 2 weeks of taking care of these little dolls I took them back to the owners
knowing they would be fine. We placed them into the big pen with the other
bigger rheas, it was like a new playground.
 
My heartache from losing the ones earlier this year has subsided. I know it
wasn't me and that sometimes nature is very cruel. Seeing these precious
angels playing  with the rest of the bigger babies makes me very proud
knowing I played a big part in them being able to be here.
Not only alive but well.