FEATURE
of the aviary, which was quite out of character. The only time I had previously noticed them on the floor was to take a drink. I suspect they were looking for insects and other live food. They also spent time scouring the floor from the branches in the aviary and searching the bushes. I emailed David for advice who rightly suggested I should treat them as though they did have chicks. Increase the amount of banana, add paw-paw and Nutribird A21. I also fed any fruits I could chop finely or grate. Strawberries and raspberries were just starting to come on stream in the garden so I added these and any fruits that were overripe that I could get hold of cheaply from my local green grocers. Things like peaches, plums and nectarines were all added along with kiwis, cheese and chopped eggs. To begin with very small amounts of food were consumed, but slowly over the following week, consumption became greater and I was convinced that there were chicks in the nest. Occasionally I would see one of the adults, upon changing shift in the nest, appear to open and close its mouth fast as if it had just regurgitated food and was swallowing back the excess. Approximately two weeks after the chicks should have hatched, the nest was left empty by both parents for a brief period of time. Quickly seizing
44 BIRD SCENE
the opportunity to have a look in the nest, I approached with fingers crossed to find one healthy quite large chick. I continued with the same husbandry until I felt the chick was large enough to take the same sized chopped fruit as all my other turacos, but still adding Nutribird A21. The chick began exploring the rim of the nest basket at about 25 days old and within a short period of time was able to jump from bush to bush and take the occasional short flight. The adults are still very attentive to the chick and have lost their aggression towards me, unlike the chick, which has taken over. The chick is a dull dark grey in colour but is already showing signs of a few purple feathers.
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