Those are some gorgeous birds you’re raising.
More clips from Flight: The Genius of Birds.
Out of curiosity I went back to the beginning of this thread. On 5.16.2008, Siam Sam said:
Funny how things work out, innit? 
Sunday afternoon and Mickey and Ladda are 23 days old. I found Mickey outside the flower box yesterday and put him back in. Dunno if he fell out while clamoring for a feeding or if he hopped out intentionally. Then this morning I found him out again. I’m letting him run around for a while and to see if he can hop back in under his own power. Little Ladda is content to stay pat.
I bought a small saw yesterday and plan to remove that dead tree in the tree pot. That will afford more room, and I can leave the squabs in there while Ladyboy uses the flower box, Still no new eggs but the couple are screwing like teenagers again, so soon. It’s a little late this time, as she normally lays her new eggs not long after the previous squabs turn two weeks, and the present ones are more than three weeks old. I think I detect a few new twigs in the tree-pot nest.
We’ll be upcountry for an extended New Year’s trip, so she’ll have a lot of quiet while sitting on them. Of course, that also means no more snackies for a while, but they can cope.
EDIT: Just looked out after posting this, and little Ladda has followed her brother. She’s huddled up with him on the floor outside the flower box.
And we have an egg! Freshly laid moments ago as I watched. Each time before, we found the egg after the fact. This is the first time I saw it actually laid. I thought Ladyboy was going to lay it, because she was sort of puffed out in the tree pot and not exactly acting sick but definitely seemed sluggish. Couldn’t seem to get comfortable, kept turning around. Then while I was watching, she was raised up slightly and … Bam! I saw this egg just sort of slip out of her. Good girl.
We expect the second egg on Tuesday. That’s little Danny out there now. The second egg will contain Mali, which is Thai for “jasmine” and a common girl’s name here.
Mali, or Jasmine, sounds like a pretty name.
And if this thread is closed I’ll give up my Charter Membership and become a guest.
Tuesday night and the second egg was laid today. Little Danny and Mali are out there incubating. ETA on new hatchings is January 7, the day we’ll be returning from upcountry. (Actually we’ll be back home for a couple of days between our time with friends up in the Northeast for New Year’s and a short hop straight west to near the Burmese border.) And we’ll still be here for another week before we leave on that first leg.
I didn’t get to see today’s egg come out like I did Sunday’s. Sunday was amazing.
Merry Christmas to everyone! It’s Thursday morning over here already. Mickey and Ladda are 27 days old and looking beautiful. Ladda is a little toasted marshmallow, while brother Mickey is dark with an intricate pattern. We see a lot of ratty-looking pigeons in Bangkok, but ours always seem to turn out handsome. I wonder if the improved nutrition we provide to their parents for regurgitation has anything to do with it.
Ladyboy still pecks at me while defending her eggs when I try to touch her, but her pecking does not break the skin, and since she stands her ground I can stroke her breast a little while she’s pecking. The pecking seems to be less intense now, and finally she’ll stop for a awhile once I’m stroking, so I think she’s finally realizing this feels good. I always tell her if she doesn’t like me petting her, she needs to live somewhere else. Very soft.
I’ll try to post one more round of photos before we head upcountry next week.
As promised, here are a few more photos before we head upcountry in a couple of days.
Mickey and Ladda at 15 days old on December 13. This was my failed attempt to put them in the little dish the tree pot sits in. It turned out not to be a good idea, as the parents seemed too confuse by the business. So they ended up in the flower box after all, and here they are at age 18 days.
A family photo with the squabs a full three weeks old. Dad is dutifully giving little Ladda a nice massage.
And at 23 days, Mickey and Ladda are out and about. That little white speck by Mickey’s eye is a tiny white feather. He’s turning out have a little bit of one of those “paint-splattered” faces.
Christmas morning, and the squabs are 27 days old, with a sleepy Mama sitting on the new clutch of eggs.
Four weeks old last Friday. You can see Mickey’s “paint splatters” coming out more on his face now. Ladda’s looking just a little like a toasted marshmallow. And Mickey with Dad sitting egg duty that same day.
And all the photos are on one page here.
And today is Sunday. At 30 days, Mickey and Ladda should be flying anytime now. Hope we get to see that before we leave.
I’ve made remarkable progress with Ladyboy. She pecks me less ferociously now when I try to touch her and stops altogether after a short while when I massage her breast. And last night for the first time, she allowed me to pet her head. Still skittish, and she’ll only do this when she’s “standing her ground” to protect the eggs. If she’s not on the nest, she runs without a second’s thought. The Bully is more difficult to pet now, running from the eggs as soon as I move in for him. I’ll have to retrain him.
Happy New Year, everyone! Hope 2015 is a good one for you. 
Just a small update before I sign off until early next month. It’s Monday morning, Mickey and Ladda are 31 days old, and Ladda this morning flew over to the window frames and back for the first time. Big-brother Mickey is okay to stand pat for the time being but will presumably follow soon. Dad, good father that he is, stands over on the window frames himself and coos to entice the kids over.
Ladyboy still puts up some resistance to being touched, but it’s clear she does enjoy having her head petted.
See you next year!
We’re back. Returned home yesterday (Wednesday) to find one egg starting to crack, right on schedule. It’s Thursday morning now but still no new squabs yet. Should be today.
Besides Mom and Dad, the rest of the now-usual crew are still out there at night – Woody (six months old next Sunday), Bo (almost four months), Timmy (2-1/2 months) and the most recent ones Mickey and Ladda (six weeks old tomorrow). Mickey and Ladda are of course flying now.
During our travels around the country, we stayed at a hotel in Kanchanaburi – home of the Bridge over the River Kwai – called Sabai@Kan. On the grounds was a rabbit pen containing 10 or so of the fattest rabbits we’d ever seen. While looking at them, we heard an old familiar squealing. Sure enough, there were a couple of pigeon squabs behind the pen! Little gray ones with yellow fuzz still on their heads. And they were running after the gray parents for a feeding. The owner of the hotel lives in a two-story house on the grounds with his family. He told us he found the nest while cleaning out his balcony and moved it down to the ground, making sure the parents saw. The nest is in a cage that he leaves open during the day but has to close at night due to cats. (It’s unclear if the parents get locked in too or if it’s just the squabs at night. The squabs are certainly big enough now that they don’t need constant parental care.) The rabbits too, they go into two big cages at night. The owner said someone gave him a pair of rabbits, and the critters have been multiplying ever since. There were at least 10 there including the parents, and the owner said he’s already given others away. The pen is quite large and they have plenty of room to run around. If any of you are ever in Kanchanaburi, the wife and I can recommend this hotel too. It’s really good.
And little Danny hatched today (Thursday), sometime from 2-9pm.
And now we have Mali, hatched in the wee hours of this morning (Friday morning). Wiggly little guys, as you can imagine.
The previous batch, Mickey and Ladda, are six weeks old today. Mickey is BIG, obviously a male, but still squeals like a little schoolgirl.
Glad to see you got back safely.
Thanks for all the pics! It really is remarkable how fast they grow!
Thanks. And yes it is.
Woody turns six months old today (Saturday). I believe they’re sexually mature at that age. We’re hoping he’ll go find a mate now. He did leave early on for a couple of weeks, then I guess decided he liked it here better.
Tuesday morning, and Danny and Mali, five and four days old, respectively, have their eyes open. The Bully has gotten used to me touching him again, and I can even pet him all the way from head to tail. Again though, only when he’s on the nest, and I have to move slowly.
So cool.
Happy New Year!
Sunday afternoon over here and Danny and Mali are ten and nine days old, respectively. I’ll have a few more photos soon, but first here’s a video I took this past Tuesday of a father’s love, Dad feeding five-day-old Danny. At least, I think that’s Danny. Could be four-day-old Mali, but I think Mali’s still tucked beneath Dad.
Thursday morning. Danny is two weeks old today and will obviously be another white one, judging from the feather sprouts. Mali is 13 days old and looks to be another dark pattern like Mickey in the last batch.
Woody disappeared on his six-month birthday last weekend, so that’s one fewer. Now the oldest out there is Bo, five months old.
I finally removed the dead tree in the tree pot. It turns out I did not have to use the saw at all. It just pulled up easily with only a slight tug. Now Danny and Mali have more room, enough room, and I won’t have to transfer them to the flower box, which Mom and Dad are already being sweet in as a prelude to the next clutch of eggs. Caught them having sex once already. They always seem to want to use the flower box for a nest, then I spoil their plans by transferring the squabs. Now they can use it.
But Ladyboy doesn’t seem happy that the dead tree is gone. I think it served as a sort of psychological barrier. Now she seems a bit anxious. Seems more quick to guard her kids when I’m around and fights me off more fiercely now that the tree is not there to restrict her movements. I’ve given up on winning her over. But she still comes and begs for food, so we’re friends to a certain extent.
Can you plant a new tree/bush/whatever? But it still wouldn’t be the same I guess.