A brief update from Tracy from the CPF Raptor Centre and the three hatchlings. More than a noticeable improvement from all three of the hatchlings today, as they are of this evening three very different birds compared to what they looked and acted like on Friday afternoon when they arrived at the CPF Raptor Centre. The little male hatchling named Apollo - (Black 37 over Y - with Blue tape) is now standing upright and moving freely around in the nest tray and starting to respond very well to the fluids and food being offered. His weight has increased and he is looking very alert and animated, now starting to interact with his two other siblings.
His little sister Katarina - (Black 16 over X -with red tape ) who was suffering from the more severe dehydration and malnutrition is also now responding well to the food and fluids. She has gained almost 20 grams in weight and is now consuming food faster then I can feed her.
The largest female sibling Magarida - (Black 17 over X - with Yellow tape) has obviously been one of the problems, given her huge size, dominance and strength in comparison to the other two hatchlings, as she consistently bullies the other two siblings and steels all of the food, many times from right out of their mouths before they can swallow it. Neither of the other two hatchlings seem to have the strength or the awareness to prevent the older hatchling Magarida from taking all of their food.
While this behavior is quite typical of the largest or most dominant of the hatchlings in any given nest, this situation is magnified due to the much smaller and weakened condition of the other two siblings. The much larger Magarida has been getting most of what little food packages that the resident adult male father was able to bring in to the nest.
Without a second adult helping to provide food to the hatchlings, (and in this case, with the death of the resident adult female, who is capable of CARRYING much larger food packages), it has become quite obvious that the surviving resident adult male was not able to keep up the necessary food requirements to maintain the health of all three of his offspring. The hatchlings are being fed three to four times a day and have are now consuming several hundred grams of food between the three. As of this evening, they are all casting normal formed pellets and their mutes are all starting to look normal.
Pictures will follow.
