Just a routine nighttime check on the flock before lights out, I thought.  I had no idea the lesson that I would learn.  

     I make my rounds every evening before lights out in the aviary.  Simple tasks like…who needs fresh water or did that egg that was pippin hatch yet, are a few examples of things done at this time. It is also the time I check on each and every baby to make sure that they are doing well and their nostrils are clear from any random food stuff that may have settled there This is the time I pull babies from the nest box as there crops are nice and full and they can go the rest of the night and get the first feeding from me in the morning. 

     I had not planned on pulling babies this evening but upon checking a nest box I found a baby had died that day from not being fed.  The parents are a new young pair and for some unknown reason decided to feed all but this one and it perished.  Determined to not lose anymore I went about the task of setting up the brooders.  If you are going to feed one you might as well feed fifty is my rule of thumb here. 

     I had been patient and was looking forward to pulling this round of babies.  I had some new pairings and was anxious to get a closer look to figure out the mutations they had thrown this time.   

I got my collection basket and off I went …almost like picking ripe berries from the vine.

     My first stop was the young pair and I grabbed the remaining babies in the nest box, that’s when he first caught my eye. 

     There he was the old man of the aviary….Dill….aka Dylan.  He is the bird I have had the longest and he is the oldest of my flock at eight years old. There he was pacing back and forth obviously trying to get my attention.  I was familiar with this move of his and went to take a look.  Everything seemed fine.  Food good, water good…Nellie (his partner) good…..his babies were exceptionally nice this time and ready for me to take.  I would get there soon enough. 

     Back to the task at hand, I moved clutch after clutch to the brooders located in another room and did the paperwork with each clutch, like usual, to keep everything straight. And then again….he caught my eye standing by the front of his cage rocking back and forth from leg to leg….there was obviously something up!

There are times in the aviary when all eyes are on me.

Feeding time – everybody wants to get my attention so they can see what is on the menu today and please oh please will you feed me first!

Nest box checks- Anytime you go into a nest box all eyes are on you.  Some of the birds are just curious and want to get a peek at the latest addition to the flock….others make a noise that cannot be mistaken for anything other than displeasure that I am invading someone’s space.

The dreaded white gloves – Probably the most hated of all things….Not only are all eyes on me…most of the birds will stay as still as a statue (eye contact is avoided at all cost and eyes follow my every move but necks do not)  You have never in your life been in a more quiet place ….LOL!

 I am sure that if somehow I could telepathically hear what they were thinking it would be something like this….”Oh Noooo….there they are.  Please oh please don’t come over here…..Ohhhh NOOOO I think they are coming this way.”

I use the dreaded white gloves whenever I have to pull birds for normal maintenance tasks like nail or beak trims, to emergency tasks such as a blood feather from a night fright.  My reason for doing this is that the birds associate this stressful time with the white gloves and not me or my bare hands.  This allows me to do other more pleasurable things with my hands like head scratches without the thought of me doing anything SCARY to them.  

     So with all eyes on me for entering the nest boxes and pulling the babies, I kept my eyes on Dylan.  He was acting so strange.  I again went to him and took a closer look.  My eyes not being what they once were, I grabbed my glasses and checked him out thoroughly.  He was fine but obviously was trying to tell me something and I was just not getting it.

     Each of my birds have different personalities and that is very obvious when you enter there nest box.  Some scatter because they are scared…although there is no reason for this, others will attack my hand and defend the nest box at all cost and still others will gently move to the side and allow me to see what they are sitting on. I find it funny that the nicest bird can be the most vicious attack bird at this time and would bite me in a heartbeat – nature’s way I guess! 

     I my humble opinion a handfed bird makes the best pet.  I have seen very nice parent raised pets but many more handraised ones and I pull all my babies for hand feeding. I do not use the dreaded “white gloves” for this. With all the babies pulled from the nest boxes and carefully tucked in for the night I went back to checking the aviary before lights out. 

     Most of the pair that I had taken babies from did not seem to be bothered by the lack of babies to feed and seemed to be happy to be relieved of there parental duties. 

               and then I saw it…..Dylan….standing there again, looking at me with those huge black eyes…..rocking back and forth.  He seemed to be sure I was just taking the babies to check on them and they would be back soon.  And it broke my heart as I figured out for the very first time that Dylan had been trying to get my attention so I would not pull the babies from the nest boxes.

     I really had no reason to pull Dylan’s babies….he and Nellie had done a great job raising them without a problem and I had never considered for a moment that I should just pull the clutch from the new pair.

     Then I started thinking of all the clutches that Dylan had fathered I had always pulled his babies for hand feeding.  I felt horrible.  Now I am sure some of you will laugh and think that I am being way too sentimental or that I am a crazy bird lady or something but let me tell you if you could have seen this bird it would have broken your heart too!

     So now I had quite a dilemma on my hands….it was lights out time and I had pulled the babies at least an hour earlier.  I wanted to give them back but I did not want to lose any of them at this point.  I decided I better just leave good enough alone and said good night to the flock. The more I thought about Dylan’s behavior the more horrible I felt.  I figured that I would let Dylan raise a couple of babies from his next clutch and that would be fine.

     I awoke to the normal aviary chatter and started feeding babies first thing.  I was startled to find Dylan still rocking back and forth in the same place I had left him the night before. He was sure I would bring his babies back to him.  I made the decision then and there and gave them back the two smallest babies from the clutch. With his two babies back in the nest box Dylan went back to being his old self.

     I am happy to say that Dylan and Nellie are raising these two just fine and taught me a great lesson.  I am now going to let certain pair raise at least two babies from the last clutch of the year. I may lose some and may have to put extra time into handling these little ones in the nest box so they can be pet quality birds, but the happiness of the flock is more important to me and I never want to see that look in Dylan’s eyes again!  I know that I will soon be pulling babies again and have decided to now wear my gloves when I do. I would rather they blame those dreaded white gloves than me! 

     I can hardly wait for my next round of babies to be ready to pull.  The excitement of seeing what mutations are in this clutch and who is a really good parent is part of the fun in raising birds.  I now know however, pulling babies from the nest box will never be quite the same and will come with a twinge of heartache that I learned from a bird named Dylan.