Written by Annerie de Waal
Professional photography by elysian
I have never seen a bird that tiny before. When he joined our family on Sunday the 17th of July, I did not know he would be joining permanently – I didn’t even think about that ... My only focus was on keeping Bubba alive.
I am not new to baby birds. I am not new to hatchlings. I have done that before without issues. I was, however, new to a little birdie who, at five days old, was smaller than a hatchling – a birdie who had basically been starved for five days. I cannot even begin to describe my shock and complete panic when I first laid eyes on this little one.
Getting him back from that, I knew, would be close to impossible. Still, giving up just wasn’t an option. Bubba wanted to live.
And what a journey it has been!
A will to live
I had been notified about a five-day-old baby parrotlet found lying on his back in the nest and not looking good. Sadly his two siblings had not made it – one hadn’t even hatched, and the other passed away shortly after hatching. The first day with Bubba was the hardest. Tiny and pink, he was extremely weak and had no feeding response. After weighing him and discovering he weighed in at a meagre 3 grams, I had to get him warmed. I started off by giving him one drop of electrolytes every half hour. Once he started perking up, I went over to feeding 0,1ml of bird formula every hour and continued feeding through the night. He spent most of his time in the incubator to keep his temperature stable.
By day two, he started showing a feeding response and ate enough to be fed every two hours. This continued through the night for another ten days. Usually, baby birds won’t be fed through the night for so long– just the first couple of days. But, because he already had a deficit, he needed every little bit of nutrition I could get into him.
From there onwards, there were many ups and downs. His growth was extremely slow in the beginning, and his eyes took longer than usual to open. There were a couple of times when he would not want to swallow his food, and then he went backwards quickly. One evening, he completely crashed and was barely breathing. At that point, I did not think there was any hope left. All I could do was keep him warm and hydrated. He miraculously made it through the night and flourished from there onwards.
Bubba’s beautiful progress
Slowly but surely, he started to develop. First, I could see the shadows of feathers developing under his pink skin. When I started to see a tinge of blue on his wings, I began to suspect that Bubba was a boy (he is a Green Parrotlet). At 15 days old, the slits for his eyes finally opened – 8 days after they normally would have.
He became more and more active and kept me on my toes, especially during feeding time. I couldn’t take my eyes off him for a second. He had no patience at all in waiting for his food, and he developed a massive appetite, even wanting to keep eating when his crop was full. He was developing at lightning speed – he looked different with every feed. He clearly had a blue rump and blue in his wings, suggesting that he was indeed a boy. As his feathers grew, he began testing his wings in preparation for his first flight. He was very active, not waiting for his food and attention, and wanting to explore his world.
Looking back now, I cannot believe that we made it! In all my time rescuing and helping baby birds, I do not think I have ever been that exhausted – the constant worry, stress and many tears while trying to keep this little one alive. He had a voice so much bigger than the rest of him. I’ve never seen a little teeny tiny birdie fight this hard with such a strong will to live.
So much support
One thing I do know when looking back at this journey; I would not have been able to do it without the support of so many people out there, sending encouragement and praying for little Bubba to survive.
And not only did he survive, but he’s also thriving! Looking at this perfect little green-and-blue birdie suddenly makes everything we have gone through more than worth it.
Yes, he has some issues. He’s got two small patches where feathers haven’t come out, but the other feathers cover that. His feet are not entirely normal yet, but that is all he knows and should improve with time. And he is still very tiny, which makes him so much cuter.
A feathered miracle
Five weeks after taking him in, he perched for the first time. And shortly after that, he fledged! I cannot explain the joy and pride I felt seeing that! He started off weighing just 3 grams, and today he is a plump and healthy parrotlet. Bubba is a big boy now, and after much consideration, I am a proud foster-fail momma. I could not bear to let him go, so he joined my happy household. He adores attention and cuddles and loves having his feathers stroked.
Thank you so much for walking the road with us and for the massive support along the way. I appreciate it more than words can say!
You can watch Bubba in action on Happy Tail’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/1193670977/videos/pcb.10229457926291262/446158740871844
Editor’s note: Bubba has officially been named Lenny, which means “brave as a lion”. A name perfectly suited to this brave little bird!
