Not having updated this diary in awhile, there are alot of things to add.

    My doves stopped sitting on thier last lot of eggs so I took the nest basket out and emptied it. I was going to take it out completely but they often sit on the baskets and I felt bad about depriving them of a perching place so I put it back in. They didnt do much with it for awhile but they have been glued to the inside of it again so I assume they have laid a 3rd clutch. Hopefully this one goes better but either way, I removing the baskets after this one. I dont want my little female to get worn out.

        I have had better success with my little quails. Lu managed to hatch out 7 little babies under her and a few days later 3 more hatched out in my incubator. I found the 3 at about 12:30am - 1:00am (sometime in there) and I left them in there for the night. It was too late to try and put them in with thier parents. The next morning I got up a bit earlier to introduce them to thier family while the sun was still coming in on that side of the house so that even if they weren't accepted, they wouldnt get too cold. To get rid of my smell while I was handling the babies I rubbed grass all over my hands before picking them up. I put them in the cage next to the majority of the other babies and watched while they looked around in confusion for a little while. They realised after awhile that the birds surrounding them looked, felt, and sounded the same as they did and they all made a beeline for mummy. She didnt even look twice, she just gathered them up and sat on them. Two of the babies didnt fit (one older and one younger) so daddy took those ones.

           The first day for the new babies was a tiring one as they couldnt quite keep up with the others but now they are powering around and eating just like thier older siblings. Breakfast is always an amusing time as they all try to eat from the same bowl at the same time as soon as I put it in there. The smart ones wait for the second bowl to be put down and eat from that. I finally managed to find some turkey starter so they can try some of that. I could only get it in a 10 kilo bag though so I have to find a big enough container to put the rest in before I open the bag.

         I had to go out and buy some film but I have been madly snapping pics of my little family since so when I get the film developed there should be some great photos of the fluffballs and Lu and Ben.