Thank you for the good thoughts for our smallest baby. He/she seems to be doing just fine, so far. Roger and Milly are good parents and the baby seems to be thriving, just behind, as expected, on development since he hatched later than the others.

We do have an unexpected issue that arose over the weekend. We have been trying to take the babies out, one at a time, to hold them and get them accustomed to the human touch. One of the first babies seems to have a deformed right leg. At first, when Helen noticed it, she thought that it might be broken, but after closer observation, it appears that it did not form correctly. I have only ever used the only avian vet that we know of in our area for having Roger and Milly's wing's clipped (he also clipped the wings of our last clutch when they started flying), but I called him this morning and they were able to get him right to the phone to talk with me. Scott and I were concerned because this baby seems to be thinner than the others. What we don't know is whether that is because he is refusing to eat or if Roger and Milly aren't feeding him. Dr. Fernandez told me not to bring him in right now because there is little he can do to help that leg at this point since the baby is so young. He did suggest that we try hand feeding him for a few days and see if he is willing to eat and will gain weight, and he also suggested that we use a scale to monitor his weight. We are committed to doing whatever is necessary to keep him comfortable and try to help him along in development. So, handfeeding will begin today, if he is willing, and he will remain in the nest as long as Roger and Milly and the other babies will allow. If he does not thrive, we know what we need to do. And if he does seem to bounce back and find a way to survive on one leg, we will surely keep him and when he is old enough, provide a safe place for him, away from Mom and Dad, and he will become a part of our family.

I allowed these eggs to develop and I know that I need to be committed to seeing this thing through. It makes us all very sad to see the one baby having so much trouble. Please keep the little fellow in your prayers and also ask that we have the wisdom to know what to do for him/her.

Logan