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It's been suggested that baby lories (hand-feeding) cry more than other baby birds. I've noticed this too. When taken from
the nest at around 3 weeks, they are initially very quiet. But after a couple of days they begin crying... and eventually
it is non-stop. But if left in the nest they remain quiet. This then begs the question: "What does the baby lory receive
in the nest that I'm not providing?"
Obviously I feed the baby bird. And I feed it the same food that it receives from its parents. My version may be a little
runnier the the parents' version, but otherwise it's about the same. True, the feeding method is a bit different, and
the food may not contain the exact bacteria found in the parents' mouth. However, these differences seem relatively minor
and not something to cry about 24 hours a day.
What else is missing? Well, we know that lories are very social, and when raised in isolation (my lories seem content
to consistently hatch only one egg at a time) they don't have their parents sitting with them for long periods of time.
Perhaps this creates an emotional vaccuum that they fill by crying incessantly.
This then begs the next question: "How can parental contact be simulated?" I've noticed that baby animals
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of all types like to feel safe. For some species and individuals,
this is perhaps more important than food. Many tend to prefer small dark
enclosures. And it may be simply that the parents provide this feeling of safety by covering the baby with a wing.
To experiment, I simply draped a light-weight cotton shirt over the baby bird. Magically, the crying stopped within
minutes.
An hour later the crying hadn't resumed. I lifted the shirt to check the baby, and it seemed to be in good spirits.
And it began crying immediately. So a re-covered it with the shirt. Again it stopped crying.
Within a few days it became apparent that the baby liked to burrow under the shirt to find just the right cozy spot.
Subsequent babies display the same burrowing behavior and are relatively quiet.
Though lacking complete scientific rigor (double-blind studies, etc.), my conclusion is that baby lories cry very little
if covered with a light cotton shirt (or similar). This does introduce a minor concern regarding possible suffocation.
However, if good judgement is used to select a suitable cover material (light-weight, no frayed edges), then this concern
becomes nil.
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