A crummy picture, for sure, but it does show the essence of Chip’s new digs, an old cage once occupied by a pet rat. I took this picture when the bird was silent after a really big meal of watered-down canned cat food. Before the feast, he weighed in at 7 grams; afterwards he weighed 8 grams. His weight increased by 14%. Imagine eating enough food to increase your body weight by 14% in one meal!The reason for the cage is that in his older space, a rat trap, he couldn’t practice flying. Whenever I took him out of the trap and let him do what he wanted, he flew! His tail feathers are shorter than his beak, yet he flew! Several feet, and mostly with an elevation loss, but still…
I predict he will be releasable in a week. Hope he fares well in the outdoor world, especially with the newly-enlarged sky that Hilary and Luke have been making by cutting down that big oak tree.
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