Feeling Kind of Like...Well, Crap

 

A Picture of Mourning Dove Chicks

Yesterday, G and I were heading out to a movie and dinner (our belated Valentine's Day) and G stopped in the middle of the driveway and pointed down to the ground.  "It's a chick," he said.  And it was.  It was a Mourning Dove day old chick just lying there all by itself and it was alive.  I didn't know it was a Mourning Dove chick at the time.  I thought it was some kind of mutant alien chick, actually.  Uuuugggllllyyy!  Something definitely only a Mother would love.  But, I scooped him up and ran in the house to find a box and something to keep him warm.  We were already late so we skidaddled.

The little guy lived through the night on a heating pad. 

Well, this morning I got up early and began some research on the computer. 

The original nest had been in a tree next to the house so I went out to investigate what might have happened.  Turns out the whole nest had pretty much disintegrated from the rain.

In my research, I discovered that I could remake a nest and place it in the same area and the parents would probably return to use it.  So, that is what I did.  I had some wire fencing that I molded into a nest holder and filled it up with hay and straw.  I put it up in the tree and secured it hoping for the best.  The parents were around watching everything.  I had high hopes that I would be able to place the chick in the nest and have the parents come back and tend to it.

And, then I biffed up big time.  I came in and did some more research and read that I could use a heat lamp to keep the chick warm.  So I set the little guy up with a heating lamp (the one I used for the chickens when they first arrived).  I must have placed the lamp too close because when I came back into the room he had crawled into a corner and was panting.  I immediately lifted the lamp much higher and placed him back into the center.  I thought I had caught him on time but I think the damage had been done.

I then ran to the store to pick up some Gerber baby cereal to feed the little guy.  I mixed it all up and got the little syringe filled up and came downstairs to try to feed him.

I knew it as soon as I touched him.  He was gone.  I feel soooo bad.  If I would have left him on the heating pad in the blankets he probably would have been just fine. 

Not feeling real magickal right at the moment.  Dang it.