Last night Howard and I were both self-indulgent. Howard had rented the xbox game Fable which had to go back this morning, so he wanted to play as much as he could. I had a book (The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn et al) and was luxuriating in being able to disappear into the story without cries of “Mooo-ooom!” dragging me back. We both stayed up until 2 am. There is something really wonderfully fun about staying up way too late doing something you enjoy. For parents it is a guilty pleasure though, because you know you’ll pay for it big time the next day and so will the kids.
Patches was cheerfully awake at his usual hour (7:30 am). Gleek started hollering for me at 8am and that was the end of sleep. I dragged myself out of bed and into the kitchen where I found a kitchen full of dirty dishes and no counterspace anywhere. I shoved dishes aside, making teetering stacks in the sink, trying to create enough space to make french toast. Before anyone oohs or ahhs over the fact that I made french toast for kids on 6 hours of sleep, I should point out that making breakfast is just self defense. If I don’t fill up the noisy holes with food, they will continue to be noisy at me. Like fledgling birds, my children are capable of foraging for themselves, but they find it much simpler to flutter helplessly and holler until I put something in their mouths.
After breakfast my body switched into one of those high-energy not-enough-sleep-so-I’m-hyper modes. The kids’ work is mostly done. My work is mostly done. In theory I can enjoy a peaceful afternoon. But I suspect that if things get too peaceful, I’ll crash into a nap.
Did you get any sleep? 🙂
But for chicks, begging WORKS. In their favor. My totally unscientific research – gleaned from daily weight logs acquired over years of wildlife rehab – shows the begging behavior results in a healthier chick in the long run. They’re capable of foraging, but begging works to their advantage.
Begging in chicks occurs even when they are completely stuffed with food and can’t swallow another bite. It’s triggered by the presence of the adult (food source) or begging siblings (competition for food).
Fledglings that forage for the bulk of their diet eat less and weigh less than fledglings that are capable of forgaging but are fed in response to active begging. The foragers stop foraging when they are no longer hungry, resulting in a bird that is taking in nutrition only when it is hungry. The beggers also stop foraging when they are no longer hungry, but they still beg at every opportunity, resulting in a bird that forages to satiation, and then takes in additional nutrition.
I saw anywhere from 25-50% difference in weight between the chicks I continued hand-feeding regular food in addition to their vitamins, vs those I hand-fed only the vitamin supplements. The continued hand-feeding chicks also had fewer stress marks on the feathers that continued growing after fledging. Once I realized that, I started hand-feeding all of the fledglings for a longer period of time. I like to try and stack the Deck of Natural Selection in their favor before releasing them.
Ignore this quasi-scientific blather.
I have had days like this. **yawns** In fact I was having one today, until crashed into a nap. How was your book?