ABC's of May: B is for......

B is for....... Baby birds.

Now how could it be for anything else! :) As of this morning we still only have 2 baby parakeets, but I wouldn't be surprised if we have a 3rd by this evening.

I took a couple of pictures, but Rosy is very protective and won't leave the nest box so you can only see about half of the babies.


To put a little perspective on their size. The eggs are about the size of a dime. The bigger baby (the one where you can only see it's little butt sticking out) is approximately the size of a quarter, it is only 3 days old and it has already doubled in size. The smaller baby (the one where you can only see it's little head) is 2 days old and about the size of a nickle. In a few days I will take baby 1 out of the nest box and get a better picture.

When they turn 2 weeks old, I will remove them from their parents and handfeed them. I do this for a couple of reasons. 1.) Through past experience, I have found that babies taken at 2 weeks are much friendlier than those left for 4 weeks. 2.) The time that I left the babies for 4 weeks, my male bird worked himself to death taking care of the mama bird and 5 babies. I don't want that to happen to Rodney, so I will take the responsibility of raising them.

I really enjoy handfeeding. It really isn't all that hard. It is time consuming, but it only lasts for 4 short weeks. The worst part is the first week. They need to be fed every 2 hours. It seems that during the first week, I will have just gotten everything cleaned up and it's time to start the process of making the formula and feeding them all over again. With each passing week, though, it gets easier and easier. They are able to go for longer periods of time between feedings. By the time the babies are 6 weeks old, they are completely weaned and eating seed and other foods.

Here is a picture of the daddy bird, Rodney.

Matthew 6:26-27
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

Blessed.

I really am very blessed. Sometimes, when I am feeling down I forget how truly blessed I am. I have a wonderful family, a nice home, good friends, and a God who supplies all our needs in abundance.

I have a pastor/friend who preached a sermon one time on God's blessings. He said that he hates the word "luck" and refuses to use it, he said "I am blessed, luck has nothing to do with it." I couldn't agree more.

How many times do people say..."boy was that lucky", or "good luck". "Luck" has become a common vernacular in our society. If you really think about it though, there is no such thing as luck. Everything that happens to me, good or bad, is under the sovereign control of God. Everything I have is a gift and a blessing from God.

Even the bad things happen because God allowed them to happen, and I believe that ultimately those things will turn out to be for my good. When I am in the middle of the "bad", it is really hard to see what good could possibly come from it. I have been through some really bad times, and for some of them, God has allowed me to see the good that ultimately came from those bad times. Other things that have happened, I can't clearly see the good that came from it. I think that when it is all said and done, God allows bad things to happen to draw us closer to Him. I know that if I had lived a "charmed" life, I would not be able to see the need for God as clearly as I do today. I am able to see the greatness of God, and I am able to appreciate His blessings more.

Psalms 33:12
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance."