Seagull chick

Having spent a couple of weeks giving Dougal some major stick, Sweety is now quite happy to lie down next to him. Dougal doesn't seem to mind. Giving Dougal his due - he never retaliated.

We should have seen this as a bit of a sign since yesterday 10th of July 2009, Sweety showed signs of struggling to breathe. He was dragging breaths in through a wide open beak and his tail was bobbing. Looking on the web it appeared he had contracted air sacculitis or some other, similar, unpronounceable thing. This morning we found Sweety dead in his little house. We expected it but it was still a shock as we’d hoped we would have had time to nurse him through it. He was incredibly light and we think he might have had it some time, possibly from when he stopped harassing the dog. He wasn’t so full of life and the downward trend was rapid. He had lost all the weight he had gained since being with us. I’ve included some video below to celebrate his short but happy little life.

As an update, I've discovered that he probably came to us with the disease since it takes some time to take hold and become apparent. It's taken me a while to get over his passing. Although he was only with us a short time he was such a character that he instantly entered our hearts and was considered a family member. I sincerely hope that he enjoyed his extra three and a half weeks with us for surely he would have died the night I found him if I hadn't picked him up. God bless you Sweety.

Below is a video celebrating his short but happy little life. I hope the video portrays him as happy.
I will do something about that music at some point.

I was cycling home the other week (16th June 2009) when I saw a little gray chick on the cycle path. Well, I say little, it was about the size of a small pigeon but a chick none-the-less. He seemed lost and was wandering around aimlessly and at times just stood there. I couldn’t see his parents and neither was there a place for a nest since the marshlands were some distance away. I phoned my other half and we agreed it would be best to take him in and rear him ourselves. When I picked him up he was in the process of trying to get through the fence that led on to the motorway. The poor soul was as light as a feather and nothing more than a bag of bones. He hadn’t eaten in quite some time and must have walked a good mile or two from where he should have been. We’ve been feeding him on raw fish and mealworms and he’s putting weight on quite nicely. He’s averaging 15 grams every two days and he’s as sprightly as can be and quite friendly. He loves splashing around in a bowl of water and is now learning how to kick his legs to swim. He’s even exercising his wings - and they are huge! About another 4-5 weeks and he’ll be old enough to fledge. Here’s some photographs and videos. I hope the video works. I’ll keep posting his progress as he gets older.

During his first week with us.	During his second week with us.

The picture above and above right shows Sweety on his first day with us.

This was Sweety at the end of his first week with us.	Here you see him in the middle of his second week with us. He's coming along nicely and growing fast.

The pictures above show Sweety at the end of his third week with us. As you can see, he's grown a great deal in such a short time. It is astonishing how fast small animals grow.

Having spent a couple of weeks giving Dougal some major stick, Sweety is now quite happy to lie down next to him. Dougal doesn't seem to mind. Giving Dougal his due - he never retaliated. We should have seen this as a bit of a sign since yesterday 10th of July 2009, Sweety showed signs of struggling to breathe. He was dragging breaths in through a wide open beak and his tail was bobbing. Looking on the web it appeared he had contracted air sacculitis or some other, similar, unpronounceable thing. This morning we found Sweety dead in his little house. We expected it but it was still a shock as we’d hoped we would have had time to nurse him through it. He was incredibly light and we think he might have had it some time, possibly from when he stopped harassing the dog. He wasn’t so full of life and the downward trend was rapid. He had lost all the weight he had gained since being with us. I’ve included some video below to celebrate his short but happy little life. As an update, I've discovered that he probably came to us with the disease since it takes some time to take hold and become apparent. It's taken me a while to get over his passing. Although he was only with us a short time he was such a character that he instantly entered our hearts and was considered a family member. I sincerely hope that he enjoyed his extra three and a half weeks with us for surely he would have died the night I found him if I hadn't picked him up. God bless you Sweety. Below is a video celebrating his short but happy little life. I hope the video portrays him as happy. I will do something about that music at some point.

I wanted to see him fly, I wanted to see him soar. I wanted to be proud of him when he took to the sky. I was proud of him anyway.