Black Stork Nest In Karula 2023.

[Anne7]

.
Welcome little #4!
You look good.




There are now 4 beautiful and strong chicks on the nest!

May all go well and may the little cuties thrive.

[Swenja]

11:47 The little chicks are hungry.
Kaia gives some porridge. The chicks try to take some of it. #4 is sleeping.







She has no more food.

[Swenja]

12:21 Karl II is here. Greeting and Kaia talks. She flies away.
The chicks are sleeping and Karl II wakes them up.

Karl II gives them fish in two servings. The bigger chicks eat well. #4 is not to be seen.





The smallest one can't reach the food and is sandwiched between the siblings.



edit: Karl II may want to do a separate feeding for #4. Wait what happens.

[Jo UK]

Kaia's behaviour towards chick 3 caused me to have a closer look at that chick. In Anne's picture
https://up.picr.de/45776133cl.png and
https://up.picr.de/45776134ig.png it is clear to see that chick 3 is a different colour - rather pink. Maybe Kaia knows something that we don't know. Perhaps she is not happy to have a pink black stork chick in the nest. Someone, somewhere must know more about this situation.

[asteria]

But today Kaia didn't do anything bad to the third chick and fed them all. The third one was almost red right after hatching, probably the process was too long. The fourth one hatched a bit faster.

[Swenja]

13:00 separate feeding
#4 is full.

[Swenja]

Maybe Kaia knows something that we don't know. Perhaps she is not happy to have a pink black stork chick in the nest. Someone, somewhere must know more about this situation.

Kaia was also very restless the night before and stayed close to the nest all night. She did not go foraging and came to the nest at dawn.
It may well be that something was wrong when #3 hatched and Kaia was very worried.
According to this thought, her behaviour was an expression of concern. It could be that she examined #3 yesterday.

[Anne7]

Kaia's behaviour towards chick 3 caused me to have a closer look at that chick. In Anne's picture
https://up.picr.de/45776133cl.png and
https://up.picr.de/45776134ig.png it is clear to see that chick 3 is a different colour - rather pink. Maybe Kaia knows something that we don't know. Perhaps she is not happy to have a pink black stork chick in the nest. Someone, somewhere must know more about this situation.

Hello Jo

Yes, and #3 looked really all brownish/pinkish just after hatching.
The colour reminded me of diluted blood.



It was a difficult and long hatching. The chick was completely exhausted.
Who can say what caused this unusual colour?
Maybe the chick was (slightly) stuck to the egg membrane?
Maybe there was a (small) bleeding inside the egg?
Perhaps from the network of blood vessels that line the inner surface of the shell?
Edit: Or perhaps the chick’s abdomen was not yet fully enclosed and blood vessels were not yet completely blocked off?


I read:
"... Before starting to break out of the egg the chick has three things it must accomplish. It must first switch from being dependent on the oxygen diffusing through the pores in the eggshell into the network of blood vessels that line the inner surface of the shell and start to use its own lungs to breathe. The chick takes its first proper breath and fills its lungs the moment it punctures the air cell inside the top of the egg. …
Before it takes that first breath, the chick has to start shutting off the blood supply to the network of blood vessels that line the inner surface of the shell, and withdraw that blood into its body. ..."


And also this:
How to Tell if a Chick Needs Help Hatching
...
Soft Abdomen - A chick’s abdomen is closing and absorbing the yolk sac up until minutes within of hatching.
When you help a chick hatch, you run the risk of severing blood vessels or helping the chick out before its
abdomen has fully closed and healed, resulting in blood loss or soft abdomen issues.
Bleeding - Due to the abdomen not being fully enclosed and blood vessels not being completely blocked off,
helping a chick hatch may result in excess bleeding which can injure or kill the chick.
...
https://www.thepioneerchicks.com/how-to ... eeds-help-hatching/#:~:text=If%20you%20see%20blood%2C%20STOP!&text=The%20chick%20is%20not%20ready,chick%20may%20still%20be%20okay.


As Asteria wrote:

It is good that the third storklet hatched and spent the whole night while Karl II was in the nest. If Kaia is suspicious regarding the chick now, who knows what would she think when it was dark pink.

[Anne7]

Kaia was also very restless the night before and stayed close to the nest all night. She did not go foraging and came to the nest at dawn.
It may well be that something was wrong when #3 hatched and Kaia was very worried.
According to this thought, her behaviour was an expression of concern. It could be that she examined #3 yesterday.

Yes, Swenja.


I have the impression that #3 fortunately recovered very well.

[Swenja]

13:48 Karl II tries to form a dome over the babies with his body.

[Swenja]

14:07 feeding
But only one chick is hungry. I think it is #2.

[balistar]

everyone

and happy welcome little #4

What a joy to see these 4 heads this morning

05.00.54


At this beautiful sight, the song band "Talking Heads" came to my mind - they were also 4 - with their song
"Once in a Lifetime", which sings about the steady flow of life, its impermanence and its miracle in general.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IsSpAOD6K8


05.01.09

[balistar]

Back again, regarding #3....

....
Who can say what caused this unusual colour?
Maybe the chick was (slightly) stuck to the egg membrane?
....

I would like to come back to this, perhaps it should not be completely ignored ?

...
Hatching when the hatchling is on its backside is pretty hard. The little one is completely exhausted.
And it only had a small opening to come out. The remaining half of the eggshell is not a slightly larger half as usual, but more than a good 2/3:

20.55.59
https://up.picr.de/45771307ta.jpg
...

From my observations, #3 has been lying on his back for the entire hatching process since the lid was off. From this position to emerge from the egg, with arching of the entire upper body on and on - like doing situps in the supine position - is incredibly exhausting.
How long it was already in that position before we could see the hatching process we cannot say.

20.33.14 - June 3rd


It may be that this also had an influence on the "pinkishness".
Must not, are just my 2 ct of consideration

[Anne7]

I would like to come back to this, perhaps it should not be completely ignored ?

From my observations, #3 has been lying on his back for the entire hatching process since the lid was off. From this position to emerge from the egg, with arching of the entire upper body on and on - like doing situps in the supine position - is incredibly exhausting.

It may be that this also had an influence on the "pinkishness".
Must not, are just my 2 ct of consideration

Hello Balistar

I fully agree!
Thank you.

[balistar]

Thank YOU, Anne


edit: when I do situps, the blood rushes also violently into the capillaries all over my body

[Swenja]

15:28 feeding for #1 and #2.
#3 and #4 sit in the second row.







It is almost impossible to visually tell the two oldest chicks apart.

[balistar]

....
#3 and #4 sit in the second row.
....

unlike us humans 'the little ones to the front'

soon, very soon, the little ones will forcefully force their way forward

[Swenja]

soon, very soon, the little ones will forcefully force their way forward

Hello @balistar
Yes, that would also be very desirable.
Perhaps KarlII will soon have a seating arrangement for the chicks again.
Last year Iks always sat in the middle front and the other two next to him and a little behind him at this time of intense feeding. That was impressive, because they rarely deviated from it.

[Swenja]

16:26 Karl II gives some food.
#4 went away empty-handed.

[Swenja]

16:45 Kaia is at home. Greeting.



Don't step on the babies!


Karl II flies away quickly.

Kaia looks like she has a lot of food on her.