On a very cold night we decided that it would be good for the finches to have a nesting box to keep warm in. They didn't use the box to keep warm but shortly after that they did use it for nesting.
There were three babies who seemed to depart the nest too early. It is possible that the parents of this batch were siblings but we can't be sure.
One baby seems to have found her place in the flock, one was found in the drinking water one morning, she had adopted a floating position but I assume hypothermia got her. I have never seen a bird get stuck in a water bowl before, I'm guessing there was an underlying problem. The third baby, having left the nest, has spent her whole life on the floor of the aviary. She has tended to turn in circles and I thought she always appeared to be happy, although a limited life span would be understandable. Today her head tilt and circle turning has escalated to something resembling mania and it is quite obvious that she is probably suffering. I mentioned it to my son who was the original owner of the birds and he was sarcastic about how the little thing was never "okay" and had I just noticed?
I am not really sure how I came to have responsibility for life & death around here but it seems as though nobody else does.......
(the photo came from google. Our little one is developing adult plumage but looks very similar)
Oh dear.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds as if you are going to face some hard decisions. Which is so unfair, and so familiar.
Good luck.
EC,
ReplyDeleteAfter many pets I have got much better at focussing on the welfare of the critter and keeping my reservations out of it. It can be a little bit ambiguous though.
You are doing your best and you will be blessed.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ramana!
ReplyDeleteTough choice when it comes to animals--will euthanizing them end misery or stop recovery or growth. Generally if my dog has bit them i will end them, she is a spine snapper so if I leave them be they become lunch for the crows, whom I really do like; yet they can hunt without my help.
ReplyDeleteMark,
ReplyDeleteIf it was a choice of ending an animal's life or leaving them to the crows I hope I would find the guts to finish them. I certainly don't envy you that job.
Sometimes I see a story about some animal who has been abused dreadfully and is being nursed back to health and while I admire the efforts of the rescuers, I often think it is asking too much of the poor thing to carry on.
Kylie, how can you reconcile this suffering with your belief in a all-loving deity? I wish I could, but even more than the lack of positive evidence for such a deity, I’m stymied by my awareness of innocent suffering. The preachers used to tell me that God would someday make all things right, but how can even God made undeserved suffering right?
ReplyDeleteWell Snow,
ReplyDeleteIn this case I blame our management. We thought all the related birds had been separated but they are pretty hard to distinguish and you know, I believe in a loving God but also in one who doesn't necessarily interfere in things.
Of course it's easy to blame ourselves (rightly or wrongly) in this case but there is so much inexplicable suffering and I agree, it doesn't match up with our ideas of a loving God.
In my life the little bits of suffering I have seen were triggers for growth but it's hard to imagine that every suffering being needs it for growth.
I wish I could answer you better but I can't, it's just something I accept because I don't really know how to live without believing in God.