Aren't They So Cute?!!

The newest additions to our everchanging small zoo!  This is what happens when Dave takes a day off....he and Adam go buy some critters somewhere!

These aren't just any 'ol rats either....they're "Fancy Rats"....heehee....actually they are very sweet and surprisingly love to be with people.....(what do you think now Laura?!)

Cortana is the one on the left.  Saphira is on the right.  Bonus points for whomever can guess where their names came from.  Hint: Adam named them.

Ellie Boo

Here is the news on the newest member of the Ruff Family; Ellie Boo

She was a stray, visiting the homes in our neighborhood, being fed here and there. She is black but in the sun light looks as if she has dark brown stripes. Our neighbor Shelli said one day she saw Adam in the backyard and "that black kitty jumped the fence and went and sat on his lap!" He'd carry her around like a football and she would just hang there. The girls gave her a little food and from then on she wouldn't leave our yard. We spent the next week and a half trying to find her owner. We scoured the Internet for lost pet postings, put up a sign at the local grocery store, and even went to the Vet to see if she was micro-chipped. At one point we thought we found her owners, but that turned out to be a dead end.
From the moment she first came over she began to woo us with her charms. She was very attentive and cuddly; like a dog. You'd call her and she'd come. (By this time the girls had already named her) She'd roll over and let you rub her belly. Most precious of all; she would jump up, keeping her hind legs on the ground, grab your hand with both paws and rub her face on your hand. And when you hold her in your arms, she takes her paws and puts them on both sides of your face. She knew what she was doing! She was picking us to be her family! I finally asked Dave to make the decision to keep her or not. I am allergic to cats so she couldn't be in the house, but having her be an outside kitty in the elements made me sad. What made me even sadder was the prospect of taking her to the pound. He made the final decision and now we have a cat.
The last two weeks we have been taking care of her and setting her up to live a healthy life. We found a vet and had her vaccinated and micro-chipped. Poor thing, being a stray we didn't know her medical history, so she had like 6 shots that day. She had tummy worms and ear mites too, so we took care of those. This last Monday she was spayed...it seems she had a litter of kittens earlier this year...luckily we got her spayed in time. My kind-hearted husband spent all last Saturday making her two cat houses; one for outside on the back porch and a heated one for in the garage. The girls painted them to match the house and we placed an "E" above the door- ways.
Ellie finally has....a HOME

Black Kitty in box #13

She was very attentive as Dave made her homes.

"A righteous man regards the life of his animal..." Proverbs 12:10a

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The birdies are growing up! Here they are, about to molt their baby feathers. You can see their beaks beginning to turn orange.

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Two of the fledgling have left the nest! We are curious as to the final color & sex of the baby birds. One of the babies is dirty snow white while the others are dark grey. They all seem well & happy! The fledgling are trying to sing "their" song which is pretty funny to listen to. Beeps likened the tune & pitch to "knuckle down buckle down do it do it do it"....if you know the tune to that song. LOL The fledgling will still be dependent on their parents for the next 6 weeks. As you can see in the top picture, Duchess, who is on the right, has bird seed stuck to her bill.

Sorry it has taken awhile to post new pictures. The birds have been hard to photograph all stuffed in their birthing nest.

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The baby birds are getting so big! I can't believe how fast they grow. The first picture is 6 days old & the second picture is 1 day old. It's hard to photograph them now when their just a big ball of feathers!

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The Baby Birds have arrived! They hatched on my sister's birthday, the 10th, while we were away. All but one made it so we have 4 little zebra finches. They're pretty funny looking with a grey feathery mohawk and a pink body. They are about the size of your thumbnail.

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Thomas O'Malley and Duchess have decided that their nest is complete with 5 eggs.

We'll let you know when they hatch!

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.....& now there are more! 2 + 2 = 4!

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Beeps has the most beautiful pair of Zebra Finches who have decided it's time to raise a family. As of this morning she has laid two eggs!