The babies are ready to fly the coop!

It never fails to amaze me how quickly these little one's grow and get nourished by Mom in such a short time span only to leave both Mom and me.  The more litters I raise the sweeter they all become and the harder it is to say goodbye even though I am certain the little one's are going to great and loving fur-ever homes.  They start out so small and delicate with soft little white quills that begin to harden within hours of the birth and for the next two to four weeks the colours begin to define themselves.  The bands begin to show up on the quills, the personalities begin to form and Mom is scolding and nursing and chasing until its time to fly the coop!

  Of course flying the coop isn't always so easy, after all they have had the company of our siblings, and the fierce protection of Mom, and the intervention of the human touch.  The ritual of baths, and introduction to the common things we will face in our new fur-ever homes such as the exercise wheel, which at first step makes us uneasy and dizzy with all that swinging from simply stepping foot on the contraption.  Then there is the dreaded trimming of the nails and the introduction to the litter box... do they really expect us to remember all of this?  The rollover and crashing from anointing and climbing and re-climbing because we didn't get it quite right the first go around, the squabbling for just the right spot inside the nest for comfort and warmth, and the exploring of the cage to see what on earth all the commotion is about with the siblings squealing in delight at their finds of crickets and meal worms and some strange thing dripping water at the touch of a tongue!  Imagine... all this and with much love and cuddles to!

Yes, flying the coop has many parts to its adventure, many parts which sadden us, make us smile, and make us grow up to be strong, healthy and ready to go to our new fur-ever homes.  It isn't without saying thank you and goodbye to our human who introduces us to all of these things, and it is the human who takes us to a new home who reaches out to the first one sending updates and warming photo's of how we grow up to be big girls and boys.  We will miss you Mom & me!

The Hedgie Whisperers Team