Parenthood

Not sure what was going on here.  There seemed to be a stalemate as to whose turn it was to feed the hatchlings or what the diet would be.   Mom had a mealworm, Dad had a seed.  They danced around the top of the sparrow guard above the nest box for quite a while like this.  Ultimately he went in first.  I guess it was his turn. 

I was able to check the nest box this morning and found that two chicks have hatched.  The parents have been in and out of the box all day.  They get very stressed when I am in that area of the yard, so I have stayed away for the most part, which wasn’t difficult because it is quite cold, dark and damp.  Oh, but I do love watching them. 

I  now understand why some folks farm their own mealworms.  I went in search of some live ones today and purchased 1000.  That may sound like a lot but it is just two very small containers which will probably only last a few days. I bought the last two containers from the only place that had them and experienced sticker shock—$8/container!  So I am definitely going to become a farmer.  I have even been admitted to the Mealworm Farming Facebook Group, thanks to Mealworm Farming veteran Sefferdog, so I guess that makes me official.