Foundling report

The dove chick seemed to do well in my fenced garden. It couldn't get out through the wide mesh because I had put chicken wire on the bottom 18" of the fence to keep the rabbits out. Emma was very vigilant, making it her duty to check on the baby's whereabouts first thing every morning and then several times a day thereafter. This was not kindness on her part. After all Emma is a bird dog 24/7.

Mom was often seen feeding the chick and after a few days there was no more sign of it. No body or other evidence of foul (fowl!) play. Looks like the baby got its wings and flew off with mother. As an aside, the morning after I first discovered the foundling I also found two other chicks just outside the dog pen wire. These guys were evidently more advanced than their sibling, because when I approached them they flew off into a nearby cottonwood. It wasn't an elegant flight, but it did the job.

Emma still circles the fence looking for the chick, but she is about to give that up in favor of more profitable patrols.