Photo taken late 6.12.2012 - Look at the top of the eggs...one of the two furthermost away is opening!

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6.12.2012 - I had to lock momma out of the nest box to see what was happening in there.

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6.13.2012 - We figure this chick hatched early morning or late yesterday evening and gave mamma and papa till this afternoon to feed her. Upon checking, she was very weak, so we pulled her from the nest. This is not entirely surprising as I had to hand raise Ick when his parents didn't feed him either and his nest mates died. It will be safest to pull the rest the chicks as they hatch and hand raise the upcoming clutch as well.

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The egg tooth is surrounded by a patch of white where the beak is still forming and soft.

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Cute!!

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Teeny tiny! Hard to believe this wee one will grow into a parrot the size of Ick!

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When parrot chicks hatch, their beaks are as soft as tissue, and the lower beak appears to be almost "lip" like.

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Hard to remember Ick ever being this small!

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There may or may not be four more in the next day or so. Cross your fingers!

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If you look closely, you can see Davinci's little tongue. The end of the tongue in African Grays is void of glands and usually dry. Though, their mouths are not entirely dry as they produce some saliva. They have salivary glands around the base of the tongue, all around, front and back and in the soft palate in the roof of the mouth, near the back.

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When first hatched 6.14.2012, Davinci was merely 4 grams on the scale. Today 6.25.2012 he is 50 grams.

We are crushed the other chick didn't make it, but glad Davinci is doing so well. Growing faster than I remember Ick at this point...but hey, my brain is old and forgetful

Don't parrot chicks have the cutest/funniest/oddest little bodies!

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A couple rubber gloves filled with hot water sit under the washrag in the bottom half of a gallon mayonnaise jar with the baby food jar on top. Toilet paper swaddles the little chick much like his mother would with her wings and keeps him clean, or so is the goal with this set up.

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Taken 6.28.2012 - Davinci is now holding his head up and taking a few steps.

That is an air pocket in his full crop. It's caused in young birds by either bacteria or the amount of air they swallow during feeding. In this case, it's air; caused by shaking the syringe before feeding, to evenly distribute the heated formula after setting it in a cup of hot water.

One of the greatest fears when feeding young chicks is burning a hole in their gullet, fixable (albeit costly) with surgery. All it takes is one tiny hot spot in the formula to cause a gullet hole, which is why you need to shake it well before feeding.

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Davinci has been a much more laid back chick than Ick was. Here, he has tumbled and rather than struggle to get back up, is waiting for his mommy to right him.

The claws on Dav's feet are hardening now and turning a dark gray as is his beak.

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Much like kittens and puppies, the nose of a parrot chick will bulge, and then lengthen as his head developes.

Davi's left eye now opens. It seems earlier than Ick's did.

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Suddenly too big for the baby food jar, Davi's nest is now just the bottom half of a gallon mayonnaise jar.

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6.30.2012 - If you look close, you can see Davi's skin taking on a gray hue in a few places and the beginnings of the gray down that will replace the white fluff he now spots. The skin over his eyes has thickened and is losing it's transparency, and his ear openings are well developed.

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Davi has reached that stage of alertness that he brightens considerably when he sees me now.

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A simple touch on the side of a chicks mouth elicits a natural need to beg. Very cute!!!!

This pic was taken 7.4.2012 - not even a week since Davi's skin started turning color. Lots of new barbs of gray down coming through now. This is probably the last we will see of his white down.

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Any pressure against Davi's crp and food is easily squished back up. You can tell from the expression on his face it's not a pleasant experience. My bad!!

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7.4.2012 - two & 1/2 weeks old. You can still see Davi's egg tooth near the end of his beak, but his skin has all but lost the translucency it once had. His feet are looking more "parrot" like and are beginning to grip "at" things too.

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Anyone who says birds don't have expressions doesn't know birds. I have have seen mine smile, laugh and grimace. Amazingly enough, Davi has a different demeanor and "look" than Ick did at this age.

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7.6.2012 - Today, Davi sleeps on a layered bed of wash rags lined with soft toilet paper.

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Davi will be three weeks old tomorrow. Look at how big his feet have become!

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Yes, parrot babies are homely, but it's that homeliness that makes them oh so cute & lovable too!

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A parrot chicks lower beak naturally has a wide scoop shape to it, that allows for easier filling/feeding. As the chicks grow and develop, they grow into the scoop, lessening it's scoop shape.

The upper and lower beak on a bird are separate beaks co-joined by tissue and muscle. This allows the bird to open it's mouth very wide, or close it tight.

A bird's eye is very tightly fitted into its skull and it is capable of very little movement, therefore birds can often be seen moving their heads in order to change their visual relationship to something. In most birds the eyes are placed much nearer the sides of the head than in humans. This gives the bird a greater overall field of view, but greatly reduces its binocular vision (the area in which both eyes can see an object).

Getting up every hour and a half is paying off (even if it's wearing this granny out), that's for sure! Look at this size comparison from one day to three weeks of age:

Ick is full grown now, so I had to be very careful Ick didn't take a chunk out of Davi, but the introduction went very well.

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Ick had no idea what Davi was asking him to do, but he knew he was supposed to do something...a very cute moment!

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In turn, Davi was flapping his wings as if to say "Look big brother, see what I can do!"

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Hard to believe that just three days ago, he was so much smaller:

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I wonder if Ick remembers this....

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Ick developed a full coat of gray down before the sharp barbs of quills began to develop, but Davi seems to be developing much faster. His skin is now a combination of gray and pink with very little translucency left.

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You can still see the egg tooth near the end of Davi's beak. See the little ridge that upturns on the bottom of Davi's beak near the end? That is the original beak line when he was hatched. It gives you a good idea how much he's grown.

Davi eats 19 CC's of formula now and seems to take it all in two gulps, stopping only to take a breath once while greedily swallowing his meal down. He would eat much more if I let him, but the little guy wouldn't have a place to store it.

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To properly train a parrot, your goal is to ensure a very handle-able bird. It is easiest on them if you start doing things with them when still very young. Here, Davi was gently laid on his back and then allowed to quickly right himself. The lack of restraint in this process builds his confidence that being handled in odd ways is no big deal, laying the groundwork for future tricks he will learn.

This is a good photo to explain some of Davi's anatomy. See his winghand? You can see what it is by the protruding "thumb". Just before that, his wrist is fused with the hand to form a single unit. This is because movement in a birds wing is sacrificed for flight stability. Only a few finger digits remain in a birds winghand, with the alula (what that bone is called in avian terms) representing the remnant of the thumb.

Near Davi's shoulder is his clavicular air sac. With Davi's feathers growning in so fast, it won't be long before this part of his features are no longer view-able.

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Bird wings are more than just flying instruments. They also help a bird maintain balance, mate, and threaten its enemies. Davi has just up-righted himself and this shot caught the split second instant of Davi gaining his balance.

You have a good view of Davi's clavicular air sac's here. Air sacs are a unique feature to birds. Most birds have four paired air sacs plus a single unpaired sac for a total of nine. The air sacs are membranous and thin walled (only a few cells thick), and perform several functions including; acting as air reservoirs by holding and expelling air, controlling body heat (through evaporation cooling), moistening air, cushioning the subcutaneous body layer, providing buoyancy in water birds, aiding some birds with vocalization and assisting courtship displays.

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OK, so I am mom - Davi is an adorable little chick in my eyes. There is something about babies that touch all our hearts regardless of their origin (well, maybe not snakes), but truth is, parrot chicks must be the homeliest, most awkward and odd looking of all God's baby creatures...with the exception of robin chicks and moles (poor little things!!):

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Huge considering that Davinci just turned one month old and Icarus only weighs 1 lb 1 ounce = 17 ounces at 11 months of age.

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Davi eats two full syringes full of formula each feeding, and sleeps four hours at a time during the night now. He still eats every two hours during the day. Here he is in the same little nest box - hard to believe he was in the baby food container posted below.....just eleven days ago!

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It happened almost overnight!

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Davinci is very alert now and developing a strong personality. A little less trustful or the world around him than Ick was, Davi is also more affectionate if that's even possible. You can tell in this picture that he is struggling to get as close to my hand as possible to cuddle, pushing with his big feet (with lots of sweet lovable cooing), while I am simply trying to get him to stand up lol.

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Ick grew his gray down in first, then once he was fully covered in the new down, grew in his feathers. Davi, on the other hand, is growing both at the same time.

Looking up close to his wing, you can see the lacy fine down quills mixed in with the thicker and courser feather quills. As the down and feathers develop, they push out of the quill ends, making for a lovely blend of fluffy soft light gray down and very dark, blackish gray feather tips.

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Davi's head feathers are coming in; looking odd and prickly with the surrounding gray fluff down his neck. He is far more developed than Ick at this age. Perhaps because Ick was two days old and very weak before I realized he had to be taken from the nest.

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Only 1 2/3 ounces and Davi will be the same size as Ick.

See the difference in eye color between the two? Chicks always have dark eyes and only with age, develop the soft golden hue seen in adult grays. Ick is "pinning" his eyes in this photo. That's when he makes his pupils get smaller and larger. Eye pinning can mean a number of things and is one of the many ways parrots use to communicate with each other. Pinning can show a bird is irritated, happy or in this case, bonding. Ick is so in love that it's ultra sweet to watch the two together. They have to be under full supervision together however, as one extra playful nip by Ick and Davi could be toast.

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Davinci's literally quaking from his quilled little head to the tips of his toenails to beg for food and attention. It must be the cutest thing ever...triggered when you gently touch the sides of his beak, Davi's head will bob up and down naturally, in a begging mechanism designed to make you feed him. All chicks do it to some degree or another, and Davi is no exception.

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Davi feels very bristly and almost "crunchy" at this point, covered in quills under that soft down of gray. It's made him a bit cranky to be touched in places, as they hurt when breaking through his skin, much like a teething baby hurts when his teeth come in.

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....yes, that claw is sharp and hurts! Davi is a little less secure than Ick was at this age, even though he's been handled and raised very much the same. You can tell from his expression that Davi is concerned about hanging on...tightly as possible. This is not overly concerning, but good to be aware of. Like children, birds come with different natures and personalities. When you notice a problem like insecurity, you simply do things that will provide more security until your baby is ready for greater challenges.

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Notice the feathers? It won't be long before Davi is fully feathered!

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The quills are popping out all over now...see them along the top of his back and along his neck and chest. Ick never seemed to notice the quills while Davi is itchy all day from them.

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The arrow points at Davinci's winghand, hidden under the growth of budding feathers. Below, you can see how Davi's feathers are literally blossoming out from the quills.

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Davi truly enjoys his preliminary flights these days, though he still hangs on for dear life. Keeping my hands fully around him seems to help build up his confidence, but we are taking it slow just the same.

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I stacked four images (taken one right after the other) in this animation to show you a bit of Davinci's fun personality. One silly bird, that's for sure!

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Davi looks like he is saying "You want me to what?"

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Davi will start loosing weight soon, as his wings start doing what bird wings do. Healthy young baby birds are round, chubby and cute, with fat toes and wing tips. They must burn off this baby fat in order to spread their wings and lift themselves into the air to fly (fledge). They practice by flapping their wings so hard that they scoot across the floor in a line or in circles. It won't be long now.

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Davi scratched his eye, and kept making it worse until I fashioned this home made collar from a milk jug. Poor little boyd had to wear it for a week before his eye healed.

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