On March 2, 2001, Piper and Luna became parents of a bouncing baby chick! Here are some pictures; we hope to document the whole process here for your interest and edification.
If you're interested in cockatiel breeding in general, there are lots of good sites on the Web. I particularly like this one: http://www.just_for_the_birdz.homestead.com/Cockatiel.html.
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| Luna, ready to take us all on. | Laura listens to the little peeping noises. | The first baby, Day 1, March 2, 2001 |
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| March 3, 2001; Day 2, with two little dinosaurs | March 3, 8:26 PM, EST: Another little guy! That's 3! | March 4, And now there are four. We think this is the final hatching. |
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| Day 4; The coin is an American quarter. Look how they've grown compared to the eggs! | Day 5 | Day 5 |
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| Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 |
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| Day 8; We were suprised by the appearance of a new hatchling from what we thought was an infertile egg. But he's too weak to compete for food and he's obviously dying. | Day 8; The four older birds are getting huge | Day 9; It looks like the new guy is dead. |
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| Day 12; Compare this baby to the picture from Day 8. I swear we can hear them growing. | Day 12; Baby #1 is getting gray feathers, and has a little stiff crest just beginning. | Day 13; what a handful! Notice the little mohawk on the second guy from the right. |
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| Day 16; "I AM GIGANTOR!" | Day 16; "I am Fleeber." | Day 16; "I am Deeber." |
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| Day 16; "I am Li'l Puny." | Day 18: "Little Puny, getting bigger." | Day 18: Mr. Dan (Formerly Deeber) |
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| Day 18: Fleeber; look at those cheeks! | Day 18: Gigantor, losing his advantage. | Day 18: A family portrait. |
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| Day 22: Mr. Dan again. | Day 22: Mr. Dan. What do you think, cinnamon? | Day 22: Gigantor. Compare his color to Dan's. |
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| Day 22: Fleeber is going to be pearl, I think. | Day 22: Fleeber again. Pearl, I'm almost sure. | Day 22: "They call me MISTER Puny!". |
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| Day 22: Little Puny is very small, and awfully sweet. | Day 30: A family portrait. L to R: Gigantor, Dan, Puny and Fleeber. | Day 30: Another family grouping, with Puny on the end this time. |
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| Day 30: The line up! Luna at the front, Piper, Fleeber and Gigantor | Day 30: A picnic! The babies try eating their own food. Mom and Dad show them how. | Day 30: Listen to Mom, you guys. She knows best. |
Click on a thumbnail to see a larger picture.
If you want to see ALL the pictures, uncropped and unscaled, try this link for the whole story.