Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Please Pray for Christopher Beets

Please take 5 minutes to pray for this child.






Friday, November 20, 2009

African Grey Parrot Babies Develop Feathers




Our African Grey parrot chicks are nearly 5 weeks old now. They have grown by the hour and I think doubled in size during the last week. They are eating well and this week started to develop feathers.




Even the red tail feathers, unique to the Congo African Grey start to show.




The parrot chicks enjoy stretching their legs and simulating flight by flapping their wings - causing mayhem in the brooded as wood shavings fly all over the place. As mentioned in the previous post, they discovered their voices and now they tend to "talk" to the person feeding them (Especially if the porridge is not provided quickly enough.)




You will notice the eyes are fully open and trust me, they see quite well. The eyes will turn more yellow as the African Grey parrot matures and the black eyes are a dead giveaway for a young parrot.


Tuesday, November 17, 2009

African Grey Chicks - 28 Days Old




The African Grey Parrot babies are growing by the hour. Feeds are now 4 hours apart - yah! More sleep, but they are cute as buttons. Each one of the African Grey chicks has his own personality and feeding time turns into playtime for them.


The photo's show the oldest hatchling after a feed, stretching those legs that must support him for the rest of his life and exercising the wings (not that those small wings would ever support the likes of the round body).


Since three days ago, they are fluffy little creatures and both discovered they have voices. Night time feeds tends to get a bit noisy and I predict the one sleeping would soon be awaken by the antics of the baby parrots.


Dont' you also want one?



From Baby African Greys

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Pictures of African Grey Parrot Chicks

Here is a few pictures I took today of the African Grey Parrot babies. They are now 24 days old and growing by the hour. Note the feathers starting on the wings. We added some soft toys for them to cuddle up against and they seem to enjoy the company.








 

 

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Man Eaten by Snake- True or Not?

I received this via e-mail today and thought I would share it with you. Don't know if it's true or the details thereof. If anyone else knows the true story I would appreciate you sharing with us.







  
 

Anyone has an idea what really happened? 

Monday, November 9, 2009

African Grey Chicks are 22 Days Old

Feeding times are now every three hours and we're getting some more sleep. The African Grey chicks are growing by the centimeter every day. It is amazing to see the amount of small feathers they gain every day. Their heads pop up over the brim of the Tupper container and they can hardly wait for each feed.



Due to these little babies, we now had to cancel our holiday planned for December with the in-laws. Not that I am complaining, we can always take the tour next year, but the babies will not survive without some tender loving care.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

African Grey Parrot Babies Sit Up

Some more photo's of the African Grey parrot babies taken yesterday the 4th of November 2009.




They are trying to sit upright, but still have trouble balancing. The chicks rock back and forth - hence the out of focus parts of the photos.



I hope you will find them as adorable as I do.

African Grey Chicks Are 17 Days Old

The African Grey parrot chicks are now 17 days old and have been in the brooder for the last 3 days. They require feeding every two and a half hours and it feels like I have a newborn baby in the house again.


From Baby African Greys


As you can see, they grew tremendously during the last ten days and they are now able to sit upright during feeds and move around in the plastic container we keep them in. On the small segment of video, you'll notice the color in the brooder to be funny. I had to use night vision on the camera as the infrared lights gives the picture a too reddish tint. The eyes of the African Grey chicks are sensitive and the harsh white light used to warm the brooders may damage them.

The eyes are just starting to open and they are definitely able to hear and distinguish between different sounds. Upon entering the breeding room, they will lie quietly until they hear the chair in front of the breeder scrape. During the past three days they have come to recognize the sound as being associated with feeding time.

Each baby consumes approximately 7.5ml of formula during every feed and they are cute as buttons when they sit bold upright after a feed to allow the food to digest. Even without feathers they both "groom" the little plumage (and there really isn't much to see) like their adult counterparts.

They start to make noises during and after feeding and even at this early stage there is no mistaking them for any other bird than a parrot.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

How Do You Keep Faith in Yourself?



I came accross a blogpost today of Keith Smith with the apt title of "Keep your faith and your doubts will starve to death!"

The title alone made me want to read more as the amount of faith I have in my own abilities directly correlates to the amount of sleep I get per night. At least, that is what I realized after 3 nights of very little sleep.

As you know from the previous posts, I am participating in the challenge to write a 50 000 word novel in the month of November as well as writing 30 articles for Suite 101 in the same time. That alone is enough to cause sleep deprivation, but to top it all up, we have two African Grey Chicks in the brooder (2 weeks old) that demands feeding every two and a half hours. Sigh...I feel every bone of my 40-plus body. Bloodshot eyes staring back at you from a wrinkled, devoid of make-up face at 6 am when you went to bed at 2 am is not a pretty sight. No, don't try it, take my word for it.

The chicks are doing great, by the way, and I,m sure they grew a couple of centimeters since Sunday when we removed them from the nest. They are adorable and even at this early stage, each one has its own personality.

But I regress from the issue at hand. Keeping faith in yourself when doubts in your abilities surface, is a daunting task. Keith Smith offers a simple solution - faith in yourself = conquering your fears of inadequacy. He suggests just grinding your teeth and getting on with the job at hand until your fears disappear. Good advice?

What if you really aren't good enough to do what you set out to do? What if you really don't have it in you to write that book or finish a task you started? What if...

How will you know if you don't try and stick to it? I don't know, but I am sure going to give it my best shot.

How do you keep faith in yourself?