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OMG!!!!!!How exciting..and thanks for sharing!

No problem!! They are now big enough to be heard outside the box.

Aww, congratulations Christie! Look at those bald little wormy looking babies! Hehe! Best of luck with your precious clutch and to the new momma and poppa!!

Thank you! I banded them today. Hoping that the bands stay on!!! The oldest is getting teenie pin feathers on it's butt, new tail growing. Flights are trying to come in too, you have to look hard though!! Their eyes are tiny slits and getting ready to open.

Here is the first hatched.


Group photos

Awww! They look like little plucked chickens xD

What are those sacs behind their heads? I've never really gotten a good look at a baby bird before.

What you see there is a partially full crop. That is where they store the seeds before digestion. In an older bird, it is smaller and harder to see.

Christie - those are amazing photos!!! Congratulations on their first clutch! Hope they all come through.

Jo

Ohh, Okay! I had thought so but I wasn't exactly sure. That is just too cute. It looks like it serves a double purpose of keeping their necks steady--is that so?

What are the little blue bead lookin things on their beaks? Theyre really cute! How old are they now?

It does seem to keep their necks a little steady, but not much!! lol They really are little wiggle worms.

The blue nodules and black and white speckled mouths serve a purpose for feeding. Gouldians are cavity nesters, like hookbills. They cannot latch on to the beak like a hookbill can to feed, so they need a target. A gouldian turns it's head in a partial circle to make a "bulls-eye" for the parents to aim at. The dots make the mouth easier to see in a low light condition. Here is a great video of goulds feeding.
http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds ... e_09b.html

As for age, they hatched on 5/12/08 and 5/13/08, so just a week old.

Photo update. Here are all five chicks, they are now two weeks old!!



Chicks 63, 64, 65


Chicks 61, 62


Very blury picture of the parent birds. They don't sit still long enough for a good photo, but you can see their colors.

Another photo update. I'm having problems getting my photo editor to start up, so I had to upload the photos elsewhere.
Click the text below.
Finch Chick Photos, just shy of 3 weeks old.

D'awww they're starting to look like little birdies now! How adorable, and how big they're getting!!

Well, photos will now be few and far in between. The chicks started fledging. #62 was out of the nest first. Looks like #61 is next, at least that is my guess on which chick is sitting in the door of the box.

I'll update on progress and if we have any more eggs from either pair that are set up. In about 6 months we should have colors starting.