Macaws were the most common, but also cockatoos, Amazons, and the occasional conure. Truly parrot breeders, pet stores and the buying public need to concentrate NOW to stop this growing problem. With the advent of so many popular books on incubation methods and neonate husbandry, there is an increasing number of beginning aviculturists who are rushing out to buy themselves an incubator so that they may take the eggs away from their breeding hens and hatch and feed the chicks artificially. In some cases, this works out fine, but where the novice reads the guidebook less than thoroughly, or where corners are cut in the handfeeding process, the results can often be malnourished, undersized, stunted parrot babies. At that stage, the critical internal formation of the bird has climaxed and the bird's body growth begins to accelerate at a great rate.
Eyes are open and well-formed without the stress of too much early light.
Brain, lungs, kidneys, and liver are all developed. Immune system resistance to threats is well taken care of by the parents regurgitation of natural flora. Chicks fed by humans from day one incubator hatching have slower growth curves, and if adequate steps are not taken, the parrot may never recover full development. In addition, if a beginner does not keep daily weight charts and compare them with professional data, he or she may not even know that the baby bird is undersized and malnourished. Until one has fed many chicks of a certain species, one cannot know what is optimum growth rate.