The pictures on this page represent the first documentation of the Pied Imperial Pigeon (Ducula bicolor) being hatched from the egg in an incubator to handrearing the young. As of June 1992 this endeavor had not been successful, although several had been handreared after hatching and being fed by parents for at least five days.
I received the pair of Pied Imperials in April of 1992; they were put into a flight 8' square and 9' high. They laid the egg in the nest which was provided on May 18. It contained a small crack; this was repaired with the membrane from inside a chicken egg. The egg was placed into a Turn X incubator set at 100 degrees F. This incubator contained rings which can be filled with water to control humidity. Since this species nests in mangroves in the wild I kept all the "water rings" filled for maximum humidity. The egg hatched after 24 days in the incubator. It took less then 60 days for the youngster to be self-feeding. The handfeeding formula I used for the first week or so is listed under tips. (There is a link at the bottom of this page)
The above picture shows the container the egg was placed in the day before it
hatched. The top from the Turn X incubator fit very well over this blue
container. The hatchling was kept in this container until it was moved to a
larger one. The egg hatched on June 12, 1992.
8 hours
old
4 days old 
8 days
old
11 days old 
14 days
old 19
days old 
30 days
old
40 days old 
All three pictures are at 56 days old
All the pictures below are at 60 days old
Undertail Coloration
In the nominate race (Ducula bicolor bicolor) these spots are not retained in
the adults. In the race from the Moluccan Islands (Ducula bicolor melanura) some
of these undertail spots is retained in adult plumage. In the Torres Strait
Pigeon (Ducula spilorrhoa) the undertail is much more spotted & is retained
into adult hood. Hybrids of the Pied Imperial (Ducula b. bicolor) and the
Celebes Pied Imperial (Ducula luctuosa) can have a combination of these spotting
effects.