After a four day hatching, a fully feathered and open-eyed, record-breaking kiwi smashed its way into the world this morning.
It weighed 293.4 grams - just over half a block of butter.
The yet to be named kiwi chick, broke out of its eggshell at Rotorua’s National Hatchery in the early hours of Sunday morning, breaking the records for the earliest a chick has launched itself into the world at the hatchery.
The previous record was 24 August, which happened in both 2011 and 2016.
Carole Dean, who is working in the hatchery on her own at the moment, was the first person to lay eyes on the feathery creature. There was excitement for the new life, but there has been no gender reveal just yet.
“Kiwi chicks have no ‘external features’ – to put it politely- for us to be able to tell if this chick is male or female. We need to take a couple of feathers and send them away for DNA testing to find out,” Dean said.
The kiwi started its journey to its new home on Wednesday, poking its bill into the air pocket at the blunt end of the egg and taking in their first breath of air – just as the rest of the country were settling into their homes.
Kiwis are a precocious bird – which means they are just like adults at hatching – fully feathered, opened eyes - just smaller.
“He/she was already trying to crouch this morning when I arrived, and is already vocalising lots.”
It was from an egg that arrived on August 15 from Otanewainuku Kiwi Trust, one of 15 different projects the hatchery works with from across the North Island.
In the wild, kiwi chicks stay with their Dad for a week, before launching out on their own, relying on a large yolk in their tummy which supplies the essential nutrients, while they practice how to feed.
“Probing and foraging is instinctive, so it doesn’t take them long to learn.”
But their early independence has its pitfalls, as they are vulnerable to predators, such as rats and stout. Only five per cent of kiwi chicks survive to six months.
This is why Dean thinks the work of the hatchery is so important.
“We keep them safe when they are most vulnerable, releasing into the wild at a stout-proof weight of 1kg, increases their survival rates to over 65 per cent.”
But it’s not the first record breaker in the family. Father, Myfie, is the smallest chick that has ever hatched at the National Hatchery.
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