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Young Penguins
How Penguin Babies are Born and Raised |
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Young penguins hatch from eggs. The mother penguin lays only one or two eggs at a time. Both mother and father take turns caring for the eggs until they hatch. The father Emperor penguin holds the egg on his feet and covers it with his loose belly skin to keep it warm while the mother goes out to sea to feed. Sometimes she is gone for two months! When she comes back it is her turn to care for the young chick while father goes out. | |
| Adelie penguins lay two eggs at a time in nests made of rocks! Father penguin helps sit on the eggs to keep them warm. The nests are close together in a "rookery". Hundreds of penguins may care for their eggs in the same rookery. |
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The young penguins huddle together for protection and warmth. A large gathering of young penguins is called a creche. The parent penguins feed their babies some of their already-chewed food that they regurgitate. | |
| Newborn penguins do not have their thick waterproof feathers when they first hatch. The mother and father penguins will stay with the young until they get their waterproof feathers, usually in about 10 weeks, sometimes as long as a year. | ||
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Back to Resources Page © Donna Bronzan 2002 |
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