We weren't expecting Fay's or Abby's eggs to start hatching for a couple of days yet. However, Fay has managed to surprise us!
Greta's chick are now between two and three days old and they have not only survived, but seem to be thriving.
This picture of all six chicks shows them all active and several seeking more food - a phenomenon we shall see a lot more of as they get older!
I had been thinking of writing today's entry around Greta's chicks' development, when suddenly I saw Fay with a bit of egg in her beak! Then I realised that what we had seen was the result of the second chick's hatching.
This image, which both Elizabeth & I had missed seeing live, is the result of the first chick to hatch. We both thought there would be a day or two yet and had obviously not been keeping a proper watch.
Fay proceeded to eat the eggshell as Greta had done earlier.
When Fay leaves the nest some 15 minutes later, we could see her first hatched chick. It's a bit smaller than Greta's chicks - and perhaps a bit pinker, if that's possible!
It even has the energy to ask for food when she comes back to the nest some six minutes later.
So Fay feeds the chick.
This is the piece of eggshell that Elizabeth & I saw live. It was the hatching of the second egg. As usual, Fay eats this too.
We thought that the second half of the eggshell would get the same treatment ...
... but no, this time Fay decides to remove it by taking it outside.
There are now two chicks.
A third egg is hatching. The pink blob at the top of the picture is the third chick which has got rid of the bottom half of the egg but still has the eggshell stuck to its head!
Just a few seconds later, the chick lifts its head and the piece of eggshell comes too like a very large hat. The result is that the chick is temporarily hidden from the camera
Fay decides to get rid of this eggshell the easy way too.