The Attwater’s Prairie Chickens begin nesting in March. The hens make a depression in the ground filled with grass and feathers under the cover of tall grass clumps to create their nests. Hens typically begin laying their eggs in late March.
The Attwater’s Prairie Chicken eggs are light tan to light green in color. The average hen lays a clutch of about 12 eggs. Once all of the eggs are laid, the hen will begin incubating the eggs. The incubation period is about 26 days long. The nests often fall victim to predators such as snakes, fire ants, and hawks; heavy rains can also pose a threat to the success of a nest. The chicks hatch covered in bright yellow feathers with patches of brown and black. In the wild, chicks will stay with the hen for about six weeks.
Attwater's Prairie Chicken Egg
At the Houston Zoo, we collect the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken eggs from our captive flock of birds for artificial incubation and hand rearing of the chicks. This allows us to better protect the eggs from damage and increases the chances of an egg hatching successfully. Our first Attwater’s Prairie Chicken egg of the 2009 breeding season was laid on March 25, 2009. The hens from our breeding flock at NASA produced 163 eggs in 2009.
Attwater’s Prairie Chicken Post #3 was on 3/16/2009
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