Percy
Bio
Precious, darling Percy begins his life with terrible trepidation, unsure of exactly what to do. His first ever challenge is his biggest, and his life depends on it. Despite his timid disposition; he tries to be brave and wants to conquer his fears. His initial doubts fade away when he is immersed in the love of his family. With newly discovered courage, he shows grit and determination to continue his efforts, even when his task is difficult and might take a long time. Percy’s leading characteristic is one of perseverance, hence his highly appropriate name given to him by his beloved mummy.
Trivia / Facts
Baby chicks have a tooth! A baby chick’s claws and beak are not strong enough to help them break out from their egg. So, they have a hard, sharp “tool” on the end of their breaks called an “egg tooth” which is strong enough to break the eggshell.
They spend hours tapping the shell with this tooth when they’re ready to hatch. Forming small cracks, which become larger cracks, and eventually split the shell and push the cap off.
Chickens have a 21-day incubation period. Some can hatch a day or two either side of this timeline, but 21 days is the expected hatch day. Around day 17, a chick will use their egg tooth to break the air cell inside their egg. This releases additional oxygen and enables them to exercise their respiratory system.
Three days or so later the chick will “pip” their shell to let some more oxygen in. “Pipping” means they are making the first cracks in the outer shell with their tooth. This is the exciting moment for us waiting for our chicks to hatch as we can see evidence that they’re starting to break out. They may pip the shell a few times before they go ahead and start to “zip” their shell. Zip is the word used to describe the line they make with their tooth to open up their shell and enable them to hatch out into the world. It’s kind of like creating a zipper across the shell. This is usually past the halfway mark towards the cap of the shell. When the zip is long enough for the cap to come off, the chick will push that part of the shell away.