Moorhen chicks become independent after 45 to 50m days of hatching. As they do not stay together it is difficult to know if all the chicks have survived. We have been seeing two older chicks together through ditch cam and we have also seen a older chick on its own.
The young moorhens will now be feeding themselves mainly insects and plant material. they feed on land as well as in the water. The biggest danger comes from large predators such as fox.
The young birds can be distinguished from the adults by their lack of the distinctive red and yellow beak of the adult birds. They will not develop adult feathers or their yellow and red beak until next year. The adult pair will then drive them away.
