Sophie Bennett
Bald eagle chicks grow rapidly, adding around half a pound to a pound of body weight each week. By the end of their first week, they can take food, swim on their bellies with wings and legs, and escape from the nest cup. They gain strength and balance and their eyes begin to focus better. By the end of the second week, they can hold their heads up for feeding. By the third week, they are one foot high, and their feet and beaks are nearly adult-sized. By the fourth week, they can stand, tear up their own food, and are covered in a secondary coat of grey down.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Weight | Grows by about half a pound to a pound every week until they are about 9-10 weeks old |
| Height | 1 foot high by 3 weeks |
| Feathers | Feathers begin to appear when they are about 24 days old |
| Eyesight | Limited at birth, but improves over the first week |
| Mobility | Limited at birth, but by the end of the first week, the eaglet can "swim" on its belly with wings and legs, escape from the nest cup, and use wings and legs to balance |
| Feeding | First feeding occurs within 2.5 hours of hatching. By the end of the first week, the eaglet can take food and lunge for it, but has not yet mastered the skill of holding food down with its feet |
| Fledging | Occurs at around 10-13 weeks |
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What You'll Learn
- Eaglets gain around half a pound to a pound of body weight each week
- Feathers begin to appear when they are 24 days old
- Eaglets can hold their heads up for feeding at two weeks old
- Eaglets are covered in a secondary coat of grey down at three to four weeks old
- Eaglets can stand and tear up their own food at four to six weeks old
Eaglets gain around half a pound to a pound of body weight each week
Bald eagle chicks, or eaglets, hatch after about 35 days of incubation. They are born helpless, with limited mobility, balance, and vision. During the first days after hatching, the female eagle tears tiny pieces of food brought by the male to feed the young eaglets.
Eaglets grow rapidly, gaining around half a pound to a pound of body weight each week until they are about 9-10 weeks old. This growth rate varies between male and female eaglets, with females gaining 70-180g per day and males gaining 80-150g per day. By the end of the first week, eaglets can "swim" on their bellies with wings and legs, escape from the nest cup, and their eyes begin to focus better. Eaglets also start to exhibit sibling rivalry and competition for food at this age.
By the second week, eaglets can hold their heads up to be fed. Their skin colour changes from pink to bluish-grey, and their feet and legs turn cream-coloured. Eaglets also start to lunge for food and attempt to tear off bites with their beaks. By the end of the fourth week, eaglets are covered in a secondary coat of grey down, and their feet and beaks are nearly adult-sized. They can also stand and begin tearing up their own food.
By the sixth week, eaglets are very nearly as large as their parents. They have black juvenile feathers, and by the seventh week, they can tear pieces of fish brought by their parents. Eaglets fledge, or take their first flight, at about 10 to 14 weeks of age. After fledging, eaglets remain around the nest for four to five weeks, taking short flights while their primary feathers grow and strengthen.
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Feathers begin to appear when they are 24 days old
Bald eagles normally lay one to three eggs per year, with a few successful clutches of four eggs documented. The eggs hatch after about 35 days of incubation. The eaglets will fledge at about 12 weeks of age. During the first days after hatching, the female tears tiny pieces of food for the young eaglets. The male also brings food for the female and the chicks during the first two and a half weeks.
At about two weeks, eaglets can hold their heads up for feeding. At three weeks, they are about one foot high, and their feet and beaks are nearly adult-sized. At this stage, they are covered in a secondary coat of grey down. At four to six weeks, the eaglets can stand and tear up their own food.
Feathers begin to appear when they are about 24 days old. These first feathers are always very dark. The coloration of a bald eagle changes over the course of four to five years until the beak and eyes turn yellow, and the head and tail feathers turn white.
At seven weeks, the chicks begin to tear pieces of fish brought by their parents. At eight weeks, the eaglets' appetites are at their greatest, and the parents hunt almost continuously to feed them. At nine to ten weeks, the eaglets begin branching, a precursor to fledging. Once the eaglets have fledged, they may remain around the nest for four to five weeks, taking short flights while their primary feathers grow and strengthen.
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Eaglets can hold their heads up for feeding at two weeks old
Bald eagle chicks are born after about 35 days of incubation. They are born helpless, unable to hold their heads up, with limited vision, and weak legs that cannot support their weight. For the first few days after hatching, the female eagle tears tiny pieces of food brought by the male eagle to feed the chicks.
Bald eagle chicks grow rapidly, adding about half a pound to a pound of body weight every week until they are about 9-10 weeks old. At around two weeks old, they can hold their heads up for feeding. At this stage, the parents start bringing larger pieces of food for the chicks to eat. By the fourth week, the parents begin to forage for food and bring about the same amount of food to the nest.
By the time they are three weeks old, eaglets are about one foot high, and their feet and beaks are nearly adult-sized. They are covered in a secondary coat of gray down. At around four to six weeks, they can stand and begin tearing up their own food. Juvenile black feathers will begin to grow in at this stage, replacing the downy feathers, which are excellent insulators but useless for flight.
At around 10 to 14 weeks after hatching, eaglets take their first flight. They remain around the nest for another four to five weeks, taking short flights while their primary feathers grow and strengthen. During this time, their parents still provide all their food.
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Eaglets are covered in a secondary coat of grey down at three to four weeks old
Bald eagle chicks hatch after about 35 days of incubation. During the first two and a half weeks, the male eagle brings food for the female eagle and the chicks. The female tears the food into tiny pieces to feed the young eaglets. At about two weeks, eaglets can hold their heads up for feeding. At about three weeks, they are about one foot high, and their feet and beaks are nearly adult-sized.
At three to four weeks old, eaglets are covered in a secondary coat of grey down. This is their second coat of feathers, replacing the down they were born with. Feathers begin to appear when eaglets are about 24 days old. These feathers are always very dark when they first appear. The coloration of a bald eagle changes over the course of 4-5 years until the beak and eyes turn yellow, and the head and tail feathers turn white.
At about four to six weeks, eaglets can stand, and they begin to tear up their own food. At this stage, black juvenile feathers will start to grow in, replacing the downy feathers. While downy feathers are excellent insulators, they are useless for flying and must be replaced before an eaglet can take its first flight. At about six weeks, eaglets are very nearly as large as their parents. At about eight weeks, the eaglets' appetites are at their greatest.
At about nine to ten weeks, eaglets begin branching, which is a precursor to fledging. At around ten to fourteen weeks, the eaglets will fledge or fly away from the nest. Once the eaglets have fledged, they may remain around the nest for four to five weeks, taking short flights while their primary feathers grow and strengthen. Their parents will still provide all their food during this time.
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Eaglets can stand and tear up their own food at four to six weeks old
Bald eagle chicks are about the size of an adult eagle's palm when they are one week old. They are born helpless and unable to hold their heads up, with limited vision and weak legs. Bald eagle chicks grow rapidly, adding about half a pound to a pound of body weight every week until they are about 9-10 weeks old.
By the second week, they can hold their heads up to be fed. At three weeks, they are about one foot high, and their feet and beaks are nearly adult-sized. At three to four weeks old, they are covered in a secondary coat of grey down.
At four to six weeks, bald eagle chicks can stand and begin tearing up their own food. They are also covered in black juvenile feathers, which replace their downy feathers. These feathers are necessary for flight, which they will attempt for the first time at around 10 to 14 weeks.
By six weeks, eaglets are nearly as large as their parents. They fledge at about 12 weeks of age, taking short flights while their primary feathers grow stronger. Their parents continue to provide food for them during this time.
Bald eagle chicks learn to hunt on their own after fledging. While flying is an innate skill, hunting is something they must learn and perfect. It takes about 4 to 12 weeks for young eagles to start hunting successfully, and true hunting proficiency likely takes years to develop.
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Frequently asked questions
One-week-old bald eagle chicks are about three-quarters of their full weight. Their feet are nearly full-grown and are turning yellow, and they can confidently stand on their toes and walk. Their legs, feet, lores, and rictus of the mouth are yellow.
One-week-old bald eagle chicks are still dependent on their parents for food and protection. They can lunge for food and attempt to tear off bites with their beaks, but they haven't yet mastered the skill of holding food down with their feet. They also practice branching, learning to perch, move around, and use their wings for balance on branches.
Bald eagle chicks hatch after about 35 days of incubation. The female incubates most of the time, but the male also helps.
