Kiwi chicks welcomed into the world at Chch wildlife reserve

The first kiwi chicks of the season have hatched at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve.

The reserve recently saw the arrival of two homeborn kiwi chicks.

A Rowi kiwi chick hatched on October 2.

On October 14, a Haast Tokoeka kiwi chick was welcomed into the world.

The reserve also incubates great spotted kiwi and North Island brown kiwi.

There are two stages of hatching: The "internal pip" when the chick pokes its bill into the air pocket at the blunt end of the egg; and the "external pip" when the first crack in the shell appears.

Kiwi usually take about five to seven days to complete the whole hatching process.

However, the Tokoeko chick was in a rush and bulldozed its way through the hatching process in just four days.

Both chicks will live with a brooder for three to four weeks before moving into a pre-release enclosure. 

The reserve is participating in Operation Nest Egg, a programme that aims to lower kiwi death rates by removing eggs and chicks from their burrows and caring for them in captivity until they’re big enough to fend for themselves in the wild.

Only 5 per cent of kiwi chicks that hatch in the wild reach adulthood, whereas Operation Nest Egg gives them a 65 per cent chance of surviving through to adulthood.