It can take up to 24 hrs for the baby owlet to hatch. It works its way all around the inside of the egg with this special tooth to the shell. Meanwhile, the baby owl is absorbing the remainder of the yolk and sealing off blood vessels.
Barn owl eggs are white and about the size of a Ping-Pong ball.
When the chick emerges from the egg, its down is damp and matted. Its closed eyes are large and bulging. The chick also has a prominent muscle along the back of its neck known as the “hatching muscle” which disappears 1-2 days after hatch.
During hatching, the egg yolk is retracted into the chick’s abdominal cavity, where it secretes through the “yolk stalk” into the small intestine and from there to the stomach for digesting. Thus, the yolk continues to nourish the chick through the first 24 hours of its life.
