After some time spent courting with each other, we are happy to report that a few of our little blue breeding pairs have laid eggs. The eggs are about the size of a small chicken egg, usually around 55 millimeters long and about 40 millimeters wide (that’s about 2 inches x 1 ½ inches). Little blues will usually lay two eggs a few days apart. They will incubate the eggs for about 38 days.  

After about 10 days of incubation we will candle the egg to see if it is fertile. We use a candler, which shines a concentrated beam of light through the egg, allowing us to see inside the egg. If the egg is fertile the embryo appears as a dark spot surrounded by a web of blood vessels that become larger as incubation progresses. As the hatch date approaches, the growing embryo becomes so big that it takes up most of the space and all we can see is a dark mass and an air space, which the chic must initially break (or pip) into at the start of hatching.

Here is a video of the little blue eggs being candled. 

Even with candling we still do not know 100 percent what is going on inside the egg so it is still exciting to wait and see how everything turns out.

The little blue penguin breeding pairs will remain behind the scenes for a little while. But you can see the rest of the colony in their cozy temporary exhibit near the marine mammal center. Of course, you can't miss the African and rockhoppers in their usual exhibit while you're here. Visiting has never been easier. Choose the day and time you want to see the penguins with timed ticketing.

Like our African penguins, our little blue penguins are part of a Species Survival Plan, or SSP.  Essentially the SSP makes breeding recommendations. The genealogy of each individual animal is known and is kept in a studbook. Heather is the species manager of the North American little blue penguin population studbook, so she will communicate with other institutions that have little blue penguins and keep track of any additions or subtractions to their colonies. Then this information is plugged into a specific program which ranks the birds based on their genetic value and breeding recommendations are made. 

With the newly acquired little blue penguins we were very excited that we now have four new SSP approved breeding pairs, each pair consists of one of our original penguins and one of the new penguins. These birds had never seen each other prior to pairing them for breeding. With any arranged relationship it is always questionable if the two individuals will hit it off. Each pair was given their own kennel style area with soft matting, a cave top and nesting material (like this). We even played romantic music for them. By romantic music I mean a recording of little blue vocalizations. Then we watched each pair for signs that they are starting to form bonds. 

We are happy to say that all the pairs hit it off very well right from the start. We have seen a lot of vocalizations, nest building, courtship displays and even mating. We were hopeful that these early signs suggest a successful breeding season.