Most people would be puzzled if shown a newly hatched moorhen chick.

They have dense black down and long legs. Their toes are huge. It seems as if they are fully grown already.

The head of the chick is the giveaway. The beak is red and yellow, similar to that of an adult moorhen.

The top of the head has less down and is bluish/purple. 

These diminutive chicks are active. They can swim soon after hatching and can walk on floating vegetation. That is when the long toes come in useful.

It is important, though, that after swimming, the chicks will snuggle beneath their mum, drying out and warming up.

The two chicks were put in a brooder at Hessilhead. It didn’t take them long to discover the heat at one end of their cage, and at feeding time we had to encourage them out.

For a couple of days we hand fed mealworms to the chicks. Then they learnt to pick up mealworms dropped beside them and soon they were picking them up from a bowl. This made life easier for staff at Hessilhead.

Other items could be added to the food dish. Chick crumbs and insectivorous food was eaten too.

These chicks were amazingly independent, and like twins, they did everything together. They grew well, losing their colourful beaks and heads and becoming mostly brown, with green legs and toes.

They are almost fully grown now, living outdoors in a planted aviary with a small pool. It'll soon be time for release.