The Cycle of the Swan
Eggs----------Cygnet------------Adult
EGG
After the eggs are laid in the nest, the mother incubates them for 35 days until they hatch. Nests are usually lain from April to June.
CYGNET (also called Chicks)
Cygnets can take to the water right away, however the parent swans must gather food for them to eat. Cygnets usually start learning how to fly around 4 and a half months. Unfortunately many young swans die due to flying crashes and mishaps when they are still learning. The cygnet's grey fuzzy coating will turn to white feathers by the time they are 2 years old.
ADULTS
Mute Swans reach maturity at 3 years old, when they start searching for a mate. They do not start breeding until a year later, after they have found their match. Mute Swans usually have one mate their whole lives, unless one dies or becomes unsuitable. Typically these swans do not live over 10 years in the wild, but their numbers grow quickly because they have a new set of offspring every year. Parent swans are very protective of their young- if one is missing, the mother will actually go looking for it for up to a week. The cygnets are raised and nurtured by the parents until they are 1, or when the next breeding season rolls around.
After the eggs are laid in the nest, the mother incubates them for 35 days until they hatch. Nests are usually lain from April to June.
CYGNET (also called Chicks)
Cygnets can take to the water right away, however the parent swans must gather food for them to eat. Cygnets usually start learning how to fly around 4 and a half months. Unfortunately many young swans die due to flying crashes and mishaps when they are still learning. The cygnet's grey fuzzy coating will turn to white feathers by the time they are 2 years old.
ADULTS
Mute Swans reach maturity at 3 years old, when they start searching for a mate. They do not start breeding until a year later, after they have found their match. Mute Swans usually have one mate their whole lives, unless one dies or becomes unsuitable. Typically these swans do not live over 10 years in the wild, but their numbers grow quickly because they have a new set of offspring every year. Parent swans are very protective of their young- if one is missing, the mother will actually go looking for it for up to a week. The cygnets are raised and nurtured by the parents until they are 1, or when the next breeding season rolls around.