Woman with hand on hip
A nugget hole is a small crack or hole that a chick makes in an egg as it prepares to hatch. The appearance of pipe holes is usually seen as a sign that chicks are on the way, as the chicks usually fully emerge within a day or so of the pipe hole’s creation, depending on the species. The process of breaking the shell is known as chopping.
Animals that hatch from eggs, such as birds and reptiles, actually have a specially developed anatomical structure to help them hatch from their eggs. This structure is known as an “egg tooth” and takes the form of a bump on the beak, snout, or forehead. Once the animal hatches, the egg tooth dries up and falls out within a few weeks.
Watching the eggs hatch can be very interesting. At first, the egg will start to shake as the creature inside moves around and uses its egg tooth to crack the shell. Then, the hole of the pipe will appear, and the animal will gradually widen the hole until it manages to get out of the egg. The chicks often use their legs and feet to climb out of the eggs while creating a kite hole. This whole process can be time consuming as it requires a lot of strength from the young animal.
After hatching, depending on the species, the animal usually pauses to regain strength. In the case of animals raised by parents, the parents bring food, while others are forced to forage for food in a matter of hours if they are to survive. As the animals tend to become weak after pecking, they are especially vulnerable to predators.
When people breed birds, they often wait immeasurably for them to hatch, both because it’s interesting and because it signals the arrival of the next generation. In some cases, people can also help chicks out of their shells by gently lifting pieces of shell after the chicks have made their holes. However, caution is advised when doing this, as it is easy to injure fragile young birds.
Because a kite’s hole resembles a spy hole, through which the young animal appears to peer, some people use the term “pipe hole” to more generally describe any type of small hole in an object or structure. For chicks, the sight of the pipe hole is the first sight in the world, but often the young animal is so focused on getting out that he doesn’t really notice what’s around him.