Baby Swans: All You Need To Know (With Pictures)

Those who are familiar with Andersen’s fairy tale “The Ugly Duckling” may remember that the “Ugly Duckling” in the story is actually a little swan, not a duckling at all! In real life, cygnets are not ugly at all, beloved for their fluffy down.

This article takes an in-depth look at cygnets, or cygnets, and their appearance, behavior, and other characteristics. Of course, there will be many photos of little swans along the way!

What does a little swan look like?

Cygnets or cygnets are covered with thick down when they hatch. They can run and swim after a few hours, but their parents are still very protective of them in the first few months of their lives.

Cygnets are usually dark gray in color with soft, fluffy coats and gray-black beaks. They have small black feet. All cygnets have this appearance and babies of different species can be difficult to tell apart. Even Australian black swans have dark gray cygnets that look similar to any other species.

Occasionally, cygnets hatch with all-white down and are known as “Polish swans.” This only seems to apply to mute swans.

Three little swans (cygnets) on the meadow

How big is a cygnet?

Cygnets weigh about 250 grams (8.8 ounces) and are about 20 centimeters (8 inches) long. They are the largest baby waterfowl, although they are similar in size to goslings. After six months, they have reached a weight of about 6 kg, and after about 3 to 4 years, they reach a maximum weight of about 14 kg. A swan is a big, heavy bird – the trumpet swan is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world!

Comparing cygnets to ducklings side by side shows just how big they really are. Swan eggs are also heavy, about 350 grams.

How much does a cygnet weigh?

A newly hatched cygnet weighs about 250 grams (8.8 ounces), which is quite heavy. In comparison, a mallard duck might only weigh 50 grams.

What does a little swan look like?

Juvenile swans are predominantly gray with some brownish gray patches which become lighter around 1 year of age. After a year, young swans begin to turn noticeably whiter, but the “dirty” gray plumage persists for at least another year.

At least in the case of mute swans, the beaks of young swans turn pink before turning orange (trumpet swans have black beaks). Juvenile swans also usually lack the frontal protrusion of the beak. Young swans are large birds in their own right, and while they take 3 to 4 years to mature, they are close to adult size after just two years.

juvenile mute swan cygnet

What is the name of the little swan?

Cygnets are known as cygnets, from the Old French “cigne,” meaning swan, originally from the Latin cygnus. The term cygnet for a cygnet should not be confused with the signet for a lettered ring.

What is a group of little swans called?

A flock of cygnets has no specific name. Cygnets are found in flocks after they reach juvenile status after spending a year or so with their parents. Swan flocks contain a mixture of juveniles and adults, with young swans often forming their own small flocks within their sibling groups when possible.

A flock of cygnets swimming together

What do cygnets eat?

Cygnets actually absorb a large amount of egg yolk during incubation, which contains a large amount of highly concentrated macro and micronutrients. Therefore, cygnets may not eat for about a week after hatching. The amount of yolk they absorb from the eggs greatly affects their chances of surviving this precarious early stage.

After about a week, cygnets will instinctively feed themselves. They sift through the water for microbes and bite soft aquatic plants such as duckweed.

A family of swans eating weeds in the water

How do swans feed their chicks?

It has been observed that swan parents feed their checks indirectly. One method they use is to pull up aquatic plants and let them float on the water, where the cygnets will eat them.

Another technique is to paddle vigorously, kicking up various food-rich debris from the water bed. This won’t go on indefinitely, the chicks will also forage for food on their own.

How many eggs does a swan lay?

The average swan lays 6 to 10 eggs, but as many as 14 eggs have been recorded. Females lay an egg every 1 to 2 days, usually starting no earlier than late March or early April (although this varies by swan species and location).

Swan nests are large because the survival rate is relatively low.

A swan lays eggs in a nest

What do swan eggs look like?

Swan eggs are about 10 to 12.6 cm (4 to 5 inches) long and 6 to 8 cm (2.4 to 3.2 inches) wide. Eggs have a stone white texture, some may have a bluish tinge.

Seven eggs of a mute swan in a nest

How long does it take for a swan egg to hatch?

Swan eggs hatch for about 35 to 41 days, after which they will begin to hatch within 24 to 48 hours.

When do swans lay eggs?

Swans lay their eggs between late April and early June in the northern hemisphere. Australian black swans mate most of the year, but mostly between February and September.

How many cygnets survived the months after hatching?

About 50% of cygnets do not survive beyond 2 to 3 months, and another 25% are likely to die before reaching adulthood. The surviving swans live to more than 20 years. Most cygnets die from predation, disease and parasites.

Cygnets born earlier in the season were more likely to survive and those born later were much less likely. Experienced swan couples usually try to lay eggs earlier in the season. Swans learn from their mistakes, and if they make a mistake that puts the survival of their offspring at risk, they seek to make amends in the next breeding season.

Cygnets ride on parents’ backs

When can cygnets fly?

Cygnets usually make their first flight within 3 to 4 months of hatching. They probably just swam across the water briefly – which is naturally a fairly safe landing in case anything goes wrong!

Cygnets have been observed to follow the instructions of their parents and line up on a “runway”-like strip near the water’s edge. This is an important milestone in the life of the little swan, marking a step away from the family.

When do cygnets leave the nest?

Cygnets leave the nest after a few days but remain very close to their parents for at least 4 to 5 months. Cygnets ride on their parents’ backs during this time, especially when crossing the territories of other swans. One of the main threats to cygnets is attack by other adults – cygnets are well protected early on, with parents hypervigilant about their surroundings.

Defensive, territorial swans are a force to be reckoned with, and while their ability to “break an arm with a wing” is nothing more than old wives’ tales, they have been known to attack humans and other animals.

A black swan and their cygnets

Do swans reuse nests?

Swans do often return to their nest each nesting season to repair and renovate it. This was especially the case when the swan parents successfully produced healthy chicks in that nest. Swans are very intelligent birds with great memory and recall, so they will remember safe nesting spots and try to get back to them if possible.

How long do the cygnets stay with their parents?

Cygnets leave their parents as soon as about four months later, in late autumn or winter of the same year. More likely, they will stay with their parents until the following spring, which is about 8 to 12 months.

The first few months, cygnets and their parents are very attached, but the swan parents generally push them away as soon as they are ready, and when the chicks are unwilling to do so, the parents can be quite brutal in trying to drive them away leave. Of course, this is necessary to ensure that the cygnets grow into adults.

A family of mute swans and six cygnets

When do cygnets join the flock?

Cygnets stay with their parents for about a year at most. If possible, their parents would urge them to leave the family unit by then, especially if the swans were able to successfully fly by then.

When a young swan leaves its parents, it will likely join a nearby flock, which may or may not have its parents. If a swan is reunited with its parents, it will still be largely independent of them. Before the next breeding season, swans overwinter in their male flocks, where they split again into their breeding pairs.

newborn swan on water

When do baby swans start breeding?

Young swans may not seek a mate until the youngest is two years old. Only the most mature swans will breed at 2 years old. Young swans search for mates in the swan colony at the beginning of the breeding season. The unmated pair will watch and learn from the mated pair’s rather showy and complex display of bonding.

Where do the little swans go at night?

Cygnets don’t leave the nest for about 2 to 3 days, during which time they sleep in their mother’s soft down jacket. Thereafter, swans almost always sleep on the water, which is safer than land to avoid predators such as foxes. Cygnets will sleep on their parents’ backs or wings until they are safe to sleep in the water on their own.