Toward the end of the incubation period, she may sit tight even when touched by a human's hand. Nest predators include domestic dogs and cats, snakes, skunks, opossums, raccoons and crows. Fires and flooding also destroy nests. Hens losing their first clutch may re-nest, often laying only three eggs. Eggs hatch from early April until mid-June, peaking in our state during the last week in April and the first week in May.
Chicks are precocial, able to leave the nest a few hours after hatching.
During the first few days, the hen broods her chicks frequently, especially during rain, snow or cold. At first she finds worms for them, but after a few days, they are probing for and capturing worms by themselves. Chicks grow rapidly. After two weeks they can fly short distances, and at the end of four weeks they're almost fully grown, fly strongly and look like adults. The family breaks up when juveniles are 6-8 weeks old.