If both chicks hatch, the smaller first-egg chick is unable to compete for food and usually dies. For the first few weeks of life, the chick is guarded by the male and fed by the female. After this both parents feed the chick and the chick wanders, creching with other chicks if they are nearby, but returning to the nest to be fed. Chicks fledge in November, when they are 10 weeks old. They return to their home colony to breeed at around 5 years of age.
Juveniles often straggle to the east coast of the South Island, usually to moult.
Diet and feeding Little is known about the diet of the Fiordland crested penguin, but it is thought that they feed inshore, particularly during the breeding season. In the publicly accessible nesting sites, dogs have been a cause of population decline. Elsewhere, cats, stoats and ferrets contribute to chick mortality.