1st PH eagle chick that hatched in Davao's new bird breeding sanctuary produced via artificial insemination

A Philippine eagle chick recently hatched at the new National Bird Breeding Sanctuary (NBBS) in Toril, Davao City.

"Chick No. 30" hatched on November 11, making it the first-ever Philippine eagle chick to hatch in the sanctuary, which only began operating in February.

In Kuya Kim's report on "24 Oras" Tuesday, NBBS facility manager Domingo Tadena said that the chick is the product of artificial insemination through its parents, Sinag and Pinpin.

In cooperative artificial insemination, semen is collected from a male eagle and then injected into a ready female eagle.

"Chick No. 30's" incubation period also took 56 days. Per Tadena, they had to help the chick from "pipping" or breaking through its shell.

"Hindi siya naka-hatch by itself. Ang tawag namin dun 'help out.' Supposed to be ang chick mag-pip siya, 'yung butasan na niya 'yung shell, 50 to 54 days of incubation pero hinihintay namin at hindi naman siya naka-pip. Pagdating ng 55 days, tinulungan namin, kami na ang nag-pip para sa kaniya para hindi siya mag-suffocate," he said.

Dennis Salvador, executive director of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), also shared that most of their birds are "rehab birds."

"Most of our birds here are unlike what they have in other breeding, prime breeders, because they got them from the wild. Ang sa atin puro rehab birds and we've had to deal with these birds and make them breed. This also underscores the skill and passion ng breeding staff natin," he said.

Now over a week old, "Chick No. 30" already weighs 173.66 grams, according to the PEF on November 18.

— CDC, GMA Integrated News