Chicks first "pip" by poking a small hole in the egg. They then chip at the shell until they can push off the top. Chicks take up to three days to chip their way out.

Fine down feathers cover most newly hatched chicks. (King penguin chicks hatch naked and grow down feathers within a few weeks.)

In all species, the coloration and markings of chicks separate them from adults. Scientists believe that the chicks' coloration elicits parental behavior from the adults, and that adult penguins do not perceive the young birds as competitors for mates or nesting sites.

The striking markings of emperor chicks may help to make the chicks more visible against the ice and snow, significant because emperors don't have individual nest sites where the young can be found.

Chicks require attentive parents for survival. Both parents feed the chick regurgitated food. Adults recognize and feed only their own chick. Parents are able to identify their chick by its distinctive call.

Male emperor penguins exhibit a feature unique among penguins. If the chick hatches before the female returns, the male, despite his fasting, is able to produce and secrete a curdlike substance from his esophagus to feed the chick, allowing for survival and growth for up to two weeks.

Parents brood chicks (keep them warm) by covering them with their brood patch.

In some species, partially grown chicks gather in groups called crèches. (Crèche is a French word for crib.)

A chick depends on its parents for survival between hatching and the growth of its waterproof feathers. This period may range from seven weeks for Adélie chicks to 13 months for king chicks. For most penguin species, once a chick has replaced its juvenile down with waterproof feathers it is able to enter the water and becomes independent of its parents. Juvenile Gentoo penguins that have undergone a complete moult, leave the colony to forage at sea during the day but return to the colony with some still receiving food from their parents for 25 to 35 days following the moult.