Eggs are often removed from nests for incubation to reduce the likelihood of accidents, such as lost eggs or crushing. If chicks become ill, aren’t putting on weight, or there are too many chicks in the nest (and no available nest to move them to) they will be hand-reared by the Kakapo Recovery team. In the 2019 season, eggs were also removed from nests to encourage females to re-nest. By hand-raising the first group of chicks in captivity and encouraging females to lay more eggs, the Kakapo Recovery Team hoped that overall chick production would be increased. By the end of February 2020, the bird's summer breeding season, these efforts led to the production of 80 chicks, "a record number."