The little grebe develops through several distinct stages, beginning with an embryo developing inside an egg. Eyes open at birth for the young. The chick, after hatching, is covered in down and swims with its parents for a period of one to two months. This chick stage transitions into adulthood, when the bird is capable of reproduction, lasting from one to nine years. The species reaches sexual maturity between nine months and one week and one year and three months. A typical lifespan ranges from thirteen years and two months to twenty-one years and eleven months, although the maximum recorded lifespan is seventeen years and six months. The theoretical lifespan is between twelve years and three months and fifteen years and nine months.