Egg to Chick Updates
1/2 Z's 11 Chicks!
What an exciting project! 1/2 Z's chicks began hatching on Sunday, November 20th. Our last chick hatched on Monday, Nov. 21st at 4 pm. Students in 1/2 Z got to hold the chicks, and enjoyed reading to them. We learned so much about animal life cycles and how chicks develop. Our little chicks have now gone to live at their forever home. We had so much fun hatching and raising them. We will miss you, baby chicks!
Cuddles!
Our chicks loved to be held. They often fell asleep in our hands because they were so cozy and warm.
Different Markings
Some of our chicks had special markings, like darker yellow or white spots. This chick had black spots on his back!
Food and Water
The chicks ate "chick mash" and drank water from special dispensers provided by the Egg to Chick program.
It's Almost Hatching Time!
Today our eggs went into lockdown. This means we will no longer be handling the eggs to candle them, or opening the incubator to add water. We have removed the egg turner and laid the eggs down on a soft cheesecloth. The eggs are in lockdown until they hatch!
Our Observations
We have organized the data we collected when we candled our eggs onto a poster. We are excited to see if we were right!
Our Predictions
Based on our observations, we predicted how many of our eggs we think will hatch!
All Tucked In!
Our eggs are now out of the egg turner and snuggled onto a piece of cheesecloth! The eggs are laying on their sides with their number face up. We have increased the humidity inside the incubator in preparation for our hatch. Soon, we will be able to hear the chicks peeping inside their eggs. Then, they will start to pip internally until they break out of their shell! Hatching can take 24 hours.
The Egg Nursery
Our incubator, along with all the tools we need to help our chicks hatch. We have a syringe to insert more water to prevent humidity fluctuations, a cardboard carton to keep our eggs safe when we candle them, and a flashlight we use to candle the eggs. The papers are used to track the temperature, humidity, and water added every hour. The calendar above the incubator keeps track of our Egg Inspectors.
Egg Candling
On day 7, we candled some of our eggs. The lines coming from the top are the beginnings of blood vessels!
The Incubator
The glowing screen tells us the temperature and humidity, which are monitored every hour. The yellow tray inside is our egg turner - it tilts the eggs side to side to prevent the embryo from sticking to the shell.