We stop turning the eggs 4-5 days before the expected hatch day. This gives the chicks a chance to find the best postion to begin their first pip. They chick gets into a position with its head tucked under its right wing and facing the blunt, wide end of the egg near the air cell.

When the chicks are ready to hatch, they will use a tiny hard bump on the end of their beak called an egg tooth to make the first little crack in the shell. This is called pipping.

The chick will slowly peck and turn around inside the egg, making a crack around the shell. Then it will push with its body and legs until the shell opens and it can wriggle out!

Hatching is very hard work, so it can take many hours. Once a chick starts hatching, we need to be patient and let it do the work by itself. 🐣

Fun fact: The egg tooth is only temporary and falls off after the chick hatches!

We will keep the chicks at school for about 3–4 weeks after they hatch. This gives us plenty of time to watch them grow, learn how to care for them, and see how quickly they change!

When they first hatch, the chicks will eat chick starter feed. It is made from crushed grains mixed with protein, vitamins and minerals to help baby chicks grow strong and healthy. They will also have fresh, clean water available all the time.

An eggshell might look solid, but it is actually covered in thousands of tiny pores. Oxygen from the air can pass through these pores into the egg, and carbon dioxide can pass back out. Inside the egg, a network of blood vessels helps carry the oxygen to the growing chick.

The eggs need to be turned regularly so the growing chick doesn’t stick to the inside of the shell. Turning also helps the chick develop properly and keeps the warmth and nutrients distributed around the egg.

Depending on the egg and the torch being used, we may be able to see signs of a developing chick as early as Day 4. One of the first things we look for is a network of tiny blood vessels called veins.

1/2 Kurrajong first spotted veins in one of our eggs on Day 6! We also saw signs of possible development in several others, but it was still too early to be sure. Check out our Chicken Diary to see what we discovered. We’ll candle the eggs again on Day 10 and see what has changed!

For the first few days, the baby chicks will need some time to settle into their new home. Once they are dry and ready, Miss Reisima will transfer them from the incubator to the brooder. We’ll give them a few days to settle before we begin handling them.

There will be lots of rules to keep our chicks safe, including only one chick per adult outside the brooder at a time. Before visiting, classes will need to read our social story so everyone knows how to safely interact with the chicks.

We’ll let you know when bookings open to visit the chicks after they hatch! In the meantime, you can still visit the Hatchery to see the first stage of our chick-hatching journey.

Not yet!
Our chicks are still growing inside their eggs, so we haven’t even met them yet! Once they hatch, we’ll get to know our new fluffy friends and start thinking about names that suit them.

We might use their colours, personalities or funny little habits for inspiration... and we’re even thinking about letting the Hume community help us choose by voting for their favourite names!

Stay tuned… you might get a say!