To round out the bird unit of study, we observed chicken eggs hatching.
A somewhat local farm offers kits to schools, groups, and families at a low cost for educational purposes. After sitting through a presentation by the farmer with a live hen and rooster, we were given an incubator, brooding box complete with food and bedding, and a dozen eggs.
The eggs had already been checked for viability. They were about two weeks into the three week incubation/development period, which left us with just about one week to wait for the hatching.
During that week, we turned eggs and regulated humidity levels within the incubator, read some books:
- Usborne Beginners: Eggs and Chicks, by Fiona Patchett
- Chicks & Chickens, by Gail Gibbons
- Where Do Chicks Come From? by Amy E. Sklansky
Last Monday, our patience was rewarded with 11 of the 12 eggs hatching. {The final egg never did hatch. Sad, of course, but it happens.}
For five days, we tended the chicks and enjoyed their antics. Well except the water fight which left the entire brooding box soaked one morning...
We also learned that our chicks have a fine ear for classical music. They seem to enjoy Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, and they even stood for the chorus of Handel's Messiah...though that did end in a brawl...
~ Dorie
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