The Life Cycle of a Chick

The Life Cycle of a Chick

Egg Inspection

Eggs were brought into the class from two farms. We started with 49 eggs but unfortunately 3 were cracked! We used this opportunity to examine closely the contents of an egg referring to reference books as a guide.

The Incubator

The incubator was kindly lent to the school by Mrs Parr. The children were given instructions on how to set up the incubator: underneath is a water tray which needed to be filled with water at a temperature of 39°, this needed to be topped up most days. The temperature of the incubator also had to be a constant 39°

Turning the Eggs

The eggs each had ‘1’ written on one side and ‘2’ on the other side. The children took turns to turn the eggs twice a day, the numbers were an aid to ensure that no eggs were left unturned.

Hatching Out

After 21 days tending the incubator, the first chick ventured forth. Funny enough it hatched out when the children were not in the class room!! It was suggested (by myself) that if they were exceptionally quiet for the whole week they might witness a chick hatching.

The Last One Out

The Black Barnevelde was the last chick to hatch out; and yes the children did witness a chick actually hatching out, I therefore felt relieved and justified in insisting on ‘quiet’ for the week!

The Brooder

13 of the 46 eggs hatched out healthy, unfortunately one chick died, this is part of the natural world and an unpleasant part of the lesson, 32 of the eggs did not develop into chicks. The chicks were transferred into the Brooder 24 hours after hatching. The small Barnevelde and another chick were kept seperate from the others as the Barnevelde was the last to hatch out and smaller.

Chicken Run

Due to the fast growth of the chicks they have been transferred to a make shift run.