The time has finally arrived!  Our incubation project began when we set 21 eggs on Wednesday, April 1.  Watch this page for updates.  See chicken and incubator links on our Looking At Links page.   For a fun activity with a Just for Fun chicken, find the link listed in our April 20th newsletter.  Click on the blue link below to see a slide show of the 21 day growth of the chick inside the egg. 

   We set two 21 eggs today.  Most eggs are brown. Others are green, tan, pink and white.  An embryo starts to form on the yolk.  An embryo is the chick in the earliest stages of development.

 

DAY 2:  Thursday, April 2

   The eggs are moving inside the incubator, because our incubator has an automatic rocking cradle.  We checked the temperature and the water in the incubator.  We still have 21 eggs.  We cannot observe any changes in the eggs today.  Inside the egg, the embryo began to turn on the side.  Blood vessels appeared in the yolk sac.

 

 

     Mrs. McCoy, Mrs. Hogue, Mrs. Risley, Mrs. Lane, and Mrs. Waddell all have incubators in their classrooms.  I wonder how many chicks we'll have in all?

      Mrs. McCoy demonstrated how an egg rolls by wobbling.  We observed pictures of the inside of an egg to find the air sac at the rounded end of the egg.    We also observed the egg white, the yolk .  We are working on a calendar that shows our chicks should begin hatching sometime on the 21st of April. 

     We have 21 plastic  Easter eggs.  Inside each egg is  a picture of how the embryo looks each day, and it tells what happens to the embryo as it grows into a chick.  On Day 3, the tiny red heart was visible, and was surrounded by a ring of blood vessels.  The nose, wings, and legs began to form. 

     Today we checked the temperature inside the incubator, the temperature in our classroom, and the temperature of the "wet bulb."  We have a chart  that helps us determine the relative humidity inside the incubator.  Our wet bulb temperature was 80 degrees F., and our dry bulb temperature was about 100 degrees F.  Therefore, our relative humidity measured 42%.  During this stage of the embryo's development, the relative humidity should be between 40% and 50%. 

 

   On Day 4, the tongue, tail, and toes began to form.  The embryo turned on the its left side on the yolk sac.

 

Day 5:  Sunday, April 5  (No school)    

   On Day 5 the blood vessels carry food from the yolk to the just-forming chick.  The gizzard has formed.  The bones of the legs formed.

 

Day 6:  Monday, April 6 

   Today the beak and egg-tooth began to form.  The embryo began to move inside the egg.  The black spot near the top of the yolk is the chick's eye. 

 

   The embryo was surrounded by the water-filled sac.  As the embryo grows, the yolk, its source of food, also got bigger.  The embryo's tummy grew bigger.  The wings began to bend at the elbow, and the legs at the knee. 

 

        We candled our eggs for the first time today.  Mrs. Witts helped us record our data on a large chart, showing what we observed in each egg.  We think we have 13 fertilized eggs.  We could see the large eye on some embryos.  We also observed blood vessels.  Feathers and eyelids began to form. 

Day 9:  Thursday, April 9

   The mouth opening appeared.  The claws will began to form.

Mrs. McCoy carefully packed up the incubator and took it home for the long week-end.  The humidity and temperature needs to be regulated daily, so the incubator could not be left at school unattended.

 

 

   The beak started to harden.  The comb was visible, and the feathers began to develop.

     Mrs. McCoy found a safe place to keep the incubator out of Patches' reach.  She was curious, but the room was off-limits to cats!

 

   The toe claws began to curve downwards.  The bottom of the feet became padded.  The chick began to take calcium from the eggshell.

    Mrs. McCoy candled the eggs today.  We have 18 embryos!  Sometimes it is hard to see through the darker colored eggs, like green and brown.  The embryos have grown so much!  I could see all of them moving around.  I could see the big eyes, and sometimes even a leg kick.  The incubator continues to maintain the correct temperature and humidity.

 

    The scales appeared on the lower legs.  The chick continued to move and grow.

 

   The incubator continued to do its job all weekend long.  We continue to hope the electricity doesn't go out during all of these spring storms.

   The body of the chick is mostly covered with feathers.  The left and right collar bones joined to form the wishbone. 

 

   The incubator continued to act as the mommy hen.  The embryo turned its head toward the large end of the egg (toward the air sac.) One more week!!  

 

   We were back at school to check on the incubator. The scales, claws and beak are now firm.

     We candled again in the afternoon.  Now that the embryos are so large, we can see another one.  We're up to 19 out of 21. 

 

    Today our chicks are fully covered with feathers.  The albumen is nearly gone and the yolk is very important as nourishment for the chicks. 

 

Day 17:  Friday, April 17

     Today the chicks turned their beaks toward the air cell to prepare for hatching.  The egg is getting very crowded!

 

   The feathers have grown in.  You can see the chick's big beak and big feet.  The chick curled up to rest for now.  The chick has grown so big that it touches the inside of the shell on every side.  Soft feathers called down cover its head and body.   The chick's food has almost run out.  The egg yolk and white have been taken into the embryo's body to give the chick energy to hatch.  The amnion which protects the chick begins to disappear.  Hatch day is almost here!

 

   The yolk sac continues to enter the body.  The chick completely fills the inside space in the egg except the air cell.  Keep resting, little chicks!!

    Mrs. McCoy came to school in the afternoon to check on the incubator.  Day 19 is an important day.  The cradle was taken away, and the dividers in the egg tray were removed.  Now it's time for the chicks to rest and get ready to pip sometime on Day 20.  The incubator's temperature was lowered to 36.8 degrees C.  The humidity was raised to close to 65%.  The wet bulb is reading 86 degrees F.   

 

    At about 10:15 today, after the class left for PE, Mrs. McCoy added water to the incubator to increase the humidity.  She saw tiny pieces of eggshell under Egg #1, a green egg.  Then she saw the familiar square, which indicates pipping!  She could even hear peeping inside the egg.  So, of course Mommy Hen McCoy had to start clucking at the chick, so it will recognize her as the Mother.  We learned today that it takes about a day for the chick to hatch.  We've been watching and listening.  Sometimes we can hear it peep, but still no chick! 

     Now it is 4:50 p.m. after school, and I'm still hearing lots of peeping.  I'll stick around for a little while and let you know if #1 hatches before I leave tonight.  It is now one hour later, and we have Egg #16 and Egg #20 (both brown eggs) pipping.  Now I hear them constantly peeping.  More later..........    

     Here's what is happening today.  The yolk is completely drawn into the body.  The beak breaks through the inner shell membrane.  The chick takes its first breath of air, and the lungs begin to function.  It says, "Cheep!  Cheep!"  Maybe a brother or sister chick will answer.  The oxygen stored in the air cell allows the chick to break through the eggshell.  Tomorrow is a big day.  Good luck, little chicks.  We can't wait to meet you!  We will be writing stories about how the chick got out of the egg.  We will pretend that we are the chicks.  We will also work on Chick Birth Announcements. 

 

Day 21:  Tuesday, April 21 

 

   Happy Birthday, Chicks!!       

     Today the chicks should peck tiny holes in the shell using their egg teeth.  Before coming out of the shell, the chicks will sleep for a few hours again.  Then they will wake up, and peck for a few more hours, until they have pecked a circle around the inside of the shell (This is called pipping.)  Next, they will push hard against one side of the shell with their big feet.  Then they will push hard against the other side with their neck and shoulders.  Finally, CRACK!  The chicks will hatch.  I wonder how many will hatch.

     4:30 p.m. Now we have 12 chicks and 2 more pipped all around the shell.  I moved 6 fluffy yellow chicks, one tiny black chick, and one big black chick to the brooder. How many chicks are still in the incubator?  How many chicks will we have when the other two hatch?  Mrs. McCoy dipped each chick's beak in the water to teach it to drink.  The chicks pecked at the food on their own.  The light is at one end of the brooder.  When Mrs. McCoy covered the chicks with her shirt and patted them, they went right to sleep.  The only noise is the cheeping of the chicks that are still in the incubator.  Maybe they want to join their brothers and sisters in the new brooder!
    We think four of our eggs, and three of Mrs. Risley's eggs were not fertilized. 

 Day 22:  Wednesday, April 22 

 

    

      12:00 a.m.  On Friday, Mrs. Hogue put five bantum eggs from Macy's house in my incubator.  Three were pipping this morning at 8:30.  Two were peeping all day yesterday inside the eggs.  One tiny yellow chick hatched at 11:30 a.m.  Now, I'm waiting to see when the other two hatch.  I don't see any sign of pips on the remaining eggs, but you never know.  Maybe they're being lazy!