So Big in Just One Week!

The chicks have grown so much in just one week!  They are staying with Mrs. Ovies' class this week and onto Ms. Dinko next week:)  From there they will return to the farm that we got the eggs from.  What an amazing experience so far!

Getting Our Adult Wing Feathers

The chicks' adult feathers are starting to come in!

Huddled for safety after a cage cleaning:)

12 is the final tally!

Our final chick count was 12 healthy chicks! Wait until you see how fast they grow.

Here they are all huddled up to keep warm.

Another one of the group.

Are they a boy or a girl?

This is by far the most popular question. Really at this age there isn't a true way to tell with the untrained eye. There are a few wives tales like:

If the wing is split its female,one solid wing is a male.

When picking them up, males will pull legs up and females will let them hang.

I've also been told that overall there are more females. 

At about 3-5 months if it crows then you have a rooster!

Females lay eggs at 5-6 months at the average rate of 1 egg a day.

Also asked a lot is what's the difference between eggs with chicks and eggs at the store?  Eggs with chicks are fertilized by a rooster. Eggs at the store are not. You don't need a rooster for a hen to lay an egg.

So Much Excitement!!!

We have 13 chicks that have hatched. One was born with a bad leg, so he will come home with me just to be safe. When we left on Tuesday just one little one was born.  It was quite the experience to open that incubator and have 10 run to you:) The children are loving it! They are all very careful to be respectful of the babies and their little ears. Here is a picture of them in their new home.

Isn't she beautiful? I may have to keep this one. You aren't supposed to have favorites at school, but I think she may be an exception.

Let the Hatching Begin!

We came in today to a small hole in one of the eggs.  Two more are "rolling"!  Only 2 more days until the official "hatch day":)

Candled Egg Day 19

Candling the Eggs at 14 days

Our embryos are 14 days old.  We hope to see some chicks by the end of next week!  Today we candled the eggs and were able to see the babies down at the bottom.  The veins were even more visible this time too! The first graders are loving this experience.

The baby is the dark spot on the bottom of the egg.  You can also see the veins and air sac.

Candling Eggs at One Week

We took advantage of a cloudy take to take a closer look at the inside of our eggs and watch their growth.  This is not an actual picture of our eggs (we couldn't get a great picture).  However it is a great picture of what we saw.  You could see the veins that bring the nutrients to the chicken and the small embryo.  It was so exciting!