Chicks

The eggs arrived on Friday 11th of September. Miss Taylor put them straight in the incubator to keep them warm so that they could start developing. We had them in class for 5 days in the incubator and saw the air sack when they were candled. Miss Taylor kept them at home for the week before they hatched so they didn't get damaged in the car journey. Fertilised hen eggs usually take 21 days to hatch. The first chick was early, hatching after 20 days. Chick number two hatched quickly, early on Friday morning.

13 eggs being put in the incubator

Looking for the blood vessels, air sack and the shadow of the chick at day 15..mp4

Candling eggs.mp4

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Candling the eggs at day 15.

The first egg started to crack on Thursday morning. By 11 o'clock in the evening there was a crack all around the egg but the chick was still inside. After about 15 minutes of cheeping, pecking and rocking from the egg the chick pushed the rest of the egg away with it's wing and foot and hatched. It was tired and damp at first. By the morning, it had dried off and fluffed up. Chick number two hatched quickly, early on Friday morning. Three more chicks hatched throughout Friday and the last two hatched on Saturday making 7 chicks. They stayed in the incubator until they were dry and fluffy (around 10 hours) then were placed in the tub with food, water and the Eco Glow to keep them warm. The first one to be put in the tub cheaped very loudly, I think it missed the others.

egg hatching.mp4

The eggs started hatching with just a small crack. We could hear the chick cheeping inside and the egg rocking. After several hours, the egg usually cracked in half. It moved and rolled and we could see the chick wriggling inside. Eventually, it would use it's foot, wing or beak to break the shell completely open. When the chick finally hatched, it collapsed on the floor, soggy and exhausted.