Baby Chicks!!

We have something extremely exciting going on in our classroom this week!  We have been hatching baby chicks.  Before the chicks hatched, we learned all about the life cycle of a chicken. It takes a hen and a rooster to make a baby chick.  The hen is the one that lays the eggs.  After she lays the eggs, she sits on them. The hen has to sit on them to keep them warm.  The hen also rotates the eggs and rolls them around in the nest.  We don't have a hen in our kindergarten classroom. We have an incubator to keep our eggs warm and to rotate them.

It takes 21 days for a baby chick to grow inside the egg. While the chick is in the egg, the chick eats the yolk.  There are little holes in the egg that you can't see.  There are tiny blood vessels that carry the air from outside the egg to the baby chick (the chick is called an embryo).  We got to use a special light (overhead projector) to look inside our eggs in our classroom.  We predicted whether or not our chicks would hatch after looking inside the eggs.  Some of the eggs seemed empty but other eggs looked like there was a chick inside.  We even saw some blood vessels!

After 21 days, it is time for the baby chick to start hatching!  The chick has a special thing on the end of it's beak called an egg tooth.  The chick uses this egg tooth to crack a tiny hole in the egg. Then, the chick keeps cracking the egg in a zig zag line across the middle.  He has to use his feet and body to push his way out of the egg.  As soon as the chick gets out of the egg, he is exhausted! This means that he is super tired.  The chick will rest for a long time.  The chick actually looks like he just got out of the bathtub when he hatches because he is very wet.  We call his feathers "down". The chick's down is very very wet but it will dry after a few hours.  When the chick dries, he is very fluffy and soft. The baby chicks are also very loud and chatty throughout the day!

Our baby chicks are so adorable. Even though we wish that more would have hatched, we have five adorable chicks.  We have been playing with the chicks all week in our classroom.  Mrs. Deaton has to take the chicks back to the farm this afternoon so we are going to miss them so much!  This has been such a fun experience for us and we will never forget it!

"When we looked inside the eggs with a light before the chicks were born, we decided if we thought the egg was a dud or if it was going to hatch.  We put a star or a D on the egg." Cever

"My favorite thing about the chick is when you get to hold it." Linkon

"When we got to hold the chicks, they were very fluffy." Taylor

"I like that the chicks are fluffy when we hold them." Kaitie

"When we got to see Peanut hatch, it was really fun." Carolina

"When we got to see Cookie hatch, it was really fun.  She was covered in down and then the down dried. When I held Cookie, he pooped on me!" Destiny

"I like how fluffy they are." Riley

"I like to pet them because they are very soft." Alexandra

"Holding the chicks is awesome because they are cute." Casey

"Chicks are awesome because they peck." Brenden

"Chicks are cool because they are fluffy." Brayson

"I liked the chicks because when they are inside the egg, we saw a mass.  We knew the chick was going to hatch!" Lydia

"The chicks are cute because when they grow they look cute with their feathers." James

"I like the chicks because they are awesome." Ian

"The chicks are so yucky when they hatch. Now they are dry." Oliver

"The chicks are cute because they are fluffy." Manju

"I like the chicks." Allison

"I like the chicks because they are fluffy." Muhammad

"I like the chicks because they have names. My favorite is Oreo." Omar

"I like when I held the chick in my hand." Justin

Emmanuel

Mrs. Deaton's kids, Connor and Brandon, were so excited to meet our baby chicks as well!!