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Chick Watch 2025

Chick Watch 2025
 
For updates on our 'Living Eggs' project, please see our diary below.
Day 1:
We were very excited to see the arrival of our 'Living Eggs' this morning and after seeing them safely installed, we enjoyed spending some time learning how to look after them. 
We now know that before hatching they must be kept in a special home called an 'incubator' to help keep them warm and safe. It is important that we don't touch the incubator, keep the water in the bottom of the incubator topped up and make sure it stays at a steady temperature of 37.7 degrees.
When the chicks hatch out, we have to hold them gently too to make sure they don't get hurt.
We have set up a special 'Chick Watch' corner in our classroom to keep an eye on the eggs and keep them safe and created our own special 'chick bunting' to remind all visitors about the rules of looking after our eggs and chicks.
Day 2:
Our first chick has hatched overnight! He is still a little tired from all the hard work breaking out of his shell, but is starting to dry out and gather strength. He is also chirping loudly to say hello and try and encourage some more chicks to hatch. We hope to see them soon! 
 
Amazingly, our second chick hatched out just as the children were arriving at school! He had a rest inside his shell half-way through hatching, but was soon keen to get out and start standing as well too!
 
Throughout the day the children were very careful to keep an eye on our incubator whilst ensuring they didn't touch it. Everyone was fascinated to watch the chicks gain strength from the morning to the afternoon and had fun documenting what they observed through craft work, paintings, constructions and diary writing. 
 
2:00pm
Two more eggs suddenly cracked open this afternoon, so the number of chicks has now doubled!! 
As the children were leaving we spotted signs of another chick 'pipping' (starting to crack out of its egg with its egg tooth on its beak). We have learnt that the chicks need to stay in the incubator for about 24 hours to help them to dry out their feathers and gain strength so they will all stay in there overnight. They don't need feeding as they have filled themselves with lots of yolk from inside the egg before hatching and enjoy pecking any last bits off the empty egg shells if they're hungry. To keep the air warm and moist however we have to check there is water in the trays underneath the grill where the eggs and chicks are standing.
 
Chick number 5 then hatched out fully at about 4pm!
 
Before Mrs Clarke left there was yet another egg which had started to crack - Look carefully at the photo and video below to see if you can spot the chick whilst still inside the egg!!
 
We can't wait to see what will happen tomorrow!
Day 3:
There was lots of activity overnight so everyone was excited to see 9 chicks in total waiting to greet them this morning! In just a short amount of time we've seen a lot of change already, so by halfway through the morning it was easy to spot the oldest two chicks as they had already started to form tiny feathers on their wings. At lunchtime we moved them into a new home, the brooder, which has more space with a light at one end (to keep them warm) and food and water at the other end. It took them a little while to get used to their new surroundings but they were soon busy exploring and even jumped into their food bowl to get a bite to eat!!
At the end of the day the rest of their brothers and sisters were looking dry and strong, so they have now moved into the brooder too. We have just one egg remaining which has been left in the incubator. Unfortunately if it has not hatched by Friday it is unlikely to hatch (not all eggs do) but there is still time, so we will wait and see!
Day 4:
Our last egg still hadn't hatched this morning, but we left it in the incubator all day just in case. We do however have 9 very healthy looking chicks and by looking at their colourings have discovered that we have 5 boys and 4 girls (the boys are all yellow whilst the girls have a darker head and 'stripes' along their backs). They have taken a while to get used to their new home, but over the day started to eat more and move around. In the afternoon we discovered a 'poo' in their food bowl as well as quite a lot more on the floor and sawdust in their water bowl! This meant that it was time for their first daily 'clean' so some children helped to clear it out. First Mrs Clarke placed the chicks carefully in a clean box (next week the children will learn how to hold a chick carefully). It had some newspaper and sawdust in it for the chicks to scratch in as well as a bowl of food. Then we cleared out the brooder, topped up their food and collected some fresh water before lining the brooder with new paper and sawdust too. Thanks for your help everyone! They'll be happy overnight now!
Day 5 and Day 6:
Over the weekend, the chicks have been looked after by Miss Smith and her family. They had a very peaceful first night and have tucked into breakfast on their first morning. They are apparently now moving around the brooder more and enjoying all the company and attention they have been given! It is important to always know that the temperature is right for them whilst they are growing. If they are always just under the lamp, they are feeling cold. If they are always just around their food and water at the other end of the brood they are too warm. If they are moving around between the two areas, that means their home is just right. We're glad to hear that they are happy and continuing to grow well and can't wait to see them back in the classroom next week.
Day 7:
As soon as we saw the chicks again this morning we knew that they had been eating well because they had grown so much and changed so quickly! Everyone was amazed to see them moving all over the brooder, including onto the top of the water feeder!! To help clean the cage and give them a bit of exercise we decided to let the chicks out for an 'explore' for the first time today. We gave them a little sawdust and some food in a tuff spot and the children were delighted to see them start flapping their wings a little and jumping around. We didn't really want them running around on the carpet, so when a couple jumped out we quickly popped them back in safely. Everyone was very sensible staying seated in a circle to keep them safe and listened carefully as we explained how to hold them properly ready for them to have a go in the afternoon.
Whilst they hopped around we were able to see them a little more clearly and talk about what we noticed (ready for our chick watch entries).
"I can see the brown stripes on the girls backs!"
"I can see their feathers growing!"
It was interesting to notice that we could even see who had the 'longest' and who had the 'shortest' wings by comparing the length poking out!
In the afternoon, everyone who wanted to had a turn holding and stroking a chick. Some were more happy than others to be held, but if you 'cupped' them carefully (like a gentle cuddle) and made sure that you weren't squeezing them too tight, they felt happy and safe and stayed contently in many children's hands quite happily!
In the morning we'd noticed that one of the chicks still had 'poo' on its bottom (this can happen!) so Mrs Kingman kindly helped clean it (as well as the brooder!) and soon they were all back snoozing in their home after a busy day!
Day 8:
Each day we have been amazed by how much the chicks have grown. This has inspired some artwork at carousel time thinking about what they might look like when they have left us and become grown ups!
Today our 'chick watch' team noticed that their feathers had grown even longer and they were even more 'chatty', cheeping away when everyone came into the classroom in the morning. Once all the children sat down on the carpet however, it was time for them to have another rest too! Lots of children also noticed lots more poo everywhere! Although this means we have more to clean up, this is a good sign as it means they are eating well. With all the extra energy they are getting, the chicks have been very active and enjoyed flapping their wings a lot and jumping from place to place. They've also become much more inquisitive and brave and started sitting, sleeping and hiding in all sorts of places, including the food bowl, behind the water bowl and even on top of each other!!
Day 9:
The chicks have continued to be very active today, such that we've had to talk to them about not jumping too high and bumping their heads on the roof! They've also been keen on showing off their amazing feathers and beautiful feet! During our carousel time our Art Group today spent some time carefully observing them and noticed how they have 3 toes at the front and one at the back. They tried to record these observations carefully through their drawings. Meanwhile our writing group noticed how they were flapping their wings a lot and lying down quite a bit (probably worn out after all that jumping) and worked hard to record what they saw too through writing and pictures. 
We have continued to have to clean out the brooder a lot to keep it fresh and clean. When we do so, we place the chicks in another box to keep them safe - but they are becoming more and more inquisitive about the world around them and we have to keep a close eye on them!
At the end of the day, once they were back in their clean home, Mrs Kennedy had to move the position of the water feeder as they kept on jumping on top of it and trying to jump out through the small hole! They are certainly starting to get ready for a new, bigger home!
Day 10:
It was lovely and sunny today, but even our chicks noticed the heat and moved to the opposite end of the brooder away from the lamp to cool down! Whilst 'chilling' it was wonderful to be able to observe their continually developing wing feathers and stripy markings (on the girls). We compared their growth with our own growth from babies to now and the children couldn't believe how much they had changed in just one week!
Day 11:
Everyone was very sad to say goodbye to our chicks today but we were pleased that so many girls were being adopted so it gave us a chance to introduce them to their new homes before they moved on.
First we moved the girls who had hatched in our classroom to a new brooder for Arthur and his family to take home. The boys squeaked a little as they said goodbye, but now that they have grown so much they all looked very happy with the already bigger amount of space that they had! The farmer then delivered 8 'cousins' from other batches that had hatched this week and these were placed in a box brooder for Mr Grey and Mrs Scott to take home. All the chicks will remain indoors with a lamp on, if necessary, for approximately 6 weeks until they are full feathered and 'waterproof'! Then will then move into outdoor hen houses with even more space to roam.
It felt a bit quieter when they had been collected, but we are now looking forward to looking after our new, somewhat quieter, smaller and slower-growing 'class pets' that have arrived - some tadpoles!
Adoption update:
Mr Grey has shared that the chicks who went home with him settled in very well and after the busy journey home were soon 'fast asleep and dreaming'!