Field+Elementary+-+Chick+Log

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 * 2012 - The Chicks Have Hatched!!! **
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 * LIVE __#|Video Streaming__ || Slideshow of Photos ||
 * media type="custom" key="3847037"

Listen to our chicks.media type="file" key="chick_sounds_doskins.wav" width="300" height="50" || media type="custom" key="3643665" 1. Click the bottom right corner of the slideshow ( rainbow circle ) 2. Click the name of the photo album ( Chicks Scrapbook ) 3. Click "Slideshow" in the top left corner
 * To view photos Full Screen**

media type="custom" key="3643647" Thank you Mrs. Oakes from Pennsylvania for the idea to use clustrmaps. This map was embedded on April 13, 2012 and it will show us where in the world people have viewed our project. This clustr map will be archived in mid April 2013, we had visitors from the following countries: United States - 202 Germany - 1 United Kingdom - 22 Georgia - 1 Canada - 10 France - 1 Australia - 9 Cyprus - 1 India - 3 New Zealand - 1 South Africa - 3 Malaysia - 1 Pakistan - 2 Philippines - 1 Bulgaria - 1 Turkey - 1 Slovenia - 1 Spain - 1 || Visitor Thoughts - Click here to make a comment || Day 0 || || Mr. Hooker delivered our fertilized eggs today! We have 12 eggs; 8 beige, 2 green, 1 brown, and 1 white egg.
 * = **OBSERVATION LOG**
 * **Date** || **Photos / Drawings** || **Observations** ||
 * 4/1/12

We had alot of questions: Why do we need an incubator? The eggs do not have their mother or female chicken which is called a hen. So the incubator takes the place of the hen. We learned about the incubator's 2 very important purposes. It gives the eggs heat, 100 __#|degrees__ and it provides humidity. Why are the eggs different colors? The eggs comes from different types/breeds of hens; different males/roosters also affect the color of the egg. How long will it take before the chicks hatch? It take about 21 days for the chick to hatch. || Day 6 || || We candled the eggs for the 1st time. It was hard to see inside the darker eggs but it was easy to see inside the white egg. We saw the baby chick and the blood vessels that feed the little chick. The chick is about the size of a pencil eraser. It is resting near the air sack on the larger round end of the egg. The beak is beginning to form.
 * 4/7/12

Noah asked a good question, "Why are the veins on the outside of the chick instead of inside?" There are blood vessels/veins in the egg shell and different ones in the chick. || Day 12 || || We candled an egg from the __#|grocery__ store. We could see right through it. It did not have any veins/blood vessels or any dark spots inside it.
 * 4/13/12

Some questions we had: Mr. Doskins asked the __#|class__, "Why does the inside of the __#|grocery__ store egg look different than the fertilized egg?" The __#|grocery__ store egg is for __#|eating__ and has nothing growing inside of it. A fertilized egg has a chick growing inside and it does not get eaten.

Olivia wants to know what fertilized means? Fertilized means that there is a chick growing inside the egg.

Brien asked, "How many chicks are we going to get?" We can see blood vessels/veins in 3 eggs so we should get at least 3 chicks. The other eggs are too dark to see what is happening inside. || Day 13 || || We are able to see the veins/blood vessels very easily in the white egg. We were able to see the chick move one of its wings. The chick is about 2 inches long. It's head is tucked into it's tummy. The head is near the air sack at the larger round end of the egg and it's legs are down near the end where we see the blood vessels. The claws are forming and the chick is turning to get into position to break the shell.
 * 4/14/12

Some questions we had: Brien wanted to know how the veins get out of the egg shell and how do they go into the chick's body? There ar 2 different sets of blood vessels/veins; one for the chick and the other is in the egg.

Axel wanted to know how the chick gets bigger in the egg? The yolk feeds the chicks and the blood vessels carry nutrients to the chick.

Olivia asked how does the chick drink water inside the egg? Chicks do not need to drink while they are in the egg because the yolk is providing all the necessary nutrients.

Noah wants to know why the blood comes out of the egg? The blood that comes out of the egg is from the vessels breaking as the chick is hatching. || Day 16 || || Today was the last day to candle our eggs. The chicks have grown and it is difficult to see inside even the white egg. The air sack is visible and so are the blood vessels/veins but we did not see any movement.
 * 4/17/12

Sadly we did see 3 eggs with blood rings which means the embryo has died. We are focusing on the eggs that still have live embryos (3 that we can tell).

Everyone is excited for next week! || Day 19 || || We removed the automatic egg turner today and the eggs are now resting on the wire mesh.
 * 4/20/12

Some questions we had: Amy asked "How does the automatic egg turner work?" It is run off of electricity and gently rocks the eggs back and forth.

Oliva asked "How do the eggs get turned with the hen?" The hen moves the eggs each time she enters and leaves the nest. Also, the hen can gently move the eggs with her beak and/or claws.

Emerald asked, "Why does the hen leave the nest?" The hen needs to eat and drink.

Brien asked, "How do the eggs stay warm if the hen leaves the nest?" Just like when we candle the eggs and take them out of the incubator for just a couple of minutes, the hen can leave her eggs for short periods of time?" || Day 21 || || We had 1 chick hatch overnight. It hatched out of one of the small beige eggs and it is yellow. What a wonderful way to start Earth Day!!! Here is a picture of our new friend. I am looking over the 15 hour video to try to determine about when it hatched. This picture was taken around 7:30 am and you can see that it still a little wet so I am guessing that he is maybe 6-8 hours old.
 * 4/22/12

Wow! Everyone was so excited to see our 1st chick this morning and that we had 3 more eggs with little holes. What a morning we have had - it has been hard to talk about anything other than the chicks. Around 11:15 am we had a 2nd yellow chick hatch out of a beige egg. Just a few moments later a 3rd chick (also out of a beige egg) made its way into the world. We happened to noticed it on the webcam and stoppped reading and we got to see the black chick hatch. Such a wonderful experience for us all to witness! These pictures were taken just moments after the chicks hatched from their eggs.

The most asked question today... "Why is it not moving?" Cracking open the egg is a lot of work for these little ones and because hatching is so exhausting chicks spend much of their first hours of life outside the egg sleeping.

"When can the chicks be moved into the brooder?" The chicks need to stay in the incubator for about 24 hours. When the chicks hatch they are wet and they need to dry off and let their feathers fluff up.

"How are they going to eat and drink in the incubator?" || || Chicks are 6 days old || || Mrs. Van Llewen brought in 2 hens today so we could compare our chicks to adult chickens. We noticed that the hens were a lot bigger and they did not have any down feathers. The hens' feet and wings were also bigger than the chicks. We noticed that the chicks have a lot of changes to make before they will grown into an adult.
 * 4/23/12 || [[image:IMG_1689.jpg width="274" height="225"]] || Out of our 12 eggs we had 6 hatch, 5 beige eggs and 1 white egg. We have 2 yellow chicks, 1 brown and yellow chick, 2 black naked neck chicks, and 1 black chick.
 * 4/28/12

Some questions we had: How old are the hens? They are about 11 weeks old or almost 3 months. They are 10 weeks older than our chicks.

What is the red thing on top of their head? The red (it can be other colors depending on the color of the chicken) is called a comb.

What do the hens eat? They eat chicken food and leftovers from dinner.

Do they lay eggs? Not yet, a hen won't lay eggs until she is about 6 months old. || Chicks are 12 days old || || WOW! The chicks are changing and growing right before our eyes! They are starting to loose the down feathers on their wings which are replaced with regular feathers and they are starting to grow tail feathers. We are able to see the earlobs and little combs.
 * 5/4/2012

Some questions we had: Are the chicks hens or roosters? A rooster will have a larger comb than the hen and he will also have a wattle. Our chicks are too small for me to know if our chicks are hens or roosters so we will have to ask Mr. Hooker if it is possible to tell with chicks - It is possible but you have to know how and Mr. Hooker does not know the process.

Can we go and visit the chicks? Sadly, the chicks will be on different farms where children will show them them summer as 4H project. ||
 * Goodbye Chicks! We learned a lot about you and we will miss you! || [[image:IMG_1795.jpg width="307" height="245"]] ||