Egg Hatching Project

During the last week of term, our children at Stansted took part in a whole school vote to decide which chicken breeds they would like to hatch at school. The winning breeds were; Polish and Light Sussex.

 

On 1^st April the 24 eggs arrived at school, 12 of each breed, and were carefully placed into an incubator, where they will be kept safe and warm for three weeks. The incubator will slowly turn for 24 hours each day over the Easter break.  This is so that the developing chick does not stick to the shell whilst forming and it is a very important part of the incubation process.  

 

The children are very egg-cited and we all can’t wait to meet our first fluffy friend after half term.

 

21st  April 2021

We have been carefully observing the eggs since we returned to school. Today we heard little chirping sounds coming from the eggs! This is a sign that the chicks will hatch any day now!

 

22nd April 2021 

On the morning of 22nd April, the eggs were checked as normal and none had hatched. By break time, an amazing surprise awaited. Chick number one stares out from within the incubator - it had hatched over the course of the morning!!  

A larger incubator has been prepared in anticipation of any chicks hatching.  

Chick number one, which is the Polish breed, is already looking very strong and fluffed up and is getting ready to be moved to the larger incubator.

 

23rd April 2021

We arrived at school this morning and could not believe our eyes! Eight more fluffy chicks have hatched overnight! We have now moved our little friends to the bigger incubator and have given them food and water. This is a very careful process as we have to teach the chicks where to find the water and have to wet our finger, dip it in chick crumbs and show them the food. They’ll get used to this soon enough and will independently do this in the coming days.  

 

Saturday 24th April 

On Friday evening one more chick decided to make a late arrival! Mrs Chetty-Marston made sure the chick had some water and food before saying goodnight to the chicks. On Saturday morning, Mrs Lovelock checked on the chicks and couldn’t believe it when she found two more in the little incubator that had hatched over night. These two chicks joined their fluffy friends in the larger incubator and copied the other chicks straight away, to find food and water. 

 

Sunday 25th April

One more chick has hatched! The chicks were checked again at school and are doing very well. They’re a lively bunch and can’t wait for cuddles tomorrow morning from our Stansted children. From this week our pupils will have a set day and time to care for the chicks, feeding and watering them and holding them if they wish. We’ve been so impressed with how the children have responded to the chicks and how very kind and thoughtful they’ve been, as well as asking some really interesting questions about our new friends. 

Make sure you follow this weeks blog for updates and photos!