chicks

Last month we did a unit study on farm life. We read a ton of books on farm animals and how food grows, etc. I thought it would be extra fun to learn about chickens. Someone in my homeschool network let me know that 4H rents incubators for $10 and sells fertilized eggs for only $3. We brought home 12 eggs. On Monday afternoon two of them finally hatched! We happened to be in the room at the time and we heard chirping. We rushed over, (I grabbed the video camera) and watched as the first little guy came out. I'd never seen a chicken hatch before, so it was pretty exciting for me too! The other 10 eggs didn't hatch and we now have two baby chicks in our living room. The girls named them Sara and Cody.

You can see the first chick just getting out of his shell and the second chick has pecked a tiny hole in the egg at the bottom of the picture.

Cody and Sarah

Two proud little "mommies"

You don't have to homeschool to rent the incubator and buy the eggs. For $13, it's a ton of fun! Now, what to do with the chicks? Tim thought we would raise chickens and have fresh eggs, but now he's thinking it might be more work than he cares to take on. It takes 5 months before a chicken will lay it's first egg. 4H takes the chicks back for you if you decide you don't want them. The jury is still out on what will be decided. . .