Hatching Project

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Four second grade classrooms are hatching chicks in the classroom. There are 93 second graders at Carpenter Hill Elementary. We have twelve eggs per class totaling 48 eggs. We began the project on March 24th. We set up our incubators and worked on leveling out the temperature. The temperature must be kept at a constant 99.5 degrees with around 40% humidity. We added the fertilized eggs on March 26th. Agrilife and a local farmer supplied the fertilized eggs. The incubators were bought by teachers and some supplies were donated by Hays Agrilife. Each of the teachers has about 8 white eggs and about 4 "fancy" eggs, or other breeds.  The entire hatching process takes around 21 days. Our official hatch day is April 16th. On an average year, about 1/3 to 1/2 of the eggs hatch healthy chicks. When the project is over, students from each class take the chicks home. We sex the chicks on day two after they hatch. We can tell if it is a hen or rooster based on the wing and feather structure. We try to place the chicks in households with other chickens. Chickens are a social creature and do not thrive individually.

Throughout the entire process, we journal our progress. Each child has a chick packet. We learn about animal life cycles, ecosystems, habitats, food, community, and grief. Students enjoy connecting different subject areas and learning styles in one project. This project is easily adapted to different learning and behaviorial abilities. Special education, gifted and talented, behaviorial support, and other health impaired students are all able to successfully complete this project. Accomodations include project extensions and research projects, partially completed journals, and guided support.

We are finishing the project with a research piece. Each student will research chickens and write an expository piece to extend and share their learning.