2013 Chick Watch at Mary L. Tracy

April 29th – May 10th

The Eggs Arrive

Every class begins visiting the incubator once a day to observe the eggs.

Then, the kids return to class to write in their journals

What did I see? What did I hear? What did I smell?

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Capecelatro, for going to UCONN to get our 12 eggs and giving us the incubator for this project!

The Eggs Arrive

The early observations are full of wonder. The eggs had x’s and o’s on them so we

could track rotating them 3 times a day.

I see hugs and kisses on the eggs.

I hear chirping.

I smell coffee.

The Days Go By

It was a long, long wait. It became harder and harder to think of

things to write in the observation journals.

I see the red light.

I hear the fan turn on and off.

I smell nothing!

The Days Go On… and On

And the wait grew longer. Then, one day something was a little different. As the chicks’ due date grew closer, Mr. Bruder

added a webcam.

I see the little box on top. It’s a camera.

I hear nothing!

I smell nothing!

The Days Go On… and On

And the wait grew even longer. One of the children summed up what we all

were thinking…How do we know something is in there?

This experiment truly was a leap of faith, and the adults began wondering, “What if nothing happens?”

Then one day something did change!

On Monday, May 6th, one egg had a crack!

At Last… A Crack Appears

The journal writing was excited and hopeful. Everyone saw the crack.

I saw the shell moving!

I heard chirping!

I smelled fedders! Our first chick was on his way, and he was noisy! But he was also very, very slow; and by 7:30

p.m. nothing new had happened.

At Last… A Chick Arrives

Sometime about 7:55 p.m. on May 6th, the first chick arrived.

Some families saw it on the webcam and emails started flying!

It seemed like within only a few hours, and -- with none of the chicks taking the time our first one did – soon there were four, then six.

The webcam was a wonderful addition to the project, and at 11:00 on Tuesday morning, everyone got to see one little chick push out of his shell, including kids watching the webcam in a school in New Jersey!

Everyone fell in love!

The chicks peck naturally.. the shiny tin foil balls attracted them to the dish, and when they pecked, they found the food.

The marbles in the water dish prevented them from falling in and drowning if they got into the water dish.

Time to Say Goodbye On May 10th, it was time for our chicks to travel to

Buttermilk Farm – their new home! By then, they had names: Sebastian, Smiley,

Mickey, Sunshine, Cookie, Fluffy, Cooper, Rose, and Fuzzy.

“Look how tiny they are!”

“I want to take one home!”

“One was running. 9 hatched, 3 didn’t. Two

knocked in to each other. One fell down.”

“They’re sleeping. They’re fighting. They’re eating.

I saw all of them in the pen. I heard chirps. I

smelled nothing.”