Videos of the chick drinking water & hatching

Baby chick drinking water

Chicken starting to hatch...It takes a long time

and hatching...

and hatching...

and hatching...

and finally the chick hatched! The chick is very tired! After the video stopped we moved the eggshell so that the chick could move around easier.

Thursday Afternoon Picture Update!

Saturday Afternoon with the Chicks Program

Saturday Afternoon with the Chicks

This Saturday at 1:00 p.m. we will be having an Afternoon with the Chicks party.

Adults & children will have the opportunity to hold a chick, get their picture taken with a chick, make a chick craft, have a chick snack, and watch a chick movie.

This is an All Ages Eggvent!

We will also announce the winners of the Peep Dioramas and

Chicklet & Jelly Bean Guessing Contest!
We hope that you will stop by the library to see the cute, fluffy, baby chicks!

We have a variety of breeds that are all different colors!

Some look like chipmunks, a penguin, brown, reddish, black, yellow & more!

The baby chicks will be here until Friday, May 8th @ 3:00 p.m.

The chicks will then move to their new home at The Children's Farm in Palos.

Pictures from Wednesday

Wednesday Morning

We had 6 baby chicks waiting for us this morning when we came in. They were moving around and peeping!

Good Morning Baby Chicks!

WOW...were we surprised this morning!

We came into the library & 6 new baby chicks were hatched!

We now have a total of 9 baby chicks!

We have 3 baby chicks

More pictures & video tomorrow....we are egghausted!

THE CHICKS HAVE HATCHED!!!!!!!!!

At 12:10 p.m. the first baby chick (#16) hatched followed closely by baby chick (#10) at 12:15 p.m.

Brooder box set-up

The baby chicks will need a new home after they hatch.

When they first hatch they will be wet & sticky.

They will stay in the incubator until they begin to fluff up.

After they fluff up, we will move them to their new home.

The new home is called a brooder box.

It will supply them with heat, food, & water.

Below is a video of how to set-up a brooder box.

• First- find a box.


• Next - we chose to cut a window in the front of the box to provide a viewing window.We want to thank Home Depot for supplying the library with a piece of plexiglass & cutting tool to build the brooder box.
  
• Third- we put down some bedding for the chicks to make them comfortable. (we used hamster shavings but we will use cut up newspapers in the future)
• Fourth- we added a water source, a food source, and a heat source.

Egg Chart

Egg # ...............First Pip.............. Hatch

10 ..............................Monday 8:00 p.m.......... Tuesday 12:15 p.m. (2nd)
16 ..............................Monday 8:00 p.m.......... Tuesday 12:10 p.m. (1st)
38 ..............................Tuesday 7:00 a.m.........
26 ..............................Tuesday 10:00 a.m........
36 ..............................Tuesday 10:15 a.m........
5.................................Tuesday 11:00 a.m........
12...............................Tuesday 11:00 a.m........
9.................................Tuesday 12:20 p.m.......

We can see a beak!

Egg # 10 pictured

Egg # 10 made their first pip in their egg on Monday, April 27th @ 8:00 p.m.

Video of baby chick's beak

Day 21 - April 29th

Day 21

Major Growth Developments

• The neck begins to spasm.
• The egg tooth pips through the shell.
• Exhausted and wet - but alive - the chick has hatched!

Information & Image from the University of Illinois website:http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/explore/embryology/

First Peeps!!!

Tonight I heard a baby chick take their first peep!
Number 10 & 16 have pip marks where the baby chick has used their egg tooth to make their first peck in the egg.

Day 20 - April 27th

Day 20
Major Growth Developments

• The lungs are using the air cell for breathing completely.

• The embryo occupies all of the egg except air cell.Information & Image from the University of Illinois website:http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/explore/embryology/

The baby chicks are on Facebook

Thank you to Dawn Nelson & her family for creating a Chicago Ridge Chicks Fanbook page on Facebook. Log into your Facebook account and become a fan of the Chicago Ridge Chicks!

We are so eggcited for the eggs to hatch! They should begin to hatch on Tuesday, April 28th and Wednesday, April 29th. The baby chicks will stay at the library until Friday, May 8th at 3 p.m.

The baby chicks will then move to their new home at The Children's Farm in Palos.

Day 19 - April 26th

Day 19

Major Growth Developments

• The yolk sac begins to enter the body cavity.

Information & Image from the University of Illinois website:http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/explore/embryology/

Day 18 - Taking out the Automatic Egg Turner

On Saturday, we took out the automatic egg turner. The eggs no longer need to be turned after day 18. We will now prepare the incubator for the hatching of the baby chicks.

1. Open the incubator
2. Take the eggs out of the automatic egg turner and place them carefully in the egg cartons that they arrived in.
3. Unplug and take out the automatic egg turner.
4. Place a layer of cheese cloth (like a very thin paper towel) and place over the wire rack.
5. Add sponges to the bottom channels of the incubator to increase moisture. Fill with water.
6. Place the eggs back on to the cheese cloth. The eggs will now rest on their sides.
7. Close up the incubator.
8. Remove the red vent plug from the top.

Thank you to Dawn Nelson for videotaping the events.

Day 18 - April 25

Day 18

Major Growth Developments

• The beak breaks through the inner shell membrane.


• The lungs begin to function.

Information & Image from the University of Illinois website:http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/explore/embryology/

Day 17 - April 24th

Day 17

Major Growth Developments

• The beak turns towards the air cell.

Information & Image from the University of Illinois website:http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/explore/embryology/

Day 16 - April 23rd

Day 16

Major Growth Developments

• The embryo turns its beak toward the air cell.


• The chorioallantoic cavity lines most of the inside surface of the egg shell.

Information & Image from the University of Illinois website:http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/explore/embryology/

Day 15 - April 22nd

Day 15

Major Growth Developments

• The scales, claws, and beak are becoming firm.

Information & Image from the University of Illinois website:http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/explore/embryology/

Day 14 - April 21st

Day 14

Major Growth Developments

• The embryo turns its head toward the blunt end of the egg.
• The skull has begun to ossify.

Information & Image from the University of Illinois website:http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/explore/embryology/