Spring
is in the air and it’s that time of the year when I travel with our county 4-H
extension educator to talk about embryology.
First of all, what is it? Did the
chicken come first or did the egg? Well,
if you’re sitting through my demonstration, sometimes I talk about the chicken
first and sometimes I talk about the egg first.
We talk about the different purposes and jobs of the chicken, the
different parts of the chicken, and the leg band on the chicken including
testing for quality and health. We also
let the classroom know what the rooster’s job is and what the hen will do to “brood”
the eggs.
After
all our talk with the chickens, we will move to the egg and the incubator. We educate the youth on the different parts
of the egg and how those parts help the chick in its development. We help the kid’s set-up and prepare the
incubator including the proper use of it.
The temperature and humidity in the incubator are vital to a successful
hatch. If either of those two things isn’t
right or kept at a constant, in all likelihood, the peeps won’t hatch or they might
hatch, but they may struggle to survive.
Did
you know that chicken eggs will hatch 21 days after the incubation has
begun? If you let the water chambers
within the incubator dry-up, the embryos will die. Another important factor that we teach the
kids is about the importance of washing their hands prior to handling the
eggs. You see, in order for the eggs to
properly grow into peeps, the eggs must be turned several times a day while
they are in the incubator. It helps to
mark all the eggs with a small penciled “X” on one side of the egg. At least three times a day, you need to turn
the egg over to its other side. You also
want to make sure that however many times you turn the egg throughout the day;
you do it an uneven number of times to ensure that the eggs aren’t on the same
side through the night.
After
we teach the kids all these tricks, they become “eggsperts.” We leave them with a dozen eggs and an
incubator that has been set to temperature.
After a week, we return to the classroom where we “candle” the
eggs. We candle the eggs to check for
viability. After only one short week, by
turning off the lights in the room and holding the egg to the light box, you
can actually see the growing embryo inside the egg. We remove any eggs that show no signs of
life.
By
day 18, the eggs are no longer turned.
Instead, the box is left to wait.
You will hopefully begin hearing slight “pipping” noises which the chick
is making its way. Before long, you we
see a small “x” like crack in the egg.
The chick has begun to make his entrance into the world. As difficult as it may be for you to refrain
from helping the little chick make its way out of its egg, don’t! The chick builds strength as it works to free
itself from the shell. They aren’t the
cutest thing in the world when they first make their appearance, but rest
assured, before long, they become the cutest ball of fluff we are all smitten
with. So when all conditions are right,
one of the most rewarding things is being able to witness the hatching of the
chicks.
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