Our Chicks Are Going Upstate...

Well, it had to happen sometime....our nine growing chicks are leaving Brooklyn for their new home in upstate New York!  We are lucky that a wonderful PS58 family has a chicken coop at their house upstate and has offered to take our chicks for the second time!  We now will be able to see how they grow!

Blue Andalusian chick!

Inside the brooder. They love to huddle together.

A Barred Rock chick exploring the classroom.

They love to eat out of our hands!

Pecking at sparkly sneakers!

They sure do like to poop!  Lots of paper towels
to cover it up!

Escaping chicks in all directions!

They are SO soft!

You can feel their bones.

Standing on some hands, while other hands wait patiently!

This chick is resting on Ms. Karyn's wrist!

Lots of food!*

Come on little guy!*

It doesn't hurt when they peck.*

Here you go little chick.*

Come onto my hands!*

Ms. Valerie's class, K-131, made a house for the chicks during choice time.  There was a bridge, a tunnel to get inside, soft beds, a hanging porch and a top that could let light in.The class was so excited to see if the chicks would like their creation! Some of the class noticed that the entrance to the house was too small for the growing chick to use, so they opened up the top!

They borrowed two scooters from the gym to
bring the house safely from their classroom
to mine.

They explained all the parts, including soft
foam in case the chicks fell off the bridge.

One of the Blue Andalusian chicks bravely
walked across the bridge!

She was a little uncertain about the porch.

After spotting my Little Sun solar lamp, they
added it to their house thinking it would help the
chicks see.

Well....two solar lamps are better than one...
and better to be inside the house so it won't fall on the chicks!

* photo credit Karyn Ruggiero.

Into the Brooder They Go!

We have nine little chicks so far!  They have been very vocal...and very cute! I moved them into the brooder at the end of the day today.  I "taught" them how to eat and drink from the feeders and made sure the temperature is at 90 degrees! They seem to love having more room to move around!  They are so light and soft...one even fell asleep in my hand.  Can't wait for the classes to be able to touch them next week!

The Eggs are Hatching!

Today is day 21 for the eggs....hatch day....and....they are hatching!  When I left school Wednesday night, four eggs had some small cracks in their shell.  When I arrived at school today....four baby chicks awaited!  Three Blue Andalusian chicks and one Barred Rock chick!  By the time I left today, four more Barred Rock chicks hatched!  We have 6 eggs left....we'll see how many are waiting for me tomorrow!

 

The first four chicks that hatched!

The little black chick in the center just hatched!

Tomorrow, the dry chicks will be put in the brooder where they will live until they leave us for upstate NY!

The Chick Eggs Are On Lockdown!

Today is day 18...only 3 more days until the eggs hatch!  Inside the egg, the chicks now have their feathers and the egg tooth at the tip of their beak that helps them crack their eggshell! To keep the conditions ideal for hatching the eggs, the incubator won't be opened again until the chicks hatch..they are on lockdown!

Only 3 more day until they hatch!

Many of the classes think all 14 eggs will hatch!  Two years ago, we had 20 eggs and 19 hatched, so hopefully we will be successful again this year!

The eggs are out of the turner.  The humidity
level is now between 65 and 70%.

The brooder is ready for when they hatch! 
Water, food and a heat lamp!

In a day or two we might even be able to hear the chicks cheep inside the shell! Lots of excitement in room 112!

Our Chick Eggs Have Arrived!

Our chick eggs arrived from Meyer Hatchery in Ohio on Thursday! They came in the mail and all 14 eggs survived the trip!

We have an assortment of eggs.

The incubator is set at 100 degrees F and around 50% humidity.

The eggs are placed in the turner!

In 21 days our eggs should start hatching!  We don't know how many will hatch, but we can't wait to find out!

Wow! The Chicks Have Grown!

Here is a picture of our chicks from their upstate home...they aren't so little anymore!

I was given eggs laid by chickens a few years older than ours.  Our chicks won't start laying eggs for another few months! The lighter egg in the middle was laid by a younger chicken than the other bigger and darker eggs.

And the Chicks are Off!

Well, it had to happen at some point!  Our chicks have gone with a PS58 family to their new home in upstate New York!  We hope to get pictures of them as they continue to grow!

We had so much fun watching them walk around and peck at things!

They loved to peck at the designs!

Huddling in the heat lamp.

So many hands patiently waiting!

Such calm hands....with tasty food!

Somebody is feeling very bold!  In fact, the black chick ended up
flying onto the edge of the box!  I think it's time for a bigger space!

This little chick has so many feathers on it's wings!

They have such long legs now!

Getting in the car for the trip north!

At their new home!