We've had a great time anticipating our chicks!  My students have collected and recorded data (temperature and humidity) and have faithfully turned, turned, turned the eggs.  After twenty-one days, right on schedule, we had three chicks hatch today and expect more tomorrow!   Their little chirps are so sweet and outdoorsy-sounding.  Our 4-H rep will come this week and collect these little cuties for delivery to local farmers - for pets, I'm sure! :)  

      For the first time ever, my classes are incubating chicken eggs!  Thanks for our local 4-H organization, we have an incubator, a dozen fertilized eggs from a local farmer, and a great notebook of information.  The kids are loving it!
      My students sit in groups of four or six.  We have five of these "tables", so each table is assigned a day of the week to tend the eggs - they record the temperature and humidity level, then turn them, several times a day.  You may notice the eggs have an "X" marked on them - the other side has an "O".  That helps us know which side to turn them to.
     The most important rule is cleanliness!  We wash our hands before and after working with the eggs.

     We have 18 more days left of the 21 needed to hatch the chicks.  We can hardly wait!