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Candling the Eggs I saw spots in the egg. It was moving. The warm light made the chick move. At my house we have white chickens all the same kind, but one can crow to wake the other chickens. He doesn't wake me up because he is in the barn around the corner. ...Junior |
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Mr. Zupin likes to do stuff with kids. He likes to hatch eggs. He brought eggs. We study eggs. When they hatch we will hold them gently. If you squeeze too hard it could hurt them. ...Jared |
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The eggs are gonna hatch in 21 days. Mr. K. and Mr. Zupin told me. We saw the ball move around in the egg. We have to keep them warm. We have to turn them over to X and O. I wrote both X and O on three eggs. I want to take one home and I will feed it worms from the store. ...Jacob |  |
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I like eggs. I eat them cooked. But we have real eggs in our room with chickens in the eggs, not for cooking. I just know it will be fun holding the chicks carefully. ...James |  |
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A wall chart shows the progress of the chicks inside the egg. Each day Mr. Kudlack has the children turn the eggs. They discuss the process and make their own sequence chart. |
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The chicks are cool. They are getting bigger. In 12 days they will hatch. I think. We had a lot of chickens at my house but they died. The girl chickens laid eggs. The rooster pecked me on my leg and made a big bruise. I was feeding him corn. The rooster didn't lay eggs. ...Emilee |
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The P. T. O. brought the incubator April 23, 1999 for $50. That May we hatched a few eggs in Mr. Kudlack's room, and we've been involved in hatching eggs ever since. There were a few years we did it both at Onekama and Arcadia. Every year we have had at least a few chickens hatch in a variety of colors. One spring we hatched a few pheasant eggs. Every year the children really seem to enjoy the process by getting to put the X-O on the eggs, taking turns turning the eggs daily, the candling of the eggs to see the little chickens moving inside of the eggs, and finally seeing the newly hatched chicks. |
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It usually takes 21 days to hatch the eggs. The eggs are turned 3 times daily. The temperature is kept between 99-103, and the humidity is kept around about 60-70. After hatching, the little chickens are kept at school about 2 weeks before they go home with the students in the class who talk their Mother and Dad into having a family addition. |
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Each year I see older students who had been with us hatching eggs. They tell me how much them remember about the process. I think being involved in the incubating and hatching of the chicks helps students learn about nature. It's something they don't forget. There are always eggs that don't hatch. One year at Arcadia, some of the eggs were rotten. What a terrible smell! …Dennis Zupin, volunteer |
 My Grandma B. brought chickens for our class. She knitted them by hand. I saw her make them. It was easy for her, hard for me. I like my grandmas. My Grandma M. has chickens and roosters. She has a lot. I'm taking four more home, I think. ...Mason |
I was happy about Mr. Zupin bringing th eggs. I wasn't there that day, but I saw them the next day. I think they get bigger every day. At my house I draw chicks with colored pencils. My sister Leeane can draw the Mackinac Bridge. ...Hobi |
Note: most of the candling photos were taken with a flash. Above is a photo showing the actual amount of light used to see the embryo chick. ..B.E. Thank you Chester Gauthier, Les Richmond, Cress Smith, and Tammy & Les Johnson for providing the eggs. |
