After a week of watching eggs, turning eggs and making sure, sure, sure that the temperature was a constant 100.5 degrees, we began seeing little cracks late on Saturday night! We could actually hear a couple of them cheeping from within their eggs, which was so neat.
And then we got this!
Babies!
One baby on Sunday afternoon. Not exactly cute at first, very wet and gooey and flopping around, but still exciting just the same.
KJ is determined for every. single. chick. that hatches to see his face first. He is the very dedicated Chicken Mommy of the family. He remembers the order in which they hatched, and calls them by name-- Number One, Number Two...all the way through Number Nine. And then there's Ben Ten.
He also disciplines them, scolding when they peck each other, and gives them orders to be nice, have a drink, maybe a bite to eat. He barely leaves them.
I, too, have been very dedicated to the hatching, fluffing chicks. Who knew chicks could keep me up at night? Two a.m., three a.m., six a.m., checking the temperatures of the incubator and brooding box for the necessary 100.5 and 95's respectively.
I'm a new mom. I'm obsessing.
Far too early, this morning.
We've had a million cross-curricular learning experiences with the chicks (eggs) this week, and I knew they would be marvelous for that. But what I didn't anticipate was the sense of awe we would experience in observing this miracle of life come to be.
We learned last week about the parts of an egg, and the twenty-one day process from fertilization to hatch. This morning we took turns holding our, now, ten delicate little guys who cheep and hop and are so soft and adorable, and it's just crazy to realize that they didn't exist in any way just over three weeks ago. They can hear us (hate when I microwave coffee above them) and they all pop up, all ten heads at the very same time, glaring in the same direction to quickly look out their giant window when they hear...
CHIIIIIIIIICKS! She screeches, running across the kitchen.
She wants to hold them and poke them and kiss them and squeeze them. Think Elmira from Tiny Toon Adventures. Juuuust like that.
We're just waiting for one more to poke through, now. It was the smallest egg- the one I've wondered about from the beginning. Still no crack, no little hole.
That is the cutest, coolest and best learning idea EVER. My heart is rooting for that last little egg now. Go egg, go!
Posted by: C @ Kid Things | 08 March 2010 at 01:44 PM
Very sweet and cute and a great way to learn.. Only one more to go - Come on you can do it!!
Posted by: Mar | 08 March 2010 at 02:02 PM
that is so exciting
(you are an amazing mommy &teacher)
I'm nervous for the little egg now!
Posted by: crookedeyebrow | 08 March 2010 at 03:04 PM
Ben Ten. That's the coolest name for a chick ever!
SO cool that you are doing this, the kids will remember it forever. I too am rooting for that very last egg, hope it hatches soon!
Posted by: SJ | 08 March 2010 at 04:47 PM
Yay, chickens!! That's just the coolest thing ever. Now c'mon, tiny egg, HATCH!
Posted by: Jen L. | 08 March 2010 at 06:35 PM
Very very cool. Um .. what now? I'm sure you started with a plan, I just don't know what one does with home-hatched chicks quickly in danger of becoming chickens!
Posted by: BetteJo | 08 March 2010 at 09:55 PM
Yes...now what? What happens to them? I can't imagine the kids wanting to part with them now.
I don't think instead of me showing you how to make eggplant parmesan you want to change to chicken parmesan, do you?
How very sad that last little egg is...hope you see a crack soon!
Posted by: Jenny | 08 March 2010 at 10:57 PM
Oh lord, if Cady sees this I'm done for. Great pictures Molly. What a wonderful thing for the kids to experience. I think your homeschooling is a real success. You do so much with your guys. My son brought home a chick that they hatched in class many years ago. We named our chick Pecky. She lived in the kitchen for a long time. She sat on my husbands shoulder under his hair and cuddled. Then she got big and moved out back where she ruled the dog and the kids. We had her for a couple of years till one Christmas she was gone. We think a neighbor took her. Aren't you going to keep one? Or 2. Fresh eggs Molly.
Posted by: debi | 09 March 2010 at 03:04 AM
My boys were so excited to see the pictures of the chicks! Then came the inevitable question..."when can we do that?" I said that KJ's mom is just a really good mommy. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Erin | 09 March 2010 at 08:26 AM
That is awesome! I grew up on a farm with chickens and always loved watching the babies. Where did you get your incubator and equipment? My kids would love doing this and my dad's been talking about getting more chickens.
Posted by: Laylabean | 09 March 2010 at 01:27 PM