Hatching a Chick

• Purchase an incubator, and place it on a flat surface near a wall socket. Plug in the incubator, and let it heat to 95 to 99 degrees. Check the temperature with a thermometer before placing the eggs in the incubator. If the incubator has a tray for water, follow the manufacturer's instructions for putting water in the tray. Place the eggs in the egg holder, and close the lid. Turn the eggs three times a day. This keeps the chick from sticking to the walls of the shell. The chick hatches out of the shell after around 21 days.
  
  

Developmental Stages

• Have students draw the developmental stages of a chicken starting with the first day. Tell the students to draw the egg shape and how the chick looks each day until it hatches. On day one's egg, have the students label the parts of an egg before the embryo develops. This helps students understand what is happening to the eggs in the incubator. Have the students create a fact sheet about eggs. Ask the student to include facts such as nutritional content, safety precautions when using eggs, how the shell is formed, how many eggs are produced in a year and how you know an edible egg is not spoiled.
  
  

Create a Poster and Report

• Have each student create a report and poster representing the facts he learned from hatching the chicken eggs. Include the drawings of the daily growth of the chickens, important facts about chickens and information about one specific breed of chicken. Each chicken varies in size, weight, appearance, egg color, amount of eggs laid in a year, heat or cold tolerance and temperament. Students include a summary about the hatching from start to finish. Have the students present their poster to the class, and let them explain important features about their chosen breeds of chicken.
  
  

Egg-Citing Bulletin Board

• After finishing the posters and reports, display them on a bulletin board in an area where all of the students see the information about hatching chickens. This gives students recognition of their work. Place a table under the bulletin board with a large plastic or galvanized tub. Make a simple brooder by putting wood shavings in the bottom of the container, and placing food and water in the container. Attach a clip on light with a heat lamp bulb in it on the side of the container, and plug it in. Turn on the light, and wait until the container is warm before placing the chicks in the container. Place a piece of galvanized metal hardware cloth over the top of the container, and fold the sides of the cloth down around the container. This forms a lid that keeps students' hands away from the chicks, and keeps the chicks in the container. Invite parents, and let them see the chicks and displayed work. Hand out "Adopt a Chick" papers if the chicks need homes. Remind parents that chicks live better in pairs.