Hatching Chickens
Incubating chickens in the classroom is a rite of passage for students in the younger years of primary school. We hire an incubator and small pen from a reputable company and the students are able to watch the chickens hatch and then transfer them to the little coop where they can feed them and watch them grow.
During this ‘experiment’ we teach the students about lifecycles. How a chick hatches from an egg, grows into a large chicken which in turn lays eggs and the cycle repeats itself. We do, however, keep away from the mating process and how eggs are fertilised, etc. That is a parents job to educate kids at this age on the ‘birds and the bees’!
The kids get to count the number of eggs and the number of chicks that hatch each day and it is a fantastic way to get them engaged in learning about this topic. Everyday they come to class excited and ready to check on their chicks. I like to allocate a chick to a pair of students who make observations on the particular chick and its growth, appearance, etc. over the course of the ‘experiment’.
Eventually, all the chicks hatch and the experiment comes to an end. It’s difficult to determine what sex the chicks are at this young age, but sometimes teachers will rehome the chicks or they are just sent back to the company where they came from.
It is a great activity that really engages students i their learning and helps them understand, through doing, what a lifecycle is and how a bird hatches from an egg.
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